The 5 Things I Review at Every Client's Quarterly Check-In

Year-to-Date Profitability vs. Plan

The first thing I look at is whether your business is tracking ahead of, behind, or in line with where it should be at this point in the year. This is not just about revenue — it is about the relationship between revenue, direct costs, and overhead. A business can be growing its top line while quietly compressing its margins, and that pattern is almost always easier to correct early than late.

For most of my clients, we set a simple annual profit target at the start of the year. At each check-in, I compare actual results to that target on a pro-rated basis. If we are off track, we talk about why — and what levers are available to course-correct before year-end.

Cash Flow and Working Capital

Profit and cash are not the same thing — and this distinction catches a lot of small business owners off guard. A business can be profitable on paper and still run into serious cash flow problems if receivables are slow, inventory is building, or large payments are coming due at the wrong time.

At each check-in, I look at your current cash position, your outstanding receivables, and any significant payables or obligations coming up in the next 60 to 90 days. If there is a potential shortfall on the horizon, we want to see it coming with enough lead time to address it — whether that means accelerating collections, timing a major purchase differently, or having a conversation with your bank before you actually need them.

For incorporated businesses, we also look at the balance in your shareholder loan account. An unplanned debit balance at year-end can create an unexpected personal tax liability, and it is much easier to manage throughout the year than to deal with in April.

Owner Compensation Review

How you are paying yourself from your corporation is not a set-it-and-forget-it decision. The right mix of salary and dividends can shift meaningfully from year to year depending on your corporate earnings, your personal income needs, your RRSP room, and changes to federal or provincial tax rates.

At each quarterly check-in, I do a quick projection of where your personal and corporate income will land by December 31st. If we are on track, great — no action needed. If something has changed (a strong quarter, a new contract, a significant expense), we adjust the compensation plan accordingly. This kind of proactive adjustment is what prevents large, unpleasant surprises at tax time.

Tax Exposure and Planning Opportunities

By the time most business owners sit down with their accountant in the spring, the tax year is already over. Every decision that could have reduced the bill has already been made — or missed. Quarterly check-ins exist, in large part, to prevent that.

At each session, I run a rough estimate of your current corporate and personal tax exposure based on year-to-date results. We look at whether there are any planning moves worth considering before the quarter closes — things like timing a capital purchase, making an RRSP contribution, or reviewing whether your current corporate structure is still the most efficient one for your situation.

We also review any CRA correspondence or deadlines that are coming up. Instalment payments, GST/HST remittances, payroll remittances — these are easy to lose track of in the day-to-day of running a business, and the penalties for missing them are disproportionate to the oversight.

One Strategic Question

The fifth item on my check-in agenda is deliberately open-ended: I ask every client one strategic question about their business. It might be about a decision they are weighing, a goal they have mentioned, or something I have noticed in the numbers that seems worth discussing.

This is the part of the conversation that goes beyond compliance. It might be: "You have been building retained earnings for three years — have you thought about what you want to do with them?" Or: "Your margins have tightened two quarters in a row — is that a pricing issue, a cost issue, or both?" Or simply: "What is the one thing that would make the biggest difference to your business in the next 12 months?"

A CPA who only looks at your numbers in the rearview mirror is only doing half the job. The strategic conversation is where the real value of a year-round relationship shows up.