- Reporting exists, but it arrives too late to guide the month.
- Forecasting is informal, so cash and staffing decisions stay reactive.
- Margins are pressured and nobody can explain where the change started.
- The owner is still the default decision-maker because the numbers are not clear enough to delegate from.
Ottawa CFO Advisory
Fractional CFO in Ottawa for Service Businesses
Robert Thomas Group provides fractional CFO support for Ottawa service businesses that need stronger reporting, better forecasting, and clearer financial decision-making before they are ready for a full-time CFO.
Ottawa service business focus
Reporting and forecasting come first. Operating support follows the financial picture.
Problem
What usually brings a service business to us
The pattern is usually the same: growth has outpaced the financial structure needed to manage it well.
What we do
Fractional CFO work focused on current decisions
The work is practical. It is built around the numbers the owner and leadership team need in order to decide.
Reporting
We build monthly reporting that is clear, current, and useful for management review. The work starts with numbers the business can trust.
Forecasting
We put rolling forecasts and cash views in place so the next decision is made using current information instead of assumptions from months ago.
Cost and margin visibility
We look at true delivery cost, service-line performance, and labor economics so pricing and growth decisions are tied to actual business conditions.
Decision support
We support hiring, pricing, growth, and capacity decisions with the financial analysis behind them, then help leadership use the information consistently.
How it works
A structured process without a full-time hire
We follow the same sequence on every engagement so the work is built on a sound foundation.
1
Assess the current state
We review the financial picture, reporting cadence, forecast process, and the management questions the business is trying to answer.
2
Clean up what is unreliable
If the books, reports, or cost data are not dependable, we correct that before anything else is built.
3
Build the reporting and forecast structure
We put the monthly package, scorecard, rolling forecast, and decision support tools in place around how the business actually runs.
4
Support implementation
We stay involved while the owner and leadership team begin using the numbers to review performance and make decisions on a regular cadence.
Examples
What this looks like in practice
These are the kinds of outcomes the work is designed to support in Ottawa service businesses.
5 days
Target close timing for reliable month-end reporting
90 days
Common rolling forecast window used for cash and capacity review
1 team
One shared financial view for owner and leadership review
Service business: $1M to $10M
Rebuilt reporting, added budget-to-actual review, introduced a rolling forecast, and connected the financial picture to pricing and leadership decisions. Revenue scaled while margins held and cash became more predictable.
Mid-market service company: $5M to $25M
Redesigned management reporting, surfaced margin issues across service lines, added rolling cash forecasting, and tied leadership review to a clearer operating rhythm.
CTA
Start with the financial picture
If reporting and forecasting are still too weak to support decisions, that is where the work should begin.