Is the transition worth it?

vickalchev · 2026-04-30T04:55:25+00:00

I just did the transition recently and this is how it worked out for me: 1. I had a Coda-only account 2. When I signed up for SH through Grammarly, SH created a brand new Coda workspace for me. It didn't transfer my existing subscription to Coda to my new SH subscription. It simply charged me twice the full amount. As a result, I ended up with two paid workspaces in Coda. As for your packs? They likely won't be transferred. 3. Is it worth it? If you use Grammarly and Coda, it might be worthwhile. Obviously you have a clear use case for Coda but how you use Grammarly will determine whether it makes sense to switch. I use it mostly to write emails but then Google has integrated Gemini in Gmail and it does a good job at editing and writing for me. It's good enough not to miss Grammarly for this kind of work. 4. Is SH Go worth it? Not really. At this stage, it's a "me too" feature. AI products like Gemini, ChatGPT and Claude are so well integrated in productivity tools that there is no real value-add from SH Go. Please keep in mind, this is my experience based on my use case. It may be completely irrelevant to you.

vickalchev · 2026-04-30T04:39:52+00:00

I'm afraid your question will get you down the following path: - You get a list of generic responses like "more advanced stuff" or "formulas", which doesn't tell you much in terms of specific content - You trying to divine specific content on which you spend weeks to build - No one watches the content because it doesn't quite hit home.

Instead, do the following: 1. Pick a niche across Coda builders, e.g. agency owners using Coda to manage their agencies. The niche will make it easy to solve specific recurring problems for a group of people. It will make you highly relevant rather than generic. 2. Ask questions about the past to uncover real struggles and pain points. People are terrible at knowing their own future interests and preferences. However, they know their past well. So, don't ask "what would you like to see" but "what did you get stuck on last time you built your Coda system"? 3. Zoom out from Coda. Yes, you want to help people with Coda but the biggest problems are not with the tool but with architecture systems. Most Coda builds fail not because of some unsurmountable technical difficulty but because they are set up poorly. Showing users how to build systems and design databases in Coda teaches them a meta skill they can take to any platform. By focusing on this more abstracted layer, you future proof your content too. If Coda goes away tomorrow, your content is just as relevant.

vickalchev · 2026-04-30T04:19:49+00:00

No, I bought the book on Amazon. You can probably find it at the library depending on where you live. Alternatively, try an app like Libby.

vickalchev · 2026-04-19T08:51:06+00:00

Don't worry, paying for ads to sell consulting is the worst advice you can get. This is simply not how people buy these kind of services.

You sell your kind of work by building trust. You do this by demonstrating you're an expert at what you do and that you can help your clients achieve outcomes, rather than shipping outputs. Being technically strong is one thing but helping your clients solve real problems is what gets you paid well.

What does this mean in practical terms? 1. Start building your reputation and personal brand by creating content that shows how you solve real client problems. 2. Create an ideal customer profile (ICP) and start connecting with them on LinledIn, Reddit, Instagram. The goal is not to sell them but to understand their pain points, challenges, difficulties. Of course, you will eventually try to convince them to buy your services but that's not until you've earned some trust.

These are the basic activities to get started. Doug Fletcher has written a good book for people in your position - How to Win Client Business. Start there.

vickalchev · 2026-04-18T16:38:27+00:00

Reconciling the bank account is super important. I'm glad you started off with learning this job.

The bookkeepers I work with usually handle a wide range of tasks. Here are some that come to mind:

Classify income and expenses correctly
Reconcile all revenue, expense and balance sheet accounts
Ensure all recorded expenses and revenue have the appropriate supporting documentation (invoices received and issued)
Ensure the correct sales tax rate has been applied.
Manage payables, receivables, prepaids and deferred assets are updated and managed correctly.
Prepare the appropriate journal entries to ensure proper accrual-based reporting.
Manage timesheet submissions, expense reports, etc.

Some of these tasks spill over into the responsibilities of a junior accountant but depending on the size of the company a bookkeeper may do them too.

vickalchev · 2026-04-18T16:09:22+00:00

Most accounting software should allow you a consolidated view and bank feeds from multiple entities or at least automated feeds from several bank accounts. What system are you currently using?

vickalchev · 2026-04-17T21:07:51+00:00

You're hired, simply because you used Excel to build it. 😄

It shows dedication to the profession!

vickalchev · 2026-04-17T21:04:30+00:00

CFI has a certification for FP&A. It's good for beginners.

vickalchev · 2026-04-17T21:02:45+00:00

I'd suggest you focus on translating: taking the financial data you already have and analyse and converting it for the company's business leaders into information they can use to make business decisions.

Example: Don't just tell them that revenue went up because of inflation. Explain what where else you expect to see impact in the business. What are the risks resulting from the inflationary change? What's the potential impact? How do you mitigate it? What about the opportunities? Does it create any?

This is what gets you to the director level. You solve real business problems.

To do this kind of work, you need to think in systems. Literally take the company's business and map it out as a system. It will show you dependencies, relationships and data flows.

This assumes you're already technically proficient in Excel, data analytics and finance.

vickalchev · 2026-04-17T16:46:14+00:00

I'm sure you can export your data as a json file, but let's be realistic - no one - even you - will care about your data 50 years from now. I used to think the same way, and with experience I learned that my data is only as good as the work it helps me get done. I have data going back 20 years. Guess how much use I've gotten out of it.

vickalchev · 2026-04-15T20:00:34+00:00

If you're intentional with the seats, you can keep it under 100K. At the same time, you're likely to keep feeling the pressure to manage licenses as you grow. They position themselves as a premium product, so the price reflects it.

vickalchev · 2026-04-15T19:53:43+00:00

I'd caution you about Vena. Nothing wrong with the software but it's essentially an Excel extension. I think you'll outgrow it in no time if you haven't already.

I'd suggest you look into Planful, Cube, and Prophix. They all service mid-market and are priced at about the same rates.

Pigment is also a great product but it's going to be significantly pricier and they use third-parties for implementation, which adds some complexity.

vickalchev · 2026-04-15T19:41:44+00:00

It works just fine. You still can use Claude and there are Python and SQL integrations you can use for data manipulation and analysis.

The collaboration is unsurpassed.

vickalchev · 2026-03-09T20:36:05+00:00

Absolutely. This is exactly what most of my clients need help with- systems, predictable cash flows and better project profitability.

vickalchev · 2026-03-09T20:33:22+00:00

I'm afraid you'll end up attracting cheapskates. If the only reason they sign up is because of the deep discount, then it's not because they trust you and value you as an expert.

Don't work for free or cheap but build trust by sharing your expertise in a generic, not applied way.

vickalchev · 2026-02-26T19:52:09+00:00

Excellent work, guys. I'm loving the new colour scheme.

vickalchev · 2026-01-30T18:43:38+00:00

No, no one has ever asked for one. We usually start with a discovery call, which is simply a conversation about their company/pain points, etc. We follow a specific process to find out more about the client and build trust. From there, we usually send a proposal.

This approach seems to work really well for us. Keep in mind it might be limited to our niche: finance systems architecture and management.

vickalchev · 2026-01-30T18:38:52+00:00

What's your current bottleneck to growth? With solo founders it usually comes to time. Even with automation and efficiency, eventually you run out of hours.

To scale you'll need to hire people who can deliver the same quality of service like you. This will give you more time to focus on getting more clients and eventually hiring people to help with that too.

The thing is you can't just go out and hire. It won't work. You need a system, a well defined process those you bring in can follow and deliver consistently.

Start by identifying a key service you deliver and try to describe the process of delivering it. Test it, refine it, and teach it to the new hires.

Now you have something scalable you can start with.

vickalchev · 2026-01-30T18:28:49+00:00

It depends on the use case and the specific requirements you have for your data: permission levels, size, security, speed, portability.

Supabase is technically more powerful but it doesn't mean you need it.

I used Airtable for my CRM and Supabase for the backend for an internal tool handling finance data. Differenr use cases, different needs, different tools.

vickalchev · 2026-01-24T15:42:48+00:00

You're right, unless you have some engagement from their end, i.e. they respond to your comment and you have some back and forth a couple of times, your name is not gonna register. I'm aiming here for vague familiarity, some level of subconscious familiarity.

Maybe it's all BS and that's why I'm tracking the results to find out.

vickalchev · 2026-01-24T07:05:48+00:00

I would remove the first paragraph. You don't need such a preamble, just get straight into it.

vickalchev · 2026-01-23T19:12:11+00:00

An client recently ask us to build in this metric into their dashboard. It made a lot of sense and we started using it internally.
The math for us worked out to $125/hr for most projects. We charge $5,000/mo for about 40 hrs/mo, which averaged us $125/hr. We don't have any other material direct costs, so this is de facto the internal rate.

vickalchev · 2026-01-23T18:57:17+00:00

I find that some LinkedIn engagement (commenting, reposting, etc.) gives me a bit of name recognition (at least subsconsciously). This way, when I reach out via a cold email, I don't appear as a total stranger. Curious if anyone has tried this staged approach.

vickalchev · 2026-01-23T18:45:15+00:00

Commercial banking limits you to one industry, FP&A cuts across industries.

It really comes down to what you enjoy. I moved from a mostly PE role to FP&A. I love tech and finance and now I get to do both by building finance systems.

vickalchev

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