airCFO

At a Glance

Industry: Finance

Location: Ohio, USA

Organization: 65 employees, 4 departments, 7 teams

Challenge:

• Inefficient and fragmented systems causing scalability concerns
• Low engagement and inefficient utilization of Notion
• Lack of data visibility and decentralization of client operations‍
• Scaling through traditional software is both costly and time-consuming

Solution: A comprehensive Notion system with dashboards and automations that dynamically generate and assign nearly 8,500 monthly tasks for 120+ clients, centralize key client-facing operations, and deliver insights into core operational data and performance.

Results:

• $30,000 - $40,000 savings in software investments
• $4,200 - $6,500 savings in monthly licensing and operational costs
• Improved data visibility and tracking of operational performance
• Centralized client data and operations, leading to a significant increase in Notion adoption
• Increased scalability and support for growth

Customer Background

airCFO is a premier professional services firm headquartered in Ohio, specializing in accounting, finance, people operations, and taxes for startups globally. With 65 employees distributed across 4 departments and 7 teams, airCFO is committed to streamlining and internal and client-facing operations and enhancing employee productivity through a custom-designed and automated Notion project management solution.

Problem

airCFO is a rapidly growing startup with over 60 employees and more than 150 clients. They are growing fast and as they continue to expand, they needed an organizational operating system that can scale with them. While they had an established foundation in Notion, the connections across databases were confusing, the workflows were nuanced, templates were underwhelming, and adoption was low. Furthermore, over 50% of the company's employees managed a large portion of their tasks in Google Sheets, resulting in low engagement with Notion and inefficient utilization. This lack of a single source of truth for client operations hindered leadership’s ability to gain insights into client delivery performance.

The manual management of monthly client tasks for 120+ clients in Google Sheets, including the entry of dynamic data like task assignees and due dates, was time-consuming and prone to errors. The lack of a centralized operational system made tracking and planning cumbersome, leading to inefficiencies and decreased productivity. To resolve these issues, airCFO was contemplating a substantial investment in Practice Management software, with projected costs of $30,000 - $50,000 for the software and $4,200 - $6,500 in monthly licensing fees.

Solution

We developed a comprehensive set of automated Notion systems to centralize core operations. This included an enhanced project management system and an automation that dynamically generates and populates nearly 8,500 tasks monthly for 120+ clients. Tailored systems for managers, senior accountants, and junior accountants significantly improved visibility into project management efforts, progress and performance as well as allowed effective management of all client-facing operations. Furthermore, we designed reporting dashboards for insights into realization of client projects, bottlenecks, and operational performance. We are now extending this system to also handle internal and ad-hoc projects, further automating project management and reducing the operational and mental load of both leadership and operational teams.

Results

• Software Investment Savings: $30,000 - $40,000 in savings.
• Operational Cost Savings: $4,200 - $6,500 in monthly licensing and operational costs.
• Enhanced Data and Reporting: Improved visibility into operational performance and bottlenecks.
• Centralization and Adoption: Centralized all key client-facing operations, significantly increasing Notion adoption.
• Scalability: airCFO is now equipped to scale their operations efficiently without the effort and cost of traditional software development.

Conclusion

By implementing a comprehensive and automated Notion solution, airCFO successfully addressed critical operational challenges. The new system streamlined project management and provided enhanced visibility into operational performance and client delivery. This solution eliminated inefficiencies, significantly reduced manual effort, and resulted in substantial savings. Centralizing client-facing operations and improving Notion adoption, airCFO is now well-positioned for scalable growth, optimizing both productivity and insights without the need for costly traditional software solutions and leveraging enhanced operational efficiencies to continue expanding their services and focus on delivering exceptional service to their clients.

To find out how our custom and automated solutions can benefit your business, schedule a discovery call with us.