Case study one: Organising multiple revenue streams for a distinguished CEO

• The challenge
  A client lacked the time and specialised expertise needed to navigate the complexities of their financial landscape, encompassing both personal and business operations. They needed a way to track revenue streams, monitor cash flows, and manage operating expenses across various entities while keeping personal and business finances clearly delineated.

• The solution
  Plumb reporting organised this client's QuickBooks files and provided customised financial reports that consolidated their business and personal financial activities. By implementing real-time reporting and integrating automated cash flow tracking across entities, Plumb reporting enabled the client to view revenue, operating expenses, and debt service payments on a single dashboard. Clear categorisation of personal versus business expenses ensured that the client had a complete view of their entire portfolio and streamline getting year-end tax items to the client’s CPA.

• Key outcomes:

  • Improved financial visibility and control: Plumb’s implemented structure allowed the client to keep personal and business finances distinctly separated, streamlining tax preparation and simplifying personal budgeting. With clear boundaries between business and personal expenses, the client achieved greater financial organisation and transparency.

  • Efficient cash flow and expense management: The client gained a deeper understanding of their financial landscape, enabling more effective tracking of spending patterns and growth opportunities.

  • Accurate and timely reporting: Plumb’s clean-up of financial records ensured reliable, up-to-date financial reporting, making it easier for the client to make informed decisions and provide accurate data to their CPA.
    
    “Plumb reimagined and organised my complex financial landscape into a clear, manageable system. I can now effortlessly track revenue, cash flow, and expenses across multiple entities while keeping personal and business finances distinct. Their work has been a game-changer for both my family and entities. Thank you, Plumb!” – Plumb Client

Case study two: Simplifying inter-business transactions across multiple business entities for an art mogu

• The challenge
  An art mogul who owns several businesses, each with their own QuickBooks account, struggled with tracking inter-business transactions, reconciling financial data, and gaining a comprehensive view of their overall financial health.

• The solution
  Plumb reporting standardised and cleaned up the chart of accounts across the business entities, focusing specifically on the balance sheet and due to/due from accounts. Additionally, Plumb built a reporting package that provides a consolidated view, combining all entities that allows the client to track money movement between accounts.

• Key outcomes:

  • ​​​​​​​Enhanced financial clarity: The client now has a consolidated, clear view of financial activities across all entities that seamlessly integrate with the client’s QuickBooks accounts, allowing for effortless monitoring of inter-company transactions and a comprehensive understanding of their overall financial position. The client now receives this report monthly and has referred to his Plumb team as “rockstars.”

  • Reduced reconciliation time by 50%: Plumb’s standardised processes allowed the client’s team to cut their reconciliation time by half. Errors and discrepancies were minimised, and month-end close processes became faster and more accurate, freeing up resources to focus on other growth opportunities.

  • Improved decision-making and planning: Plumb’s new, detailed reports provided the client with insights into cash flow trends, profitability by business, and inter-business resource utilisation. This enabled them to identify areas for potential cost savings, optimise inter-business transactions, and focus on investments on the most profitable entities. Strategic decision-making became more data-driven and aligned with the client’s long-term financial goals.
    
    “Plumb transformed our fragmented financial processes into a streamlined, consolidated system. With their expertise, we now have clear insights into our financial health across all entities, saving us time and enabling smarter, data-driven decisions. The team are truly rockstars!” – Plumb Client

Case study three: Expense tracking and budgeting for a high-profile family office

• The challenge
  A family office managing significant wealth for a high-profile client faced significant challenges in tracking and controlling expenses across multiple family members, businesses, and assets. The client needed precise tracking, especially for philanthropic projects, and a streamlined budgeting approach for each family member’s spending. The family office lacked a clear system to monitor and enforce budget adherence, often leading to unexpected expenses and resource allocation issues.

• The solution
  Plumb reporting implemented a multi-faceted solution to provide the family office with enhanced financial clarity, control, and accountability across all expense areas. This included detailed monthly and quarterly reports that categorised expenses by family member, business entity, and purpose, providing transparent budget vs. actual comparisons to quickly spot any deviations. Automated alerts flagged any overspending or discrepancies, enabling proactive adjustments. A custom budgeting system was set up for philanthropic projects and shared assets, ensuring meticulous tracking and adherence to allocated resources. Finally, an interactive, real-time dashboard allowed the family office to monitor all spending categories and budget statuses, empowering informed, on-the-go financial decision-making.

• Key Outcomes:

  • ​​​​​​​Enhanced financial control and accountability: With organised, categorised expense tracking, the family office gained far better control over spending. They could quickly see how funds were allocated across family members and projects, improving accountability and reinforcing responsible spending habits.

  • Improved budget adherence across all expense categories: The family office saw marked improvement in adherence to set budgets, particularly for philanthropic and personal spending. Automated alerts allowed the office to stay proactive, addressing any potential overspending before it could affect the family’s financial stability.

  • Data-driven decision-making and resource allocation: Plumb’s detailed reporting and real-time dashboard enabled the family office to make more data-driven decisions. They could easily see trends in spending, compare actual vs. budgeted expenses, and adjust resource allocation as needed. This clear visibility into expenses also helped them set realistic spending limits for each family member, ensuring financial stability and aligning spending with long-term family goals.
    
    “Plumb gave us the tools to transform chaos into clarity. Their tailored reporting and budgeting system not only streamlined our expense tracking but also empowered our family office to make proactive, data-driven decisions. We now have complete confidence in managing our financial future with precision and accountability.” – Plumb Client

Case study four: Transforming executive presentations for private foundation

• The challenge
  The client was dedicating substantial time sifting through reports and conducting their own analyses to prepare for executive meetings. This approach led to lackluster presentations that missed the mark on creativity and effective data visualisation. They needed a more efficient solution to quickly extract insights and present financial data in a compelling, sophisticated way.

• The solution
  Plumb developed a custom reporting package that streamlined the financial presentation process and enabled efficient insight extraction. Plumb’s reporting also featured customisable templates and interactive capabilities with dynamic charts, graphs, and tables, making key financial trends visually engaging and intuitive for executive review. Additionally, Plumb developed structured monthly and quarterly reports focused on high-level insights, such as trend analyses, budget comparisons, and forecasts, allowing the client to quickly identify critical areas and present strategic insights effectively.

• Key outcomes:

  • ​​​​​​​Improved executive engagement and decision-making: With a focus on clear, concise insights, the client’s presentations now provided a stronger narrative, fostering greater engagement from executives. The organised, visually rich reports empowered executive teams to make more informed, timely decisions based on clear financial trends and metrics.

  • Enhanced data visualisation: Plumb’s integration of dynamic visuals and engaging graphics significantly improved the impact of the client’s presentations. Executives found it easier to understand key financial data, with important trends and performance metrics communicated more clearly and compellingly.

  • Significant time savings in report preparation: By automating data integration and analysis, the client now saves considerable time previously dedicated to manual data preparation, enabling a greater focus on strategic analysis and insights. This shift has led to more impactful, value-driven presentations for executive leadership. Impressed by the improved outcomes, the client requested ongoing reports of this kind to continuously support executive decision-making.

Our Business Analyst and Reporting Specialist, Matt Hartigan, states, “Plumb reporting has allowed multiple clients to feel more confident in their financial decisions as well as given them a transparent view into their financial standing.”

Through Plumb reporting, our clients have unlocked deeper financial clarity, optimised operations, and identified new growth opportunities, as shown in these real-world case studies. Contact us at sales@thinkplumb.com today to explore how our reporting solutions can provide the clarity and control needed to drive your growth and success.