FROM THE EDITOR
A monthly publication for founder-led businesses doing $5M–$50M in trades, manufacturing, distribution, and construction. KPIs, working capital, ERP selection, exit readiness — and what private equity buyers actually look for at the table.
VOLUME
№ I, 2026
CADENCE
Monthly · First Tuesday
EDITED BY
Sean McGregor, Fractional CFO
PUBLISHED FROM
New Orleans · Atlanta
WHO READS THIS
Founder-led companies doing $5M–$50M in revenue, where the owner still signs the checks and reads every P&L line.
Trades, manufacturing, distribution, contracting — businesses with backlogs, working capital pressure, and equipment on the balance sheet.
Owners thinking about an exit — in two years, in five, or “someday” — who want to know what the room will look like before they walk into it.
Operators who want CFO-grade thinking without hiring one full-time. The questions a real CFO would ask, written for the owner who has to answer them.
WHAT YOU’LL FIND INSIDE
Every issue is built from a real engagement — a dashboard that exposed a working capital problem, an ERP selection that derailed for a reason no vendor will tell you, a deal that closed because the seller could answer one specific question.
№ 01 · KPI
The metrics that actually predict whether a $5M–$50M business is healthy — beyond revenue and gross margin. Plus a working Excel template.
· Profitability lens (5 metrics)
· Working capital lens (6 metrics)·
Productivity lens (5 metrics)
· Exit readiness lens (5 metrics)
№ 02 · CASH
Why most owners run out of cash at the moment of fastest growth — and the four levers that fix it without raising more debt.
· Billing speed
· Collections rhythm
· Inventory turns
· Payables discipline
№ 03 · SYSTEMS
The owner-dependent piece. How to choose the system that won’t trap you — and what every vendor demo conveniently leaves out.
· What the demo hides
· Owner dependency tests
· Migration timing
· Vendor leverage points
№ 04 · EXIT
A buyer’s diligence list, two years before the buyer arrives. The questions PE will ask, and what your books need to say back.
· The 21 questions buyers ask
· Owner comp documentation
· Concentration remediation
· Quality of earnings prep
№ 05 · REPORTING
Financial reports that drive decisions instead of describing the past. The monthly rhythm a CFO would build for you.
· The monthly close cadence
· Variance reporting that lands
· Forecasts the team trusts
· Board packages without padding
№ 06 · DEALS
What private equity buyers actually look for, what they pay premiums for, and the three things they walk away from no matter the multiple.
· What earns the premium
· Deal-killers, named
· Earn-out structure traps
· Negotiation leverage
FROM ISSUE 01
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Owners of $5M–$50M businesses occupy a genuinely awkward middle. They’ve outgrown the bookkeeper-and-tax-preparer setup that worked at $1M. They aren’t yet large enough to justify a $250K full-time CFO. The financial guidance that fills the gap — generic blog content, software vendor whitepapers, advisor decks built to pitch a service — is almost universally written for a different audience or a different agenda.
The Trades CFO Letter is the publication those owners deserve and rarely get: monthly briefings written by someone who has actually sat in the CFO seat for businesses that look like theirs. Real engagements, real dashboards, real deals. The questions an experienced CFO asks before recommending action — written for the owner who has to take the action.
SM
EDITOR & AUTHOR
Fractional CFO based in New Orleans, Louisiana and Atlanta, Georgia. Founder of OpsFlow Finance. Engagements primarily with founder-led businesses in trades, manufacturing, distribution, and construction across the Gulf South and Southeast.
SUBSCRIBE
Free, monthly, and structured around the decisions an owner of a $5M–$50M business actually has to make. The first issue includes the 21-Metric KPI Dashboard template.
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