What a Profit First professional actually does
A real Profit First pro doesn't just "do your books." They wire your bank accounts into the bucket system, set your allocation percentages off your Real Revenue, run your payroll out of the right account, and hold you to the twice-monthly transfer rhythm. If they only show up at tax time, they're a tax preparer — not a Profit First professional.
How to pick one (5 questions to ask)
- Have you implemented Profit First for businesses like mine? Trades, restaurants, and service shops each have different bucket math.
- Do you run payroll, or just the books? You want one person owning Owner's Pay so it actually lands in your account.
- How do you handle the Tax bucket? The right answer is automated quarterly transfers, not "we'll figure it out in April."
- What's your rhythm? A real implementation is a 15–30 min monthly call, not radio silence.
- What happens when I blow the plan? They should have a documented reset, not a guilt trip.
Why we exist
Matt Frechette built Profit First Payroll because most contractors and restaurant owners in California and Nevada were getting one of two bad deals: a payroll company that doesn't know Profit First, or a Profit First coach who doesn't touch payroll. We do both, under one roof.
- Profit First bucket setup (Income, Profit, Owner's Pay, Tax, OpEx)
- Payroll run from the right account, every cycle
- Workers' comp + GL audit defense
- W-2 vs 1099 classification (CA + NV rules)
- Restaurant tip reporting + FICA tip credit
- S-corp reasonable comp + accountable plan
Where we work
California — Bay Area, Sacramento, Central Valley, LA & OC, Inland Empire, San Diego.
Nevada — Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin, Reno-Sparks, Carson City.
We don't service Arizona, Texas, or other states — California and Nevada payroll rules are specific enough that we'd rather be great in two states than mediocre in fifty.
What to do next
Book a free 20-min call. We'll look at your current setup, tell you what's leaking, and you'll walk away with a one-page Profit First plan whether you hire us or not.