Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers about what we do, who we work with, and how to get started.
What does Innov8tive Management do?
Innov8tive Management is a Southeast Michigan finance and operations team for owner-run small businesses. We clean up your books, read them with you every month, and turn what we find into a short, dated action list. Our services are Books Reset (QuickBooks cleanup and catch-up), the monthly Owner Briefing, the Profit and KPI Deep Dive, the Operations Action Review, and the Expense and Insurance Check-Up. Our tagline is: Clear books. Clear answers. Every month.
Who do you work with?
We work with owner-run service businesses that use QuickBooks, from roughly 300 thousand to 10 million dollars in annual revenue. Healthcare and home care are a focus, including home health, therapy clinics, assisted living and senior care. We also work with trades and contractors, staffing firms and professional services firms.
What area do you serve?
We serve Macomb and Oakland counties in Southeast Michigan, and remote engagements are also available. We are a local team, and your work is never offshored. Local engagements start with an in-person kickoff at your business.
Do you work in QuickBooks?
Yes. We work in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.
What is the Free Owner Briefing Sample?
It is a free, no-obligation first look at your numbers. We review your last 12 months of profit and loss and balance sheet and send you a 2-page sample Owner Briefing. It covers five things: miscoded or uncategorized transactions, owner and business costs mixed together, your margin trend, your cash runway, and one quick win. Then we walk you through it on a 45-minute call and tell you in writing which next step, if any, makes sense. There is one free sample per business.
What does the monthly Owner Briefing include?
Each month you get a review of your monthly close, a plain-English Owner Briefing of 2 to 4 pages covering what changed, why, and the three things to do next, a one-page KPI dashboard with the 5 to 8 numbers that drive your business, an expense watch for new or unusual charges, duplicates and subscriptions, an action list with owners and due dates, and a 30 to 45 minute monthly call. Email questions are welcome in between. There are three ways to work with us: Essentials, where you keep your own bookkeeper and we review the books and deliver the briefing; Plus, where our team keeps the books and delivers the briefing and KPI page; and Finance Partner, which adds a quarterly Profit and KPI Deep Dive and ongoing operations action lists.
Can you clean up or catch up my QuickBooks?
Yes. That is our Books Reset service. We reconcile your bank and credit card accounts to your statements, fix miscoded and uncategorized transactions, flag duplicates, separate owner, operating and property costs, tidy up your chart of accounts, and set up bank rules. You get books reconciled through the most recent month-end, a cleanup log of what we changed and why, a simple tagging guide for your team, and an open-items list for you and your CPA. It is a good fit if your books are behind or messy, or you are getting ready for a loan or tax season.
How much do your services cost?
Pricing depends on scope. Projects such as a Books Reset are fixed-fee and scoped to your books, so you know the cost before we start. Monthly packages are sized to your accounts, transaction volume and number of entities. We quote pricing after your free sample and discovery conversation. The Free Owner Briefing Sample costs nothing.
How does getting started work?
Step one: you send your reports, either a QuickBooks export or PDF profit and loss and balance sheet for the last 12 months, or read-only access. Step two: we prepare your 2-page sample Owner Briefing. Step three: we walk you through it on a 45-minute call and give you a written recommendation of which next step, if any, makes sense. Step four: if you go ahead, we meet in person at your business for a kickoff and put the scope, fee and start date in writing.
What do I need to provide?
For the free sample, we need your last 12 months of profit and loss and balance sheet, as a QuickBooks Online or Desktop export or PDF reports. Read-only access also works. Please do not send financial files, patient information or passwords through the website form. We will reply with a secure way to share your reports.
How do you protect my data?
We work only from the exports and reports you provide. We never log into your systems or pull data on our own. Everyone on our team signs confidentiality terms and uses multi-factor authentication. For healthcare, home care and senior living clients, patient data is handled only in a HIPAA BAA-covered environment and de-identified before any analysis. The free sample uses your financial statements only, so please do not send patient-level reports at that stage.
Do you use AI?
Yes. We use AI-assisted tools, including our AI Accounting Agent and AI Operations Assistant, to do the heavy lifting quickly, which keeps our work fast and our fees reasonable. Every number is checked by your engagement lead before it reaches you. Nothing goes out unreviewed.
How fast will you respond?
We respond within one business day, Monday through Friday. Someone from our team will follow up within one business day of your call or message. If you reach out after hours, we will still follow up within one business day.
Do I need to switch my accountant, CPA or bookkeeper?
No. We work alongside your CPA and attorney, and many owners keep their bookkeeper and CPA and add our monthly Owner Briefing on top. We coordinate with them. We do not prepare tax returns, perform audits or give legal advice, and we refer you to licensed professionals when you need them.
Do you meet in person?
Yes. Local engagements start with an in-person kickoff at your business, and remote engagements are also available. We learn how you operate, agree on one clear next step, and put the scope, fee and start date in writing.
How do I contact Innov8tive Management?
Call us at (586) 281-9416, email info@i8mgt.co, or use the request form on our Contact page to ask for your Free Owner Briefing Sample. You can also find us on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/innov8tive-management.