External Controller
A controller manages your financial operations at a higher level than bookkeeping. You get oversight, clean monthly closes, and reliable reporting without a full-time hire.
What This Is
A bookkeeper records transactions and reconciles accounts. A controller operates one level higher. They review the bookkeeper’s work, manage the month-end close process, ensure internal controls are in place, and deliver financial reports that accurately reflect how the business is performing.
Growing businesses often reach a point where bookkeeping alone is not enough, but hiring a full-time controller at $80,000 or more per year doesn’t make sense yet. An external controller gives you that oversight and financial management on an hourly basis, scaling with your actual needs.
The Work
The Work
Month-end close management, financial statement preparation, variance analysis, internal controls, oversight of bookkeeping and accounts payable. We review the work before you see the reports, catching errors and ensuring accuracy so you can trust the numbers.
The Engagement
The Engagement
You pay for the hours you need. Some months that’s five hours. Others it’s fifteen. We integrate with your existing bookkeeper or accounting staff, providing oversight and direction without replacing the people who know your day-to-day operations.
Why This Matters
Without a controller, your bookkeeper works unsupervised. Nobody reviews the work. Nobody catches the miscategorization that throws off your cost of goods sold. Nobody notices that the credit card reconciliation has been off by $3,000 for three months. These errors compound until they become expensive problems.
The other gap is interpretation. Your bookkeeper generates reports, but who explains what they mean? Why is gross margin down 4% this quarter? Is that a problem or just seasonal variation? A controller bridges the gap between raw financial data and actionable insight.
The Oversight Gap
The Oversight Gap
When nobody reviews the books, mistakes go unnoticed. A vendor gets paid twice. An expense is coded to the wrong account. A reconciliation doesn’t actually balance. You don’t find out until tax time when your CPA starts asking uncomfortable questions about the numbers.
The Interpretation Gap
The Interpretation Gap
You receive a Profit and Loss statement every month. It shows revenue and expenses. But nobody is comparing those numbers to last month, last year, or your budget. Nobody is flagging the expense category that increased 40% without explanation. The data exists but it’s not being used.
What Changes
Your month-end close becomes a managed process instead of something that happens whenever someone gets around to it. Books are reviewed, errors are corrected, and reports are delivered on a consistent schedule. You stop wondering if the numbers are right because someone has verified them before they reach you.
You also gain access to someone who understands your financial picture and can answer questions without guessing. Cash flow tight this month? We can explain why and what to expect next month. Margins look thin? We can identify where the margin erosion is coming from and what’s causing it.
Reliable Financial Data
Reliable Financial Data
Reports arrive on time and are accurate. Month-end closes happen within a predictable window. When you look at your Profit and Loss or Balance Sheet, you know the numbers have been reviewed and verified. You make decisions based on facts rather than hoping the data is correct.
Financial Guidance
Financial Guidance
You have someone to call when you need to understand a financial situation. Not a generalist reading from a script, but someone who knows your books, your business, and your numbers. Questions get answered quickly and accurately because we already know the context.
LA's Small Business Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A Short Conversation
Tell us about your business and what you're dealing with. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and give you a clear price for the work.