Budget & Financial Operations Manager

Budget & Financial Operations Manager Company: Hello Studios Location: Fully Remote Employment Type: Part-Time or Contract, with potential to expand Reports To: Founder & CEO About Hello Studios Hello Studios is a Dallas-based podcast and media production company that helps businesses, organizations, and creators produce professional podcasts, video content, live productions, and branded media experiences. As the company grows, we are seeking a detail-oriented financial professional to help strengthen our budgeting, expense management, labor planning, profitability, and financial decision-making. Position Overview The Budget & Financial Operations Manager will oversee the company’s budgeting and financial review processes. This person will help management understand where the company is making money, where costs are increasing, and what changes are needed to improve profitability and support sustainable growth. This is not strictly a bookkeeping position. We need someone who can analyze the numbers, identify concerns, make recommendations, and help hold the company accountable to its financial goals. The ideal candidate understands small-business finances, labor costs, project profitability, cash-flow planning, and service-based business operations. Key Responsibilities Budgeting and Forecasting * Develop and maintain monthly, quarterly, and annual operating budgets. * Compare actual financial results against the company’s budget and forecasts. * Prepare cash-flow projections and identify potential cash shortages in advance. * Help establish realistic revenue, expense, payroll, and profitability targets. * Build financial scenarios to support hiring, equipment purchases, pricing, and expansion decisions. * Recommend adjustments when spending or revenue falls outside the approved budget. Expense and Cost Management * Review recurring expenses, subscriptions, contractor costs, software, rent, equipment, and other operating expenses. * Identify unnecessary, duplicate, or underused expenses. * Review vendor pricing and recommend cost-saving opportunities. * Establish expense approval procedures and spending limits. * Ensure expenses are properly categorized and assigned to the correct client, project, or department. * Track equipment purchases and other major business investments. Labor and Payroll Analysis * Review employee, contractor, and freelance labor expenses. * Compare scheduled labor hours against revenue and production demand. * Evaluate labor costs by project, client, service, and team member. * Identify overstaffing, excessive overtime, inefficient scheduling, or unprofitable labor patterns. * Recommend appropriate labor budgets for studio sessions, editing, on-location productions, and administrative work. * Help management determine when the company can responsibly hire additional employees or contractors. Profitability and Growth Analysis * Measure gross profit and net profit across the company. * Analyze profitability by client, project, service, membership, and revenue stream. * Determine whether projects are being priced appropriately based on labor, equipment, travel, and overhead. * Identify services or clients that generate strong revenue but limited profit. * Recommend pricing, staffing, or operational changes to improve margins. * Track whether the company is achieving its revenue and growth goals. * Provide management with actionable recommendations, not just financial reports. Accounting Oversight * Review profit-and-loss statements, balance sheets, cash-flow reports, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. * Ensure transactions are categorized accurately in QuickBooks or the company’s accounting system. * Reconcile financial records with bank, credit card, payroll, and payment-processing accounts. * Coordinate with the company’s bookkeeper, CPA, payroll provider, and tax professionals. * Help ensure financial records are organized and ready for tax filings, audits, financing applications, or investor review. * Monitor outstanding invoices and recommend appropriate collection procedures. * Assist with financial controls that reduce errors, unauthorized spending, and missed payments. Financial Reporting and Accountability * Prepare a clear monthly financial report for the founder and leadership team. * Present key metrics, including revenue versus budget, gross and net profit, payroll and labor percentage, operating expenses, accounts receivable, cash on hand, cash-flow forecast, client and project profitability, recurring revenue, financial risks, and recommended actions. * Participate in regular virtual financial review meetings with company leadership. * Follow up on agreed-upon expense reductions, budget changes, and financial action items. * Help create financial policies and repeatable procedures as the company grows. Qualifications * Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field preferred. * At least three years of experience in budgeting, accounting, financial analysis, controllership, or small-business finance. * Experience working with a service-based business, creative agency, production company, professional-services company, or growing small business strongly preferred. * Strong understanding of budgeting, cash flow, payroll, labor utilization, project costing, and profitability analysis. * Experience with QuickBooks Online and Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. * Ability to create financial models, budgets, forecasts, and management reports. * Ability to explain financial information clearly to non-financial team members. * Strong attention to detail, organization, discretion, and follow-through. * Comfortable questioning expenses, identifying financial risks, and making direct recommendations. * CPA, CMA, MBA, or bookkeeping certification is helpful but not required. Ideal Candidate The ideal candidate is analytical, proactive, and comfortable working directly with a founder in a fully remote environment. You should be able to work independently, communicate clearly, meet deadlines, and provide practical financial recommendations. You should be able to help answer questions such as: * Are we spending too much on labor? * Which clients and services are the most profitable? * Are our prices high enough to cover our true costs? * How much can the company responsibly spend or hire? * What expenses should be reduced? * Is the business growing profitably? * How much cash will the company have over the next 30, 60, and 90 days? * What actions should management take this month? Success Measures Success in this position will be measured by: * Accurate and timely monthly financial reporting. * Improved visibility into cash flow and profitability. * Reduced unnecessary or uncontrolled expenses. * Better alignment between labor costs and revenue. * Improved project and client margins. * More accurate budgets and financial forecasts. * Faster collection of outstanding invoices. * Clear financial recommendations that support responsible business growth. Schedule This is a fully remote position and may begin as a part-time or contract engagement of approximately 10 to 20 hours per month, depending on the candidate’s experience and the company’s needs. The selected candidate must be available for scheduled virtual meetings and responsive communication during agreed-upon business hours. The role may expand as Hello Studios grows. Compensation Compensation will be based on experience, qualifications, and the proposed working arrangement. Applicants may submit an hourly rate or monthly retainer expectation. How to Apply Please submit: * Your resume. * A brief description of your experience managing budgets and finances for a small or growing business. * Your experience with QuickBooks, budgeting, cash-flow forecasting, and labor-cost analysis. * An example of how you identified a financial problem and recommended or implemented a solution. * Your desired hourly rate or monthly retainer.