I work with contractors and trades businesses doing $1M–$15M who are tired of running blind on cash flow, missing bids because their numbers are off, and not knowing if they can afford to grow.
Revenue looks good. But at the end of the quarter you're wondering where the money went. Job costing is guesswork and margin is a mystery.
You're waiting on draws, juggling payroll, and making gut-feel decisions on whether you can take the next job. You need a forward-looking picture — not last month's P&L.
Ready for a line of credit, equipment financing, or bonding capacity — but your books aren't telling the story a lender needs to hear.
They code transactions and close the month. They can't tell you which jobs are making money, whether to hire, or what your business is worth.
More revenue, more headaches. You're not sure if the next hire, truck, or contract will help or hurt. You need someone who can model it out.
Whether it's 2 years or 5, an eventual exit needs clean financials, strong margins, and a business that doesn't depend entirely on you to operate.
I specialize in contractors and trades businesses — the kind where the owner is still on calls, still bidding jobs, and still figuring out how to get out of the weeds. You don't need a generalist. You need someone who knows your business model.
Not bookkeeping. Not tax prep. Strategic financial leadership — plugged into your business at whatever level makes sense for where you are.
Stop reacting to cash crunches. Know what's coming 13 weeks out and make decisions with confidence.
Find out which jobs are actually making you money — and which ones are costing you more than you think.
Equipment, lines of credit, bonding capacity — structured so lenders say yes and you don't overextend.
Replace gut feel with a one-page monthly view of what matters — built for how you actually run your business.
Before you add headcount, equipment, or a new division — know exactly what it costs and what it needs to generate.
Thinking about selling in the next few years? The time to prepare your financials is now — not 90 days before you list.
I'm Eric Barton — a Certified Management Accountant and Senior Finance Manager at a Fortune 50 company, with deep experience in FP&A, financial planning, and capital decision-making.
I started Earlmist Advisory because I kept seeing the same thing: small business owners who had built real, successful companies but were making major decisions without the financial infrastructure to back them up. A bookkeeper alone can't do what I do. And a full-time CFO isn't in the budget — or necessary.
Fractional is the answer. A few hours a month of real financial leadership — the kind that comes from years of working inside large, complex organizations — applied to your specific situation.
Before working with Eric, I had no idea which jobs were actually profitable. Now I know within two weeks of finishing a job whether it hit margin — and why.
We were about to take on two more crews without a plan. Eric built us a 90-day cash model that showed us exactly how to sequence the growth. Saved us from a cash crunch we didn't see coming.
Getting our line of credit renewed was a nightmare until Eric helped us organize the financial package. The bank had everything they needed. It closed in three weeks.
Tell me where your business is and what's keeping you up at night. I'll tell you honestly whether fractional CFO support makes sense — and what it would actually look like for your situation.