Send Me Your Questions!

Ever feel like you're doing everything the same way you always have — and it's just not working anymore?

That's not a you problem. That's a growth problem.

In this episode, Melissa breaks down why financial systems stop working as agencies scale, where the cracks tend to show up first, and what kind of financial infrastructure you actually need at each stage of the business.

WHAT WE COVER

- Why the habits that worked at $300K can't hold the weight of a $1M+ operation
- The three inflection points where agency finances tend to break
- A plain-English framework for what your financial setup should look like at $500K, $500K–$2M, and beyond $2M
- Why most founders are running bigger operations on smaller infrastructure — and what to do about it

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK

Pick one financial decision you made last month that you wish you'd had better information for. What information would have helped? Do you have a way to get it right now?

One decision. One gap. That's the exercise.

No Se Habla Taxes is the podcast for creative agency owners who want to understand the financial side of their business — without drowning in spreadsheets. Hosted by CPA and fractional controller Melissa Armstrong, each episode unpacks real operational finance questions through candid stories and practical insight. Subscribe to the newsletter at steadyhandaccounting.com for episode recaps and financial insights delivered straight to your inbox.

Not sure if your business is healthy or just busy? No Se Habla Confusion is a $500 financial assessment for creative agencies on QBO doing $300K–$3M. I dig into your numbers, find the gaps, and tell you exactly where you stand. Email info@steadyhandaccounting.com — subject line: No Se Habla Confusion.

Let's connect!

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armstrongmelissacpa/

Website: https://steadyhandaccounting.com/

Send Me Your Questions!

Hiring the wrong financial support is expensive. And it happens constantly — because nobody ever clearly explains what these roles actually do.

In this episode, Melissa breaks down the real difference between a bookkeeper, a controller, and a CFO, when you actually need each one, and how to know if you've been asking the wrong person the wrong questions.

WHAT WE COVER

- What a bookkeeper actually does (and what they're not supposed to do)
- What a controller does that a bookkeeper can't
- When a CFO makes sense — and when it doesn't
- The evolution of financial leadership as your agency grows
- Why most founders in the $300K–$3M range need a controller, not a CFO

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK

Write down the last three financial questions you asked and couldn't get a clear answer to. Then ask yourself: who was I asking? Was it a controller question going to a bookkeeper?

That list will tell you more about what kind of financial support you need than any job description ever will.

No Se Habla Taxes is the podcast for creative agency owners who want to understand the financial side of their business — without drowning in spreadsheets. Hosted by CPA and fractional controller Melissa Armstrong, each episode unpacks real operational finance questions through candid stories and practical insight. Subscribe to the newsletter at steadyhandaccounting.com for episode recaps and financial insights delivered straight to your inbox.

Not sure if your business is healthy or just busy? No Se Habla Confusion is a $500 financial assessment for creative agencies on QBO doing $300K–$3M. I dig into your numbers, find the gaps, and tell you exactly where you stand. Email info@steadyhandaccounting.com — subject line: No Se Habla Confusion.

Let's connect!

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armstrongmelissacpa/

Website: https://steadyhandaccounting.com/

Send Me Your Questions!

If your agency has grown beyond just you, there is a good chance you are paying for software nobody uses. Three project management tools. Duplicate platforms. A subscription tied to someone who left a year ago. All of it quietly billing, every month, because autopay does not care whether anyone opened the app.

In this episode, Melissa walks through a real financial assessment at a twelve-person branding agency where recurring software subscriptions had grown to fourteen hundred dollars a month, almost seventeen thousand dollars a year, without anyone noticing. She breaks down how SaaS sprawl happens in team environments, why it compounds as your headcount grows, and what a practical system for controlling it actually looks like.

This is not about cutting tools you need. It is about knowing what you are paying for and making sure someone owns it.

IN THIS EPISODE

• How SaaS sprawl accumulates in agencies where multiple people make purchasing decisions.
• Why autopay and annual renewals keep subscription costs invisible.
• What happens to software subscriptions when employees leave (and why it is worse than you think).
• The client project tool trap: subscriptions that outlive the engagement.
• A four-step system to audit, assign ownership, control new purchases, and build offboarding into your process.

HOMEWORK

Pull the last twelve months of transactions from every bank account and business credit card your team uses. List every recurring subscription. Write down who owns it and whether it is actively being used. Cancel anything without a clear owner and a clear purpose. Do it this week.

No Se Habla Taxes is the podcast for creative agency owners who want to understand the financial side of their business — without drowning in spreadsheets. Hosted by CPA and fractional controller Melissa Armstrong, each episode unpacks real operational finance questions through candid stories and practical insight. Subscribe to the newsletter at steadyhandaccounting.com for episode recaps and financial insights delivered straight to your inbox.

Not sure if your business is healthy or just busy? No Se Habla Confusion is a $500 financial assessment for creative agencies on QBO doing $300K–$3M. I dig into your numbers, find the gaps, and tell you exactly where you stand. Email info@steadyhandaccounting.com — subject line: No Se Habla Confusion.

Let's connect!

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armstrongmelissacpa/

Website: https://steadyhandaccounting.com/