Virtual CFO Services2022-02-23T12:11:59+13:00

Virtual CFO Services

Your as-required Chief Financial Officer

Your pay-as-you-go financial strategy and planning specialist

Xero Accounting Software is the perfect way to keep an eye on your everyday cash flow.

Let us show you how it can unlock your financial growth.

Scale with success without having to wear
another hat in your business

Your financial expert

Your financial
expert

With a Decryption Virtual CFO, you have access to the financial expertise your business needs to scale without having to employ a new team member or take on the job yourself.

Make informed decisions

Make informed
decisions

Making the right business decisions that help you scale with success means having a financial plan based on accurate information. Your Virtual CFO can translate these reports into practical actions to grow your business.

Plan for growth

Plan for
growth

Your Virtual CFO can translate financial information, reports and analysis into practical actions to grow your business. And help you keep on track with meeting your goals.

  • At the start of 2020 we were getting busier and needed to outsource our bookkeeping requirements. Seeing Donna had helped implement most of our Xero systems she was the perfect candidate to take it on. After a quick and easy transition, she took the load and stress of the business bookkeeping off us and carries out the work seamlessly. She patiently nudges us to find receipts and has our books in great order and helps us streamline our accounting and management processes. I would highly recommend Donna and Decryption.

    Michelle Leonard – LC Designer Homes

  • Before Decryption, bookkeeping was a task I dreaded. I would procrastinate for as long as possible, then fumble around last-minute to try and piece things together. Now, I never think about it. Decryption gives me the peace of mind that my bookkeeping is done right, freeing up my time to focus on growing my business.

    Daniel Adams – Envelope Group

  • We have been working with Donna for over a year now. She has been amazing right from the get go - making my accounting system a breeze and everything works seamlessly in our back end! Nothing is a hassle and I can honestly say this was the best decision I made outsourcing the work to Donna & her team to do our bookkeeping. Outstanding service - 10/10!

    Paige Burgess – Studio Black

  • As a start up business with so much to juggle at any one time, the team at Decryption has made the whole process of keeping our accounts up to date and compliant for reporting. Such a weight lifted from our shoulders to know that this is in hand and dealt with accurately, efficiently and on time. I wholeheartedly recommend Donna and the team at Decryption.

    Alistair Kirk – Co-Founder, Beach Booch

  • After posting on a Facebook page about having trouble finding an automated solution for syncing up my Shopify and Xero accounts. Donna reached out to me and offered some advice. I had searched high and low and asked other accountants if they had a solution, but it was not within their expertise. Donna and her team were able to sort everything out for me and they saved me from a massive headache!

    Todd – Beauty and the Wind

  • With my company going through a period of rapid growth I needed my accounts to be right up to date, so I could pull reports and know exactly where things were at. Having talked with Donna at length I could see that the smartest way forward was to have the team sort out the backlog and re-organise our systems, then have them take over our day-to-day bookkeeping. It was a decision that has taken a huge amount of stress off my shoulders and it’s a dream to log into Xero and see all the accounts magically up to date.

    F. Lane – Goodings Laboratory

  • I find Donna and the team very easy to deal with. As the business has become more and more complex, they have continued to work alongside us to ensure systems and processes have adapted to be as user friendly and as efficient as possible. Basically accounts/accounting shouldn’t be something a business owner has to think about very much, and this can only happen if you have full trust in your accounting team, of which I very much do. Low hassle, efficient and onto it is how I would describe working with Decryption.

    Jude Salisbury – Abeeco

  • I’ve been working with Donna and more recently her team for nearly three years. When I set up my PR consultancy, I had no previous experience running a business or using Xero. Donna was recommended to me by an old colleague and has been such a huge help in operating and setting up Xero and increasing my financial awareness. She is always on hand to answer my multitude of questions and always makes me feel heard, helped, and empowered.

    Luci Marshall – Rise & Shine PR

  • I started working with Donna about 10 years ago after my business started to increase in size and accounting complexity. Doing the day-to-day accounts wasn’t my forte and I didn’t want to be spending time doing it when I could be using that time to develop and manage my business.

    Donna knows my businesses well and is very thorough. She is always quick to offer suggestions or advice to improving the current systems and processes too. I take comfort in knowing that the accounting side of my businesses are well managed and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Donna and her team from Decryption to any business owner.

    Scott Rice – Quantum Events/Puhoi Beer

  • An injury soon after starting our business meant I just couldn't keep up with everything and something had to give - it couldn't be customer service, so it was bookkeeping. Fast forward a couple of years and it was a right mess. Out of desperation to get back on top of it, we got Donna involved and she has been amazing and patient at helping us get it all cleaned up and put processes in place to keep it clean. We are very grateful for her help.

    Joy Wintour – The Yarn Queen

Decryption Virtual CFO: Your back pocket financial expert

Price your products right

When you manufacture, create and sell online, you need to know what the products are costing and any changes in those costs. If you’re not clear on the total product cost per item, you run the risk of selling products at a loss – unintentionally, leading to financial instability. We can help you make sure you’re pricing your products right, and monitor changes that might affect your profits.

Business owner checking the quality of his product

Budgeting, forecasting & planning

Planning for growth and scaling with success means having an accurate budget, quickly identifying when it’s going off track and make corrections. Unless you know what you’re looking for, it’s easy to miss important information. We have the time and skills to help you plan to grow your business profitably.

eCommerce business owner checking orders next to a package

Financial performance analysis

Your accounts contain a large amount of information that trying to make sense of is like learning a foreign language. Understanding how accounts relate to one another is one part of financial analysis. As part of the Virtual CFO role, we can uncover patterns of activity that may not be apparent on the surface but have a major impact on your business and ability to grow.

Business owner using laptop

Custom dashboards

Imagine having all the financial information you need at your fingertips. Your personalised financial dashboard provides an at-a-glance status of your business’s financial health. Easy access to the information you need allows you to make sure your finances are running smoothly, identify any issues upfront and fix them as quickly as possible. Your Virtual CFO will set up your unique financial dashboard to automatically collect, consolidate, analyze and report financial data from various systems. So it gives you a single point of financial information and helps them make better decisions.

Business owner checking the quality of his product
eCommerce business owner checking orders next to a package
Business owner using laptop

Spend less time on your finances, spend more time on the things you love
Your Decryption Virtual CFO is the expert you need to make it happen

Xero Silver Champion Partner and Certified Advisor
ICNZB Certified Bookkeeper
Xero migration specialist
Xero retail and ecommerce specialist
Shopify Partners logo
  • At the start of 2020 we were getting busier and needed to outsource our bookkeeping requirements. Seeing Donna had helped implement most of our Xero systems she was the perfect candidate to take it on. After a quick and easy transition, she took the load and stress of the business bookkeeping off us and carries out the work seamlessly. She patiently nudges us to find receipts and has our books in great order and helps us streamline our accounting and management processes. I would highly recommend Donna and Decryption.

    Michelle Leonard – LC Designer Homes

  • Before Decryption, bookkeeping was a task I dreaded. I would procrastinate for as long as possible, then fumble around last-minute to try and piece things together. Now, I never think about it. Decryption gives me the peace of mind that my bookkeeping is done right, freeing up my time to focus on growing my business.

    Daniel Adams – Envelope Group

  • We have been working with Donna for over a year now. She has been amazing right from the get go - making my accounting system a breeze and everything works seamlessly in our back end! Nothing is a hassle and I can honestly say this was the best decision I made outsourcing the work to Donna & her team to do our bookkeeping. Outstanding service - 10/10!

    Paige Burgess – Studio Black

  • As a start up business with so much to juggle at any one time, the team at Decryption has made the whole process of keeping our accounts up to date and compliant for reporting. Such a weight lifted from our shoulders to know that this is in hand and dealt with accurately, efficiently and on time. I wholeheartedly recommend Donna and the team at Decryption.

    Alistair Kirk – Co-Founder, Beach Booch

  • After posting on a Facebook page about having trouble finding an automated solution for syncing up my Shopify and Xero accounts. Donna reached out to me and offered some advice. I had searched high and low and asked other accountants if they had a solution, but it was not within their expertise. Donna and her team were able to sort everything out for me and they saved me from a massive headache!

    Todd – Beauty and the Wind

  • With my company going through a period of rapid growth I needed my accounts to be right up to date, so I could pull reports and know exactly where things were at. Having talked with Donna at length I could see that the smartest way forward was to have the team sort out the backlog and re-organise our systems, then have them take over our day-to-day bookkeeping. It was a decision that has taken a huge amount of stress off my shoulders and it’s a dream to log into Xero and see all the accounts magically up to date.

    F. Lane – Goodings Laboratory

  • I find Donna and the team very easy to deal with. As the business has become more and more complex, they have continued to work alongside us to ensure systems and processes have adapted to be as user friendly and as efficient as possible. Basically accounts/accounting shouldn’t be something a business owner has to think about very much, and this can only happen if you have full trust in your accounting team, of which I very much do. Low hassle, efficient and onto it is how I would describe working with Decryption.

    Jude Salisbury – Abeeco

  • I’ve been working with Donna and more recently her team for nearly three years. When I set up my PR consultancy, I had no previous experience running a business or using Xero. Donna was recommended to me by an old colleague and has been such a huge help in operating and setting up Xero and increasing my financial awareness. She is always on hand to answer my multitude of questions and always makes me feel heard, helped, and empowered.

    Luci Marshall – Rise & Shine PR

  • I started working with Donna about 10 years ago after my business started to increase in size and accounting complexity. Doing the day-to-day accounts wasn’t my forte and I didn’t want to be spending time doing it when I could be using that time to develop and manage my business.

    Donna knows my businesses well and is very thorough. She is always quick to offer suggestions or advice to improving the current systems and processes too. I take comfort in knowing that the accounting side of my businesses are well managed and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Donna and her team from Decryption to any business owner.

    Scott Rice – Quantum Events/Puhoi Beer

  • An injury soon after starting our business meant I just couldn't keep up with everything and something had to give - it couldn't be customer service, so it was bookkeeping. Fast forward a couple of years and it was a right mess. Out of desperation to get back on top of it, we got Donna involved and she has been amazing and patient at helping us get it all cleaned up and put processes in place to keep it clean. We are very grateful for her help.

    Joy Wintour – The Yarn Queen

Donna Carswell

Hi, I’m Donna, Director of Decryption Financial Systems Strategy & Bookkeeping

You deserve to unlock financial information that helps make planning and development quick and straightforward.

As your Virtual CFO, I’ll be your financial expert helping you have the right financial information to grow the business you want while still having the time to take a holiday, attend the school sports day or just focus on making and creating the products you love.

Grow your business without having to stretch your job description!

Book a free call

Tell us what’s keeping you up at night, and let us come up with a plan to sort out your financial, budget and cash flow systems.

Get set up right

You get on with making and creating and let us get on with designing the financial systems and keeping on top of regular bookkeeping tasks.

Scale with confidence

With all the accurate information you have, we’ll help you start planning to scale your business into the future.

FAQ about Decryption Virtual Chief Financial Officer Services

A chief financial officer (CFO) helps to maintain the fiscal health of the business. The CFO’s responsibilities include, but aren’t limited to, ensuring revenues and expenses stay within budget, assisting with financial planning & analysis, making recommendations on key performance indicators, analysing financial data, building budgets, and assisting the business owner with financial awareness and related strategies.

CFOs may also help set technology direction, especially for financial systems, and make recommendations on everything from supply chain to marketing based on their fiscal insights and industry knowledge

A CFO looks at the financial health of the business as a whole.  They are not restricted to record keeping or tax compliance work.  They are a trusted advisor and generally have experience across a range of industries and financial functions.

Yes. Generally, a great Bookkeeper is well-practised in recording the transactions of the business accurately.  So having a great bookkeeper is a good start.  They are capable of running basic reports, but they are not experienced in interpreting the information.  A CFO can use this up to date information to identify areas of strength and weaknesses so that business owners can bring in changes and improvements. They can work with business owners to help them set realistic and achievable targets to help increase overall performance and productivity

We work 100% online and generally meet with clients via zoom.  The work that we will undertake is discussed in the initial scoping meeting and is specific to each client. We find that all of our clients need help in a few key areas, but they are all at a different stage of their journey with different strengths and weaknesses.  Some of the work might include product costing, budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, performance reports, cashflows and custom reporting designs  Once the initial scope is agreed we then come up with a plan along with setting up regular meetings, which might be fortnightly, monthly or quarterly.  This is a partnership, so the more information the business owner can share, the easier it is for us to work together

Michelle Leonard – LC Designer Homes2022-02-15T17:11:41+13:00
Daniel Adams – Envelope Group2022-02-15T17:12:34+13:00
Paige Burgess – Studio Black2022-02-15T17:12:11+13:00
Alistair Kirk – Co-Founder, Beach Booch2022-02-15T17:10:49+13:00
Todd – Beauty and the Wind2022-02-15T17:10:03+13:00
F. Lane – Goodings Laboratory2022-02-11T14:57:02+13:00
Jude Salisbury – Abeeco2021-12-19T19:03:52+13:00
Luci Marshall – Rise & Shine PR2021-12-19T19:03:31+13:00
Scott Rice – Quantum Events/Puhoi Beer2021-12-19T19:02:59+13:00
Joy Wintour – The Yarn Queen2021-12-19T19:01:01+13:00