Consultant portfolio

Clients and opportunities

A single working view for managing several clients without opening every engagement.

Active clients

6

Target portfolio reached

Active prospects

3

Monthly contracted fees

$32.9k

Planned delivery capacity

82%

98 of 120 monthly hours planned

Meetings next 7 days5Across 5 clients

Actions due this week93 need your follow-up

Client blockers2Escalate

Reviews due in 30 days2Prepare early

Portfolio priorities

Sorted by attention required. Open only the client that needs work now.

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Sort

Company	Stage / cycle	Next meeting	Next action	Attention

Portfolio rule: each client keeps its own meetings, workstreams, actions, KPIs and value records. The portfolio only summarizes what needs your attention; it does not create a second place to update the engagement.

Completed sales record · Accepted Aug 18

Meeting 1 & Diagnostic Preparation

Use the first meeting to understand the owner, collect the 66 ratings, request the basic financial information and schedule the diagnostic meeting.

1. ProspectCreated

2. Meeting 1Discovery complete

3. FinancialsEntered

4. PrepareResults, plan and proposal

5. Meeting 2Diagnostic & close

6. DecisionAccepted

Free Meeting 1

Discovery & diagnostic input

Ask the exact discovery questions and capture the owner’s answers

Complete the 66-question 1–5 rating exercise with the owner

Explain and request the basic financial information

Schedule Meeting 2 and confirm who should attend

Between meetings

Consultant preparation

Enter the financial figures provided by the owner

Review the automatic diagnostic and leakage results

Confirm the three recommended workstreams

Prepare the proposal before Meeting 2

Business profile

Company name

Primary contact

Industry

Employees

Phone

Email

Qualification

Primary reason for meeting

Decision authority

Urgency

Fit

Qualified to proceed. The owner has authority, urgency and enough business scale to justify a paid engagement.

Use the original discovery question set. Ask the questions conversationally during Free Meeting 1. The consultant records the owner’s answers directly in the app during the meeting.

Discovery meeting questions

21 primary questions. Open each question as the conversation progresses.

Question 1 of 21

1. When did you start your business?

Optional follow-up prompts: What were your reasons? • What was your original goal? • What did you do before? • Who gave you advice?

Started in 2008 as a two-person cabinet shop. Growth came through commercial contractors and architect referrals rather than a formal plan.

2. Is being in business today what you thought it would be like when you started your business?

Optional follow-up prompts: What is different to your original idea/plan? • What do you like about it? • What do you dislike about it?

3. Do you have an accurate written vision of what your business will look like in 5 years time?

Optional follow-up prompts: If so please describe this in detail? • Does this vision cover all aspects of your business? • Who wrote it and when? • How often do you review it? • Have your staff bought into it?

4. Do you have a written detailed business plan for your business?

Optional follow-up prompts: Is it current? • Who wrote it? • Do you follow it religiously? • What areas does it cover? • Are your staff aware of it? • Is your staff's employment contract aligned to reaching the goals in your business plan?

5. How many hours do you personally work in your business?

Optional follow-up prompts: And are you able to take time off for regular holidays? • What happens when your Employees are left alone? • Does the time you work affect your family life? • Do you feel that you are getting stale?

6. Are you earning an excellent return on your business investment?

Optional follow-up prompts: i.e. weekly salary and profits by way of dividends? • How much roughly would this be? • Is it increasing annually? • Are you happy with this income? • What would your hourly rate be? • Are your profits growing?

7. Do you have appreciating assets other than your business?

Optional follow-up prompts: What are they? • Are they separate from the business? • Do you have loans associated with these assets? • Does the business pay the loans for the assets?

8. Is your business increasing in value on an annual basis?

Optional follow-up prompts: How much do you think? • How have you measured this? • What is making it go up in value? • What do you think it is worth today? • Are you contemplating selling it in the near future?

9. Are you under stress?

Optional follow-up prompts: What keeps you awake at night? • How long have you been under stress? • Is your Partner under stress? • What is causing your Partners stress? • Do you know the damage that stress can cause a person? • Do you enjoy coming to work every day?

The president is under pressure from late jobs, cash tied up in receivables and margin surprises discovered after projects are completed.

10. Do you review the performance of your business on a monthly basis with very accurate reports?

Optional follow-up prompts: What do the reports include? • Financial? • Key performance indicators? • How do you use them? • Who prepares them? • What use do you get from them?

11. Do you know the difference between working 'on' or 'in' your business?

Optional follow-up prompts: Which one are you doing? • Why? • Do you know what you need to do to reach the 'on' level? • Do you know the benefits of working on your business?

12. Are your Employees capable of running your business without you?

Optional follow-up prompts: Why not? • Do you know how to train them to do this? • Do you know the benefits of being able to achieve this? • Could be an increase in business value, less stress on you, more time off.

13. Are you under any financial pressure?

Optional follow-up prompts: From your bank? • Creditors? • Tax department? • What is the situation? • Are you comfortable with this? • How is the bank debt secured? • List any debt belonging to the bank, tax department or creditors.

14. Are your Account Receivables up to date?

Optional follow-up prompts: Any bad ones? • Who? • Why?

15. Do you produce cash flow budgets six months in advance?

Optional follow-up prompts: Who prepares this? • What do you do with the information? • Is it useful?

16. Does your business information system deliver accurate information on your business?

Optional follow-up prompts: Describe what it delivers and how you use the information. • Who prepares it? • What benefit do you get from this information?

17. Do you have the total operations of your business fully documented?

Optional follow-up prompts: What would happen if you were really sick or died? • Have you ever completely examined all the operations of your business with the view to improve productivity and efficiency? • Do you appreciate the added value to your business that fully documenting all aspects would deliver?

18. Do you have an exit plan to leave your business?

Optional follow-up prompts: What is it? • When? • How? • Sale? • Succession? • Management buyout? • How will you achieve it? • Is your business groomed for sale?

19. Does your Family support you in your business activities?

Optional follow-up prompts: Do you spend enough time with them? • Are you looking for ways to increase this valuable time with your Family? • Do you appreciate the extra family time that can be achieved from being financially free? • Are you married, if so how long. • Do you have Children, if so how many what are their ages?

20. Have you ever worked with a Business Consultant?

Optional follow-up prompts: Do you know precisely what they do? • Do you know anybody who has a Business Consultant? • Do you realise what benefits can be achieved from such a partnership?

21. Just thinking ahead a few years what long term goals or vision do you think would appeal to you if your business was running at its best, say in five years time?

Optional follow-up prompts: What would it look like • Products/Services? • Number of staff/branches? • Turnover? • Profits? • Your role? • Position in market? • Value of business? • Working in or on? • Holidays per year?

$7.0M revenue, an 8–10% operating margin, reliable cash flow and the owner focused primarily on strategy and key relationships.

Discovery summary

Generated from the responses and edited by the consultant.

Discovery summary will appear here once responses are entered.

Discovery decision

Recorded disposition from the completed discovery meeting.

Proceeding is appropriate: the owner has authority, urgency, sufficient business scale and willingness to change.

Financial information request

Status

Expected delivery

Notes

Owner will provide the required figures from the latest year-end statements.

Free Meeting 2 scheduled

Date

Time

Attendees

Meeting objective

Present the diagnostic findings, recommended plan and proposal, then ask for the business.

Only six financial input types are required. Four P&L figures from the last completed year, plus current assets and current liabilities for at least three years. Detailed operating information belongs after engagement.

Last completed financial year

Client-supplied figures from the income statement.

FY ending Dec 31, 2025

Revenue excluding sales tax

Cost of goods

Expenses excluding payroll

Payroll including contractors

Automatic financial snapshot

Gross profit

$1,652,000

Gross margin

30.6%

Operating profit

$170,000

Operating margin

3.1%

Solvency trend

Three years preferred; one year minimum when history is unavailable. Missing history lowers confidence but does not block the diagnostic.

Year	Current ratio	Trend
2023	0.94	Base year
2024	0.87	Declining
2025	0.82	Declining

Advanced consultant assumptions

Target gross margin

Target non-payroll expense %

Target payroll %

Realization factor

Illustrative earnings multiple

Cost inflation assumption

Client self-rating only. Each statement is rated from 1 to 5. No notes, evidence fields, consultant overrides or dual scoring.

64 of 66 answered97% complete

2 questions are unanswered. Complete them before submission.

Overall business health

2.33 / 5

Developing

Estimated recoverable annual opportunity

$237,400

Central estimate

Operating margin

3.1%

Thin margin

Current ratio trend

0.82

Declining

Consultant review

A concise internal checkpoint before presenting the findings.

Business health by category

Strongest areasCustomer & Sales (3.3), People & Performance (2.8), Vision & Strategy and Innovation & Growth (2.5)

Weakest areasProfitability & Pricing (1.8), Risk & Resilience (1.8), Governance Rhythm (2.0)

Opportunity pools

Gross profit$145,200

Payroll$54,600

Overhead$37,600

Range$166k - $308k

Likely workstream focus

Cash Flow & Working Capital

Margin & Pricing Discipline

Production Planning & Throughput

Completed Free Meeting 2 · Accepted Aug 18

Diagnostic & Proposal Meeting

Present the findings, confirm the owner agrees with the priorities, then move directly into the proposal and ask for the business.

Part 1

Present the diagnostic

What we heard, business health, financial opportunity and two possible futures.

Part 2

Present the engagement

Recommended workstreams, delivery approach, term, cadence and fee.

Close

Ask for the business

Record acceptance, follow-up, requested revision or decision not to proceed.

What we heard

Discovery summary

Client-specific discovery responses will appear here once the diagnostic presentation is built.

Current concerns

Concerns identified in discovery will be listed here.

Business health

2.33 out of 5

The business has strong demand and capable people, but weak financial controls and production planning are converting growth into cash pressure.

Lowest categories

Profitability & Pricing 1.8

Risk & Resilience 1.8

Governance Rhythm 2.0

Financial health

Revenue

$5.40M

Operating margin

3.1%

Current ratio

0.82

The client is growing but operating on a thin margin with working-capital pressure. The immediate opportunity is to improve pricing, collections and production flow before additional growth increases financial strain.

Estimated recoverable annual opportunity

$237,400 central estimate

Conservative

$166k

Central

$237.4k

Upper

$308k

Gross profit pool

$145,200

Payroll pool

$54,600

Overhead pool

$37,600

This is an initial management estimate based on supplied figures, diagnostic scores and conservative assumptions—not an audit or guarantee.

Two possible futures

Three-year operating profit trajectory

Continue as-is assumes flat revenue and 3% annual operating-cost inflation. The improvement plan phases in a portion of the central opportunity; it is not a guarantee.

Gap widens over time

Value and cost of inaction

Three-year unrecovered opportunity

$542,000

Current indicative earnings value

$595,000

Potential indicative uplift

$830,900

The value figures use an illustrative 3.5x earnings multiple and are provided only to explain potential impact. They are not a formal business valuation.

Recommended path forward

Priority 1

Cash Flow & Working Capital

Introduce a 13-week cash forecast, collection cadence and deposit controls.

Priority 2

Margin & Pricing Discipline

Standardize estimating, approval limits and completed-job margin review.

Priority 3

Production Planning & Throughput

Stabilize production scheduling, bottleneck visibility and on-time completion.

Recommended next step: confirm the three workstreams and present a nine-month implementation proposal beginning with a focused 90-day foundation.

Diagnostic Presentation · [Client name]1 of 7

Presentation outcome

The accepted outcome is locked with the completed sales record.

Accepted recommendation snapshot

Recommended Plan

Review the three priorities preserved in the accepted proposal. Changes require a new proposal version.

All three recommendations are supported by the discovery responses, diagnostic results and relevant financial opportunity pools.

Accepted proposal snapshot

Proposal Builder

This accepted version is locked. Duplicate it only when a revised scope or commercial offer is required.

Business improvement proposal

[Client name]

A focused 90-day foundation followed by ongoing implementation support.

You told us you want...

A financially controlled manufacturing business that prices work properly, converts sales into cash and delivers jobs on schedule.

Your current situation

The client has strong demand, but thin margins, slow collections and unstable production scheduling are creating cash pressure and preventable delivery risk.

The opportunity

Estimated recoverable annual opportunity$166,000 - $308,000

Central estimate$237,400

Initial 9-month fee$49,500

Opportunity-to-fee context4.8x central estimate

This comparison is context only and is not a promised return or guaranteed result.

Phase 1 — First 90 Days

Establish the foundation

Confirm baselines, owners and success measures

Launch the first deliverables in each workstream

Implement the management meeting and action rhythm

Phase 2 — Ongoing Implementation

Embed and expand improvements

Measure results and address barriers

Strengthen adoption and leadership ownership

Validate outcomes and prepare quarterly reviews

Workstream outcomes

Cash Flow & Working CapitalFaster collections and a reliable 13-week cash view

Margin & Pricing DisciplineConsistent estimating, pricing and job-margin review

Production Planning & ThroughputStable production planning and improved on-time completion

Client responsibilities

Attend agreed working and executive meetings

Provide timely access to reports, information and relevant staff

Complete assigned actions and make required decisions

Communicate material constraints or scope changes promptly

Commercial terms

Initial term9 months

Monthly consulting fee$5,500 CAD + tax

Proposed startSeptember 1, 2026

The decision is recorded during or after Meeting 2. The accepted proposal snapshot is then locked and used to create the engagement.

Scope and delivery

Engagement mode

Initial term

Meeting cadence

Scope exclusions

Bookkeeping, legal advice, tax advice, recruitment services and software implementation are excluded unless separately quoted.

Fee calculator

Working meetings / month

Executive reviews / month

Estimated delivery hours

Shared/admin hours

Target hourly recovery

Recommended fee

Selected monthly fee

$5,500

24 delivery and administration hours planned per month

Proposal versions

Draft 1Jul 22

Draft 2Superseded

Final PresentedAug 18

Accepted SnapshotAug 18 · Current · Locked

Acceptance

Proposal status

Decision date

Accepted by

Completed engagement handoff

Engagement handoff

The accepted sales record was converted into a working engagement without re-entering the same facts.

Activated · Complete

Proposal acceptedSigned externally

Confirm handoffInherited setup confirmed

BaselineFinancial health validated

KickoffPeople and priorities confirmed

DeliveryWorkstreams active

Commercial terms

Implementation

Start dateSeptember 1, 2026

Initial term9 months

Monthly fee$5,500

Meeting cadenceWeekly for 90 days, then bi-weekly

Inherited objective

Primary engagement objective

Stabilize cash flow, protect job margins and create a production rhythm that supports profitable growth.

Pulled directly from the accepted proposal.

Known context

Risks carried forward

Working capital is tight, several large receivables are aging, estimating practices vary by salesperson and production schedules are frequently reset.

Accepted workstreams

These become the initial delivery structure.

Maximum 3 active

Priority 1

Cash Flow & Working Capital

Accepted

Introduce a 13-week cash forecast, collection cadence and deposit controls.

Initial outcome

A reliable 13-week cash view, disciplined collections and clearer deposit terms.

Priority 2

Margin & Pricing Discipline

Accepted

Standardize estimating, approval limits and completed-job margin review.

Initial outcome

A controlled estimating process with visible estimate-to-actual job margins.

Priority 3

Production Planning & Throughput

Accepted

Stabilize production scheduling, bottleneck visibility and on-time completion.

Initial outcome

A stable two-week production plan is in use and delivery reliability is improving.

Activation checklist

Only the items needed to begin paid delivery.

Accepted proposal snapshot saved

Commercial terms and scope are locked.

Diagnostic baseline preserved

Initial estimate remains available for future comparison.

Client sponsor and workstream owners confirmed

Focused financial and business baseline completedPaid kickoff meeting completedFirst 30-day deliverables confirmed

Paid stage · Onboarding

Financial & business baseline

A focused management baseline that establishes the company’s true starting position without recreating its accounting system.

Onboarding complete · delivery active

Onboarding readiness: 100%

Financial baseline, ownership, KPI baselines and kickoff requirements are complete.

Purpose: validate the pre-sale estimate, establish financial-health baselines and determine whether a targeted deep dive is required. Use two completed years plus current year-to-date where available.

Financial source

Fiscal year-end

YTD period ending

Profit and loss history

The core figures needed to understand profitability, cost structure and trend.

Measure	2024 Actual	2025 Actual	2026 YTD	Input status
Revenue and gross profit
Revenue				Complete
Cost of goods sold				Complete
Gross profit — calculated	$1,550,000	$1,652,000	$935,000	Automatic
Operating cost and profit
Payroll & contractors				Complete
Other operating expenses				Complete
EBITDA / cash operating earnings				Complete
Net income				Complete

Use EBITDA where available. If the client only reports operating profit, confirm that depreciation and amortization are not material before using the debt multiple.

Focused balance-sheet history

Only the major items needed to understand liquidity, working capital, leverage and owner equity.

Measure	2024 Year-end	2025 Year-end	2026 Current	Input status
Liquidity and working capital
Cash				Complete
Accounts receivable				Complete
Inventory, if applicable				Complete
Total current assets				Complete
Accounts payable				Complete
Total current liabilities				Complete
Leverage and ownership
Total interest-bearing debt				Complete
Total equity				Complete

Current-asset totals include smaller items not listed separately, such as prepaid expenses and recoverable taxes.

Automatic financial-health snapshot

Profitability and productivity use 2025 actual results; liquidity uses the July 31, 2026 balance sheet. These become the accepted starting measures.

Revenue growth

11.1%

Positive

Gross margin

30.6%

Below target

Operating margin

3.1%

Thin

Payroll / revenue

19.4%

Monitor

Overhead / revenue

8.0%

Controlled

Net margin

2.1%

Thin

Working capital

-$410k

Negative

Current ratio

0.82x

Pressure

Quick ratio

0.54x

Review

Debt / EBITDA (2025 entered earnings)

6.47x

High

Revenue / employee

$159k

Baseline

Gross profit / employee

$49k

Baseline

Financial-health conclusion: The client has strong demand but thin profit and material working-capital pressure. Cash collection, job margin and production flow require immediate management attention.

Practical cash and debt questions

Focused questions provide context that financial statements alone often miss.

Cash direction

Operating line usage

Taxes current?

Suppliers current?

Loan payments current?

Required monthly debt payments

Seasonal cash shortages or pressure points

Major capital purchases expected

Owner cash injections or exceptional withdrawals

Risk review

The system recommends a deeper module only when a material signal appears.

Liquidity pressureHigh

Debt-service pressureHigh

Receivable riskHigh

Inventory exposureReview

Tax / supplier arrearsNone

Customer concentrationLow

Suggested targeted follow-up

Complete a focused working-capital review: receivable aging, deposit terms, operating-line availability, debt-service requirements and inventory committed to active jobs. Keep the review targeted to the three active workstreams.

Company profile

Context needed to interpret the financial ratios and select operating baselines.

Employees / FTEs

Locations

Largest customer %

Recurring revenue %

Reporting frequency

Financial reporting owner

Major revenue streams

Expected major changes during the next 12 months

Baseline interpretation

A concise consultant summary created from the financial and business inputs.

ProfitabilityThin

LiquidityPressure

LeverageHigh

Cost structureMargin focus

Growth capacityRequires planning

Consultant baseline summary

Client sponsor

Name

Role

Decision authority confirmed

Financial owner

Name

Role

Baseline owner

Operations owner

Name

Role

Capacity confirmed

Workstream ownership

One accountable client owner per workstream.

Workstream	Client owner	Executive sponsor	Capacity confirmed?
Cash Flow & Working Capital	Evan Brooks	Priya Nair	Yes
Margin & Pricing Discipline	Priya Nair	Priya Nair	Yes
Production Planning & Throughput	Luis Ortega	Priya Nair	Yes

Kickoff checklist

Accepted proposal and scope confirmedCore P&L and balance-sheet baseline enteredCash and financial-risk review completedClient sponsor confirmedAll workstream-owner capacity confirmedInitial KPI baselines reviewed

Kickoff meeting

Date

Duration

Purpose

Kickoff completed September 2: ownership, baselines, first 30-day deliverables and meeting cadence were confirmed.

Active engagement

[Client name]

The single operating view for priorities, meetings, accountability, performance and value.

Needs focus Cycle 1 of 3 · Month 1 of 9

Current meeting

Sep 10

First implementation working meeting · currently in progress

Open actions

11

3 due this week · 3 shown below

Decisions needed

3

1 aging

Validated value

$0

Baseline stage

Three active workstreams

Outcomes, progress and immediate next moves.

Cash Flow & Working Capital

22%

Next: approve collection escalation and deposit policy.

Margin & Pricing Discipline

15%

Next: approve standard estimating and job-margin review.

Production Planning & Throughput

28%

Next: review the first frozen production schedule.

Attention required

Decision needed: collection escalation and revised deposit policy

President approval is required before collection escalation and revised deposit terms are communicated. Open 4 days; currently blocks the working-capital workstream.

Financial baseline complete
Working-capital and debt pressure were confirmed. The selected workstreams directly address the immediate financial risks.

KPI pulse

Days sales outstanding80 → 72 days

23% of target gap closed · Target: 45 days

Gross margin30.6% → 32.4%

41% of target gap closed · Target: 35%

On-time job completion59% → 68%

35% of target gap closed · Target: 85%

Clients and opportunities

Portfolio priorities

Meeting 1 & Diagnostic Preparation

Discovery & diagnostic input

Consultant preparation

Business profile

Qualification

Discovery meeting questions

Discovery summary

Discovery decision

Financial information request

Free Meeting 2 scheduled

Last completed financial year

Automatic financial snapshot

Solvency trend

Consultant review

Business health by category

Opportunity pools

Likely workstream focus

Diagnostic & Proposal Meeting

Present the diagnostic

Present the engagement

Ask for the business

Current concerns

Three-year operating profit trajectory

Presentation outcome

Recommended Plan

Cash Flow & Working Capital

Included deliverables

Suggested KPIs

Margin & Pricing Discipline

Included deliverables

Suggested KPIs

Production Planning & Throughput

Included deliverables

Suggested KPIs

Proposal Builder

[Client name]

You told us you want...

Your current situation

The opportunity

Phase 1 — First 90 Days

Phase 2 — Ongoing Implementation

Workstream outcomes

Client responsibilities

Commercial terms

Scope and delivery

Fee calculator

Proposal versions

Acceptance

Engagement handoff

Implementation

Primary engagement objective

Risks carried forward

Accepted workstreams

Cash Flow & Working Capital

Margin & Pricing Discipline

Production Planning & Throughput

Activation checklist

Financial & business baseline

Profit and loss history

Focused balance-sheet history

Automatic financial-health snapshot

Practical cash and debt questions

Risk review

Company profile

Baseline interpretation

Client sponsor

Financial owner

Operations owner

Workstream ownership

Kickoff checklist

Kickoff meeting

[Client name]

Three active workstreams

Cash Flow & Working Capital

Margin & Pricing Discipline

Production Planning & Throughput

Attention required

KPI pulse