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 been reading books like yours since 1992.
It comes in four parts:
A written pre-brief. Before we ever get on a call, you send me your numbers and tell me the question 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 session. Ninety minutes on Zoom. We talk it through, you ask the things you've been carrying, and I tell you what the numbers say, what they don't say, and what I'd want to know if this were my decision. The recording is yours to keep, so you can go back to the part you were still thinking about.
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.
One follow-up question, in writing. Any time in the next thirty days, you can send me one question that came out of the session, and I'll answer it. I'll email you around day thirty to ask what you've bumped into since we talked, in case you'd rather be prompted than remember.
Why it's one price
Open Your Books is $595, flat.
One price for the whole thing: the reading and writing I do before we meet, the session itself, the notes afterward, and the follow-up question thirty days later. Not $595 an hour, and not $595 plus prep.
I priced it this way because what you're buying isn't my hours. It's what I can see in your numbers and what I can tell you about them, and that doesn't get better or worse depending on how long it takes me to do.
The session itself is ninety minutes. That's a scheduled ninety minutes, not a meter running. It's enough time because I've already read your books and written up what I saw before we start, so we begin in the middle of the conversation instead of at the beginning of it.
You came here to think clearly about something. Ninety minutes with someone who did the reading beforehand goes a lot further than three hours with someone opening your file for the first time.
Open Your Books
$595 flat
One working session on your real numbers.
- Written pre-brief before we meet
- A ninety-minute session on Zoom, recording yours to keep
- Written follow-up notes
- One written follow-up question, any time in the next thirty days
- One flat fee. Prep, notes and follow-up all included
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 on Zoom. Ninety minutes on the thing you came for. The recording is yours afterward.
5. Get your notes. Written follow-up so the thinking survives the week.
Book your session
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.
When can I book?
Thursdays, two sessions a week. Each one takes real preparation beforehand and real writing afterward, and two done properly is better than four done adequately. If the Thursday you want is taken, the next one usually isn't.
How long is the session?
Ninety minutes, scheduled rather than metered. It's enough because I've already read your numbers and written up what I saw before we meet, so we start in the middle of the conversation instead of at the beginning of it.
If it turns out you have a second question, that's a second session. Not because I'm counting, but because one question properly answered is what this is, and two half-answered isn't better.
How do I get you my numbers?
Two ways, and either is fine. The simpler one is adding me to your accounting file as an accountant user, the same access you'd give your CPA. I pull what I need and you're not hunting for reports. When I send your follow-up notes, I'll include the steps to remove me, so it happens while you're thinking about it rather than a year from now.
Or just send exports: a profit and loss, a balance sheet, and anything else specific to your question. Nothing to connect and no permissions to grant. Some people prefer this and that's completely fine.
Either way, I'll tell you exactly what I need when you book. If you're already a client, there's nothing to do at all.
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. Start with the readiness check on my Start Here page and I'll tell you what would actually help. Once your books are readable, come back.
What if I'm not sure my question is a good one?
If it's a real question about your money, it's a good one. It doesn't need a deadline attached. What it does need is to be specific, because a specific question gets a specific answer. 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 something specific. 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.
Can I follow up afterward?
Yes, once, in writing, any time in the next thirty days. I'll prompt you around day thirty by asking what you've bumped into since we talked, because that question gets an answer and "any questions?" gets silence. It's in writing rather than another call on purpose: a written question has to be specific, and a call a month later mostly gets spent catching up. If you'd rather talk it through, book another session.
What do I actually walk away with?
The pre-brief from before the call, the recording of the session itself, written notes covering what we looked at and what we landed on and anything worth keeping an eye on, and one follow-up question you can spend whenever you like in the next thirty days. 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 your session
Not sure your books are ready? Answer the eight questions on my Start Here page and I'll tell you what would actually help. It takes about two minutes and costs nothing.