In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Josh Philipchalk, CPA and Founder of Craft CFO Consulting, shares insights on how his boutique firm is empowering small and medium-sized businesses in Vancouver to thrive through personalized, high-quality financial services. From offering affordable “small-batch” CFO services to guiding clients through cloud-based accounting systems, Josh’s expertise is transforming how businesses manage their finances and make informed decisions in today’s challenging economic landscape.
Josh Philipchalk is an experienced Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) based in Vancouver, B.C., known for his hands-on approach to client service and commitment to understanding each client’s unique business needs. Josh is the owner of Craft CFO Consulting, a boutique firm focused on delivering high-quality, personalized financial services, including bookkeeping, payroll, budgeting, and forecasting to small and medium-sized businesses.
What inspired you to launch Craft CFO Consulting, and what unique needs of local businesses are you striving to address?
I found that many of my tax clients from Philipchalk & Associates were in need of a good bookkeeper and needed extra help understanding their financial statements. Our goal at Craft is to help our clients understand their financial statements and business as a whole better, so they can make informed decisions and find peace of mind.
Many small businesses struggle with financial management without big budgets. How do your “small-batch” CFO services make expert financial advice more accessible and impactful to these clients?
We find that meeting with clients regularly and helping them understand their monthly financial reports goes a long way in keeping them on top of their financials, so they can make informed decisions. Since they’re not hiring a full-time Bookkeeper or CFO, our costs to the client is much lower than an in-house accountant. This makes it accessible in the sense that even a very small business can afford expert advice.
Moving SMB accounting to the cloud can feel intimidating for owners. What are the biggest challenges and advantages you see in helping your clients transition toward cloud-based accounting and finance tools?
It can definitely feel like an overwhelming challenge at first, and it can be if they attempt to go it alone. When we work with transitioning clients from legacy accounting systems to a cloud-based accounting system, like QBO (which is our go-to accounting software for our clients) we work with them as much as they need, and help them every step of the way. A typical transition involves us working with the client to create the Chart of Accounts, importing opening balances and setting up vendors and customers, importing data, and so on, to ensure everything is running smoothly so the transition is as seamless as possible. At this very moment, Maya, who is the Bookkeeping Manager at Craft CFO Consulting Inc., is working with a group of clients who are transitioning from an outdated accounting software to QBO. The process felt overwhelming to the clients at first, but with Maya’s guidance, the process is going smoothly, and I can tell the client’s stress levels immediately dropped.
There are a lot of advantages to using Cloud-based tools. Convenience and efficiency are two of the biggest advantages I see. For example, clients that are cloud-based can continue accessing their accounting software without having to go into the office. This was incredibly helpful during the COVID lockdowns. It is also helpful on a daily basis as business owners can monitor sales in real-time, employees can submit expense reports on the job-site, employees or the business owner can log in to the software to either access reports or input data from anywhere. It took a while for the software to get to where it is today, but now I believe Cloud-based accounting software is the way to go.
Finally, what key piece of advice would you offer to Canada’s small and medium business owners navigating today’s uncertain economic landscape?
Make informed decisions based on your financial statements. To do that, you’ll need reliable, up to date information. You’ll also need to be able to understand what your financial statements are telling you. If you don’t fully understand your numbers, make sure you partner with someone who can explain things to you in a way you’ll understand. When you understand your financial statements, it empowers you to succeed!
