Fractional CFO for Facility Management and Security Businesses

Alehar shows a facility management or security business which contracts and sites still make money by comparing the hours you bill with the hours you pay, including overtime, agency cover, vacation pay and supervision, at this year's wage rates. You can see which sites lose money on hours nobody bills, which contract prices no longer cover the staff they need, what increase to ask each client for, and when each contract lets you ask.

Alehar prepares a week-by-week cash flow forecast for a security or cleaning business that sets every payroll, tax payment and supplier bill against the dates each client really pays. You can see when the gap is widest, how much is owed to you, and how much invoice finance or credit line you need to cover it.

Alehar shows a security or facility management business what staff turnover really costs by adding up what it costs each time a guard or cleaner leaves: advertising, vetting, uniforms, training and the agency cover in between. You can see the cost per site and per contract, and compare it with what better pay or schedules would cost. That tells you where spending on keeping staff pays for itself.

Alehar shows a facility management or security business what technology on site does to its margins by comparing a site run by people with one that uses cameras, sensors, remote monitoring or cleaning machines, including the equipment cost and the people still needed. You can see which contracts to move to technology, what to charge for it, and whether to buy the equipment or charge for it monthly.

Alehar tells a facility management business whether to bid at the client's price by costing the bid from the hours and staff the contract needs, wage rates over the full term, start-up costs, equipment and management time. You can see the profit in each year, the cash needed before the first invoice, and the lowest price at which the contract is still worth winning.

A facility management or security owner should track hours billed against hours paid on every site, the margin on each contract at today's wage rates, staff leaving and the cost of replacing them, cash due in from clients against the next four payrolls, and which contracts come up for renewal or a price review in the next six months. Alehar reviews these with you every month, so a site that has slipped into loss or a client that has started paying late is caught early.

A facility management or security business is valued on how long its contracts run and how often they renew, profit by contract, staff turnover, and how well it passes wage rises on to clients, set against the prices paid for similar businesses. Alehar values your business on that basis, shows what a buyer will question first, and can then take the business to market under its Selling your Company service.

An outsourced or virtual CFO suits most facility management and security businesses. Alehar provides a senior finance lead and a team. Each month they review contract profit, wage costs and the weekly cash plan with you, and agree the priorities. It is the role owners often describe as a part-time finance director or an interim CFO. Your payroll team and accountant stay in charge of pay runs and the books.