Complete the Picture

By the end, every section of My Business will hold your real figures, checked line by line, and the Financial Summary and Score Card will grade all of it.

This is the one place you edit your numbers by hand, so each section below is a full walk-through. Do the ones you need; an import has already filled most of them.

Before You Start

• Where it is: the "Edit Financials" sidebar on My Business. The sections run in order: Basics, Import, Revenue, Direct Costs, Marketing, Administration, Owner Pay, Long-Term Investments, Funding and Cash Timing. After an import every section is open; entering by hand, each one opens once the one before it is done.
• What it costs: free on every plan, no credits.
• What you need: whatever the section asks for. Loan statements and card balances for Funding, your payment terms for Cash Timing, and receipts for equipment are the usual gaps.
• How it's laid out: each section opens on an intro page ("Let's Go"), then a summary page with cards or a table. "Edit" opens a card; "Save" brings you back to the summary; "Continue" moves on to the next section.

Find What's Missing

1. Open the Financial Summary. Under the title, "Not yet in these numbers:" lists every section that's skipped or unfinished. Screenshot to come: The Financial Summary's Not yet in these numbers note listing Funding and Cash Timing, with the Add Them link (summary-not-yet.png)
2. Click "Add It" (or "Add Them"). It opens the first section on the list. Once every section is in, the note is gone.

Revenue

Why it matters: every other number is measured against revenue, and each stream's volume drives its direct costs and marketing math.

1. Open "Revenue". The list page, "Your income streams.", has three groups: "Service Revenue", "Product Revenue" and "Recurring Revenue".
2. Add or edit a stream. Click "Add Service", "Add Product" or "Add Recurring", or "Edit" on an existing card.
   • Service: choose "1-on-1 Clients" or "Groups", then a "Billing Type". For "Per Session", enter "Annual Clients", "Sessions per Client (Annual)" and "Price per Session ($)". For "Retainer + Per Session", add the "Retainer Fee ($)" and "Retainer Frequency".
   • Product: "Annual Units Sold" and "Price per Unit ($)".
   • Recurring: "Number of Subscribers" (today's count), "Price per Period ($)" and "Billing Frequency".
3. Fill the optional fields you know. "Largest Customer %" feeds the Score Card's Customer Concentration grade; an import fills it for you when your sales export names who bought. "Monthly Churn %" and the new-client counts ("New Retainer Clients per Year", "New Members per Year") let Marketing work out what each new customer costs you.
4. Click "Save", then "Continue" on the list page.

Direct Costs

Why it matters: these are the costs of delivering what you sell, so they set your gross margin, stream by stream.

1. Open "Direct Costs". You'll see one card per revenue stream under "Revenue Stream Costs", and one "General Costs" card under "General Selling Costs".
2. Click "Edit" on a stream. The first time, "Here's what we mean by Direct Costs" lists what belongs here and what doesn't. Click "Next". You can reopen it anytime from "What should I include / exclude?"
3. Work through the six tabs. "Materials", "Labor", "Platform Fees", "Shipping", "Payment Processing" and "Other". Type a cost into the empty last row of the table: an "Expense Name", an "Amount" and a "Cost Basis". The basis can be per client, per session, per unit, per subscriber, a "% of Revenue" or "Flat (Annual)", so a cost grows with sales the way it really does.
4. Set up card fees under "Payment Processing". Pick your processor (Stripe, Square and PayPal come with their standard rates) or "Other", then check the "Estimated Annual".
5. Tick "Calc FICA" on staff wages. On the "Labor" tab, it adds the employer payroll tax as its own line. Leave your own pay out; it goes in Owner Pay.
6. Save each tab with the arrow button. It moves to the next tab, and the last one returns to the summary. A stream with no direct costs can be closed with "Mark complete".
7. Do the same for "General Costs", for selling costs that don't belong to one stream. Then click "Continue".

Marketing

Why it matters: tagging each line to the streams it supports is what lets the Score Card and the Marketing Efficiency Play tell which stream's marketing earns its keep. Untagged spend reads as blended spend, spread by revenue share.

1. Open "Marketing". The "Marketing Expenses" table has columns "Name", "Channel", "Annual Amount" and "Attributed To". Rows save as you type.
2. Add or correct each line. Click "+ Add Expense", name it (for example "LinkedIn Ads"), pick a "Channel" (such as Referrals, Organic Social, Paid Social, Paid Search, Content / SEO or Email) and enter the amount.
3. Tag it. Click the "Attributed To" button on the row. A panel opens with one row per revenue stream:
   • Use a quick pick ("All Streams", "Services", "Products", "Subscriptions") to share it out, or tick the streams yourself.
   • Type a percent to split it unevenly; the other ticked streams rebalance to fill the rest. "Even Split" divides it equally.
   • The badge has to read "100% across N streams". Click "Done". Screenshot to come: The attribution panel splitting one marketing line across two revenue streams, with the 100% badge (marketing-attribution-flyout.png)
4. Watch "What This Feeds". The side panel shows each stream's spend and its cost to win a customer (CAC). "$X is unattributed" means some spend is still blended; "Every dollar is tagged." means you're done. If it says "CAC needs a new-client count", add that count to the stream in Revenue.
5. Answer "Where Did Your New Customers Come From?" (optional). Give each channel its rough share of new customers, adding to 100%. This shows what each channel costs per customer.
6. Click "Continue". Untagged rows, or no marketing at all, are allowed.

Administration

Why it matters: overhead is what the business costs to run whether or not you sell, and it sets your operating margin.

1. Open "Administration". Four cards: "Accounting & Finance", "Legal & Compliance", "Office & Operations" and "Other".
2. Click "Edit" on each card. Type each item into the table's empty last row with its amount. Tick "Calc FICA" on staff wages; your own pay goes in Owner Pay.
3. Click "Save", then "Continue" once each card shows "Complete".

Owner Pay

Why it matters: "Total Value to You" is what the business pays you, so it's wrong until your pay is in. What you see depends on how the business is taxed (set in Basics).

1. Open "Owner Pay". The summary shows one card per part of your pay.
2. Fill in each card.
   • "Health & Benefits": "Annual Health Insurance Premium" and "Annual HSA/FSA Contribution".
   • "Retirement": pick "SEP-IRA", "Solo 401(k)", "SIMPLE IRA" or "I don't contribute to retirement", then the "Annual Contribution Amount".
   • S-Corp or C-Corp only: "Owner Salary" ("Annual Salary") and "Dividends & Distributions". The employer payroll tax on your salary is worked out for you on the "Employer Payroll Tax on Your Salary" card; there's nothing to enter.
3. Fill in "Replacement Cost". It asks what it would cost to replace you, and any other working owner, at market rate. Add each role with its "Annual Cash Comp" and "Annual Benefits", entering only the increase over what you already pay yourself. It doesn't change your financials: the Score Card uses it to compare your margins with businesses that pay a manager.
4. Click "Continue". The section is complete once every card is saved, Replacement Cost included. On an S-Corp, a "Low Salary for Your Profit Level" note may appear; it's a warning, never a block.

Long-Term Investments

Why it matters: equipment, software and vehicles are real cash investments, and depreciating them lowers your tax bill.

1. Open "Long-Term Investments". The summary lists your assets with each one's "Annual Tax Deduction" and when it runs out.
2. Click "Add Asset" ("Add Your First Asset" when the list is empty).
3. Fill in the asset. A "Description", an "Asset Type" (such as Computer/Tech Equipment, Software Licenses or Vehicles), the "Date Placed in Service", "Business Use %" and "Original Cost". Leave "Accumulated Depreciation" blank and it's worked out for you, along with the asset's life.
4. Click "Save", then "Continue".

No equipment? On the intro page, "Skip For Now — No Equipment Or Assets" moves on. It only shows while the section is empty.

Funding

Why it matters: debt payments come out of cash, interest lowers your tax, and the Debt Restructuring Play needs your loans.

1. Open "Funding". It has three parts: "Debts", "Equity" and "Cash on Hand".
2. Add each debt. Click "Add Debt" ("Add Your First Debt" when empty). Give it a "Debt Name" and pick a "Debt Type":
   • "Term/Installment Loan": "Annual Interest Rate (APR)", "Original Loan Amount", "Loan Start Date" and "Loan Term".
   • "Revolving Credit" (a card or line of credit): "Annual Interest Rate (APR)", "Current Balance", and optionally "Credit Limit" and "Minimum Payment %". Tick "Variable rate" if the rate moves with the market. Click "Save".
3. Fill in "Owner's Equity". Say whether you started or bought the business, how much you've put in (or paid, excluding loans), and the "Prior accumulated earnings (or losses)". Enter 0 if unsure.
4. Enter "Starting Cash Balance". Under "Cash on Hand", type what the business held in checking, savings and cash equivalents at the start of the period, and click its "Save". It lets you check where the numbers say you ended up against your bank.
5. Click "Continue".

No loans or cards? On the intro page, "Skip For Now — No Loans Or Credit Cards" moves on while the section is empty.

Cash Timing

Why it matters: it shows when cash arrives, not just how much. Money tied up in unpaid invoices or stock is money you can't spend, and the Cash Timing Play needs these answers.

1. Open "Cash Timing" and click "Enter Cash Timing" (or "Edit" once it's filled).
2. Answer each part.
   • "Getting Paid": "How long after invoicing do customers typically pay?" From "Immediately / At time of sale" to "90+ days".
   • "Inventory": tick "I keep inventory" only if you hold stock, then enter "Inventory on hand, at cost" or "Average days to sell through inventory". Each fills in the other.
   • "Paying Others": "When do you typically pay your vendors?"
   • "Annual Growth": "What was your revenue last year?" A ballpark is fine, and 0 if you had no sales. Screenshot to come: The Cash Timing form with Getting Paid, Inventory, Paying Others and Annual Growth (cash-timing-form.png)
3. Click "Save", then "Finish". The Financial Summary opens.

Don't know these yet? On the intro page, "Skip For Now — Go Straight To The Summary" leaves the section out instead of guessing.

Tips

• A skipped section counts as missing, never as zero. A grade that needs it shows "Not available" and carries no weight. Skip rather than enter zeros: zeros in Cash Timing would grade as a perfect cash cycle, as if every client paid on the spot.
• Figures show as annual totals by default. To see and enter them monthly, pick "Monthly figures" on the page that follows Basics ("We'll Show Your Numbers as Annual Totals"); everything is still stored as a year.
• Stuck on where something goes? Occam is available on every page as a sidebar chat, on all paid tiers.

Common Questions

Will a new import undo my edits?
Partly. Approving an import replaces your revenue, direct costs and operating expenses, and your pay if the files show it. It also refreshes the purchases an earlier import put on Long-Term Investments for the months its files cover, edits included; the row says so. Assets you added yourself, funding and cash timing stay, except an inventory balance an earlier import brought in.

Why does a section I skipped still say "Not yet in these numbers"?
Because it is. Open the section and fill it in; opening its page clears the skip.

I have no files. Can I enter everything by hand?
Yes. On the import page, click "Enter Your Numbers Yourself", choose annual or monthly figures, and walk the sections above in order.