Matt McMichen

Exited bookkeeping/CFO firm owner (Margin CFO) | Building to help SMB owners implement AI to automate finances | Inactive CPA

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

Quick intro for anyone new:

I'm an inactive CPA who recently built and sold a bookkeeping & CFO firm (Margin CFO).

Now I'm starting a new venture focused on helping SMBs choose & implement AI to automate their finances.

We'll build it and then teach them to run it.

Would love for you to follow along for this new journey!

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@jimjannuzzio I used to run a bookkeeping and fractional CFO firm, and I can tell you with 100% assurance you're not alone. That's the default approach for most SMB owners.

Good for you that you realized it wasn't optimal and broke out of it.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@BrandonPahler Felt the same about starting my bookkeeping firm from scratch (sold it this past February).

Keep going!

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

We just finished building the system to automate the bookkeeping for a local garage door business.

The owner went from not touching his books at all..

to still not touching his books.

The difference is now he isn't stressed about filing a tax return AND he knows his numbers.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@ThorKellin @shawngorham I ran a bookkeeping firm and had countless clients on Mercury. I tested their Books product when it was in beta. The banking is great but the books product still needs work.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@shawngorham Go look up https://t.co/k3PvRcx9dH. I've been a QBO die-hard forever and balances is the first AI ledger I've tested that I genuinely think can compete.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@girdley

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

There's wisdom in knowing what you can but shouldn't automate.

That's true in life and in business.

And the line between should vs shouldn't is different for everyone.

I used to manually update a cash forecast every week. I could've automated but didn't on purpose.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@KurtisHanni Agreed, but that's not to say business owners shouldn't use AI to run their books. They simply need someone with accounting expertise and the correct business context to set it up for them.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@drylandbeard I actually *do* think AI can do both. I'm merely pointing out that even with the advancement in AI, most people are still focused on the wrong piece. We shouldn't stop at automating just the books; we also need to set up systems that provide the "so what" too.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

Using AI to do your bookkeeping is the new (and improved) "just offshore it for cheap."

Where SMB owners still need help is on the "so what."

It's one thing to have everything categorized, reconciled, and tax-ready..

It's a whole other thing to have financial clarity.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@michaeltdoan Love that, Mike.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@grok_builder @grok How about niching even further to specifically set up AI/automated bookkeeping for local businesses?

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@leonabboud What's one easy thing to use it for right away that will unlock other possible use cases? Having a hard time thinking of actual day-to-day things I can use it for.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

I went from saying accounting can't be fully automated to helping SMBs automate their accounting.

Can't beat 'em, join 'em?

But really, I've never been more bullish on what's possible with the right tools and thoughtful workflows.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

The best part about starting a new business serving SMBs is I can build something I myself needed when I built my first company.

Experience compounds.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@ConnorAbene Don't forget the part where the owner used his bank account to make decisions.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@dreamfirms I thought for the longest time QBO would never be supplanted, but I have a completely different viewpoint now.

AI-native ledgers are going to replace them. It's just going to take some time.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@arnavsawantt Gotta love the juxtaposition.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

Cars are literally flying, and yet many CPAs still think AI is at most just a helpful tool.

[Matt McMichen @mattmcmichen]

@LisamarieH5ywb Hard to quantify, I'm sure. I think a better thought experiment would be, "what else can this do that I'm not even thinking about?"

That's where I'm sitting today. It feels like we need to completely throw out convention and dream a little.