Ep 288 Your P&L Is Lying—Here's What to Track with Laresa McIntyre

Your P&L Is Lying—Here's What to Track with Laresa McIntyre

Stop Chasing Revenue: How Fractional CFOs Clear the Financial Fog

Most business owners measure success by one thing: revenue growth. The problem? Revenue isn't cash—and it doesn't always translate into profit.

In this episode of Profit Answer Man, I sat down with Laresa McIntyre, founder of Rockbridge CFO, to uncover the blind spots that keep owners stuck in financial fog. Laresa brings over 15 years of CFO experience and now helps service-based businesses scale smarter with fractional CFO insight—without the six-figure price tags.

Key Lessons:

• Profit Lives in Margins, Not Revenue. Chasing top-line growth without tracking margins is a recipe for burnout. Know which products and clients actually contribute to the bottom line, and be willing to cut or reprice the ones that don't.
• A CFO Looks Forward, Not Backward. Bookkeepers and controllers record history. A CFO interprets that history to help you forecast the future and make smarter decisions 6–24 months out. That's where clarity—and profit—comes from.
• Cash Forecasting Prevents Panic. Revenue timing rarely matches expense timing. A 12-week rolling cash forecast shows when money will actually land in your account and when bills come due, so payroll never sneaks up on you.
• Growth Can Be Dangerous if Mis-Timed. Hiring ahead of sales is one of the fastest ways to destroy profitability. Use metrics like revenue per employee or labor efficiency ratio to know when it's safe to add headcount.
• Dashboards Need Action, Not Pretty Charts. Software may give you colorful graphs, but what matters is knowing which levers to pull: raise prices, renegotiate vendor terms, or shift client mix. Insight beats aesthetics.
• Benchmark Yourself, Not the Industry. Industry averages often include failing businesses. The best benchmark is your own improvement over time—measured by profit, not just revenue.
• Financial Fog Is Optional. Most founders walk around in a financial fog because the numbers feel intimidating. The cure? Honest conversations with someone who can translate financials into simple, actionable steps.

Key Takeaways from the Conversation:

• The P&L Is Not Cash. Your profit and loss statement is an important report—but it leaves out distributions, debt payments, and sometimes even taxes. Use it in context with your balance sheet and cash forecasts, or risk flying blind.
• Margins > Revenue. A "big client" may look impressive on paper, but if their gross margin is weak, they're draining your business. Focus on products, services, and customers that actually add to the bottom line.
• Forecast Cash Like Payroll Depends on It (Because It Does). A 12-week rolling cash forecast helps you avoid Friday panic. It reveals not just what's in the bank today, but what's coming in and going out over the next three months.
• Hire After Sales, Not Before. Scaling too fast with payroll is one of the biggest traps. Track revenue per employee and labor efficiency to know when it's really time to bring on the next hire.
• Dashboards Are Useless Without Insight. Pretty graphs won't grow your profit. The value is in translating numbers into action: what's working, what's broken, and what needs to change this month to protect your margins and cash flow.

About Laresa McIntyre:

Laresa McIntyre is the founder of Rockbridge CFO, where she helps service-based businesses scale smarter by providing executive-level financial insight without the cost of a full-time CFO. A Certified Management Accountant with an MBA and Master's in Accounting, Laresa specializes in turning financial chaos into clarity, improving margins, and bringing calm to growth.

Links:

https://www.rockbridgecfo.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laresamcintyre

Conclusion:

Too many business owners work harder and harder for revenue, only to wonder why their bank balance never seems to catch up. The truth is, profit clarity comes not from chasing sales but from mastering margins, timing cash, and knowing when to grow.

As Laresa McIntyre reminds us, the P&L isn't cash, growth without discipline creates fragility, and dashboards without insight are just noise. When you cut through the fog with the right forecasts, metrics, and financial guidance, you finally get what every business owner craves: calm, control, and consistent profit.

#ProfitFirst #BusinessFinance #CashFlowFix #FractionalCFO #FinancialClarity #Profitability #SmartScaling #EntrepreneurFinance

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Music provided by Junan from Junan Podcast

Any financial advice is for educational purposes only and you should consult with an expert for your specific needs.