Southwest Florida operating advisory
Estero Bay takes over AP/AR workflows, job costing, Work-in-Progress tracking, and invoicing so billing happens the moment a job completes — audit-ready financial closes by the 10th business day, plus a rolling 13-week cash forecast and bank-ready credit files.
$500K–$25M
Annual revenue clients
13-week
Rolling cash model
Day 10
Audit-ready close
Our core services
Most operators do not need theoretical consulting. They need a disciplined operating rhythm that turns field work into cash and produces bankable records.
Invoicing, AP/AR workflows, job costing, and WIP tracking that turn completed work into collected cash.
Explore the serviceA rolling weekly schedule for collections, vendor payments, payroll, tax reserves, and the decisions between them.
Explore the serviceCredit files, add-back recasting, collateral reporting, and DSCR discipline built for real lender conversations.
Explore the serviceIllustrative financial scenario
When receivables sit uncollected past 60 or 70 days, operational liquidity is trapped on the balance sheet. This is the kind of picture we build, update, and use with owners and lenders.
Illustrative financial scenario
Annual gross revenue
$5,000,000
Current DSO
70 days
Target baseline DSO is modeled at 42 days through immediate billing and structured payment terms.
Interest savings assume an illustrative 9.50% commercial bank rate on working capital.
Actual liquidity release depends on contract terms, customer credit, and project milestones.
Trapped receivables
$972,222
Cash uncollected at current DSO
Modeled release
$388,889
Capital freed if compressed to 42 days
Est. LOC interest saved
$36,944 / yr
At a 9.5% illustrative rate
DSCR discipline
1.48x
Illustrative normalized outcome; target above 1.30x
Representative client engagements
Anonymized examples demonstrate the measurable result of restructuring back-office operations and preparing institutional loan packages.
Problem
Invoicing lagged 25 days; receivables stretched to 72 days and crossed the bank’s 90-day collateral threshold.
Intervention
Rebuilt field sign-offs, started immediate billing, automated payment cadences, and recast two years of owner add-backs.
Result in 90 days
DSO dropped to 42 days, releasing over $380,000 and restoring the $750,000 revolving line.
Problem
Tax depreciation created paper losses and a reported DSCR of 0.98x against a 1.25x requirement.
Intervention
Installed accrual WIP reporting, audited $420,000 in non-recurring expenses, and presented the credit package directly to the lender.
Result in 90 days
Normalized DSCR reached 1.48x and secured a $1.4M equipment term loan without equity dilution.
Core sectors
HVAC, electrical, plumbing, civil, and roofing operators managing progress billing, retention, and job margin visibility.
Ready-mix, aggregate hauling, and route logistics businesses balancing equipment debt, fuel reserves, and maintenance accruals.
Component fabricators, custom millwork, packaging, and assembly operations that need job costing and borrowing-base visibility.
Managing principal
Paul Francis Schmieder
Background & pedigree
Traditional bookkeepers record past data. Statutory CPAs prepare annual tax returns designed to minimize taxable income. But when an operating company needs a $1M to $5M commercial credit line, standard tax returns and messy desktop records can disqualify it in bank underwriting.
Paul Francis Schmieder brings more than two decades of hands-on executive turnaround leadership, industrial manufacturing management, and capital-intensive operating experience. He has worked directly with commercial banking relationships, equipment finance divisions, corporate attorneys, and bank loan committees.
Estero Bay does not hand you an academic report. It steps into the office and establishes the operating systems required to sustain growth, defend DSCR, and secure capital.
Operating focus
Field-to-ledger execution
Bank fluency
Direct credit defense
SW Florida local
On-site presence
Frequently asked questions
Your CPA focuses backward on tax compliance and legally minimizing income taxes. We focus forward on operational health: daily AP/AR workflows, job-cost accruals, weekly 13-week cash management, and credit packages that make your business bankable. We coordinate directly with your CPA so year-end tax strategies don't accidentally breach bank debt covenants.
Bookkeepers typically perform basic cash-basis data entry and bank reconciliations after the month has closed. We install operating procedures that connect field work directly to invoicing, manage rolling liquidity forecasts, calculate monthly Debt Service Coverage Ratios (DSCR), and interface with commercial bank loan officers.
We conduct a forensic review of your General Ledger, clean up balance-sheet misclassifications, identify and document all legitimate owner add-backs, calculate your baseline DSCR across trailing twelve months, and build your company’s first rolling 13-week cash-flow forecast.
Prior two years of corporate tax returns, trailing twelve-month profit and loss statements, current balance sheet, detailed accounts receivable and accounts payable aging summaries, and copies of existing commercial loan or equipment credit agreements.
The Foundation Diagnostic ($5,000–$15,000) is a mandatory, one-time 30-day sprint required to audit and normalize your records. Once clean books and cash rhythms are established, clients transition seamlessly into predictable monthly recurring retainers.
Clear retainer structure
Predictable fees based on revenue scale and operational complexity. Every engagement begins with a Foundation Diagnostic.
$5,000–$15,000
One-time onboarding fee
$2,500–$3,500/mo
Monthly recurring retainer
$4,500–$6,500/mo
Complete controller pod
$7,500–$12,500/mo
Multi-entity & CapEx
Confidential review
Connect directly with Paul Francis Schmieder to review your invoicing lag, 13-week liquidity forecast, or upcoming bank loan requirements.
