Rob Jacob

Founder & Fractional CFO at realCFO LLC. Peace of mind decision-making for small-business owners. Dripping Springs, TX.

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

An owner I worked with had a record Q2 and watched Q3 come in 28% lower.

Same clients. Same team. Same offer. What changed?

He'd stopped his two networking lunches a week to keep up with delivery. The hopper went empty without him noticing.

We rebuilt the weekly log — two touches a week, one follow-up. By Q4 the hopper was full again.

Activity is a leading indicator. Watch it before revenue.

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Three things to track in your sales hopper, every week:

- New conversations started
- First meetings booked
- Proposals sent

Same fields. Same review day. Into the model.

If you can't recall last week's numbers in 10 seconds, your system needs work. The hopper is the number that predicts the bank balance 60 days from now.

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

If revenue dropped this week, the cause was 60 days ago.

What were you doing in early April? That's the question your books can't answer.

But your activity log can — if you keep one.

Five numbers. The first is your sales hopper.

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Tim just opened Texas Hill Country Diesel & Automotive in Dripping Springs.

One year. Two shop purchases. Three locations. Today: doors open, and I was his first customer.

Pre-revenue to opening day, and beyond.

Need honest automotive work? https://t.co/CWKnYE5Mlu

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

An owner I worked with ran his whole shop off the bank app. Some Mondays he felt fine. Some Mondays he didn't, and he couldn't tell you why.

We built a one-page model — five numbers, read weekly. Six months in, he stopped guessing.

The bank balance isn't a strategy. It's a scoreboard.

https://t.co/wBLe2v8KEu

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Three minutes to test if you're running off the numbers or off the bank balance:

Open your books. Find your gross margin %.
Find your A/R over 30 days.
Find your operating expense total.

If any of those took more than 90 seconds to locate, your system needs work. The numbers should live in one place — same sources, same cadence, into your model. That's what runs the business.

https://t.co/wBLe2v8KEu

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Featured in this month's Dripping Springs City Lifestyle: “Whippled but Not Whipped.”

A major surgery taught me to ask “what next.” What next became realCFO — helping owners run on real numbers, not the bank balance.

https://t.co/V2fovi0a1u

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Most owners run their business off one number. It's the wrong number.

The bank balance tells you what already happened. It can't tell you what's coming.

What number do you read first on Monday morning?

https://t.co/R3EWfJphS1

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

A business owner came to me. Bank balance: healthy. About to make a $60K hire.

I asked his AR days. He didn't know.

We pulled it: $100,000 sitting uncollected.

Held the hire. Collected the cash. Made the offer 30 days later, on the right number.

https://t.co/R3EWfJphS1

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Who cares about cash?

Let me tell you:

1) Employees
2) Suppliers
3) My wife!

Cash is the lifeblood of the world!

Running out of cash = the end of your business.

[Connor Abene @ConnorAbene]

Profit doesn’t matter.
Valuation doesn’t matter.
Even revenue doesn’t matter.

If you can’t make payroll, nothing else does.

Cash is the oxygen of every decision.

[Connor Abene @ConnorAbene]

You can’t fix what you can’t see.

That’s why finance is less about math and more about visibility.

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

@ConnorAbene I love it, simple questions that get to the root of the issues!

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Is @ConnorAbene right?

I have chatted with thousands of entrepreneurs who tell me You don't understand my business!

It's hard to tell them THEY don't understand their business.

Yes, he is right!

[Connor Abene @ConnorAbene]

Most founders think they know their numbers.

But when I ask a few simple questions, the truth usually shows up fast.

1. Do you know your cash position for the next 8 weeks?

If not, you’re managing from your bank balance instead of a plan.

Cash visibility is not just about survival.

It’s how you make confident hiring, investment, and expense decisions.

2. Do you know which products, clients, or services actually drive profit?

Revenue is easy to track.

Profit is not.

If you don’t know your true profit drivers, you might be scaling what is quietly hurting you.

3. Do you know what happens if revenue drops 20% next quarter?

If the answer is no, you don’t have a forecast.

You have a wish.

Every business needs a scenario plan before the market forces one on them.

These 3 questions can tell you more about the health of your business than a 40-page report.

If you can’t answer all 3 clearly, you’re not leading with visibility. You’re reacting to whatever happens next.

The best founders don’t just read their numbers.

They use them to see around corners.

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Hey business owners!

Ever feel like your financial statements are written in ancient hieroglyphs?

What's the ONE thing you just DON'T GET about your P&L, balance sheet, or cash flow statement? (e.g., "Why does profit ≠ cash??")

Drop your Qs below – I'll break 'em down! Let's turn confusion into clarity.

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

@iamcadec As a fractional CFO, 1st thing I work on is the current state.

Then we fix it! I don't waste time on being inefficient!

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Not understanding how your systems and processes work together will give you a plate of spaghetti, and you will never know what is going on.

[Cade @iamcadec]

The SMB Efficiency Crisis: Why Your Tools Are Failing You (new blog post) The average small business now uses about 20 different software tools. Each one promised to solve a specific problem. QuickBooks handles accounting. Stripe processes payments. Your CRM manages customer relationships. Gmail handles communication. Each tool does its job well.... but guess what?

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

@iamcadec @jasonlk I love it; as a CFO, I always want to see the ROI!

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

Is Elon reviewing every transaction? NO!

Definitely a guarantee you will never scale!

Plus, you only find it after the fact, reviewing transactions!

Systems and processes will prevent it from happening in the 1st place.

Who has control over their cash? I know my clients do!

[Michael Girdley @girdley]

I asked an auditor:

"What's the #1 way to prevent theft as a business owner?"

He said:

"Simple. Each month, review every transaction. Don't hide that you're doing it."

[Rob Jacob @realCFOrob]

@investing_law Had that happened in the second quarter this year!

The sellar told me I know what I have.

My response was, then let me see what you got!