Written by Bryan Martin, CPA, Managing Partner and Founder of Taxstra. Last updated September 1, 2026.
What dental CFO work should produce
The deliverable is not another dashboard. It is a decision process: a reliable baseline, a forecast that changes when assumptions change, and a clear owner-level recommendation. The monthly close remains the source of truth; CFO work is the layer that asks what happens next.
- Rolling cash-flow and profitability forecasts
- Provider, location and service-line reporting
- Scenario models for equipment, hiring and financing
- Lender-ready reporting and covenant visibility
Overhead decisions without blunt benchmarks
A practice can look expensive for good reasons, growth hiring, a new location or a temporary lab mix, or for bad ones. We separate fixed, variable and provider-dependent costs, then trace the variance to production, collections and capacity instead of forcing the practice into one generic percentage.
- Production-to-collections movement
- Hygiene and doctor capacity
- Labor, lab and supply trends
- Owner compensation and normalized earnings
Capital, acquisitions and multiple locations
Before an owner adds debt or another location, the model should show working-capital needs, integration cost, downside cases and the accounting work required on day one. For multi-location groups, we keep location reporting comparable while preserving the detail needed to find operational drift.
- Equipment buy-versus-finance scenarios
- Acquisition quality-of-earnings preparation
- Location-level contribution and shared-cost allocation
- Tax impact coordinated with the operating forecast
Questions owners ask
How is dental CFO work different from bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping and monthly accounting establish accurate historical results. CFO work uses those results to forecast cash, compare scenarios and support owner decisions.
Does a dental practice need a full-time CFO?
Many owner-led practices need periodic decision support rather than a full-time executive. The scope should match the frequency and complexity of the decisions.
Can CFO support help with a practice acquisition?
Yes. It can connect diligence findings, financing assumptions, working capital and the first-year forecast, while legal and valuation specialists handle their respective work.