Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Turnaround management · The orders and the deadlines

What turnaround management looks like on a company like yours.

Turnaround is the CFO work plus the orders and the deadlines.

The standard on these books

Gross margin is 42.0% in the 2026 extract and 52.0% in 2025. 8 of the ten months lose money. The largest receivables bucket is over 90 days, at $208,400. The acquisition note interest line is $112,000 for the ten months. Turnaround management is the service. This example is the report that service produces.

Levers and moves are priced from the client's own books and returns.

This example does not promise a dollar result.

Payroll on this page is setup only.

Personal credit, taxes, finances
Books
Controller
CFO, including tax planning

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Fifteen orders, in the order we would give them

The first two weeks are the cash list. The next month is rules. The rest of the ninety days is price. Dates are set on the call.

This fractional CFO example is the monthly report for Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC of Mesa, Arizona. Principal on the books: Elena Varga. The pages show the method on an illustrative composite. Levers and moves are priced from the client's own books and returns. This example does not promise a dollar result.

W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10W11W12W13

Call list, oldest first

Card and ACH line, read it

Ads line and advisor line

Statements and payroll deposits

Materials deposit rule

Price the plan studio

Idle time, read it

Cover out to quote

Lender conversation

Seller-note date, confirm it

Plan-studio job list

New bid rates

Calls to past customers

Search test, after the ads read

Monthly close and cash view

First two weeksThe next monthThe rest of the ninety days

Thirteen weeks, drawn as windows. The dates are set on the call. They are not copied from a client file.

First two weeks

Call Copper Lantern HOA.
The open invoice is $62,400. It sits in Over 90 days. On the call list. A payment plan is a conversation. A lien is for counsel.
$62,400 · open invoice
Work the rest of the call list in the printed order.
Kiln and Co Builders, Harlow Family Trust, Pecan Shade HOA, Cinder Court HOA.
See 08 · call order
Read the card and ACH fee line before the next invoices go out.
That line is $6,390 in the 2026 extract. The move is a setup question.
$6,390 · on these books
Read the ads line and the advisor line with the owner.
Ads and directories are $24,240. Mesa Bench Advisors fees are $8,210. Ask what each one bought.
$24,240 · ads line
List the statements still out. Confirm payroll tax deposits before a vendor is paid ahead of them.
Payroll on this page is setup only.
Setup · payroll

The next month

No new job starts without a deposit that covers materials.
Plants and hardscape materials are $128,600 in the extract. Outside crews are $103,400.
$128,600 · materials line
Put a price on plan-studio work.
Plan studio wages are $38,400. The extract does not split plan-studio receipts out of other receipts.
$38,400 · wage line
Call Arroyo Bench Bank with the receivables list in hand.
Interest on the acquisition note is $11,200 a month on these books. A deferral is the lender's answer.
$11,200 · a month, on the books
Read idle time, sick time, and paid time off against hours.
The cost lines name those amounts. Any cap is set on the call.
A rule · set on the call
Ask two brokers to quote the truck and liability cover.
That line is $30,380 in the extract.
$30,380 · on these books
Elena Varga brings the list of which jobs the plan studio sold.
Headcount follows that list. This page does not pick a headcount.
A decision · on the call

The rest of the ninety days

Reprice new bids from the cost rates on these books.
Signed work stays as signed. The new rate is set on the call.
A rate · from these books
Call customers who already bought, and offer a route.
The count and the price come from the client's own books.
A list · already on the books
A search test waits until the ads line has been read.
Section 12 shows the composite counts. This example does not name a spend.
No budget · set on the call
Close the books on a set day each month.
Reconcile every account. Update a 13-week cash view.
A rhythm · every month

The situation

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

Why the orders look like this

Profit and loss income for the 2026 extract is $750,000. Net income is −$134,800. 2023 is the only year in the extract with a profit, at $378,800. Customer sales in the extract are a separate report and do not match profit and loss income. This example does not promise a dollar result.

Income, 2026 extract

$750,000

Ten months, through October 18

Net income, 2026 extract

−$134,800

8 of 10 months lose money

Gross margin, 2026

42.0%

52.0% in 2025

Receivables over 90 days

$208,400

of $309,310 open

Acquisition note

$1,480,000

Arroyo Bench Bank

People paid in October

$65,038 a month, gross, people still active

The orders01

The situation02

Four-year arc03

2026 month by month04

Where the money goes05

Payroll06

Customers07

Receivables and the call list08

Debt09

Lever sheet10

Ninety-day path11

Search demand12

Gaps and sources13

Four-year arc

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

One profitable year in the extract

Read gross margin and net income. 2026 income of $750,000 across ten months is a pace of about $900,000 for a full year, against $800,000 in 2025. The pace is not a forecast.

Income by year. 2026 stops at October 18.

Net income by year. One year in the extract is positive.

Year	Income	Gross profit	Margin	Expenses	Note interest	Net income	Read
2023	$1,080,000	$550,800	51.0%	$260,000	Not in this extract	$378,800	The only year in this extract with a profit.
2024	$960,000	$384,000	40.0%	$410,000	Not in this extract	−$16,119	The year turns to a loss.
2025	$800,000	$416,000	52.0%	$620,000	Not in this extract	−$211,800	Gross margin is the high year. The year still loses money.
2026 YTD	$750,000	$315,000	42.0%	$455,000	$112,000	−$134,800	Through October 18. Gross margin is ten points under 2025.

2023 net income is $378,800. Operating income that year is $290,800. The gap is other income in the extract. Note interest for 2023, 2024, and 2025 is not in this extract. The 2026 interest figure is the cost line.

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Month by month

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

Eight months lose money

June is the best net month in the extract, at $11,200 on income of $93,750. August is the worst, at −$37,100 on income of $71,250. Gross profit stays positive in every month of this extract.

IncomeGross profitNet income

Cash basis, the ten months in the 2026 extract.

Best month

June $11,200

Income $93,750

Worst month

August −$37,100

Income $71,250

Loss months

8 of 10

Net income under zero

2026 net income

−$134,800

Sum of the ten months

Margin moved from 52.0% in 2025 to 42.0% in this extract. That gap is the story. A higher income pace does not repair it by itself.

Where the money goes

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

Materials, interest, and outside crews

The tall bars are the lines to read first. Plants and hardscape materials are $128,600. Note interest is $112,000. Outside crews are $103,400. The 2025 cost-line twin is not in this extract, so the comparison to use is the margin, not a made-up variance table.

Cost lines in the 2026 extract.

Lines a review stops on

Line	2026 extract
Plants and hardscape materials	$128,600
Arroyo Bench note interest	$112,000
Outside crews	$103,400
Ads and directories	$24,240
Card and ACH fees	$6,390
Mesa Bench Advisors fees	$8,210
Palo Verde Hauling drop fees	$5,800

Materials are 17.1% of 2026 income in this extract. Vendors named for the composite: Palo Verde Hauling, Mesa Bench Advisors, Cinder Court Materials. Cinder Court Materials is on that list and is not a separate cost line here.

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Payroll

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

Who is paid in the extract

27 people appear on the roster. 20 are paid in October. People paid moved from 13 in January to 20 in October. Gross pay in the extract is $612,173. The October run rate for people still active is $65,038 a month. Payroll on this page is setup only.

Monthly gross run rate by department, people active in October.

People receiving pay each month of the extract.

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Person	Dept	Year to date	Months	3-month average	Not on a job	October
Priya Nandakumar	Plan studio	$43,834	01-10	$4,375	—	on payroll
Caleb Nguyen	Field install	$40,796	01-10	$4,069	$4,532	on payroll
Nora Feldman	Repair calls	$38,890	01-10	$3,882	$4,321	on payroll
Rosa Ibarra	Field install	$37,807	01-10	$3,770	$4,200	on payroll
Ellis Ward	Repair calls	$33,847	01-10	$3,390	$3,760	on payroll
Beth Alvarez	Route care	$32,775	01-10	$3,281	$3,641	on payroll
Marco Pell	Front office	$32,766	01-10	$3,272	—	on payroll
Pete Gorman	Field install	$28,687	03-10	$3,580	$3,187	on payroll
Andre Wilson	Field install	$27,948	03-10	$3,485	$3,105	on payroll
Sofia Marchetti	Field install	$27,218	01-08	—	$3,024	left
Luis Ortega	Plan studio	$26,422	01-07	—	$2,935	left
Ivy Quintero	Field install	$25,915	02-10	$2,873	$2,879	on payroll
Samir Qureshi	Route care	$23,849	03-10	$2,974	$2,649	on payroll
Tom Reilly	Field install	$22,304	04-10	$3,182	$2,478	on payroll
Hannah Briggs	Plan studio	$22,177	04-10	$3,143	—	on payroll
Jonah Park	Repair calls	$21,604	04-10	$3,091	$2,400	on payroll
Gina Cho	Field install	$18,481	01-06	—	$2,053	left
Malik Brewer	Field install	$17,906	05-10	$2,970	$1,989	on payroll
Dean Okonkwo	Front office	$16,626	04-10	$2,366	—	on payroll
Lila Brooks	Route care	$13,888	06-10	$2,778	$1,543	on payroll
Ruthie Calder	Front office	$12,912	01-05	—	—	left
Elena Varga	Principal	$11,976	07-10	$2,987	—	on payroll
Omar Farouk	Plan studio	$11,477	07-10	$2,873	—	on payroll
Owen Grant	Off-season hold	$8,352	01-03	—	—	left
Chris Dalto	Field install	$8,091	08-10	$2,697	—	on payroll
Rico Salas	Off-season hold	$3,614	02-03	—	—	left
Paige Dutra	Off-season hold	$2,011	01-01	—	—	left
Total		$612,173		$65,038	$48,696

The "not on a job" column is the figure stored on the roster. It is not a second payroll pull. Hours and pay rates are not in the extract. Principal pay is on the roster. This example does not recommend a pay cut.

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Customers

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

Repeat customers carry the year

Customer sales for 2026 in this extract are $618,000. Profit and loss income is $750,000. The two reports are both in the file, and this example does not force them to match. Repeat customers are 63% of 2026 customer sales. About 45% of the 151 customers who paid in 2025 also paid in 2026 (68 people).

RepeatNew

Customer sales from people who had bought before, and from first-time buyers. 2023 is all new because the extract starts there.

Over $50k$20-50k$10-20k$5-10k$1-5kUnder $1k

Where each year's customer sales sit by size band.

Year	Customers paid	New	Repeat	Sales / customer	Repeat share	Top 10 share
2023	168	—	—	$4,421	—	—
2024	174	97	77	$5,050	53%	—
2025	151	71	80	$4,491	64%	—
2026 YTD	149	68	81	$4,148	63%	72%

Largest 2026 customers in the extract

Cash by customer and year for the lifetime list. Marked names are also on the call list.

Red Clay Custom Homes is the largest 2026 customer in the extract, at $86,400. The top ten are $444,450, which is 72% of 2026 customer sales. That is a billing fact. It is not a sales target.

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Receivables and the call list

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

The oldest bucket is the largest

Open invoices in the extract total $309,310. Over 90 days is $208,400, and it is the largest bucket. The named call list is not the whole over-90 bucket. A payment plan is a conversation. A lien is for counsel.

Open invoices by age. Current is the small bucket.

Call order

Customer	Open	Age	Note
Copper Lantern HOA	$62,400	Over 90 days	On the call list. A payment plan is a conversation. A lien is for counsel.
Kiln and Co Builders	$41,750	Over 90 days	On the call list. A payment plan is a conversation. A lien is for counsel.
Harlow Family Trust	$28,900	Over 90 days	On the call list. A payment plan is a conversation. A lien is for counsel.
Pecan Shade HOA	$19,640	Over 90 days	On the call list. A payment plan is a conversation. A lien is for counsel.
Cinder Court HOA	$14,220	61-90 days	Still inside 90 days. Call after the older balances.

Aged payables are not in this extract. Do not quote a payables number from this page.

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Debt

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

The note, the seller note, and the line

Bank-account balances are not in this extract. The debt lines are. Interest on the acquisition note is $11,200 a month, and the cost line for the ten months is $112,000. Interest is being paid. Any principal step-up is a question for the lender, not a forecast.

Facility	Amount	Note
SBA acquisition note	$1,480,000	Arroyo Bench Bank. Interest $11,200 a month.
seller note	$186,000	Held by prior principal (fictional). $2,140 a month starting March 1, 2027.
operating line	$96,000	Arroyo Bench Bank. Drawn amount only.

Filing questions, lender disputes, and seller disputes stay with counsel. This example does not give that advice.

Levers and moves are priced from the client's own books and returns.

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Lever sheet

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

If this, then the books show that

Levers and moves are priced from the client's own books and returns. This example does not promise a dollar result. Each line below is an if-then on these books. The dollar landing is left off on purpose.

IF the call list is worked from the oldest invoice,

THEN the books show $208,400 in the over-90 bucket. What comes in is not stated here.

Book fact. book fact

IF Arroyo Bench Bank is called with that list in hand,

THEN the interest fact on the table is $11,200 a month. Any change to the note is the lender's answer.

Book fact. book fact

IF a job cannot start without a materials deposit,

THEN the line that rule is aimed at is plants and hardscape materials, $128,600 in this extract.

Book fact. book fact

IF plan-studio work is priced instead of given away,

THEN the wage line in view is $38,400. The extract does not show a separate receipt total for that department.

Book fact. book fact

IF the ads line is cancelled or replaced,

THEN the line on these books is $24,240. What replaces it, and at what spend, is set on the call.

Book fact. book fact

IF the seller note's first payment stays on March 1, 2027,

THEN the file shows $2,140 a month on a principal of $186,000. A change of date is a request, not a result.

Book fact. book fact

This sheet does not draw a waterfall to a dollar landing point. This example does not promise a dollar result.

Ninety-day path

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

Cash list, rules, then price

The bars are on the orders page. This is the checklist behind them.

Weeks 1 to 2

Call Copper Lantern HOA. Then the rest of the call list, in order.
Read the card and ACH line, the ads line, and the advisor line.
Confirm payroll tax deposits. Payroll on this page is setup only.

Weeks 3 to 6

Materials deposit before a job starts. Price the plan-studio work.
Call Arroyo Bench Bank with the receivables list.
Ask Elena Varga for the list of jobs the plan studio sold.
Put the truck and liability cover out for a quote.

Weeks 7 to 12

New bid rates from these books. Signed work unchanged.
Calls to customers who already bought.
Search test only after the ads line is read. No spend is named here.
Monthly close, with a 13-week cash view.

Scorecard for the review

Measure	On these books	Target	Owner
Receivables over 90 days	$208,400	Set on the call	Elena Varga
Note interest per month	$11,200	Set on the call	Elena Varga
Gross margin, 2026 extract	42.0%	Set on the call	Elena Varga
Loss months in the extract	8 of 10	Set on the call	Elena Varga
People paid in October	20	Set on the call	Elena Varga

The target column is blank on purpose. This example does not promise a dollar result.

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Search demand

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

A composite count, not a live pull

The counts below are a composite for this example. They are not a live planner pull. Bids are a range stored with the composite, not a price this page tells anyone to pay. Tree work and artificial grass are in the table to show terms the company does not lead with.

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Search term	Metro / mo	US / mo	Competition	Bid range
landscaping mesa arizona	880	1,240	tight	$1.64 to $7.40
irrigation repair mesa	310	460	tight	$1.91 to $8.15
sprinkler repair gilbert	240	390	tight	$1.84 to $8.55
landscaping apache junction	190	280	tight	$1.55 to $6.90
tree work chandler	160	210	tight	$3.40 to $16.20
artificial grass mesa	125	180	tight	$1.72 to $9.10
landscapers in the east valley	95	18,600	open	$1.48 to $7.25
lawn care mesa arizona	88	165	open	$2.05 to $9.80
landscape plans gilbert	55	64	tight	$1.33 to $5.40
desert gravel yards mesa	45	60	open	$1.12 to $4.80
weekly yard routes mesa	35	44	tight	$1.58 to $6.70
drip lines chandler	28	26	open	$0.00 to $0.00
backyard redo mesa	22	25	open	$0.00 to $0.00
block wall repair mesa	18	15	tight	$1.47 to $6.10

Metro counts for terms that match the work. Tight is the serious pill. Open is the calm pill.

How to read the test

Any search spend is set on the call, after the ads line has been read. This example does not name a budget, a domain, or a landing page. The cities in the table are the ones in the composite list. One row has a US count far above its metro count. Treat every count here as illustration.

Related phrases in the composite

landscaping mesa arizona (880) · mesa az landscapers (730) · irrigation repair mesa (310) · sprinkler repair gilbert (245) · gilbert sprinkler repair (215) · sprinkler repair mesa az (185) · landscaping companies mesa (165) · landscape crews mesa az (155) · east valley landscape crews (135) · yard routes mesa (93) · lawn care mesa arizona (88) · lawn care gilbert az (84) · gravel yards mesa (73) · decorative rock mesa az (66) · rock yards in mesa (58) · landscape plans gilbert (55) · yard help mesa (47) · desert gravel yards mesa (45) · planting plans mesa (42) · home landscapers in mesa (36) · mow and blow mesa (33) · affordable yard work mesa (31) · yard services mesa az (27) · mow service in mesa az (24) · sod laying mesa (21)

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Gaps and sources

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Cinder Mesa Landscape LLC · October 18, 2026

What is in the file, and what is not

Solid inside this file

Profit and loss for 2023, 2024, 2025, and the 2026 months through October 18.
Customer sales, the roster, the cost lines, the aged invoices, and the three debt lines.

Soft

Search counts are a composite, not a live pull.
Customer sales and profit and loss income do not match, and they are not forced to.
The "not on a job" column is the figure stored on the roster.
Note interest for years before 2026 is not in the extract.

Missing

Bank balances, aged payables, hours, and pay rates.
A job-level estimate against actual.
The date the acquisition note would add principal to the payment.
A live planner pull and a domain check.

What this example is built from

Source	What is in the file	What it answers
Profit and loss	Four years, and the 2026 months	Did the period make money?
Customer sales	Cohorts, bands, top names	Who the receipts came from
Wage ledger	Roster and departments	Who is paid
Aged invoices	Buckets and the call list	What is old
Debt lines	Note, seller note, operating line	What the calendar is
Search counts	The keyword table	Where the composite says demand sits

Illustrative dataset, seed 201. Not a client pull. Not a live ads account. Payroll on this page is setup only.

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Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

What we pull and why

The table doubles as the checklist for your first month. Everything on it is read only. Nothing is changed in your file.

Source	What we pull	What it answers
QuickBooks	Profit and loss, cash basis, monthly, for three to four years	Did each period make money, and where the margin moved
QuickBooks	Class profit and loss	Which kind of work made the money
QuickBooks	Customer sales by year	Who the receipts came from
Wage ledger	The roster and the wage accounts	Who is paid. Payroll on this page is setup only.
QuickBooks	Aged receivables and aged payables	What is old, and what is due
Balance sheet and the loan statements	The note balances and the interest lines	What is owed, and the calendar on it
Keyword count and a domain check	The search counts for this composite	Where demand sits. The example uses a composite, not a live pull.

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

The monthly CFO report

The same company, with the monthly report open.

See the fractional CFO example

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

Tax moves we found while doing this

A CFO reading turns up tax questions the return never asked. On this company it found three: an entity choice that would first have paid in the profit year, estimates that went short in the loss year, and a retirement line that stayed at zero. See the Tax Planning example for the same company.

See the tax moves on this company

Illustrative composite. Not a real client.

The report is the deliverable. The orders are the work. The call is where both start from your own books.

Book a free 30-minute call

Bring your books and your last return. Thirty minutes is enough to see what we would pull.

What turnaround management looks like on a company like yours.

The standard on these books

Fifteen orders, in the order we would give them

First two weeks

The next month

The rest of the ninety days

The situation

Why the orders look like this

Contents

Four-year arc

One profitable year in the extract

Month by month

Eight months lose money

Where the money goes

Materials, interest, and outside crews

Lines a review stops on

Payroll

Who is paid in the extract

Customers

Repeat customers carry the year

Largest 2026 customers in the extract

Receivables and the call list

The oldest bucket is the largest

Call order

Debt

The note, the seller note, and the line

Lever sheet

If this, then the books show that

Ninety-day path

Cash list, rules, then price

Scorecard for the review

Search demand

A composite count, not a live pull

How to read the test

Related phrases in the composite

Gaps and sources

What is in the file, and what is not

Solid inside this file

Soft

Missing

What this example is built from

What we pull and why

The monthly CFO report

Tax moves we found while doing this