ROUSE CONSULTING
Know your numbers before you need them
Bookkeeping, reporting, and financial planning for small businesses in Des Moines and beyond. Clean books, on time — and someone who can tell you what they mean.
Who this is for
Most of my clients are owners who are good at the thing their business actually does, and who have been handling the books in the gaps — nights, weekends, the last week of the month. It works until it doesn't. Usually what brings someone to me is a quarter they can't reconcile, a loan application with a deadline, or the growing sense that the numbers in the file no longer describe the business they're running. That's a normal place to be. It's also a fixable one.
What I do
Get the books right
Monthly bookkeeping and close. Cleanup and catch-up when things have gotten behind. QuickBooks setup, or repair of a file that's drifted. Payroll processes that run without you watching them.
See what they're telling you
Financial reporting and dashboards built for the person running the business, not for a filing cabinet. The handful of numbers that actually move your decisions, current and in front of you.
Decide what comes next
Budgeting and forecasting. Cash flow planning. Financial models for the decision you're weighing — a hire, a location, a price change. Audit and lender preparation.
How it works
[1]
A conversation
Tell me where things stand. No preparation required, and no judgment about the state of the file — I've seen worse than yours.
[2]
A look at the books
I review what exists and come back with what I'm actually seeing, what it would take to get current, and what it would cost.
[3]
A working rhythm
Most clients settle into a monthly cycle: the books close, the reporting arrives, and we talk about what it means. Some engagements are a one-time cleanup. Both are fine.
About
I'm Tony Rouse. I've spent fourteen years in accounting and finance — controller and FP&A work, financial modeling, reporting, and stretches leading accounting teams as a fractional CFO. I'm a CPA (currently inactive) and I teach Principles of Accounting at Des Moines Area Community College. Small businesses can hire someone to record transactions, or someone expensive to interpret them. The useful thing is one person who does both — who knows the books because they built them, and can tell you what the quarter means without a two-week engagement to find out. Cleanup work is often how people find me. It isn't what I'm for. What I want is to be the person you call before the decision, not the one you call to reconstruct what happened after it.
Get in Touch
Ready to take control of your financial future? Let's talk about your business numbers.
How It Works
A clear, unhurried approach to financial clarity. I provide the structure you need to understand your business's financial health.
01
Get the books right
Establish a foundation of accurate, clean financial records that reflect your business's true operational state.
02
See what they're telling you
Translate complex numbers into actionable insights. I provide a clear view of your financial performance and cash flow.
03
Decide what comes next
Based on the clarity you've gained, you can make informed decisions about growth, investment, or strategic planning.