Open Your Books
One working session on your actual numbers, for the decision you 've been circling.
Open Your Books
One working session on your actual numbers, for the decision you've been circling.
There's a decision sitting on your desk.
Maybe it's whether you can afford to bring someone on. Maybe it's whether to raise your prices, and by how much. Maybe you've been quietly wondering whether one of your offers is actually making money, or whether you could take a slower quarter without it hurting.
You've thought about it in the shower. You've done rough math on the back of something. You've asked a friend who was kind but didn't really know.
And you're still circling, because the honest answer is that you don't have quite enough information to feel sure, and the information you'd need is sitting in your own books where you can't quite read it.
This is for that.
What it is
One working session, on your real numbers, with someone who has spent more than thirty years reading books like yours.
It comes in three parts:
A written pre-brief. Before we ever get on a call, you send me your numbers and tell me the decision you're weighing. I go through them and write up what I see. You get that in writing beforehand, so the call doesn't start with me looking at your books for the first time while you watch.
The call. We talk it through. You ask the things you've been carrying. I tell you what the numbers say, what they don't say, and what I'd want to know if this were my decision.
Written follow-up notes. Afterward, you get it in writing: what we covered, what we landed on, and anything worth watching. Because the value of a good conversation evaporates by Thursday if nobody wrote it down.
Why it's one price, not an hourly rate
Open Your Books is $595, flat.
Not $595 an hour. Not $595 for ninety minutes with overage. One price for the whole thing, however long the call runs and however long the prep takes me.
I priced it this way on purpose. Charging by the hour means billing you for my effort rather than your outcome, and it puts a clock in the room. You'd be watching the time instead of asking the question you actually came with. You'd hesitate before saying "wait, can we go back to that."
You came here to think clearly about something. That's hard to do while you're being metered.
Open Your Books
$595 flat
One working session on your real numbers.
- Written pre-brief before we meet
- The working session itself
- Written follow-up notes
- No hourly rate, no clock in the room
What people actually bring
Real questions from real sessions, lightly disguised:
- Can I afford to hire help, and what would I have to be true for it to work?
- I've been meaning to raise my prices for two years. What do my numbers say about that?
- Is this offer actually profitable, or is it just busy?
- I want to stop doing the part of this I hate. Can the business carry that?
- Am I paying myself the right way?
- My revenue is up but I don't feel any richer. Where is it going?
- I have a slow quarter coming. Do I need to worry about it?
The common thread isn't the topic. It's that each one is a real decision with money attached, and the answer is sitting in numbers you already have.
What you need before you book
Books you can pull a report from. They don't need to be perfect. They need to be workable, meaning there's enough there to read. If your bookkeeping is months behind, or your records live in a shoebox and a spreadsheet you haven't opened since spring, there isn't yet anything for us to open.
That's not a rejection, it's a sequence. Messy books start with a Foundations Assessment, which is a full diagnostic of where things actually stand. Once your books are readable, this session is here.
A decision you're actually facing. Not a general check-in. This works because it points at something specific.
When you book, I'll ask what system your books live in. If it turns out there isn't enough to work with, I'll tell you before you've paid anything, and point you at what would actually help.
You don't have to give me access to anything
If you're not already a client, you send exports. A profit and loss, a balance sheet, whatever else is relevant to your question.
Nothing to connect, no permissions to grant, nothing to remember to revoke afterward. You send files, I read them, and that's the whole arrangement.
If you are already a client, there's nothing to send at all. I already have your books.
What this isn't
It isn't coaching. I'm not going to ask you how that makes you feel or help you set intentions. We're going to look at your numbers and talk about a decision.
It isn't ongoing. There's no package, no minimum, no drip of follow-up sessions. You book it when you need it. Some people come once. Some come twice a year, when something big is in front of them.
It isn't bookkeeping. I'm not cleaning anything up or taking anything over in this session. If it becomes clear that's what you need, I'll say so.
It isn't tax advice. I don't prepare or file returns. When something is genuinely a tax question, I'll tell you that plainly, and I'm glad to talk to whoever files yours.
How it works
1. Book your session. Pick a time, tell me the decision you're weighing, and let me know where your books live.
2. Send your numbers. I'll tell you exactly what to send. Then I check that everything's there well before we meet, not the morning of, so we never lose the session to a missing report.
3. Read your pre-brief. What I see in your numbers, in writing, before we talk.
4. We meet. One working session on the thing you came for.
5. Get your notes. Written follow-up so the thinking survives the week.
Book a discovery call
A note from Stacy
Hi, I'm Stacy Luft, founder of CEO Business Balance.
Most of what I do is ongoing: I keep people's books, close their months, and write them a report they can actually read. But every so often someone who isn't a client at all has one real question, and no good place to take it.
They don't need a bookkeeper yet. They don't need a course, or a community, or a coach. They need one competent person to look at their actual numbers and say what they see.
That's this. It's also, honestly, the easiest way to find out whether you'd want to work with me at all, without signing up for anything ongoing to find out.
In my world, being a CEO means being a Calm, Empowered Owner. Of your business, your numbers, and your decisions. Sometimes that just takes one good afternoon of thinking clearly.
Questions About Open Your Books
Do I have to be a client already?
No. Open Your Books is built to stand on its own. Plenty of people book it having never worked with me, and some of them never do anything else, which is fine. If you are already a client, you can book it any time something comes up between reports.
How long is the session?
Long enough to get through what you came with. I don't publish a number because the moment there's a number on it, you start watching the clock instead of thinking. The price is the same either way.
What do I need to send you?
Reports out of whatever system your books live in, usually a profit and loss and a balance sheet, plus anything specific to your question. I'll tell you exactly what to send when you book. You don't need to give me access to your accounts.
What if my books are a mess?
Then this isn't the right first step, and I'll tell you that rather than take your money for a session we can't use. Messy or badly behind books start with a Foundations Assessment, which is a full diagnostic of where things actually stand. Once your books are readable, come back.
What if I'm not sure my question is a good one?
If it's a real decision with money attached, it's a good one. The questions people apologize for asking are usually the ones they've been carrying longest.
Is this coaching?
No. This is a working session on your numbers about a specific decision. I'm not going to help you set intentions or work on your money mindset. I'm going to tell you what your books say and what I'd want to know if this were my call.
Can you help with a tax question?
Not directly, that's a different specialty and I don't prepare or file returns. If your question turns out to be a tax question, I'll say so plainly, and with your permission I'm glad to talk to whoever files yours so you're not stuck relaying between us.
Will you try to sell me bookkeeping?
No. If it becomes clear during our session that ongoing bookkeeping would help you, I'll say so once, because not saying it would be withholding something useful. Then we'll get back to your question. You'll leave with what you came for either way.
Can I book more than one?
Yes, whenever something comes up. There's no package and no minimum. Some people come once. Some come a couple of times a year, usually when something big is in front of them.
What do I actually walk away with?
Written notes covering what we looked at, what we landed on, and anything worth keeping an eye on. Plus the pre-brief from before the call. The point is that the thinking survives past the conversation.
You already know what you're avoiding deciding.
Bring it. Let's look at it together, with your real numbers in front of us.
Book a discovery call
Not sure your books are ready? Start with a discovery call and we'll work out what you actually need.