The Practice Behind the Publication
Every issue of The Letter ends with a question worth answering. These are the engagements that answer them — scoped, fixed-fee, calendar-bound, with a working artifact at the end of each one.
Fixed Fees
Calendar-Bound
Real Artifacts
Volume I
Issues 01–06
Issue
01
A working dashboard, wired into your data, in 30 days.
Format
30-day, deliverable-bounded
Fee
$7,500 Fixed
Outcome
Working KPI dashboard
You have financials. You don't have visibility. This engagement builds a connected KPI dashboard that shows revenue, margin, cash, and capacity in a single view — updated monthly without manual effort.
Best for owners who
Have a bookkeeper producing monthly financials but no real dashboard. Want to see the business at a glance without building it yourself.
Issue
02
Know exactly where your cash is going — and when it's coming back.
Format
2-week, deliverable-bounded
Fee
$5,000 Fixed
Outcome
Diagnostic memo + 13-week forecast
Revenue is growing. Cash isn't keeping up. This engagement maps your working capital cycle, identifies the drag, and delivers a 13-week cash forecast you can actually use.
Best for owners who
Are growing revenue but cash-poor. Watch the bank balance daily. Feel like the business is working against them.
Issue
03
Pick the right system without being sold the wrong one.
Format
60-day, deliverable-bounded
Fee
$15,000 Fixed
Outcome
Recommendation + 18-month roadmap
Your current system is the constraint. You've heard pitches for 6–18 months but can't decide. This engagement runs an independent selection process — requirements, scoring, demos, and a final recommendation with an implementation roadmap.
Best for owners who
Know their current system is a constraint. Have heard pitches for 6–18 months. Are afraid of a $300K implementation mistake.
Issue
04
Featured
Know your number before anyone else does.
Format
2–3 week, deliverable-bounded
Fee
$10,000–$15,000
Outcome
Scorecard + 18–36 month roadmap
You're 18–36 months from a transaction and someone told you to "clean up the books." This engagement tells you exactly what a buyer will find, what they'll discount, and what you should fix — in priority order.
Best for owners who
Are 18–36 months from a transaction. Have been told to "clean up the books" without being told what that means.
Issue
05
Financials you actually read and act on.
Format
45-day, deliverable-bounded
Fee
$10,000 Fixed
Outcome
Monthly close package + reporting suite
You get monthly financials. You don't read them. This engagement rebuilds your close package into a decision-grade reporting suite — structured for owners, not accountants.
Best for owners who
Get monthly financials but don't read them. Know the numbers aren't helping them make decisions.
Issue
06
Defend your number before a buyer or lender questions it.
Format
30-day, deliverable-bounded
Fee
$15,000 Fixed
Outcome
Defended adjusted EBITDA bridge
Within 18 months of a transaction or debt raise, your EBITDA will be scrutinized. This engagement builds a defensible adjusted EBITDA bridge — documented, sourced, and ready for a buyer or lender's quality of earnings process.
Best for owners who
Are within 18 months of a transaction or debt raise. Have never formally defended their add-backs.
Volume II
Issues 07–12
Issue
Map every decision the owner doesn't need to be making.
Format
30-day, calendar-bounded
Fee
$8,500 Fixed
Outcome
Decision map + delegation framework
Best For Owners Who
Are bottlenecks to their own business — approving too many things, too often, without a system for pushing decisions down.
For owners who want to see the whole architecture before reading any single piece.
I.
Every engagement has a fixed fee and fixed end date. No retainers that drift.
II.
Every engagement produces a tangible deliverable your business did not have before.
III.
The best outcome is that your team can run the work without you afterward.
Sean McCormick • Founder, Drystone Finance
The letter is free. The engagements begin with a conversation.