Know where your cash is on day one
The first weeks of ownership are too important to spend rebuilding the books. Operate gets accounting, reporting, payroll, and cash forecasting in place so new owners get a clear view of cashflow as soon as the business changes hands.
Once an acquisition is financed, the business has to make payments regardless of what happens that month.
Before making new commitments, you’ll need to know what cash is already available, what is spoken for, and what is coming up in the next few months.
New owners need to make decisions while learning about the business and working through the transition.
This is also when books need to be rebuilt, moved to new systems, and set up around a new capital structure. Until that’s done, you’re making decisions with one eye closed.
Current books and an accurate cash forecast give you the visibility you need to make informed choices.
Operate works with owner-operated businesses across a wide range of industries and deal structures. We give owners a dedicated finance function without requiring them to build and manage one by themselves.
Before close, Operate can start preparing the financial transition. Our goal is to have the books, systems, reporting, and cash forecast ready as soon as you take control.
For existing owners, Operate can take control over recurring accounting and finance work, improve reporting, and provide more reliable information to run the company.
The systems you’ll inherit were designed around how the seller ran the company. They won’t account for the new debt that the business needs to service.
Operate moves those workflows into a new setup so that new owners can come in with a financial structure that can meet those new demands.
We’ll establish opening balances, organize the seller’s financial records, and set up the chart of accounts around how the business will operate under new ownership.
When the business changes hands, the handover functions as a clean break and the new books are ready to use.
Payroll, vendor payments, customer collections, and other services need to continue functioning during the changeover.
Operate moves those workflows into the new setup and prepares the first payroll run so the transition doesn’t interrupt daily operations.
Before close, we’ll prepare the first reporting package and cash forecast around working capital, debt service, and upcoming obligations.
When you take over, you’ll know what needs to be paid and what finances are available for new hires, purchases, or investments.
If you’re under LOI, or if diligence and QoE are complete, it’s a good time to think about new ownership financials.
After close, a dedicated Operate team takes responsibility for any financial or accounting needs.
A full team will be assigned to assist with your business, including:
Operate provides a dedicated team for your business. You’ll work with a team who knows and understands your operation and can help you plan around cash, debt, and future business decisions.
Your team handles any recurring accounting work that keeps books current and finances functional.
Because the work is shared across your dedicated team, you aren’t relying on one person to know where everything stands.
Operate gives you regular reporting built around cash, performance, and the factors that matter most to the company.
Weekly cash visibility and a rolling forecast will help you understand your financial position before you make your next decision.
Hiring, growth, new debt, and other operating decisions all change what a business can afford.
Your team will help you work through those financial impacts before you make a commitment and keep financials ready for conversations with lenders, partners, boards, or investors.
If all you need is someone to keep the books current, you might not need a full finance team. When you’re also managing cash, debt, reporting, and upcoming decisions, accounting gets more complicated.
If the business is simple and the owner mainly needs clean historical records, good bookkeeping might be enough.
Operate can work at that level when it’s genuinely all the company requires.
A single, internal hire can cover part of the finance function, but the business is limited by that person’s time, experience, and availability.
Operate provides a bigger team without requiring owners to recruit and manage the entire financial department.
Acquisition debt changes what the finance function has to do. Owners need reliable numbers to run the company, and lenders need reporting they can trust.
Operate only continues earning while the relationship and service we provide remains valuable to the business.
That means the numbers have to stay reliable, problems need to be raised early, and the work has to keep earning its place.
Acquisition lenders expect reliable records, timely reporting, and a clear view of cash.
Banks have told us that stronger financial reporting can reduce perceived risk, may help with loan terms, and can sometimes be included in SBA financing.
Our approach wasn’t developed from a generic outsourced-accounting model.
Operate was created to meet the demands of Lab members who took over businesses and quickly discovered that the seller’s financial setup was a poor fit for their needs.
With Operate, new owners get an established finance department without having to recruit, train, or manage the team themselves.
You’ll keep control of the company, all accounts, and all financial decisions. Your Operate team takes responsibility for keeping the financial operation running.
You work with a dedicated team, not a rotating queue of people who need to relearn the business every time you call.
Responsibility and knowledge are built on the same group, so work remains consistent over time.
We use QuickBooks Online, Ramp, Gusto, and Reach Reporting to create a connected financial workflow.
As owner, you’ll have direct access to those systems and all underlying information. Nothing is hidden, so you can take a closer look at the numbers at any time.
Your company keeps control of its funds, accounts, and approvals.
We never hold or access your funds and we never release vendor payments without your approval.
Every company has different financial needs. Book a call to discuss your business, your role after closing, and the level of support that makes sense for the transition.
The agreement runs annually and auto-renews, but you can cancel anytime with a 30-day written notice. There's no lock-in.
Yes. We scale with the business as it grows, so you’ll avoid the cost and management overhead of building a department.
Some owners eventually bring finance in-house, and we'll support that transition when it makes sense, but that isn't the assumption.
Not necessarily.
If a bookkeeper stays in the business, Operate will work alongside them through the transition so nothing gets dropped, then sort out the long-term split once you've seen how the business actually runs.
In many cases, the seller’s bookkeeper leaves with the seller. If that happens, Operate can close that gap.
Yes. Owners regularly come to us after close once they realize the seller's books don't answer the questions they need for reporting or diligence, or if accounting workflows are inefficient or broken.
Our team starts by updating your books so that they’re clean and reliable. Once those tasks are completed, we’ll use those records as a foundation for accurate reporting and forecasting.
No. We can see your accounts, but we can't move money.
Your company keeps control of its bank accounts, cards, and payment approvals. We prepare payments for your approval, but we never initiate transfers independently.
Yes. We can support holding companies with operating companies beneath them or multiple independent operating companies.
Operate can handle the chart of accounts structure, intercompany work, and consolidated reporting so you get a clear view of each entity and the whole.
Pricing reflects total scope across all entities that need support.
Pricing is tailored to business needs and billed weekly via ACH.
Costs scale with AP/AR volume, payroll size, accounting complexity, and any custom workflows or reporting.
Our team uses a specialized tech stack and will bill you separately for the required seats at no markup. You’ll see these costs as separate line items.
