Exited bookkeeping/CFO firm owner (Margin CFO) | Building https://teapawt.net/t.co/mmixh9VV9x to help SMB owners implement AI to automate finances | Inactive CPA
Austin, TX
Joined October 2026
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Quick intro for anyone new:
I'm an inactive CPA who recently built and sold a bookkeeping & CFO firm (Margin CFO).
Now I'm starting a new venture focused on helping SMBs choose & implement AI to automate their finances.
We'll build it and then teach them to run it.
Would love for you to follow along for this new journey!
The finance function is still a key ingredient for growth.
It just looks drastically different today than it did even 3 years ago.
(implied in that statement: if your finance function still looks the same, you're doing it wrong)
My first business wouldn't have had the successful exit that it had
if not for the financial model and cash forecast I used.
For real.
Always start with your goal.
Cheap, automated bookkeeping as an END
is entirely different
from cheap, automated bookkeeping as a MEANS to informed decision-making.
Both are valid goals, but it's critical to define which goal you're after from the jump. It informs the build.
When I was more active on X under my other account years ago, there was so much more value on this platform.
SMB owners sharing real, actually helpful content to educate and elevate each other.
What happened? Or is my algo for my new account still unrefined?
I don't think the average business owner understands how much even the simplest cash forecast could help them.
You don't need to understand accounting.
You don't even need Excel.
Do the update on a sheet of paper every week for all I care.
Try it and see. I dare you.
It's always been true that some accountants could put their "business cap" on and offer valuable, strategic insight, while others...just couldn't.
The latter will struggle the most with AI's disruption of our industry.
The former will add a ton of value to the orgs they serve.
I know he's just engagement farming, but this is the wrong question.
The right question is, how can I transform myself and bring value to my client/boss in a different way (using AI)?
For my first business, I had to translate my corp finance experience into SMB speak.
I had never been inside an SMB or served that customer base.
This time around, I've literally been in their seat. I've been the SMB owner.
I know their dreams, I know their pains.
Take notice, #TaxTwitter. This is the right posture.
Seeing too many of you complain about your clients sending you AI-aided questions about their tax returns.
Even saw one basically say "if you want no errors, pay more."
Terrible look for the accounting profession.
I think we're on the cusp of seeing some of the most tangled, messy books of our lifetimes.
Worse than the "Aunt Kathie, who took a QBO bookkeeping course, does our books" era.
With all the promise of AI-done-for-you bookkeeping, it's still highly dangerous in the wrong hands.
The best founders I've ever worked with were the ones beating down my door to get their hands on the numbers each month.
Owners will say, “We outsource it, so we are covered.”
Sometimes you are.
It sounds responsible, and it all comes with the same logic of “I’ve got people who handle the finance. That’s what I hired them for.”
But in practice, YOU hand off your financial understanding along with the work.
Finance feels optional right up until it isn’t:
It’s “not important” until the day cash gets tight or margins slide for three months straight.
If you can’t sit across the table from a lender, buyer, or partner and talk through your numbers… you’re not in control.
You’re hoping someone else is.
Most owners don’t avoid this because they’re lazy.
They avoid it because day-to-day operations scream louder than finance.
Let’s be super clear:
I’m not anti-outsourcing, as hey we help people with that!
Delegate the preparation? Smart.
But not reading the reports, asking questions, or digging into the details? Dumb.
You don’t need to become a finance person.
You do need to become fluent enough to not get fooled.
The goal here isn’t to make you a spreadsheet junkie.
But you cannot completely outsource understanding, because the company still has to approve money, reconcile reality, and notice when something feels off.
Even the best bookkeepers, Controllers, and CFOs don’t have the same level of care as you, the owner.
I was the CFO for two different small businesses before becoming a fractional CFO and I can tell you it’s true.
I was bought in… “all the way.”
But the burden I feel now, as a business owner, is way more than I could ever feel as an employee.
You and you alone, as a business owner, are responsible for understanding the story today and what it means for the future.
So instead of saying, “We outsource it, so we are covered,” say this:
“I’m learning what matters and using it to lead better.”
Take ownership and get to know your numbers.
Ultimately, every business I talk to has different problems and they have problems they’re not even aware of.
You don’t know where to start and you end up working on things that don’t move the needle.
So I made a 2-minute quiz that maps the main factors that determine your:
- Cash flow
- Profitability
- Risk of going bankrupt
And then tells you:
- How those factors compare to your industry’s benchmarks
- The number 1 lever to fix your finances (it's rarely about cutting costs)
- My top 3 simple tips to improve that lever (that you can easily start this week)
I think "no reason to go to a job on Monday" is actually a recipe for depression, not happiness.
Replace that with "No NEED to go to a job..." and layer in the freedom to do something worthwhile/meaningful, and that might be more conducive to happiness.
If I could force one task on every small business owner it'd be a weekly cash forecast.
And I'd make them update it manually for at least 3 months before we even talked about automation.
Best email from an SMB client this morning:
"I went into QB for the first time expecting to have some stuff to do...it appeared I had nothing to do. Is that correct?"
Yes. Yes it is.
Anyone else completely log out of Claude and close the app on their desktop when logging out each night "just in case"?
The saddest group of the 3 is the 50%, because you know they're paying someone too much to have that incorrect P&L.
Today's "AI bookkeeping" is yesterday's "offshore-for-cheap bookkeeping."
The only difference is now the responsibility for getting accurate numbers falls more on the owner.
That works great for owners who know accounting but could spell disaster for most.
If you wanted a best-in-class finance function yesterday, you prioritized hiring.
If you want a best-in-class finance function today, you prioritize technology and systems.
The old way was about filling seats in a generic org chart.
The new way is about the right systems.