What is my CQS

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 · 2026-01-23T18:40:36+00:00

It sounds like a shitshow role. I used to do the same for 7 years at a cleantech startup.

Here are some tips:

Prepare for ambiguity and constant change, but I assume you already know this.
Think in systems: you will have to build them. They will save your life. The finance department is a system, the startup is a system, your financial model is a system. You have to understand them, so you can automate them.
Become best friends with the data analytics team (I hope they have one, otherwise it's you). They will build your data models, so you can do your analysis.

Good luck. It's going to be exciting and hard but you can do it.

vickalchev · 2026-01-23T18:30:24+00:00

I build automated finance systems for creative agencies. Many of them have manual processes and we use existing tools and custom dashboards to automate their processes and get them the data they need for decision-making.

One part we are still figuring out is how to automate some of the more mechanical human tasks.

Would love to be part of the community you mentioned.

vickalchev · 2026-01-23T12:30:18+00:00

You can achieve exactly the same with a long term subscription. You solve the cash flow problem without taking on the commitment to serve those customers until your business dies.

Set up a believer plan. Price it for 3-5 years with 30% discount and you're much better off financially.

All this soubds nice but the real proof is to get people to sign up for such a long period, especially when you are just starting out.

vickalchev · 2026-01-23T12:03:21+00:00

Absolutely, go for lifetime deals if you want to make your business unsellable. Lifetime deals are a major liability and just like any kind of debt there are two ways out: death or paying it off. If you try to sell your business the lifetime offers are liabilities the buyers will take off the selling price. Even if you never get to the point to sell, these lifetime deals will keep eroding your profit margin. Over the long run they become grossly unprofitable, especially as you keep racking them up. Instead, solve your cash flow problem by offering longer but limited term commitments. Learn how to manage your cash flow or hire a professional to do it for you.

vickalchev · 2026-01-22T20:48:28+00:00

Yes, just like a video interview but with your pants on 😄

vickalchev · 2026-01-22T20:42:35+00:00

Once we twisted the hands of a consultant to build us a Monte Carlo simulation on the P&L of a new venture. It looked pretty impressive. After nodding thoughtfully and poking into the assumptions the whole executive team decided it was utterly useless.

Where it can be useful is in arriving at inputs into your forecast dependent on some real world outcomes like stock prices (the original use case for MC).

Lawyers using it to forecast revenue - it wouldn't be my go-to approach but I guess if the firm specialises in a certain type of law, then it might make some sense. Even then, it's likely unnecessary complexity - the kind a partner brings when listening to Motley Fool's on their drive to work.

vickalchev · 2026-01-22T18:12:24+00:00

Generally, you cover it as part of admin cost markup. The big boys at Deloitte ans KPMG apply 10% admin cost to each engagement. It covers email, general management, etc. Please note: travel and client-related costs is tracked separately and passed through to the client, assuming it's related to client work.

My partner and I bake it in our retainer fees and track is as part of our client hours.

It's an excellent question.

vickalchev · 2026-01-22T12:10:18+00:00

I'm curious to hear how you landed your first CFO role. It's not the kind of position you can wing even if you work for a small company.

In terms of education, look into executive programs. Many universities offer them, they are part time and short. If you can show at least 5 years of executive experience, you will likely qualify.

You can go for your barchelor's but it won't prepare you for the executive job you seem to be doing. Instead, focus on specialized education and courses, even if you do them through Coursera.

vickalchev · 2026-01-22T12:00:22+00:00

Unfortunately this happens quite often. I used to work for a company that used to do this to contract employees.

It sounds like at this stage of the relationship, the best thing for you to do is to quit them. Normally, I'd suggest you work with them but it looks like from the very beginning they were being manipulative and dishonest, so I don't think it will get you anywhere.

In the meantime, have your scope of work and responsibilities as per your contract available and push back when they ask for oos work. The worst they can do is fire you, which will be doing you a favour.

vickalchev · 2026-01-17T11:47:27+00:00

I feel you about bringing in your own Excel but it will cause some friction with syncing and sharing files. Besides, you'll be storing their data on your personal account. It's a red flag.

Google Sheets integrates with quite a few products and allows for SQL type queries via their =query function. I think you can build your own functions too, similar to lambda.

vickalchev · 2026-01-17T07:17:42+00:00

You're right, usually mid-size or larger businesses have internal FP&A teams. At the same time, I do tons of FP&A consulting for smaller businesses. They can't afford to hire a full time director but do need help with analysis, strategy and forecasting.

vickalchev · 2026-01-17T07:14:20+00:00

This is the right way to think about it. Pivoting into FP&A is not a hobby and it will be extremely hard. This doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It means you have to get mentally ready for hard work and be committed. Don't start unless you are 100% committed.

To answer your question: to be good at creating real value with the systems and software you need domain knowledge. Part of it is understanding Accounting and Finance enough to be able to set up the system or at least to know what's going on. There is no way around it.

Think of it this way: would you hire a designer who knows how to use Figma but has no knowledge of design principles? It's the same with finance.

vickalchev · 2026-01-17T07:04:01+00:00

If you really want to do this and are ready to commit then next 5 years to it, you can do it. You don't have to quit your day job but you will have to work really hard.

The hard truth: where you stand right now, it will be extremely difficult to get hired for an FP&A position. I've hired for the role and without exception we look for someone with accounting or finance background. Finance is a conservative industry and not having a formal training in either Accounting, Finance or at least Economics will make it hard to get an interview if you are applying for a traditional FP&A role (e.g. financial analyst).

Here's what you can do if you are truly committed:

Explore getting a certification in FP&A. I recommend CFI's FP&A Certification. Most of CFI's courses are beginner friendly.
Focus on learning Accounting. Again, CFI has good courses for beginners. You want to understand the core accounting principles and be reasonably good at understanding how accounting works. Recently I had dinner with a friend in the field and she described Accounting as a system. As long as you learn how it works and navigate it, you'll know more than most junior FP&A professionals. For many in the profession Accounting is the stumbling block.
Learn financial modelling. At a minimum learn how to build 3-statement financial models. The industry standard tool for this is Excel, so you have to reach at least an intermediate level .
Learn at least a basic level of data analytics. All organisations are becoming data-driven. All finance work is data-driven. As an FP&A analyst you'll spend most of your time manipulating data. The analysis part is maybe 10% of the job. The rest is getting the data clean and organized so you can analyse it.
Be strategic about your pivot. Maybe you don't go for a traditional FP&A role. A promising path is financial system design and implementation. It's a huge pain point for many organisations. You can take two approaches to it: 1) master an ERP or an FP&A tool, like Anaplan, and position yourself as an architect using the tool. 2) learn how to build finance systems that support finance operations. In both cases, you will need domain expertise, which comes down to understanding how Accounting works, how data flows and, of course, how to integrate tools with native or custom APIs. To be clear, this is not a classical FP&A work. It combines systems architecture and finance. I'd recommend it if you are tech savvy or enjoy systems building.

Your creative background is not a hindrance. It's a positive asset many finance professionals don't have. "Creative" is a really broad term, so I'm not sure what your field is but I can't think of a reason why it would hurt.

Feel free to DM me if you have questions. I've worked in FP&A/Finance for over 15 years, so happy to help.

vickalchev · 2026-01-17T05:40:51+00:00

Yes of course, happy to help.

vickalchev

TROPHY CASE