To get where you want to go, you need to know where you've been and where you're going.  In a business, this takes the form of a control system that enables you to plan and then compare your actual results against your plans.  Without such a system, it is impossible to manage the business.

The financial control system shown in these downloadable Excel worksheets is for a professional services firm that is an IntelliVen client.  This company uses the system to track the key indicators of its business:

• Actual results against the plan.
• Actual results against projections, which reflect updates to the plan in light of business conditions during the year.
• Revenue, direct contribution, and margin broken out by client.
• Indirect costs -- actual and planned, in dollars and as a percent of revenues -- and a variance analysis.
• Accounts receivable, by client and by aging category.

A similar system could be constructed for any business.

Download the Financial Control System Excel worksheets.