Top Tactical Accounting Moves from Our P-R-O-F-I-T Playbooks
At Basis 365, we built our P-R-O-F-I-T approach™ to help business owners stop feeling overwhelmed by accounting and start using it as a tool for growth. P-R-O-F-I-T stands for Performance, Relationships, Optimization, Fractional, Integrated, and Timely. The playbooks that support this approach are packed with practical tactics that improve profitability, cash flow, and decision-making.
We’ve written detailed blogs that walk through dozens of tactics for playbooks like Be More Profitable, Collect Cash Faster, Manage Costs Effectively, and Enjoy Reliable Numbers, all rooted in the practical perspective we bring as an outsourced accounting partner. But business improvement isn’t always about tackling 50 things at once. Sometimes, it’s about finding a few high-impact moves and sticking with them.
This blog is a highlight reel of some of our favorite tactics. These are the ones we’ve seen consistently deliver results for service-based businesses, agencies, software firms, and consultancies.
If you want more, you’ll find ongoing tactical insights in our Tactical Accounting Newsletter where we share practical tips you can put to work right away.
Be Scientific About Pricing
Playbook: Be More Profitable
Pricing is the single biggest driver of profitability, but it’s often handled with guesswork or fear. Many businesses underprice to win work, then wonder why margins never improve.
Instead, get scientific about pricing. Test small increases with select customers. Build in annual adjustments. Analyze how sensitive your customers are to changes. Even a modest bump can make a huge difference.
One customer we worked with implemented a small 5 percent increase across their core service line after years of holding pricing flat. They were nervous about pushback, but the result was a meaningful lift in margins with no customer churn. That small adjustment created a lasting impact.
Casey Brown’s Fearless Pricing is an excellent resource for learning how to approach this systematically. The point isn’t to gouge customers, it’s to capture the true value you’re delivering.
Shift Your Profit Mindset
Playbook: Be More Profitable
Most of us were taught to think of profit as what’s left over after expenses. The formula is drilled into us: Revenue minus Expenses equals Profit. The problem is that this puts profit last and often it ends up being an afterthought.
In his book Profit First, Michael Michalowicz flips the formula: Revenue minus Profit equals Expenses. While accountants don’t prepare financials this way, it’s a powerful mindset shift for owners. Treat profit like a non-negotiable, something you take first, not what you settle for later. That small change pushes you to manage expenses within what’s left and reinforces the importance of paying yourself. Your finance team can work that concept into your projection model or cash forecasts.
Invoice Faster
Playbook: Collect Cash Faster
One of the easiest ways to improve cash flow is also the most obvious: send invoices faster. You can’t get paid for what you don’t bill. We’ve seen businesses wait over two months before sending invoices. Those invoices didn’t get paid until 30 - 60 days after that, leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars stuck in limbo for months.
For one customer, the solution was implementing a time and billing system that automated the invoicing process. Instead of manually pulling data and sending invoices at the end of the month, the project team generated them immediately upon milestone completion. This cut their average collection time in half and eliminated the backlog of delayed invoices.
Modern accounting tools can also send reminders automatically, cutting down on awkward follow-ups. And don’t shy away from talking about payment terms upfront. Making it normal to discuss expectations gives you something to point back to if customers delay.
Whenever possible, shift to recurring or subscription billing instead of invoicing after the fact. This shortens the cash cycle, reduces administrative work, and improves predictability.
Outsource Non Core Functions
Playbook: Manage Costs Effectively
Not every function in your business needs to be staffed in-house. In fact, holding onto non-core work can distract your team and drain resources, which is why more companies turn to outsourced accounting and other fractional solutions to stay lean.
Outsourcing lets you access fractional expertise at a semi-variable cost. That means you’re not locked into full-time salaries and benefits, and you can scale up or down as needed. Accounting is a prime example, but so are areas like IT support, HR, and specialized marketing.
For one customer, we took over their bill payment process, which had been inconsistent and lacked oversight. By setting up a structured system, adding approval controls, and leveraging cloud-based payment platforms, we improved efficiency and strengthened cash management. The leadership team no longer had to chase down invoices or worry about missed payments, and they gained confidence that spending was being monitored appropriately.
Negotiate Hidden Costs
Playbook: Manage Costs Effectively
One of the most overlooked tactics is simply asking vendors for better terms. Too many businesses assume rates are set in stone, but that’s rarely the case.
Take merchant services as an example. Many owners don’t realize they can negotiate with providers, even Stripe. Often, the published 2.9 percent rate is driven by AMEX transactions, while Visa and Mastercard interchange fees are much lower. By negotiating or shifting providers, businesses can save thousands per year.
The same logic applies to payroll services, SaaS platforms, and other recurring expenses. Make it a habit to review providers every year or two.
Track Only the KPIs That Matter
Playbook: Leverage Accounting Strategically
Dashboards are everywhere, and it’s tempting to measure everything. But tracking 15 different metrics creates noise instead of clarity. The goal isn’t more data, it’s better decisions.
Start by focusing on three metrics that matter most. Gross Margin shows whether you are delivering services efficiently. Days Sales Outstanding tells you how quickly you are collecting what’s owed. Net Margin shows whether your bottom line is consistently above 10 percent.
These three numbers tell you more about business health than a wall of charts ever could. As you grow, you can layer in more KPIs, but only if you’re actually willing to act on them. Don’t worry about what the KPI should be, just keep beating your own results.
Build a 13-Week Cash Forecast
Playbook: Leverage Accounting Strategically
Cash is oxygen for a business. Yet too often, leaders focus only on what’s in the bank account today or next month’s P&L. That’s not enough. A 13-week cash forecast gives you a rolling view of the next three months of inflows and outflows so you can spot trouble before it hits.
This tool gives business owners a clear visual understanding of where money is coming in and where it is going out. If you feel like you’re flying blind when it comes to cash flow, this is one of the best ways to get clarity and take control. By seeing the timing of receipts and payments laid out week by week, it becomes much easier to anticipate gaps, plan around them, and take action early.
The key is consistency. Make it a standing agenda item in your weekly finance meeting. With a 13-week forecast in hand, you can make proactive decisions about hiring, capital purchases, or customer collections before surprises appear.
Create Tactical Momentum
The businesses that win rarely overhaul everything at once. They tinker. Improve one thing, measure the impact, then move to the next. Small changes compound into significant gains over time. Whether you start with pricing, reframe your profit mindset, trim hidden costs, accelerate invoicing, focus on a few KPIs, or stand up a 13 week cash forecast, the important part is to start.
Here is a simple next steps cadence to build momentum
Pick one tactic and define the outcome you want, such as lift net margin by two points or cut DSO by ten days
Assign an owner and a due date
Track one metric tied to the tactic and review progress weekly for twenty minutes
Document what worked, lock in the improvement, and choose the next tactic
These tactics are a small sample of the moves inside our P-R-O-F-I-T playbooks, applied by the team behind our fractional accounting department service to guide customers toward stronger businesses. They are designed to be practical steps you can implement right away, without needing an accounting degree or a 50 page manual.
If you want more tactical ideas you can put to work quickly, sign up for our Tactical Accounting Newsletter. You will get proven, practical tactics that help you become more profitable, strengthen cash flow, and build a stronger business one small step at a time.
