Like many small businesses, Todd Fiedler says his plumbing business was always doing okay.
“As long as there was money in the bank, we were happy,” he laughed.
As the Director of Fiedler Brothers Plumbing, Todd was a very hands-on boss – he was constantly on the tools and looking out for his team on the job.
He could do it all. Except, by his own admission, crunch the numbers.
So around four years ago, when it was becoming clear that things weren’t quite adding up, he decided to make a change.
“We didn’t have much of a clue how it all worked, we just knew we were doing a bucket load of work and not really earning a profit,” Todd continued.
“It was ludicrous really. Everyone was so busy, it didn’t make any sense, but we didn’t have the time to look into it ourselves.
“That’s when we brought Scott in, someone to look at it from a different point of view. He immediately gave us another dimension.”
Scott Goffage is a Partner of CFO On-Call, a company which connects small and medium business owners with experienced Chief Financial Officers to help manage and improve their business numbers.
Based in Queensland, Scott specialises in taking the time to understand the businesses he works with and tailoring his approach to the specific issues he finds.
“He’s a wiz on a spreadsheet, too,” said Todd.
“His whole reporting process really – all of a sudden we had a whole new view of our business.
“He gave us a better picture of how money was coming and going and recording numbers we didn’t really consider, making it easy for us to alter things to maximise profit or minimise spend. He got us running leaner and smarter.
“Then to top it off he’s a genuine good guy. Always has best intentions at heart.”
While Scott has now set up Fielder Brothers Plumbing to be self-sufficient when it comes to their finances, Todd knows the first number he’ll be calling when he next needs financial assistance.
“Before Scott we were just getting through,” Todd said.
“Over the last four years he’s helped us to grow the business to a point where we are generating a reasonable income, which is what it should have been.
“The whole concept [of CFO On-Call] is incredible. If we were to bring in a full-time staff member that would have come at a reasonable cost.
“The flexibility of doing it this way, where you can get an experienced partner to come straight in, take you by the scruff of the neck and show you the way forward, it’s a great way to operate.”
To learn more about CFO On-Call and how it can support your business, visit www.cfooncall.com.au.
