Finance & Client Operations Lead

This role owns the financial operations of the business and supports sales execution so momentum, cash flow, and client confidence are never constrained by the founder.You operate as a trusted proxy for the founder, with real authority over financial execution, revenue operations, and client follow-through. If it touches money, forecasting, invoicing, payroll, or sales follow-up, you own it.This is a role for someone who brings judgment, professionalism, and calm authority, not someone waiting for direction.Primary Responsibilities:Financial Ownership & P&L Visibility (Primary)You fully own day-to-day financial operations and clarity, including:End-to-end ownership of P&L accuracy and visibilityPayroll execution and reviewAccounts payable and vendor paymentsInvoicing, accounts receivable, and payment follow-upCredit card and expense reconciliationManagement of the accounting inbox and all financial communicationsReducing outsourced accounting work by 80%+ through internal ownershipDesigning and enforcing clean, repeatable client onboarding and invoicing processesPO creation and follow-up to ensure engineering work starts without delay The founder does not monitor QuickBooks, AR/AP, payroll, or invoice status.Project Accounting, Forecasting & Cash ControlYou ensure financial reality is always visible, current, and actionable.This includes:Project-level financial trackingRevenue and cash flow forecastingClear visibility into:When revenue is expectedWhen cash is receivedWhere timing, scope, or margin is driftingSurfacing risk early—before it becomes disruptiveProviding clean inputs to support hiring, spending, and delivery decisionsThis role exists to keep the business on offense, not reacting late.Sales Execution Support & Revenue OperationsYou support sales by ensuring nothing stalls due to lack of follow-up, organization, or discipline.This includes:Owning inbound lead follow-up from website and HubSpotPrompt, professional calling and emailing of warm leadsEnsuring every lead and deal has a clear next actionBooking meetings without founder coordinationMaintaining CRM discipline with zero stale dealsSupporting phone and inbox management related to sales follow-upCoordinating with marketing, HubSpot workflows, and WordPress as neededYou are not the closer. You ensure closers stay focused, prepared, and unblocked.Client Experience & Professional Representation (Non-Negotiable)You own the client journey from first contact through billing and project kickoff.This includes:Managing onboarding from PO through project startSending and tracking W-9s, ACH/wire details, intake forms, and onboarding materialsSetting clear expectations around billing, milestones, and payment timingActing as the primary point of contact for billing clarity and follow-throughEnsuring a clean handoff from Sales to Engineering and OperationsThis is a client-facing role Professionalism, clarity, confidence, and consistency are required.Clients should consistently feel:TrustControlCompetenceEvery interaction matters.Tools & SystemsQuickBooks (P&L, invoicing, AP/AR, project accounting)HubSpot (CRM, pipelines, dashboards, follow-ups)Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive)ADP (Payroll – training provided)CalendlyAI tools including ChatGPT, Plaud.ai, Fireflies, and ZapierRequired Experience & ProfileThis role is for someone with ownership-level experience, not support-only exposure.Required:2–10 years of experience in one or more of:Finance OperationsRevenue OperationsAccounting or Controller supportClient OperationsSales OperationsExperience working closely with a founder or senior executiveProven comfort owning money, follow-up, and decisionsHands-on experience with:Invoicing, AR, and APFinancial operations and reportingCRM systems (HubSpot preferred)Strong written and verbal communicationCalm, professional presence in client and vendor conversationsAbility to exercise judgment without constant escalationPreferred:Degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Operations, or related fieldExperience in manufacturing, engineering, or project-based businessesExperience representing a company in financial or client-facing discussionsWhat This Role Is NotNot an administrative-only roleNot calendar management as a primary functionNot a "wait for instructions" positionThis role requires ownership, discretion, and polishSuccess Looks LikeThe founder trusts the numbers without hesitationFinancial risk is visible earlyClients experience clean, professional follow-throughSales momentum is supported without founder involvementThe business runs cleaner, calmer, and faster