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See how an AI CFO turns financial statements into an owner decision

Northstar is growing profitably, but CA$340,000 is past due and CA$290,000 of customer work remains to be delivered. Should Bob add capacity now?

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Five-minute Northstar decision case

See financial evidence become an owner decision

Follow Bob from rising revenue and delayed cash to three capacity paths, a CFO recommendation, and a disciplined recheck.

 
Recorded from the Founder-approved UI with prepared fictional Northstar inputs. English narration; choose any of twelve subtitle languages below the picture.

The case

Northstar Labs: How fast can profitable growth safely expand?

Northstar is a three-year-old Toronto software and implementation company. Its team grew from two founders to 14 people. Bob understands customers and delivery, but he is not a finance specialist. He asks OPTAX whether the company can safely add fixed delivery capacity.

  1. Dashboard

    Growth looks healthy. Cash conversion changes the question.

    H1 revenue reached CA$1,240,000 with a 75% gross margin. Yet closing cash was CA$370,000 while CA$340,000 was already past due. OPTAX makes the tension visible before Bob treats growth as permission to hire.

  2. Reports

    Profit and cash are not the same story.

    Prepared H1 statements show CA$75,000 of EBITDA, CA$37,000 of net income and CA$48,000 of operating cash. After equipment and financing outflows, cash still fell by CA$15,000. These are internal management figures, not audited or filed statements.

  3. Periods

    The pressure built month by month.

    Monthly recorded revenue rose from CA$185,000 in January to CA$239,000 in June, while customer balances rose from CA$455,000 to CA$595,000. OPTAX shows both movements without calling recorded revenue cash collected.

  4. Operations

    Collections and delivery obligations limit the next move.

    Customer balances total CA$595,000; CA$340,000 is past due and DSO has widened to 87 days. At the same time, CA$290,000 of customer prepayments represents work Northstar still owes. Cash and delivery capacity must be reviewed together.

Prepared case · Northstar Labs Demo Inc.

H1 2026 management review

Northstar can grow, but should not commit to the full fixed-cost expansion yet.

CA$1,240,000 of H1 revenue and a 75% gross margin support growth. But CA$340,000 of CA$595,000 in customer balances is past due.

Checked against: H1 accounting activity, June 2026 AR aging, and the Bright Retail contract

Do this next

Stage capacity, reset deposits and milestone billing, then recheck collections and a 13-week cash view before each fixed-cost step.

H1 revenue
CA$1,240,000
H1 2026 · six-month basis
Customer balances
CA$595,000
4 past due · 2 not yet due
Past due
CA$340,000
4 balances need collection review

Prepared internal management figures through 30 June 2026. They are not audited statements or a forecast. Results remain uncertain.

  1. Records

    The system shows what supports the story and what does not.

    The prepared management set contains 9 source items and 44 supporting references. OPTAX keeps that separate from the 5 files currently stored in the app and claims 0 durable evidence bindings. Prepared figures never masquerade as ordinary account records.

The AI CFO compares three paths

How should Bob add delivery capacity?

Demand supports growth. The decision is how much fixed cost Northstar should carry before collections, billing cadence and the 13-week cash view improve.

  1. Option A

    Expand fully now

    Commit to the permanent delivery expansion immediately. This protects near-term capacity but locks in payroll before cash conversion and customer concentration improve.

  2. Option B · Recommended

    Stage capacity and reset billing

    Use flexible capacity, deposits and milestone billing now, then add permanent cost only after the observable cash and delivery checks support it.

  3. Option C

    Hold fixed cost and verify

    Pause hiring, tighten invoice terms, collect past-due balances and refresh the cash view. This protects cash but may delay delivery or overload the current team.

  1. Tax

    The management period and the T2 year stay separate.

    The decision uses H1 2026 management figures inside the 2026 corporate tax year. Tax can show T2 readiness and a review-ready package path, but professional review and CRA filing remain a manual-or-CPA handoff outside the current product.

  2. CFO Lens

    OPTAX recommends a staged course. Bob still decides.

    OPTAX recommends flexible or staged capacity, deposits and milestone billing before the next permanent cost. It explains three paths, their costs and the conditions to recheck. The system does not hire, collect, post, pay or file; Bob approves, changes or rejects the course.

OPTAX reads the financial story before Bob has to.

It turns statements into a recommended course, alternatives, evidence and recheck conditions. The owner keeps the decision.

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