Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

I spent 12 hours turning 8 financial metrics into one dashboard in this Financial Health Dashboard.

Today you can get it for free.

👍 Like this post and comment below, and then grab it here: yourcfoguy.kit.com/financial-health-dashboard

The hardest part of running a business is knowing whether it is actually healthy.

Your revenue can be climbing while your margins quietly shrink.

Your P&L can look great while you are two months away from running out of cash.

I have watched founders get blindsided by this more times than I can count.

The numbers were always there. Nobody had them in one place where the problem was obvious.

I am a Microsoft Excel MVP, and I have built hundreds of dashboards and financial models over my years as a fractional CFO.

This is the one I reach for when I want to know if a business is truly healthy.

It took me about 12 hours to get right, and it puts the eight metrics that actually matter on a single screen.

ARR, gross margin, working capital, EBITDA, net margin, CAC, cash flow, and how many months of runway you have left.

Then it grades each one against your target and colors it green, yellow, or red.

So you can tell in about three seconds what is winning and what is about to break.

At the top you get an overall status and a simple count of how many metrics are on track and how many are not.

You drop in your numbers and the whole thing updates on its own.

No formulas to build, no charts to wire up from scratch.

What you walk away with is the one view I would want in front of me before any board meeting, any investor update, or any Monday morning.

You can have it today for free.

Grab it here: yourcfoguy.kit.com/financial-health-dashboard

21 hours ago | [YT] | 53

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

An entire college Finance & Accounting 101 course fits inside one Excel file.

But you don't have to pay college tuition to get it.

So today, I'm giving it to you for free…

👍 Like and comment on this post and then grab it here 👉 yourcfoguy.kit.com/finance-accounting-course

Here's what's included.

1️⃣ The Fundamentals

→ The Accounting Equation

Assets = Liabilities + Owners Equity.

This is the single most important equation in all of accounting.

It means everything of economic value your business owns or controls, your ASSETS, got funded one of two ways. Money owed to creditors, that's LIABILITIES. Or money owed to owners, that's OWNERS EQUITY.

→ Cash vs Accrual Accounting

Cash basis accounting is simple. Money you receive counts as income. Money you pay out counts as an expense. A few exceptions aside.

Accrual basis is different. You only recognize revenue once it's EARNED, meaning you actually delivered the product or service. And you only recognize an expense once it's INCURRED, meaning you actually used the benefit.

→ Debits and Credits

This is how you communicate what's increasing and what's decreasing on your financial statements.

But here's the catch. The statements are all connected. So you can't just use one side for increases and the other for decreases.

There's a system instead. And honestly, it's simpler than people make it out to be.
Assets go up with debits, down with credits.

Liabilities and owners equity work the opposite way, since together they equal assets. Up with credits, down with debits.

And your P&L flows into retained earnings, which is an equity account. So income accounts go up with credits and down with debits. Expenses work the reverse.

Simple enough? It clicks fast once you see it a couple times…

→ Reporting Standards

Three you need to know. No shortcuts, just the real thing.

GAAP. Generally accepted accounting principles. The standard most businesses use.

IFRS. International Financial Reporting Standards. Used when you're comparing reporting across countries.

Tax basis. What you actually file your taxes with. This one shifts depending on your jurisdiction.
→ An Overview of the Financial Statements

→ How the Financial Statements Connect

And that's the whole Fundamentals section.

2️⃣ An In Depth Look at Each Financial Statement

Here you'll get a full mock set of financial statements, broken down line by line so you know exactly what each number means.

→ The Profit and Loss

→ The Balance Sheet

→ The Statement of Cash Flows

3️⃣ Key Ratios and KPIs

Here you'll learn the ratios that actually matter for analyzing financial performance, plus the KPIs that show up in reporting again and again.

===

I built this the same way I'd teach it to a new hire on my own team. I've walked interns through this exact framework with zero accounting background, and it clicked every time.

I hope it gives you the same ROI it gave me.

Grab it here: yourcfoguy.kit.com/finance-accounting-course

2 days ago | [YT] | 89

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

20 Excel Tricks & Tips 👇

Master all 20 and you can call yourself an Excel Wizard 🧙‍♂️

👍 Like and comment on this post and then grab it here 👉 yourcfoguy.kit.com/20-excel-tips

Let's get into it.

1️⃣ Add a dropdown tied to a dynamic list

Know how to build a dropdown using data validation?

Cool… now what happens once your list GROWS and the reference stops keeping up?

Step 1: Turn your list into a table. Tables automatically extend every time you add a new row.

Step 2: Create a named range for that column.

Step 3: Reference the named range inside your data validation. Voila 👌

And that's it. Your dropdown never breaks again.

2️⃣ Unpivot data

This might be my FAVORITE one on this whole list. I use it constantly when I'm building dashboards for clients.

Step 1: Select your range, with dates running horizontally.

Step 2: Go to Data > From Table/Range.

Step 3: In Power Query, select all your date columns, right click, and hit Unpivot Columns.

3️⃣ Add buttons to a pivot table (slicers)

PivotTables are a HUGE part of Excel. Slicers are what actually bring them to life.

Think of them as buttons that instantly filter your PivotTable or table.

👉 Go to Table Design > Slicer, or PivotTable Design > Slicer.

4️⃣ Text to columns

Clean up messy data by splitting the values in one cell into multiple columns.

👉 Go to Data > Text to Columns.

5️⃣ Transpose data

Take data running this way ↔️ and flip it to run this way ↕️. Or the other way around.

Step 1: Copy your range.

Step 2: Go to Paste Special.

Step 3: Click Transpose.

Alternate route: use the =UNIQUE spill function.

6️⃣ Duplicate window

Ever worked across two tabs and needed to see both at once?

👉 Go to View > New Window.

7️⃣ Add a watch window

Want to take tip 6 further? Add a watch on a cell, and you can track its value no matter where you SCROLL.

👉 Go to Formulas > Watch Window.

8️⃣ Add a table of contents

Don't assume you're the only one opening your Excel file. People will review it. People will ask questions.

So give your readers a clear map of what's what. I add one to every single model I hand off to a client.

Step 1: Add a new tab. List out every tab name and what it does.

Step 2: Hit CTRL + K to link each one for easy reference.

9️⃣ Build scenarios with Scenario Manager

Want to see what your business looks like under a more aggressive set of assumptions?

You don't need a second workbook. Use Scenario Manager instead.

Step 1: Select the cells you want to update.

Step 2: Go to Data > Scenario Manager.

Step 3: Choose new values for each cell.

Step 4: Toggle between scenarios whenever you want.

===

That's a preview of the 20 tips and tricks. Honestly, that's all I could fit into 3,000 characters…

👍 Like and comment on this post and then grab it here 👉 yourcfoguy.kit.com/20-excel-tips

What Excel tips or tricks would you add?

Let us know in the comments below 👇

3 days ago | [YT] | 108

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

I built EVERY Excel chart. And today I'm giving them all to you for FREE 👇

👍 Like and comment on this post and then grab it here 👉 yourcfoguy.kit.com/every-excel-chart

Access over 30 Excel charts and STUN your audience with this one.

It took me a really long time to build all of this…I'm talking weeks.

And I learned a TON along the way about Excel charts. I've used these exact charts in client dashboards for years.

Here's what stuck with me most…

→ Charts Are Amazing, If You Know How To Use Them

It's easy to get overwhelmed by a pie chart carrying 20 series. Or just turned off completely.

So understand what each chart is actually good for. And just as important, when NOT to use it.

→ Charts Serve Two Purposes

To INFORM the reader. And to look pretty 😍

The best charts tell you something pure numbers never could. And they're actually enjoyable to look at. Translation, they're pretty.

→ It's All About Your Data

You've probably heard the phrase garbage in, garbage out when it comes to data.

But with charts, it goes further than that.

Your data STRUCTURE matters just as much as its INTEGRITY.

That means keeping your data in a tabular format, so it can actually be referenced and extended by your charts.

===

I had so much fun with this project. Every hour of development was worth it.

That's exactly why I'm so excited to share it with you today.

But you have to move quick. Our team put a LOT of work into this, and we'll have to start charging for it soon. So grab the template while it's still free.

Grab it here 👉 yourcfoguy.kit.com/every-excel-chart

I can't wait to read what you build with it 👇

Let me know in the comments below.

4 days ago | [YT] | 120

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

Learn every Excel ALT Shortcut

I've said it before, and I'll say it again…

Excel shortcuts can make you FLY ✈️

They take practice, not just skimming the list once.

And at first, they'll feel slower than your mouse. But once they hit MUSCLE memory, the sky is the limit.

You can turn a client's vision into reality INSTANTLY on a call…or impress your boss with your speed…or sit alone on a Saturday playing a piano symphony with your keyboard.

I use these every single day, whether I'm building a model or presenting to a board. It's the difference between fumbling through a file and OWNING it.

So here's what most people don't realize. You already half know a lot of these. And the rest become second nature the moment you practice them.

👍 Like and comment on this post and then grab it here 👉 yourcfoguy.kit.com/alt-excel-cheat-sheet

Now let's dive into my favorites.

→ Pasting
Alt H V V → paste values
Alt H V R → paste formatting
Alt H V T → paste transposed
Alt H V U → paste as picture
Alt H B A → apply border to all cells

→ Borders
Alt H B S → apply border to all edges
Alt H B P → apply top border
Alt H B L → apply left border
Alt H B O → apply bottom border
Alt H B R → apply right border
Alt H B N → remove borders

→ Alignment
Alt H A L → align left
Alt H A C → align center
Alt H A R → align right
Alt H A T → align top
Alt H A M → align middle
Alt H A B → align bottom

→ Cell Styles
Alt H H → change cell background color
Alt H F C → change font color
Alt H F G → decrease font size
Alt H F K → increase font size
Alt H 9 → decrease decimal
Alt H 0 → increase decimal
Alt H 6 → indent
Alt H 5 → decrease indent
Alt H M C → merge and center
Alt H M U → unmerge cells
Alt H K → format for number
Alt H A N → format for accounting
Alt H P → format for percentage
Alt H N → change font format

→ Insert Or Delete Rows, Columns, And Cells
Alt H I E → insert cut cells
Alt H I C → insert column
Alt H I R → insert row
Alt H D R → delete row
Alt H D C → delete column

→ Data, Grouping, Filters, Sorts
Alt A G → group cells
Alt A U → ungroup cells
Alt A J → show details
Alt A H → hide details
Alt A V → apply data validation
Alt A M → remove duplicates
Alt A S A → sort A to Z
Alt H S F → apply filter

→ Windows
Alt W F F → freeze panes
Alt W V G → remove gridlines
Alt W W → switch windows
Alt W N → new window

===

Every single Excel keyboard shortcut using the Alt key, right here.

At first these will feel slower than the mouse. That's normal.

But after a few reps, it's second nature. And you'll FLY.

I've been living inside Excel my whole career, and Alt shortcuts are still the fastest way I know to move through a spreadsheet.

Grab it here: yourcfoguy.kit.com/alt-excel-cheat-sheet

What's your favorite Excel keyboard shortcut?

Let us know in the comments below 👇

4 days ago | [YT] | 94

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

8 Things You Can Do in Excel's Power Query

Power Query is easily the most powerful feature in Excel…

and I'm amazed by how many people have never dabbled with it.

Let's change that in today's post…

👍 Like and comment on this post and then grab it here 👉 yourcfoguy.kit.com/8-tips-power-query

→ What Is Power Query?

Power Query is an ETL tool. That stands for Extract, Transform, Load.

E → EXTRACT data from multiple sources. A table, an external workbook, the web, and more.

T → TRANSFORM that data. This is the heart and soul of Power Query, basically like writing a macro that stacks transformation steps onto your data.

L → LOAD that data back to wherever you want it.

→ How Do You Access Power Query?

Extract information → Data > Get & Transform Data

Access your queries → Data > Queries & Connections

Now let's dive into the 8 amazing things you can do in Power Query.

1️⃣ Unpivot dates

This is my favorite.

We naturally read data with dates running this way ↔️ and account names running this way ↕️.
Think of a P&L.

But that's a rough way to run flexible, dynamic calculations.

So instead, we UNPIVOT the dates. Every value for every account and date becomes its own row, all in one single column.

2️⃣ Load data from multiple sources

You can load data from an external Excel file. That's the easy part.

But here's the better part. You can load multiple Excel files sitting inside one folder, all at once.

3️⃣ Remove duplicates

There are plenty of ways to remove duplicates in Excel.

So why keep doing it manually? Write the logic once, and get the benefit every time you hit refresh.

4️⃣ Filter and sort data

Same idea. Filter and sort your data right inside the Power Query editor, and it appears exactly how you want it every time you refresh.

5️⃣ Insert or delete columns

Add any custom column you need, or delete the ones you don't.

Your source table stays intact the whole time. Your transformed table shows up exactly how you want it.

6️⃣ Merge and append queries

Merging is the equivalent of a lookup function. It merges two tables together based on a common field.

Appending is different. It just stacks two or more tables on top of each other.

7️⃣ Calculate custom columns

Added a new column? Now add a custom calculation to it, just like a normal Excel formula.

8️⃣ Refresh data

Done editing? Hit refresh and watch your data transform.

Every time your source updates, hit refresh and your transformed data updates too.

===

Learning Power Query was a HUGE turning point for me as an Excel user…

I hope this post taught you something you didn't already know.

Grab it here: yourcfoguy.kit.com/8-tips-power-query

Got anything to add?

Let us know in the comments below 👇

5 days ago | [YT] | 102

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

Wait...this is EXCEL??

Grab this FREE Resume template.

👍 Like and comment on this post and then grab it here: yourcfoguy.kit.com/excel-resume

Every resume I see looks exactly the same.

Same font. Same bullet points. Same template everyone downloaded off Google at 11pm the night before applying.

And somehow we're all supposed to stand out using the exact same tools as everyone else.

So I built mine in EXCEL instead.

Not because I was bored.

Because I wanted something that actually looked like ME.

Our team at Model Wiz has been packing more templates into our Excel add in for a while now.

And it's not just Finance and Accounting dashboards anymore.

This one helps you take control of your career and present yourself like a professional, straight out of Excel.

The best part?

Hit CTRL + P, and you've got a clean PDF ready for your next interview.

So you may be wondering how I built this...in EXCEL?

Or even more important, why EXCEL??

Let's start with the why.

→ Why Excel

Excel is my favorite application. By far.

I use it every day. And when I don't, I actually feel off.

What I love about Excel is how easily you can manipulate DATA.

Most people think data only means numbers.

In reality, data can be text. Pictures. Shapes. Icons. And a lot more than that.

I picked Excel because it's the best tool for merging cells and combining every kind of data into one layout.

Word can do some of this too.

But Excel gives you an unlimited number of "cells" to customize your layout.

And you can link it to other files with live data whenever you need to.

→ How I Built It

Honestly, it's not that tricky.

First you need an outline of what you're building.

Want to try it yourself? Take a screenshot of mine and recreate it.

Start by outlining which columns and rows you'll actually use. Hide the rest.

Then add separators for each section. Insert, Shape, Line.

Now merge your cells.

I know, I know. Merged cells get a bad reputation.

And honestly, that reputation is earned the moment you're crunching numbers.

Design is a completely different game.

Once your cells are merged, fill in your information.

I grabbed a few icons off the internet and dropped them straight in.

Last step. Make it print ready.

Head to Page Layout and get everything fitting on one page, width and height both.

Adjust your margins and boom. The resume of your dreams just showed up.

===

That's the whole build.

And it's proof there's no real ceiling on what you can create inside Excel.

Grab it here 👉 yourcfoguy.kit.com/excel-resume

Have you ever built a resume in Excel? Or seen anything cooler someone built inside a spreadsheet?

Let me know in the comments below 👇

6 days ago | [YT] | 75

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

Everyone thinks a pivot table is just a boring little summary.

I turned one into an entire finance department.

You paste your transactions and it builds your P&L, compares you against last year and budget, and splits out every department, all on its own.

It sells for $79, and today it's yours free.

Like and comment below and I'll send you your copy.

yourcfoguy.kit.com/greatest-pivot-table

For years I rebuilt the same financial reports by hand, every single month.

New transactions would come in, and I'd wire up all the same formulas again just to see how we actually did.

It was hours of work, over and over, for a number I needed every thirty days.

So I set out to build one pivot table that could do the entire thing on its own.

I used AI chatbots as my own personal tutor and taught myself to pull off things in Excel I genuinely had no idea were possible.

And I'll be honest with you, this one got complex.

I've spent years as a fractional CFO and built hundreds of models and dashboards, and even for me this pushed into brand new territory.

But once it clicked, it became the one file I reach for before anything else.

Here's what it actually does for you.

You paste your transactions into a single tab, and that's the only thing you ever have to do.
From there it builds a clean, properly formatted P&L, the kind you'd actually put in front of an investor.

It lines up this month against last month, against last year, and against your budget, side by side, with the difference already calculated for you.

You can flip the whole thing to year to date or the trailing twelve months with one click.

And it breaks out every department on its own, so you see exactly where Sales, R&D, Support and G&A each landed.

New month rolls around, you paste in the new transactions, and every report updates itself.

So instead of losing an afternoon to spreadsheets, your entire financial picture is on the screen in seconds.

And the next time someone asks how you're tracking against budget, you have a clean answer in front of them right then, not next week.

Like and comment, and grab it from the link below.

yourcfoguy.kit.com/greatest-pivot-table

1 week ago | [YT] | 86

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

If you don't have this one thing in your financial model, it will eventually break.

And the worst part is you won't even know it did.

It's called an error check, and today I'm giving mine away for free.

👍 Like and comment, then grab it from the link below.

yourcfoguy.kit.com/financial-model-error-check

A financial model is hundreds of formulas all feeding into each other.

One of them gets overwritten, one balance stops tying, and every number downstream is quietly wrong.

But the model still looks perfect.

It still calculates, it still presents beautifully, and it gives you no warning at all.

So you send it to your CEO or your board, completely confident, and the number was wrong the whole time.

That's exactly the nightmare this is built to catch.

It sits inside your model and watches every single tab.

Your income statement, balance sheet, cash flows, drivers, headcount, AR, and AP, all of it.

Each one gets checked, and you get a simple green check or a red flag.

Then it rolls everything into one verdict at the top.

Your model is functioning properly, or something broke and here's the exact tab to go fix.

You're no longer hunting through formulas hoping you caught everything.

You open the model, you glance at one cell, and you know it's safe to send.

It's all built right into Excel.

Once it's in your model, every check recalculates on its own, so the second something stops tying, it flags it.

It's honestly the least exciting part of a financial model.

But after years of building these, it's the part I'd never send a model to a client without.

And today it's completely free.

Like and comment, and grab it from the link below.

yourcfoguy.kit.com/financial-model-error-check

1 week ago | [YT] | 37

Josh Aharonoff (Your CFO Guy)

Excel is still one of the most valuable skills you can have, even in a world that won't shut up about AI.

Maybe especially now.

I'm a Microsoft Excel MVP, and I've spent my whole career basically living inside Excel.

So I put together a free 7-day email course to help you actually master it.

And today you can join for nothing.

👍 Like and comment, then grab the link to join below.

yourcfoguy.kit.com/excel-evergreen-email-course

Everyone assumed AI would make spreadsheets a thing of the past.

But walk into any finance team, any startup, any boardroom, and Excel is still the tool everything actually runs on.

AI can write you a formula, sure.

But it still can't tell you if the number is right, or build the model for you, or present it in a way your CEO actually understands.

That part is still a real skill. And the people who have it are worth more than ever.
So over the next 7 days, I'll walk you through one seriously useful, lesser known feature from each ribbon in Excel.
One short video a day, explained simply, with the file so you can follow along.

On day one, custom and conditional formatting, so your numbers actually pop off the page.

On day two, charts that look nothing like the boring Excel defaults.

On day three, themes that let you format an entire report with a single click.

On day four, the error checking tool that finds exactly where your formula broke.

On day five, grouping, so you can tame even the biggest, messiest spreadsheet.

On day six, protecting your sheets and leaving notes, for when you share your work with others.

On day seven, building a custom button that makes your dashboards interactive.

By the end of the week, you'll have a handful of Excel skills that actually save you time, and honestly make the whole thing a lot more enjoyable.

It's completely free, it all comes by email, and you go at your own pace.

If you've been meaning to finally get good at Excel, this is the easiest way I know to start.

Like and comment, and grab the link to join below.

yourcfoguy.kit.com/excel-evergreen-email-course

1 week ago | [YT] | 59