Ask an owner how the business is doing and many will glance at the checking account. That number is real. It is also late. Profit on the income statement and cash in the bank are different facts.
David lists cash-flow optimization first on the CFO services page. For Northern Arizona owners—visitor seasons, construction weather, school calendars—the distinction is not academic.
What independent research shows
- JPMorgan Chase Institute: the median small business held only 27 days of cash buffer; the bottom quarter held 13 days or fewer. Cash Is King.
- Bluevine (late 2025): 38.7 percent of surveyed owners could not cover one month of operating expenses. Bluevine survey.
- Relay Cash Flow Compass: 88 percent face regular disruptions; only 31 percent said they were actively optimizing cash. ASBN coverage.
- Revenued (2026): nearly two-thirds had fewer than three months of cash if revenue slowed; 72.6 percent said cash-flow management felt harder than a year earlier. PR Newswire.
Those figures are not a diagnosis of any one Prescott company. They show that thin buffers are common.
What a fractional CFO does with cash
A rolling thirteen-week view of receipts against payroll, rent, job costs, debt, and draws. A written buffer target. A bank conversation based on a forecast. Primers: SBA manage your finances and SCORE cash-flow resources.
If you cannot say in writing whether the next six payrolls are covered if one customer pays two weeks late, you do not have a forecast. You have a checking account. Statistics above are from the linked sources, not Snyder client results.
