Do you actually know what it costs to run your business?
The tracker maps every dollar leaving your business, the obvious expenses and the ones you've stopped noticing, into one clear picture. Instead of guessing at your margin, you'll walk away knowing your real profit margin, the exact price floor you need to hit to stay profitable, and what to cut, keep, or renegotiate first.
A structured cost-mapping engagement built for growing businesses, not a full finance department, and priced accordingly.
Between serving customers, running day-to-day operations, and managing everything in between, knowing your exact financial picture slips through the cracks.
"The number one reason small businesses run into trouble isn't a lack of customers. It's not knowing their real numbers until it's too late."
True Cost Clarity™ was built to give growing businesses the same financial visibility that larger organizations get from a dedicated finance function, scoped and priced for a team of one, five, or fifteen people.
From a self-service template to a fully done-with-you audit, pick the starting point that fits where your business is right now.
One-time, instant download
This isn't a generic budget template. It's the same tracker framework built for our done-with-you Cost Audit clients, just without us on the call filling it in alongside you. You get the structure a $497 engagement runs on, and it's yours for life, including every future update, not a one-year license.
One-time, delivered in 5 business days
We sit down with you for a live 60-minute virtual working session to fill out your tracker together, so nothing gets lost in translation. From there, we identify where your margin is leaking and meet again for a Strategy Session, virtual or in person, to decide what to do about it. If a cost is high because of how the work gets done rather than what you're paying for it, we'll flag that too, that's where our S.T.R.A.T.A. Method comes in.
Includes everything in the Blueprint and the Cost Audit. Billed quarterly, not monthly.
Everything from the Blueprint and the Cost Audit, plus a longer quarterly working session and hands-on process improvement, so pricing and cost decisions stay current, your workflows keep getting leaner, and nothing from your findings gets forgotten.
Pricing shown reflects standard starting rates for small-team engagements. Strategy Sessions are available in person; clients can visit us at our Miami-Dade location at no extra charge, or sessions can be held virtually or in person elsewhere for a travel fee. Multi-year clients may qualify for adjusted rates. Ask on your discovery call.
This timeline is specific to the Cost Audit. Quarterly Check-In clients get this same process for their first quarter; the Blueprint is instant, so there's no schedule, just work at your own pace.
A 30-minute conversation to understand your business model, current pain points, and what financial clarity would actually mean for you. No pitch, just an honest look at where things stand.
You share bank statements, receipts, and subscriptions, whatever you have. We ask the right questions to surface costs you've forgotten or never realized were business expenses.
We get on a live 60-minute virtual working session and complete your tracker across all 19 sheets together, then run the numbers, identify the leaks, and calculate your real profit margins and pricing floor.
A 60-minute working session, virtual or in person for Miami-area clients, to walk through the completed tracker and leave with decisions made: what to cut, what to charge, what to automate.
Your tracker is yours, fully labeled and ready to update monthly. Quarterly Check-In clients repeat Steps 2 through 4 on a lighter cycle every quarter. Audit clients get 30 days of email support to implement changes on their own.
| What's included | Blueprint $197 |
Cost Audit $497 |
Quarterly Check-In $997/qtr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19-tab expense tracker | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto P&L / ROI dashboard | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Video walkthrough & completed sample tracker | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Done-with-you data entry (live working session) | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| Written Cost Report & pricing floor | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| License & permit cost check | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| Process-or-price diagnosis | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| Executive summary & 90-day action checklist | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| Strategy Session (virtual or in person) | - | ✓ | ✓ |
| Renewal calendar (licenses, permits, contracts) | - | - | ✓ |
| Quarterly refresh & rolling action tracker | - | - | ✓ |
| Additional quarterly working session for time-sensitive decisions | - | - | ✓ |
| Agile / Lean Six Sigma process optimization | - | - | ✓ |
| Live cost & margin dashboard | - | - | ✓ |
| Year-end cost & margin recap | - | - | ✓ |
| Priority email access between check-ins | - | - | ✓ |
The True Cost Clarity™ tracker maps 14 expense categories and 200+ line items, so nothing slips through unnoticed. We'll walk you through exactly what's covered on your discovery call.
Do I need to be good with Excel to use this?
Not at all. The Blueprint is built so you only type numbers into highlighted cells. Everything else calculates automatically. With the Cost Audit, our team fills it out entirely for you. No spreadsheet skills required at any tier.
What if my business is brand new, with no real expenses yet?
That's actually the best time to use it. We build your projected cost structure before you spend a dollar, so you can price correctly from day one instead of discovering you're unprofitable after the fact.
How is this different from just using QuickBooks or my accountant?
QuickBooks tracks what already happened. Your accountant files your taxes. Neither sits down with you to proactively map every expense category, calculate your ROI, or tell you what you actually need to charge to stay profitable. That's what this does.
What kinds of businesses is this built for?
All kinds of businesses: e-commerce sellers, consultants, coaches, retail and food businesses, contractors, and creative practices. The tracker covers 14 expense categories with 200+ line items. Leave blank whatever doesn't apply.
What do I need to prepare before our call?
Ideally: the last 3 months of bank or credit card statements, a list of your monthly subscriptions and tools, your average monthly revenue, and any lease or loan documents. If you don't have everything, we'll work with what you do have.
Can I upgrade from the Blueprint to the Audit later?
Yes. If you purchase the Blueprint and later want the done-with-you experience, your $197 is credited toward the Cost Audit within 30 days; you'd only pay the difference.
Is the Strategy Session virtual or in person?
Whichever works better for you. Miami-Dade clients can meet in person at no extra charge. Everyone else meets virtually, or in person for a travel fee. Either way, you leave the session with decisions made, not just a report to read later.
A six-step business analysis framework for finding out what's actually happening inside your operations, and fixing it with documentation, process redesign, and automation that holds up.
Built on formal process-improvement, business analysis, and project-governance discipline: the same rigor larger organizations pay for, scaled down and priced for how small businesses and solo practitioners actually operate.
Every engagement, from a single audit to an ongoing retainer, runs through the same sequence, so nothing gets fixed by guesswork.
Track record built through direct work with small business owners, solo practitioners, and nonprofit organizations, not theory.
A few examples of how the S.T.R.A.T.A. Method flexes to fit very different businesses.
A nine-month business analysis engagement with a growing technology firm. Documented processes and SOPs, change management through a restructuring, a rebuilt web presence, and waste reduction across operations.
Rework was quietly eating the schedule, with revision rounds nobody had priced for. We rebuilt the intake and approval process and introduced AI into the production steps that tolerated it, cutting rework without touching the creative judgment clients pay for.
A full-time college student starting a business from nothing, with no client list and no marketing. We built the business structure and service offering, then used content creation to generate visibility and inbound leads before the doors were technically open.
Shared with client permission, identifying details withheld under confidentiality agreements.
Each tier runs on the same S.T.R.A.T.A. Method. The difference is how much hands-on time you get with it. Every tier is worked directly with you, start to finish, with no hand-off to a junior associate once you sign on.
One-time, includes a 1-hour virtual session
For the owner who needs direction, not a full audit. Work through a guided worksheet on your own time: your business, your offerings, and where things are stuck. Once it's submitted, it's personally reviewed before you get on a call for real answers, not homework that disappears into a form.
One-time flat fee, a full quarter, start to finish
For the owner who's out of time, not out of urgency, and wants a partner in the room, not a form to fill out alone. Choose virtual or in-person. Over one quarter, we build the plan together and put it into motion, so you leave with systems running, not just a report telling you what's wrong.
Recurring quarterly retainer, renews if you continue
For the business ready to stop patching problems and rebuild the system underneath them, with someone actively building alongside you, not just advising from the sidelines. Choice of virtual or in-person. Each quarter starts by setting a baseline and ends by measuring growth against it, with hands-on work happening in between, not just check-ins.
Pricing shown reflects standard starting rates. Final scope and price are confirmed after an initial discovery call. Larger engagements are quoted individually.
| What's included | Blueprint $497 |
STRATA Diagnostic $997 |
Partnership $2,997/qtr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guided worksheet & personal review | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live strategy session(s) | 1 hr, virtual | 2 sessions, in-person or virtual | Monthly, in-person or virtual |
| Written recap / action plan | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SOP creation & systems onboarding | , | ✓ | ✓ |
| Guided implementation plan | , | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hands-on automation & dashboard build-out | , | , | ✓ |
| Ongoing, renewing quarter over quarter | , | , | ✓ |
Is this the same as hiring a Fractional COO?
No. This is business analysis and process improvement work: documenting requirements, redesigning workflows, and building the systems that support them. It's a focused discipline, not a full executive function, which is part of why it's priced and scoped the way it is.
How soon are the sessions scheduled?
Once you book, your first session is scheduled within 5 business days, sooner if your timeline is urgent. For the Diagnostic, your two sessions and the 30-day follow-up are scheduled together up front, so the full quarter is mapped out from day one.
What if I start with the Blueprint and want to go further?
The $497 Blueprint price is credited toward the S.T.R.A.T.A. Diagnostic if you upgrade within 30 days, just mention it when you book.
What kinds of businesses is this for?
Small businesses, solopreneurs, and nonprofits across a wide range of industries: from personal-service businesses like salons and personal trainers, to operations-heavy ones like transportation, catering, and food service, to accounting firms, real estate agents, tech companies, e-commerce brands, and content creators building a personal brand. If your business runs on processes that live in your head instead of on paper, this is built for you.
What if it's just me, and I don't have a team?
All three tiers work for solo operators. The worksheet and sessions are built around your business either way; when there's no team to interview, that time goes into going deeper on your own workflows and decisions instead.
What happens if the 30-day check-in shows things aren't on track?
That's exactly what the check-in is for. If something in the implementation plan isn't landing, it gets adjusted on that call. That's part of the Diagnostic and Partnership, not an extra charge.
Can I cancel the Partnership?
Yes. It's billed quarter to quarter with no long-term contract. Let us know before the next quarter starts if you'd like to pause or stop, and any work already scoped for the current quarter is completed as planned.
How is pricing for the Partnership retainer determined?
$2,997/quarter is the standard starting rate. It's a recurring retainer that renews each quarter you continue, and the exact scope, one system in depth or several at once, is set together during onboarding based on what your business needs most.