Having a strong financial team is a very important part of business growth. While amazing ideas can garner traction quickly and likely put quite a bit of money in the bank, it takes a strategic plan and good cash management to make the most of those sales.

Fortunately, as businesses become more digitally advanced, finance teams are becoming more and more flexible and have learned to adapt quickly to the budget needs of an ever-changing market.

As an entrepreneur looking to grow and expand, these are the pieces of a financial team we recommend most.

1. Financial Advisor/CFO - Your CFO is your strategist and planner. They keep their focus on the long term success of your company, and make efforts to increase profit centers and ROIs. They're envisioning the big picture and factoring in your big picture business goals.

2. Accountant/CPA - Your accountant typically has all the skills needed to make sure your business financials are optimized for tax purposes. Financial accounting and tax accounting are very different, so their viewpoint is essential to cutting back your taxes owed.

3. Controller - The in house manager of the accounting department handles your reporting and the high level adjustments needed on a regular basis. They supervise and assist the accounting team, reconcile, and maintain financial procedures.

4. Bookkeeper - You can't plan for the future if no one is keeping track of your numbers, so a good bookkeeper is an essential member of your team. They're responsible for keeping up with all the daily transactions that come in and go out, making sure you are tracking your income and expenses in real time.

5. Billing Specialist - This is a department that many of our business owners tend to still be managing themselves, but having someone else on the team who can send invoices, follow up on outstanding A/R and verify payments have been made and recorded is extremely helpful in lightening the load of a company owner. Separating this role also allows for good checks and balances and eliminates risk when it comes to managing in house funds.

Over the past couple years, we've worked with companies to fill in these gaps. Our first step is to assess what is needed based on money movement. Once its determined what roles should be filled, we determine if this is something that should be handled in-house or outsourced. Then we assist in putting those pieces in place, by either hiring an in house team, or outsourcing their bookkeeping to our own maintenance team (made up of Fractional CFOs, controllers, bookkeepers, and accounts payable specialist).

With these key members in place, you put your company in a place for growth and scaling. Eliminate potential barriers by building a team that can grow at the same pace as you.

Who do you need on your team?