Dear CFO Portfolio Protector
Know sooner. Act faster. Protect returns.
The financial early-warning system for private equity. Every portfolio company in one place, the problems found early, and the forecast always current.
- Financials
- Forecasts
- Unit economics
- Benchmarking
- Board reporting
- AI analysis
| Company | Cash, mo. | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harborview Freight | 11.4 | 19.1% | +21.0% |
| Ironwood Logistics | 14.8 | 22.7% | +28.3% |
| Foxglove Creamery | 3.1 | 4.2% | −2.8% |
| Larkspur Robotics | 5.4 | 8.1% | +3.1% |
The problem
The surprise didn’t happen yesterday. You just found out yesterday.
Month 1
Gross margin begins slipping
Month 2
Revenue misses plan
Month 3
Cash burn accelerates
Board meeting
LPs learn about it
In the numbers
What you knew
With Dear CFO
Variance raised, accounts attached
Reforecast shows where the quarter lands
Intervention already under way
The board hears the plan, not the surprise
Three months you could have used
Month 1
Gross margin begins slipping
−0.8 ptsYou knew
Nothing yetWith Dear CFO
Variance raised, accounts attachedMonth 2
Revenue misses plan
−6.2%You knew
Nothing yetWith Dear CFO
Reforecast shows where the quarter landsMonth 3
Cash burn accelerates
−$240KYou knew
Nothing yetWith Dear CFO
Intervention already under wayBoard meeting
LPs learn about it
All of itYou knew
You find outWith Dear CFO
The board hears the plan, not the surprise
Three months you could have used
Dear CFO moves that conversation to Month 1.
Early warning
Monitoring tells you what happened. This keeps going.
What happened
The variance is raised the day the books show it.
Cash on hand
$1.28M
Gross margin
61.4%
Days sales outstanding
38days
Net operating income
$443K
Why
The accounts and drivers behind it arrive attached.
−$84K
Q3 revenue against plan
- Plan revenue$1.42M
- Wholesale accounts lost−$46K
- Volume per account−$38K
- Mix toward lower-margin SKUs−$21K
- Actual revenue$1.34M
What happens next
The reforecast shows where the quarter lands.
Where to intervene
You get to the company while it is still cheap to fix.
Gross margin is running under plan.
61.4%
−0.8 ptsagainst a plan of 62.2%What moved
- Direct labour+$18K vs. plan
- Materials+$7K vs. plan
Portfolio command center
Every company, one standardized view.
Benchmark
Know what good looks like.
Every company measured the same way; the laggard shows up on its own.
55.5%
Portfolio median gross margin
- Cedar Ridge Dental66.8%
- Harborview Freight61.4%
- Ironwood Logistics58.2%
- Larkspur Robotics52.7%
- Northwind Provisions44.1%
- Foxglove Creamery31.5%
AI analyst
Ask the portfolio a question.
Across every company at once, with every step on screen.
Which companies are going to miss Q4 plan, and why?
4 steps · 14.8s
Two are tracking under plan: Foxglove −9.8% and Larkspur −4.1%.
Board reporting
Stop paying teams to assemble slides.
The pack is built from the same live numbers: statements, forecast against plan, and the lines that moved.
| Sep-26 | Budget | Actual | Var |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Income | 2,302 | 2,318 | +0.7% |
| New customers | 22 | 19 | −13.6% |
| Job margin | 38.0% | 34.1% | −10.3% |
| Net Operating Income | 461 | 443 | −3.9% |
Finance team
Software, plus actual CFO and accounting expertise.
Software finds the problem.
- Variances raised with the accounts attached
- Every company reforecast as each month closes
- One standard view across the whole portfolio
Financial experts help fix it.
- CFOs and accountants who step in when needed
- Clean-up, close and forecasting done for you
- Oversight backed by an actual finance team
Exit readiness
Cleaner data from acquisition through exit.
At acquisition
Statements and KPIs standardized from the first close, instead of rebuilt in year three.
Through the hold
Every month on the same definitions, so the history a buyer reads is one continuous series.
At exit
A diligence-ready model with the actuals already in it, not a data room assembled in a panic.
Watch
Two minutes, end to end.
See Portfolio Protector against your portfolio.
Tell us a little about the fund and we will get back to you to arrange a time.