Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

CEOs don't read budgets. They scan for 5 things.

If you've ever presented a budget to a CEO, you know this.

They're not going line by line through your 50-row P&L. They're scanning for the numbers that tell them whether the plan makes sense.

Here's what they're looking for:

→ 1. Revenue and Growth

This is the first place every CEO looks.

What's the topline? How does it compare to last year? What's the growth rate?

If you can't clearly show where revenue is coming from and how it grows, the rest of the budget doesn't matter. Revenue drives everything else.

→ 2. Headcount

This is usually the biggest expense line in the budget.

CEOs want to know: How many people are we hiring? When do they start? What does it cost fully loaded with salary, benefits, and taxes?

Get the timing wrong and your cash projections are off. Miss the benefits and you're understating costs by 20-30%.

→ 3. Cash Position

Revenue is great. Cash is survival.

CEOs want to see how much cash you have, how much you're burning, and how long the runway is. They want to know if they need to raise, cut, or hold steady.

Your cash flow statement needs to connect directly to your P&L and Balance Sheet. If it doesn't tie, you lose credibility fast.

→ 4. Key Assumptions

Every projection is based on assumptions. CEOs know this.

They want to see your assumptions clearly laid out. Growth rates. Cost drivers. Hiring timeline. Churn. Whatever is driving your numbers.

When assumptions live in one place, CEOs can challenge them. When they're buried in formulas, nobody trusts the model.

→ 5. The Summary View

CEOs don't want to dig through tabs. They want a dashboard.

Your summary financials should show P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow in a single view. Monthly, quarterly, and annual. Clear enough to drop into a board deck.

This is where the story comes together. This is what gets approved.

→ How Model Wiz Helps

Building a budget that hits all 5 takes time.

Model Wiz connects to QuickBooks Online and generates your three-statement model with one click. Your drivers tab is already structured. Your summary views are already built.

You get 80% of the model done instantly. Then you customize your revenue assumptions, your headcount plan, your projections. Everything stays in Excel. Full flexibility to make it yours.

If you want to see how Model Wiz can help you build a budget your CEO will approve, book a call using the link in the comments.

2 hours ago | [YT] | 26

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

The Most Requested Report I've Ever Built

This template usually costs $70...but today you can grab the Comparison P&L for FREE modelwiz.kit.com/most-requested-template?utm_mediu…

Every month, founders ask the same question...

"How are we doing compared to last month?"

and if your answer is a flat QuickBooks export with rows and columns...you've already lost them.

They'll skim it. Maybe nod. Then forget everything by the next meeting.

The Comparison P&L solves that.

One dropdown. Pick your period. This month vs last month. This quarter vs last quarter. This year vs last year.

Everything updates. Variances show up in green or red. Prior period AND prior year sit side by side. You barely have to explain anything because the story tells itself.

Once a founder sees a P&L that responds to a dropdown, they never go back to static spreadsheets.

I put together a full video showing you EXACTLY how to build this from scratch.

Here's what you'll learn

→ How to create a helper table that makes your SUMIFS formula copy and paste across the entire dashboard without breaking

→ The SUMPRODUCT setup that lets you sum in TWO directions at once, by section, by summary grouping, and by date range

→ How to build a dynamic date table using EOMONTH and EDATE so your periods update automatically based on one cell

→ Setting up INDEX XMATCH to pull start dates, end dates, and display text from your list tab with a single formula

→ How to create a spill array for your data validation dropdown so new periods show up without touching your formulas

→ Variance calculations with ABS and IFERROR that handle negatives and divide by zero errors cleanly

→ Error checks that tie your dashboard back to the source data...so you catch mistakes BEFORE you hit send

The template is useful on its own. But knowing how to build this yourself is worth ten times more.

You'll understand SUMPRODUCT, INDEX XMATCH, dynamic arrays, EOMONTH, and error checks at a level that applies to ANY dashboard you build going forward.

Watch the full tutorial below

And grab the free template (normally $70) here

modelwiz.kit.com/most-requested-template?utm_mediu…

What format do you use when presenting your P&L to stakeholders?

Let me know in the comments

21 hours ago | [YT] | 22

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

The VP of Finance Curse: Owning a Model You Didn't Build

You join a new company. You're excited. Then you open the financial model.

Formulas pointing to deleted tabs.

Hardcoded numbers with no explanation. Circular references hidden three layers deep. Column widths all over the place. And a structure that made sense to someone who left two years ago.

Welcome to the Frankenstein spreadsheet.

→ The VP of Finance Curse

You didn't build this thing. But now you own it.

And you have two options:

Option one: Fix it. Spend weeks untangling the mess. Trace every formula. Rebuild the broken pieces. Hope you don't break something else in the process.

Option two: Start over. Build a new model from scratch. Lose the historical context. Retrain everyone on a new format. Take months before it's fully operational.

Both options suck.

Fixing takes longer than you think. Every time you pull one thread, three more unravel.

Rebuilding means starting from zero while still being expected to deliver monthly reporting, board decks, and forecasts.

So most VPs of Finance pick a third option: live with the mess. Patch what you can. Work around what you can't. And quietly dread every month end.

→ The Middle Path

What if you didn't have to fix everything or start over?

What if you could keep the bones of the model and attach professional modules on top?

Keep the P&L structure that everyone recognizes. Keep the historical data. Keep the tabs that actually work.

Then plug in the pieces that are broken or missing.

A clean headcount module that actually tracks salaries, taxes, benefits, and start dates by role.

A deferred revenue module that shows how contracted revenue converts over time.

An AP module that forecasts cash out based on real payment terms.

A CapEx module with proper depreciation tracking.

You're not rebuilding. You're upgrading.

→ Why I Built Model Wiz

I spent years as a fractional CFO inheriting these exact models from prior teams.

The same Frankenstein spreadsheets. The same impossible choice between fixing and rebuilding.

So I built Model Wiz to give VPs of Finance a third option.

Model Wiz is an Excel plugin that connects to QuickBooks Online and lets you attach professional modules to your existing model.

You keep your structure. You keep your historical data. You just replace the broken pieces with modules that actually work.

Each one plugs into a central driver's tab and flows through to your statements automatically. One click roll forward. New accounts detected. Reports refreshed.

Book a call with my team to see how this can look for you. Link in the comments.

2 days ago | [YT] | 87

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

Headcount is your biggest expense. Most budgets get it wrong.

January is over. Your 2026 budget is due.

And if your headcount projections are off...your entire budget is off.

I see this mistake ALL the time. People forecast salaries and call it done.

But salary is just the beginning.

→ The True Cost of an Employee

When you hire someone for $100,000 a year...that's not what they cost you.

Add payroll taxes. Add health benefits. Add payroll admin fees. Add other employee-specific costs.

For full-time employees, these extras add about 20% to base salary.

That $100,000 hire? They actually cost you $120,000.

Miss this and you're understating your biggest expense line by 20%. Your board will notice.

→ Timing Matters More Than You Think

A January hire costs you 12 months of salary.

A July hire costs you 6 months.

A November hire costs you 2 months.

Don't just divide annual salary by 12 and spread it evenly. Account for start dates. Prorate partial months.

Get the timing wrong and your monthly cash flow projections are worthless.

→ Full-Time vs Contractors

This is another one people miss.

Full-time employees cost 20% more than contractors because of benefits and taxes.

Contractors? You pay their rate and that's it.

If your hiring plan mixes both, your model needs to handle them differently. Same salary, different total cost.

→ The Two Methods That Work

For near-term projections (next 6-12 months), use the DETAILED method.

List every planned hire. Title. Department. Start date. Salary. Calculate fully loaded cost for each.

For longer-term projections, use the SUMMARIZED method.

Number of hires by department. Average cost per hire. Multiply.

Most good models combine both. Detailed for what you know. Summarized for what you're estimating.

→ How Model Wiz Helps

Building a headcount plan takes time.

Model Wiz connects to QuickBooks Online and pulls your historical payroll data. You see what you've been spending...so you can project what's coming.

The drivers tab is already structured. Add your hiring plan. Layer in your assumptions. Watch everything flow through your three-statement model.

Everything stays in Excel. Full flexibility to customize.

If you want to see how Model Wiz can help you build a headcount plan that holds up, book a call using the link in the comments.

3 days ago | [YT] | 89

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

I went head-to-head with Claude for Excel to build a complete financial model.

Four rounds.
Four critical components every CFO needs.
And the results shocked me.

Here’s what I tested 👇

Round 1: Three-Statement Model
I uploaded 2 years of historical data (income statement and balance sheet) and asked Claude to build projections through 2027.

What impressed me:
Claude built a drivers tab, caught formula errors in real time, and even detected that I was referencing the wrong column in my projections. It fixed it automatically.

The self-QA was honestly incredible.
It spotted issues I didn’t even notice.

Round 2: Revenue Build
I gave Claude raw transaction data and asked it to create a revenue waterfall with customer cohorts, churn analysis, and growth projections.

Claude built customer segments, calculated retention rates, and created a solid revenue model.
But there were gaps in how it handled more complex scenarios that investors would definitely question.

Rounds 3 and 4: Headcount Model and KPI Dashboard
This is where things got interesting.

One of these Claude absolutely nailed.
The other was a major disappointment.

I’m not going to spoil which is which, but I will say this:
One mistake in headcount modeling once cost a company I worked with millions in untracked cash burn. So I have strong opinions here.

The real question:
Claude is in beta right now.
And it’s already doing things that would’ve taken me hours just a year ago.

What happens in 6 months?
A year?

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t both impressed and a little concerned.

But here’s the thing.
I’m not trying to compete with AI.
I’m learning to work alongside it.

Want to see the full breakdown and find out who won each round?

Full video 👇

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 54

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

If you're still closing books the same way you did in 2025, you're already behind.

On January 22nd, I'm hosting a free webinar on how controllers are closing books in 2026.

You can grab your free spot here:
www.zenskar.com/webinar/how-to-close-the-books-eff…


Controllers with complex contracts know this feeling too well.

You've got usage-based pricing. Amendments stacking up. Multi-element arrangements everywhere.

And every month it's the same battle with deferred revenue, prepaid expenses, and accrued liabilities.

Your Excel workpapers keep getting longer. The formulas get messier. One broken link and everything downstream falls apart.

This worked when you had 20 contracts.

Now you've got 80. Maybe more.

And the close that used to wrap up in week one is bleeding into week two.

I've built close processes for over 100 SaaS companies. I see this pattern constantly.

2026 is different though.

AI-enabled ledgers. Automated bank feeds. Modern rev rec tools that didn't exist two years ago.

What's possible now has completely shifted.

Here's what we'll cover:

-The 5-stage close cycle and where each stage breaks down with manual processes

-Live balance sheet reconciliation with my actual deferred revenue workpaper

-How to handle prepaid expenses, accrued expenses, and deferred revenue at scale

-The 2026 toolkit: AI ledgers, automated feeds, modern rev rec tools

-When Excel stops scaling and what signals it's time to upgrade

Everyone who attends gets my deferred revenue template with the LET formulas I actually use.

Sign up here: www.zenskar.com/webinar/how-to-close-the-books-eff…

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 59

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

Cash is the only number that actually kills businesses.

This dashboard shows ending cash over time plus the waterfall that explains where money came from and where it went. Operating, investing, financing. All broken down.

Toggle between trailing 12 months, full year, or custom periods. The chart shows your cash trend. The waterfall shows the story behind it. Table at the bottom gives monthly detail.

I used to spend hours every month building this view manually. Pulling cash flow statements, making waterfall charts, tracking movements. Now I just use Model Wiz. It's an Excel plugin that pulls from QuickBooks Online and builds the whole dashboard in one click. Updates automatically when you close your books.

Check it out at modelwiz.com

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 177

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

If you could only use one dashboard to run your entire business, which would it be?

I ranked over 60 dashboards across 9 categories to find out.

I went through every Excel dashboard I've built, reviewed, and used with real businesses.

The goal was simple.

Find the ultimate dashboard that matters most.

Here's how it worked.

I divided everything into 9 categories: core financial statements, departmental and class views, KPI tracking, profit margin analysis, budget vs actuals, cash flow forecasting, scenario planning, operational metrics, and custom business dashboards.

For each category, I picked the best dashboard.

Then I ranked those winners against each other using three criteria.

Usefulness: How complete of a story does it tell about the business?

Uniqueness: How well does it go beyond just numbers to help you understand things quickly?

Feasibility: How realistic is it to actually build and maintain?

Some dashboards performed better than expected.

The comparison P&L landed around fourth place.

It scores high on usefulness because it shows profitability with context against prior periods, and it's super feasible to build.

But it's still just one piece of the puzzle.

The departmental view combining class and cost type came in around fifth.

It's incredible for accountability when you can see exactly which teams drive which results.

But it requires clean data tagging, which most businesses struggle with.

Around sixth place was the profit margins dashboard.

Margins tell you a lot about business health and what you're prioritizing, especially when you see trends over time.

The trade off is that margins are just one dimension.

They don't explain growth, cash position, or execution.

Budget vs actuals performed surprisingly well in the rankings.

It's extremely useful for measuring execution against your plan.

The problem is most businesses either don't have a real budget or don't trust the one they have.

The 13 week cash flow forecast is valuable for short term planning but detailed and time consuming.

Often overkill for stable businesses.

The ultimate one click dashboard is gorgeous and lets you toggle between any time period and department with one click.

But the feasibility? Terrible.

It takes dozens of hours to build and maintain.

So which dashboard actually won?

To find out the dashboard, watch the full video.

3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 58

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

6 Ways to View Your Class Reports (and When to Use Each One)

If you're using classes in QuickBooks...

you've probably realized that reporting gets complicated FAST.

There's no "one size fits all" view.

Sometimes you need to compare departments side by side.

Other times you need to drill into one specific department.

And sometimes you need everything in one massive view.

Here are the 6 most common formats I use with clients, and when each one makes sense.

→ Format 1: Summary P&L by Class

This is your side by side comparison view.

Columns show time periods (Jan, Feb, Mar).

Rows show classes (Sales, Engineering, Support).

Perfect for comparing department spending over time.

The downside? You can't see account details.

→ Format 2: Summary P&L with Class Filter

This one flips the script.

Months go across the top, but now each month breaks into class columns.

You're comparing both dimensions at once.

But watch out...if you have 5 classes and 3 months, that's 15+ columns.

→ Format 3: Summary P&L by Class, Summary

This is the most detailed view you'll ever create.

Three levels of nesting: Section, Class, Summary Grouping.

Everything in one view...sections, classes, AND details.

It's comprehensive, but it's also the longest report you'll create.

→ Format 4: Summary Class Columns

Similar to Format 3, but organized differently.

Rows show summary sections (Revenue, OpEx, G&A).

Columns show each class breakdown.

You can see which departments contribute to each category.

→ Format 5: KPI Dashboard with Class Filter

This is my favorite for monthly reviews and board meetings.

Rows show KPI cards (Revenue, Expenses, Gross Margin).

Filter by classes (Sales, Engineering, Support, Finance).

Clean, visual, board ready.

→ Format 6: Comparison Financials with Class Filter

This one's perfect for variance analysis.

Columns show current period, prior period, prior year.

Rows show full P&L sections (Revenue, COGS, OpEx).

You're comparing both dimensions at once.

→ So Which Format Should You Use?

Depends what question you're trying to answer.

Comparing departments? Format 1.

Need everything in one view? Format 3.

Presenting to the board? Format 5.

The problem is creating all these views manually takes HOURS.

You're exporting from QuickBooks, filtering, copying into Excel, formatting...

At Model Wiz, you connect your QuickBooks Online account and we automatically build all 6 of these dashboards for you.

No exporting, no manual formatting, no mess.

Just click which view you want and it's ready.

Which format do you use most? Let me know in the comments 👇

1 month ago | [YT] | 96

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

Building a financial model isn't complicated when you know the right framework.

These 7 steps take you from raw data to executive ready dashboards.

A financial model is the most valuable tool in any organization.

It shows you where the company has been, where it's going, and how to bridge the gap.

After building models for over 100 companies, here's the exact framework I follow every time.

> Step 1: Import your historical data.

The best models don't just show projections.

They show actuals and projections side by side so you can see the full picture.

Bring in your P&L, balance sheet, revenue data, headcount, everything that forms the basis for your forecast.

> Step 2: Create a three statement model by linking your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flows.

Most people think this is complicated but it's actually simple when you follow the right structure.

> Step 3: Build your revenue forecast using the EPN framework.

Existing customers, pipeline customers, and new customers.

Every business acquires and retains customers differently, but this framework applies to all of them.

> Step 4: Forecast your operating expenses.

Some expenses tie directly to revenue like cost of goods sold.

Others are fixed like rent or tied to headcount like salaries.

The key is understanding which category each expense falls into.

> Step 5: Forecast the balance sheet.

This is where most people get stuck.

The framework is simple though.

Beginning balance plus additions minus subtractions equals ending balance.

Apply this to accounts receivable, accounts payable, loans, and every other balance sheet account.

> Step 6: Connect everything together so your three statements flow seamlessly.

When one number changes, everything else updates automatically.

> Step 7: Present your model with dynamic dashboards.

KPI dashboards, budget vs actuals, comparison views, all living directly in your model so reporting becomes effortless.

Once you've built your model, the real work begins.

Every month you need to analyze where you were on target and where you missed.
That's how you get better at forecasting and understanding your business.

1 month ago | [YT] | 83