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Financial leadership for growth-mode business owners

Financial strategy, business planning, tax, and advisory, working together around your goals.

Book a call See how we work
  • Proactive strategy
  • Tax planned all year round
  • Plan tracked every month

Your business has grown. The decisions have too.

You've built something that works. Now you want a clearer picture of where you stand, what's possible, and how to get there.

  • Nobody has asked what you want, for yourself or for the business.
  • Each advisor sees one part of your finances, and nobody sees the whole.
  • Your tax is worked out one return at a time, with no plan for the years ahead.
  • You don't know what cash will look like a few months from now.
  • Nobody works with your whole team, so you carry every message between them.
  • Nobody has planned how you will eventually step away from the business.

What's the difference? Your accountant records what happened and files it. An advisor works on what happens next: the big decisions, the tax plan before year end, what the business could be worth. You need both, and we work alongside the accountant you have.

This isn't for you if: you're distressed, pre-revenue, or you just want the books kept.

What you get from Ascend that you don't get from your accountant.
Ascend Your accountant
Starts with your personal and business goals Yes No
Sees your entire financial picture Yes No
Plans your tax across your lifetime, not one return Yes No
Forecasts your cash flow every month Yes No
Works with your entire team Yes No
Plans your exit Yes No

Where to begin

Where do you need help first?

  1. 01

    Fractional CFO

    Monthly financials and a clear view of cash, from the same team that plans your taxes.

  2. 02

    Business tax planning

    You'll know what you owe months before it's due, while there's still time to act.

  3. 03

    Personal tax planning

    We plan your tax across your lifetime, not one return at a time. Salary, draws, retirement, the eventual sale, worked out years ahead.

  4. 04

    Business strategy

    Every month we work through what's coming up: hiring, expanding, borrowing, buying.

See everything we offer

What to expect

How we work together

The first 90 days

  1. We start with your goals.

    We ask where you want the business in five years, what it should pay you, and whether you'll sell it, pass it on, or keep it. We also bring in every key stakeholder, on your side and ours, so nobody is missing when the plan takes shape.

  2. We diagnose the business.

    We score eight areas and compare sixteen key numbers with your industry, then show what the business is worth, what it could be, and what's in the way.

  3. We prioritize.

    The diagnosis usually finds more problems than you can fix at once. We pick the highest-impact priorities and start there. The rest come in as the business is ready.

  4. We build the plan.

    We put the first priorities on a twelve-month calendar, one step at a time, and add the next ones as fast as the business can take them. The full plan is written up by the end of the first 90 days.

  5. We get to work.

    Monthly meetings start in month one, so the first priority is already moving while the rest of the plan is being written.

  6. What onboarding looks like 

Every month after Ongoing

  1. We meet every month.

    Most accountants hear from you when something goes wrong. We meet every month to go through the numbers, check the plan, and handle what's come up.

  2. We review and reset.

    We project your taxes each quarter, so April brings no surprises. Once a year we rescore all eight areas, update the valuation, and plan the next year.

Start here.

Case study How it worked with a client

He spent $100,000 to save $30,000.

A farm client wanted his tax bill lower before year end. His accountant told him to buy equipment, so he bought a tractor. It worked. He saved $30,000. He has never used the tractor. The accountant answered the question he was asked, but nobody asked whether the farm needed a tractor.

What did your last big decision cost you?

As told by Jacob Schroeder, CPA

Let's look at yours.
A tractor working a wide open field under a clear sky
The tractor. 0 days in use.

What's your business actually worth?

One client thought his business was worth $2.96M. Our report showed him how to get it to $6.42M.

See what's in the report

The difference

A diagnostic across eight areas

Every Business Insights Report diagnoses eight areas, so you see where the problems and the opportunities are: financial benchmarking, vision, strategy and planning, strategic finance, people, sales and customers, systems and processes, and risk and governance.

The businesses we know best

  • A worker in a hard hat on ropes against a high building, painting the wall with a roller

    Skilled trades and construction.

    Paving, building, contracting. Expensive equipment, big crews, and tax questions that get complicated fast.

    Usually: equipment timing and cash between big jobs.

  • A hand-lettered "Yes, we are open" sign hanging inside the glass door of a lit shop

    Family and multi-partner businesses.

    Two or three owners who all have to agree before money moves.

    Usually: getting every owner behind one plan.

  • A city skyline at dawn, towers crowded along a harbour with hills behind

    Professional services.

    The business is the people. That makes succession the hardest question you'll face.

    Usually: partner pay and who takes over.

Not on this list? We work with most kinds of business. The questions are usually the same.

See if we're a fit.

In their words

What clients tell us

  • Construction

    We walked out of our meeting and said, 'We will never even consider another business decision without sitting down with Jacob and having a talk like that.'

    Derek & Suzanne Gillespie Shoreline Construction

  • Coaching

    In 20 minutes he was able to breakdown some really complex issues that I wasn't sure about for weeks... show me exactly what I need to do and what changes I needed to make to save me thousands of dollars.

    Arel Moodie

  • Supply

    Highly recommend Ascend's services and always brag to my small business owner friends about them. They are very professional and knowledgeable.

    Weatherbeard Supply Co

Who you'll actually work with

  • Portrait of Jacob Schroeder, CPA

    Jacob Schroeder, CPA

    Founder and Partner

    Spent years in tax before deciding the useful part of the job was the conversation, not the filing. He'll tell you when you don't need us.

  • Portrait of Obed Maurice, CPA, CFP®

    Obed Maurice, CPA, CFP®

    Partner

    Handles the personal side, so the plan for the business and the plan for your life get built in the same room.

Meet the whole team

Recent insights

Practical writing on the decisions owners actually face, from capital allocation to lifetime tax rates.

Why Operational Alignment Is the Secret to Achieving Your Strategy and Shaping Your Culture

Why Operational Alignment Is the Secret to Achieving Your Strategy and Shaping Your Culture

Having a clear and compelling strategy is essential, but the hard truth is that strategy alone isn't enough. Without operational alignment, even the most insightful vision and ambitious goals can fail to materialize.
Creating Clarity in a World of Uncertainty

Creating Clarity in a World of Uncertainty

We are living in unpredictable times. Economic forecasts shift by the week. Global tariffs are debated, withdrawn, then reintroduced. Legislative changes, like a new tax bill, hang in limbo.
The Hidden Cost of Growth: Understanding Trade Capital

The Hidden Cost of Growth: Understanding Trade Capital

Business is booming. Sales are up. Your team is working overtime to keep up with demand. But your bank account? It’s not growing nearly as fast as your top line.
Read the insights

The calculator

How much cash should your business be holding?

Too little and one slow month turns into a problem. Too much and money that could be working goes idle.

Answer a few questions and you'll get your number. We'll email you the full breakdown.

Get my cash target

Common questions

What owners ask us first

Straight answers, before you commit to anything.

Why not just hire a full-time CFO?

A full-time CFO handles the day-to-day money. That's one piece. You'd still be hiring separately for tax, strategy, and the rest. With us, you get a team across all of it, and none of the overhead of hiring, firing, and training an executive. You can end it whenever you want, so you're not committing much up front.

Will this cost more than my old accountant?

Yes, and it should. You're not paying for a tax return. In the first month you get a detailed game plan showing exactly what we're going to do. After that it's planning, forecasting, and a team that meets with you every month. Most owners look at it as an investment and judge it on return.

How is pricing structured?

One flat monthly retainer, never billed by the hour. The amount depends on your business and how much of it we cover. You can start with the Business Insights Report, a fixed-fee look at what the business is worth and what to fix first, and decide about ongoing work once you've seen it.

What happens in a monthly meeting?

Before it, you get your monthly report: profitability, your key numbers, cash flow, what you're owed and what you owe, working capital, and the forecast against what actually happened. In the meeting we go through what changed, check the handful of numbers that show whether the plan is working, and work on the decision in front of you, whether that's pricing, a hire, a piece of equipment, or a new bank. You leave with next steps, and we follow up on them, ours included.

Am I locked in?

No. Cancel any time.

Show 8 more questions Show fewer questions
What are your clients usually dealing with?

Every one of them built or bought something that works. Then it got complicated. Cash flow is harder to see. Compliance across two or three companies is a job in itself. There's no single plan that covers the business and the family. Their advisors are scattered and rarely point back to what the founder actually wants.

Who gets the most out of this?

Founders who want more than they have now, and who know that getting there takes a team, a plan, and the will to execute.

Can I pick just the services I need?

No. The return comes from a team working across all of it toward one vision, so we don't sell pieces. You choose one of two: everything, business and personal, or business only.

How do I know it's worth it long term?

We start with what's in front of you now and map where you're going. Then we review, reassess, and adjust as the business changes. We'll show you real plans so you can see how it works before you commit.

Do you still do bookkeeping or tax returns?

No. We stopped both in 2024. We build the tax strategy, your accountant files it. If you need a bookkeeper, we'll point you at a good one.

What does onboarding look like?

You're up and running in a few days, with a whole team rather than one person. We start with discovery meetings: your story, what success looks like, and how you'd eventually like to step back, whether that means family, a sale, or something else. During onboarding we set up your plan in our project system, so every task is tracked in one place from the start.

How is an advisor different from an accountant?

With an accountant, you usually call when something comes up, and most of the work happens after the year closes. With us the questions run both ways: we bring the ones you haven't thought to ask, every month, and tax is worked out during the year instead of tallied at the end. Your accountant still files the return.

How does the relationship work over time?

Plan on 12 to 24 months in all. Monthly meetings start in the first month, while the plan is still being built, and carry on once it is in place: a meeting every month on the business, tax projections every quarter, a quarterly check of progress against the plan, and a longer review once a year to reset it as the business changes.

Know where you stand before the next big move.

Book a call

Based in Bellefontaine, Ohio.