Operations review & roadmap
We look at how your back office actually runs, work out what is causing the problem rather than what shows up as one, and give you an ordered plan for fixing it. You can run that plan yourself or hand it back to us.
The difference
Most firms sell you the fix before they have seen the problem. We tell you what is actually wrong first, in the order it needs solving, even when the honest answer is that you don't need us for it.
The complaint points one way, the cause sits elsewhere
Before you hand anything over
How we handle your data
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Your systems stay yours.
The work happens in your own accounts, on your own subscriptions, under your ownership. Nothing leaves the systems you have given us access to.
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Access is requested, never assumed.
Read only wherever the work allows it, asked for per system rather than granted in bulk, and named per person. Credentials are never shared, and your records never sit on personal devices.
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Preparing stays separate from approving.
A second person reviews before anything is filed or closed. On payables we prepare the run and you're the one who releases it.
Who it’s for
Owners who know something in the back office isn't working but can't name it. If you're about to hire someone, buy another tool, or start over on a system, this is worth doing before you spend the money.
How we help
- 01 We map how the back office runs today by walking through the real work with the people doing it, not by reading a chart someone drew two years ago.
- 02 We find where the work actually breaks, which is rarely where it shows up. A late month end close often starts with how invoices got approved three weeks earlier.
- 03 We check the four places a back office fails: who is doing the work, how it was handed to them, the process itself, and the systems and records underneath it.
- 04 We tell you plainly what has to change and in what order, so you spend on causes before symptoms.
- 05 We put a rough cost and effort against each item, so you can decide what is worth doing now and what can wait a year.
What you get
- A written map of how your back office runs today, including the parts nobody wrote down.
- A short list of what is actually causing the problems, separated from what is only a symptom.
- An ordered plan, with the sequence that matters and the reason behind it.
- A straight answer on what you can fix in house and what is worth handing over.
- No obligation to use us for any of it.
What owners ask about operations review & roadmap
Is this a sales call in disguise?
No. It's a piece of paid work with a deliverable you keep. Sometimes the finding is that your process is sound and you need one more person, or that a tool you already pay for does the job once someone configures it properly. We would rather tell you that than sell you a project you didn't need.
What do you need from us to do it?
Access to watch how the work happens, and time with the two or three people who actually do it. Most of what we need is already in their heads and in your systems, so there's nothing for you to prepare.
How long does it take?
It depends how much of the back office you want looked at. A single function is quick. A whole operation takes longer, because we want to see a full cycle including a month end rather than a snapshot of one busy week.
Why not just hire someone to sort it out?
You can, and sometimes that's the right answer. The risk is that a new hire inherits work nobody documented, changes things that were quietly working, and you find out two months later. Knowing what is broken first makes the hire far more likely to stick, whether you recruit them yourself or we staff the role.
What happens once we have the plan?
That's your call. Some clients run it internally and we never hear from them again. Others hand back the parts they don't want to own, usually the documentation and the ongoing running. Either is a fine outcome.
Further reading
- What a back office actually costs you Most owners can name their back office costs to the dollar, and the number they name is the smallest part of it. Here is how to work out the rest.
- Automate before you hire When the back office gets busy the instinct is to hire. Do that first and you pay for the manual version of the work every year from now on.
More under Process
Last updated
Tell us where this one hurts.
A short call is the easiest next step. No pitch, just whether we're a fit for your back office.
Or write to hello@pptcgroup.com
Not ready for a call?
Send us last month's close.
We reply within one business day with a written list of what we'd fix.
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