Controller Services · Ownership for Your Accounting
Controller Services for Established Businesses
Accurate books are a starting point. But if nobody owns the close schedule, reviews the work, enforces the process, or keeps your financials audit-ready, accuracy is not enough. Basis 365 delivers a fractional controller function, giving your business the oversight and structure it needs without a six-figure full-time hire.
There's Accounting. And Then There's Accounting With an Owner.
Most growing businesses have a bookkeeper and an accountant. What they are missing is someone accountable for the function itself: the close schedule, the process, the review, and the standards. Without that, accuracy is not enough. The gap shows up the first time a lender, investor, or board asks a question your financials cannot quickly answer.
Controller Services fills that gap. Businesses generating $3M and up typically have enough complexity that the controller function is no longer optional. A six-figure full-time hire is the traditional answer. A fractional controller through Basis 365 gives you the same expertise, calibrated to what your business actually needs right now.
Without a Controller
With a Controller
Sound Familiar?
Our controller services customers tend to come from one of these places.
You know your bank balance but not your cash position
Books closed does not mean cash understood. Most business owners struggle to connect their financials to what is actually happening with cash. A 13-week cash forecast changes that picture entirely.
Your month-end close has no set schedule
Books close whenever someone gets to it. No deadline, no checklist, no accountability. The numbers arrive when they arrive and nobody is sure if they are right.
Nobody is reviewing the bookkeeper's work
You have someone doing the books, but no one with the skills to review them. Errors accumulate quietly until they become problems at year-end or during a financial review.
A lender or investor wants clean financials
A bank, investor, or potential acquirer wants audit-ready books. The scramble to produce them reveals how unprepared the accounting function really is.
You hired a bookkeeper doing controller work
They are doing their best, but the role has grown beyond their training. You are getting bookkeeper effort on controller-level problems, and it shows in the output.
Your CFO needs someone to own the accounting
CFOs lead strategy. They do not want to manage close schedules or chase reconciliations. They need a competent owner of the accounting function beneath them to do their job well.
What Controller Services Includes
The accounting function a $3M and up business actually needs, calibrated to what moves the needle.
Close Management
- ✓Defined month-end close schedule and checklist
- ✓Close ownership and accountability
- ✓Review of all bookkeeper and accountant work
- ✓Reconciliation oversight and sign-off
- ✓Timely, accurate financial package delivery
Internal Controls and Process
- ✓Chart of accounts governance and maintenance
- ✓Accounting policy and procedure documentation
- ✓Internal controls design and enforcement
- ✓Separation of duties framework
- ✓Audit trail and documentation standards
Reporting and Cash Management
- ✓13-week cash flow forecast
- ✓Budget vs. actual reporting, reviewed monthly
- ✓Variance analysis with commentary
- ✓Department and cost-center level reporting
- ✓Board, lender, and investor-ready packages
Team and Function Oversight
- ✓Supervision of bookkeeper and accounting staff
- ✓Accounting software stack management
- ✓Coordination with your external CPA
- ✓Scalable team structure as you grow
- ✓Single point of accountability for the function
Your Accounting Function Should Have an Owner
Controller services transforms accounting from a task list into a managed function.
CFOs Want This in Place
A CFO leads strategy, not close schedules. They need a competent owner of the accounting function beneath them. Controller Services is what makes a CFO effective at their actual job.
Boards and Investors Expect It
If you have a board, are raising capital, or approaching a transaction, audit-ready books and a defined close process are baseline expectations. Controller Services puts that infrastructure in place.
Process Maturity Equals Scale Readiness
Businesses that scale cleanly have documented processes, defined ownership, and reviewable work. Controller Services builds the accounting infrastructure your next stage of growth requires.
Right Expertise, Right Cost
A full-time controller is a six-figure hire. If your volume does not yet justify that cost, you end up overpaying for underutilized talent. The fractional model gives you the expertise without the overhead.
Performance Tracked Against Plan
Budget vs. actual reviewed every month. Variances explained, not just reported. Your team finally knows whether the business is performing against what you planned for.
Fixed Pricing, No Surprises
We scope your business and set a fixed monthly price. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices. Just a predictable cost for a function that runs reliably every month.
Guided by Our P-R-O-F-I-T Approach™
Controller Services is where our methodology takes full form: process ownership, reporting with accountability, and a team structure calibrated to your business and built to scale with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A controller owns the accounting function. They define and enforce the close schedule, review the bookkeeper's and accountant's work, manage internal controls, produce budget vs. actual reporting, and ensure the business's financials are accurate, timely, and audit-ready. The bookkeeper records; the accountant closes; the controller is responsible for the whole function.
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A controller owns the accounting function. A CFO leads financial strategy: capital allocation, fundraising, forecasting, and working with the board. If your financials are not yet organized and reliable, you need a controller first. Most CFOs will tell you they cannot do their job well without a competent controller beneath them. For many businesses hitting around $3M, a controller is the right move well before a CFO is needed.
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A bookkeeper records transactions. An accountant closes the books. A controller owns the entire function: setting the process, reviewing the work, enforcing controls, and producing management-level reporting. It requires a higher level of education, judgment, and accountability than either role beneath it.
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Controller-level oversight tends to become essential around $3M in revenue, when complexity, headcount, and financial stakes are high enough that an unmanaged accounting function creates real risk. It becomes critical as you approach $5M and beyond, especially if you have a board, investors, or lenders asking for reliable reporting. Businesses well above $10M often justify a full-time hire. Until then, the fractional model typically makes more sense.
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Controller Services is its own plan at Basis 365, not an add-on to a lower tier. It is designed for businesses that are ready for a dedicated controller function: close ownership, internal controls, cash management, and team oversight. Visit our Plans page to see what is included, or talk to us directly and we will walk you through whether it is the right fit.
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Your CPA is focused on tax compliance: preparing returns, minimizing liability, and meeting filing obligations. That is backward-looking work, done once a year. Controller Services is an ongoing monthly function focused on the integrity and usefulness of your financials throughout the year. The two are complementary, and we coordinate directly with your CPA so nothing falls through the cracks.
As Your Business Grows, So Does Your Accounting
Controller Services is where your accounting function gets a true owner. Here's where it fits in the full picture.
Ready to Put Someone in Charge of Your Accounting Function?
Let's talk about where your accounting stands today and what it would take to run it like a department. No obligation, no pressure.