The Business Duo for Growth: Business Operations Management and Finance Operations Management
Your business is growing and you need to bring in help to manage your operations, finances, and day-to-day tasks. There’s about fifty-eleven options for who to choose to help you with these tasks and the question becomes, where do you start?
Both finance operations management and general business operations management work together to secure your business’ future. Choosing to prioritize one over the other potentially exposes your business to gaps you most certainly do not want to have.
In order to achieve the growth you desire, the kind that gives you the freedom in your business I know you crave, you need to work on both your business operations and your finance operations.
Think of your business as Mulan, who needed “strength” and “discipline” to reach the arrow at the top of the training pole (IYKYK), you need a finance operations manager and an online business manager for optimal business growth.
To assist me in writing this blog post, I sat down with Melinda Kasper of Wolverine Precision Finance. We interviewed one another to discuss how our roles are intertwined and why business owners with the goal of scaling need to prioritize both of our roles for the best possible outcome.
Continue reading to uncover our reasoning.
Sign up for my newsletter, Business & Balance, and get my blog posts to your inbox every Wednesday along with my best ideas on all things systems, delegation, and spending more time doing what you love.
Finance Operations vs Business Operations: What’s the Difference?
On the surface, finance operations and business operations seem like the same thing–they both have to do with how the business runs, right!
And sometimes, these roles are combined into one. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, if you have found someone who can fully handle both jobs. The issue is, you don’t have to be good at finance to be good at operations and you don’t have to be good at operations per say to be good at finance. They are not mutually exclusive.
What is Financial Operations Management?
Financial operations management is all things finance. It’s the financial strategy that guides your business growth and monitors your finances along the way.
Melinda says the strategies used in finance operations focus on all things finance and ONLY on the financial side of things. This would include bookkeeping, payroll, invoicing, forecasting, and compliance, among other things.
Anything outside of finance would fall within the realm of finance management.
What is Operations Management?
Business operations management encompasses all things that operate a business. Think along the lines of:
Strategic Planning
Project Management
Company-Client Relationships
Process Management
Team Management
Quality Control and/or KPI Tracking
The goal of business operations is to ensure the business is running smoothly, things are getting done, people are happy, and goals are being met so that growth can occur. Then, it’s also the job of operations management to plan out and oversee that business growth where necessary.
Who Will Do the Job?
In large companies, operations management can include finance; however, for small teams hiring fractional managers or C-suite executives for the roles of operations manager and finance manager, Melinda and I both agree that separating these roles allows each of them to be completed more efficiently and cost you less overall, allowing the right person for each job to focus on what they are best at.
I have seen smaller businesses with small teams hire fractional COOs or OBMs (online business managers) and expect them to do the general business operations AND the financial operations, but there’s always something amiss. The new team member is either really good at finance and not quite as strong in general business operations. Or, they are really good at general business operations, but not as strong in finance.
In large companies, hiring one person for the job makes sense. They need to hire a full-time employee whom they plan to pay upwards of $220k per year. They NEED that person to do it all.
But businesses like yours, you don’t need that at all. I average 10 hours per week for my clients and Melinda shared with me that she averages close to the same.
Here’s what would happen if you hired one of us for both jobs:
If You Hired Me, Sammy, for Both Jobs
I run my own business and I’ve done my own bookkeeping. But the majority of my work revolves around better business practices, efficiency, and people management. So when I learn something new, it’s usually in one of those areas.
I personally know nothing about tax laws, updates to tax laws, and I do not keep up with changes at the state and federal level except as to how it pertains to my business.
Frankly, that would be so much more work and I would have to charge so much more to account for all the training I would need to do and the professional memberships I’d need to be part of in order to stay up-to-date with all of that because I do not have connections to other tax professionals. My connections are business owners, software developers and users, systems strategists, sales professionals, etc.
In the end, you’d be spending significantly more money for me to learn how to do your finances beyond basic bookkeeping and expense reporting and the continuing education required for me to do it well.
If You Hired Melinda for Both Jobs
Melinda also owns her own business, and in a pinch, she is more than happy to recommend a new software, or set up something you’re struggling with. But it’s not where her passion lies and she has limited knowledge of the softwares available.
Melinda’s background lies in accounting, finance, US regulations, compliance, and finance specific software. Yes, she will set up your systems related to all things finance, but the best CRM or the best email marketing platform is not her area of expertise.
If asked to do these things, she would have to spend countless hours researching the best possible option and then spend even more time learning how to set it all up and make it functional.
I can confidently say this would be the same outcome for any OBM or finance ops manager combo you would be considering.
The Solution? You Need Both an OBM and a Finance Manager.
Melinda says that the biggest advantage of having someone who is finance specific is the training. If finance is wrong, it could be costly for business owners, so you want to have someone who knows what is going on, what’s right and what’s wrong, and makes it a smooth process.
Likewise, if there is an issue with your general business operations or processes, it could cost you clients–which means it costs you money. Having an OBM focus solely on your business operations, but not financial operations, allows them to focus on the operations they know best and put their best work forward each and every time.
Finance Operations and Business Operations are the Perfect Pair to Fuel Your Business Growth
When it comes to hiring help in your business, it doesn’t have to be either/or when deciding what roles you need. When considering a finance operations manager, an online business manager, or some other role entirely, you need to consider your short term and long term goals as well as who is best suited to help you reach those goals. And you might find that your answer is both.
Their Role in Your Business Growth
Growing your business how you want is on your mind; it’s why you’re here. And to truly grow to the next level, you’ll need solid systems for financial operations and for general business operations.
Why Operations Management Matters for Growth
Operations management means:
Scalability
If your systems, processes, and operations are not set up to scale (i.e. they require a lot of manual processes), they will hold you back. Having an operations manager like an online business manager will help you set up the systems you need to move to the next level and beyond.
More Time as CEO
With an OBM essentially running your business, you will have more time to think and act as the CEO of your business. Think more time planning and dreaming and less time making everything work.
Ops Working Within Financial Goals
Ops requires decisions: Should you hire someone new? Should you switch softwares? Should you raise your prices? Knowing your financial goals and having a budget will help you know what decisions can and cannot be acted upon within your operations.
Why Finance Operations Matter for Growth
Financial operations management means:
Know Your Spending Power
You will have no questions about what you have to spend on growth and learning.
Never Worry About Cashflow
You’ll know exactly what’s coming in, what’s leaving, and where it’s all going. You’ll know if you have enough or if you need to make changes.
Finances Drive Ops Decisions
You can’t purchase a new software or make a new hire if you don’t know what your finances are. Having a financial ops manager will make sure you know exactly what you have available each month.
A Match Made in Business Heaven
In the best-case scenario for your business, you will have a financial operations manager and a business operations manager (like an OBM). Your financial ops manager and your business ops manager will work together to keep your business running smoothly.
Without operations management, your finances have data, but no understanding of how to use that data to drive business decisions–there are no systems in place to help implement changes, which leads to chaos.
Without finance operations, your general business operations will have motion, but no clarity–you’ll have systems and be delegating, but not know if changes or even keeping things the same is feasible financially.
Together, your financial operations and business operations create sustainable growth. Your finances show where to go next, what decisions to make, and what decisions CAN be made. Your operations are what gets you there.
Ready to Take Action? Here Are Your Next Steps
Realizing that you need both a financial operations manager and a business operations manager? Here’s what you can do:
Assess where your biggest gaps are.
What do you need first: financial clarity or operational strategy & execution?
Bring in the experts.
Hire Melinda Kasper as your finance operations manager and Sammy Bohannon as your online business manager to manage your operations.
Align your financial and operations strategies.
Meet with both experts (either together or separately) to discuss goals, strategy planning, and conduct quarterly reviews.
Watch your business soar!
Conclusion
In the grand scheme of things, finance operations gives clarity to your business and its overall financial success and possibilities. Your general business operations is the execution of all things. They work together to fuel your business growth and trajectory.
Want to explore how Melinda’s financial ops can improve your business operations?
Visit Melinda’s website to learn more about her services or book a sales call with me to discuss how my OBM retainer will help you meet your business goals.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Related Blog Posts
Related Resources & Tips
Who is Melinda Kasper?
Melinda is the founder and CEO of Wolverine Precision Finance Operations Group. She does daily financial operations management including:
Bookkeeping
Payroll
Invoicing
Bill pay
Budgeting
Reporting
Forecasting
Melinda currently mainly works with non-profits.
Examples of How Finance Ops and General Business Ops Work Together to Benefit Your Business
Having an OBM and VA team work alongside a financial manager is beneficial to both you and your team members. These roles work together seamlessly because there is quite a bit of overlap in many of the processes each of them do. For example:
It might make more sense for your VA to do invoicing and follow up on it because they already have a relationship with your clients and your clients recognize their name.
Likewise, if an invoice goes unpaid long enough, having the financial manager step in as a second level of escalation can be highly beneficial.
Your finance manager knows all about the payroll and all things money, but what if they have a question about how the employees work best or how to get in touch with them? That’s where an OBM would come in. The OBM manages the team and can push out any new processes or initiatives more easily than a finance manager.
Your finance manager may recommend a new system that uses a software or existing system they are not familiar with because it’s not based in financial systems. Your OBM would consult with your finance manager and take care of setting that up behind-the-scenes without you even needing to worry about a thing.
