Accounting Business Consultant

OVERVIEW We're a small, ISO 9001-certified manufacturing company (injection molding and mold building) looking for an experienced financial accountant who can also act as a trusted advisor. We need someone to help us get our financial house in order: fix what's broken, recommend how things should work going forward, document those procedures, and train our team to maintain them. This is a blend of hands-on cleanup and strategic consulting. We're looking for measurable results delivered on a defined timeline, paid by milestone. COMPANY SNAPSHOT We are a small manufacturer doing injection mold building plus production injection molding, ISO 9001:2015 certified, with about 16 employees. We run eight injection molding presses (60 to 550 ton) plus an in-house mold-making shop. Our ERP and accounting/GL both run entirely in JobBOSS2 (JB2), with no separate accounting software. We have 2 bank accounts and 2 company credit cards to reconcile, and roughly 200 core AR/AP/cash transactions per month (250 to 350 including credit-card activity, payroll, and journal entries). WHERE WE ARE TODAY Our books are in better shape than they were several months ago, but they still need real work, and we're not confident everything is where it should be. We're looking for someone to get us to a place we can fully trust. We can't trust our margins, because we don't have a clear, reliable picture of what each job actually costs us. We're quoting blind, and we need real costing and overhead rates (machine burden, labor, G&A) built and actually reflected in how we price. We're consistently behind on taxes and want to get and stay ahead. And we want our books reviewed end to end, including reconciliations, categorization, and anything that's been missed or handled inconsistently, so we know they're genuinely accurate, not just closed. We know roughly what needs to happen; we need an expert to come in, confirm the real state of things, fix it, and set up procedures so it stays fixed. WHAT YOU'LL DO Clean up our books and correct existing errors and inconsistencies. Advise us on accounting best practices for a small manufacturing operation, and review, write, and standardize our procedures accordingly. Coordinate with our CPA on tax preparation and planning. Help us correctly handle write-offs within JobBOSS2. Overhaul and reorganize our general ledger and chart of accounts. Develop costing and overhead formulas, rates, and the procedures behind them (machine burden, labor, G&A allocation, margin), and consult with us on pricing and cost-recovery strategy. Train our internal staff so the systems and procedures are sustainable after the engagement. TIMELINE & HOW WE'LL WORK TOGETHER Our goal is to complete this scope within three months. To keep the work on track, the hire and our team will meet weekly to review current deliverables, discuss status, and set priorities for the week ahead. These weekly check-ins will continue until the project is complete. We're looking for someone who works to clear milestones, can show steady visible progress at each meeting, and brings recommendations to the table rather than waiting to be told what to do. PAYMENT This engagement is paid by milestone, not hourly, and runs in two phases. Phase 1, Diagnostic (fixed price). Before any large commitment, the selected candidate reviews our books, ERP setup, and current procedures, then delivers a written assessment: the true state of our financials, what's accurate, what's incomplete or miscategorized, whether reconciliations and payroll are properly reflected, and a recommended remediation plan. Please quote this phase as a firm fixed price in your proposal. Phase 2, Remediation & build (milestone-priced). Based on the diagnostic, we'll break the remaining scope (cleanup, GL overhaul, write-off handling in the ERP, costing and overhead development, procedure documentation, and staff training) into defined milestones, each tied to a payment released on completion. We'd rather scope this accurately together after the diagnostic than have you guess at it now. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR A solid accounting background (CPA, CMA, or equivalent experience preferred). Real experience with manufacturing or job-shop cost accounting (standard costing, overhead allocation, WIP). Hands-on familiarity with an ERP system. Strong documentation skills, meaning you can write a procedure someone else can follow. A consultative approach, where you can assess a situation, recommend a path, and explain the "why" to non-accountants. A track record of delivering concrete improvements, not just recommendations. Clear communication, so you can work with both ownership and shop-floor staff. APPLICATION Please share relevant manufacturing accounting experience, any ERP systems you've worked in, and a brief example of a similar cleanup or cost-system project you've delivered. For Phase 1, give us a firm fixed price for the diagnostic. For Phase 2, briefly describe how you'd approach breaking the remaining scope into milestones.