Financial intelligence
Variance analysis that shows its work.
Varyn calculates every figure in code from the trial balance you import — margins, budget vs. actual, AR aging, runway — and keeps the trail back to the GL rows. The AI drafts the explanation. You decide whether it’s right.
AI draft · awaiting CFO approval
Gross margin fell 3.1 pts to 72.9% in September. Revenue grew 3.6%, but AWS hosting rose 25% ($21,600 → $27,000) — about three-quarters of the $7,314 increase in cost of revenue. Hosting is now 22.7% over budget. Worth raising reserved-instance coverage before the October close.
Source trace
- Period
- Sep 1–30, 2026 vs Aug 2026
- Formula
- (Revenue − Cost of revenue) ÷ Revenue
- Imported
- Trial balance, CSV · Oct 3
| Line | Aug | Sep |
|---|---|---|
| RevenueGL 4000–4099 · 312 rows | 180,000 | 186,400 |
| Cost of revenueGL 5000–5999 · 61 rows | 43,200 | 50,514 |
| AWS hostingGL 5100 · 4 rows | 21,600 | 27,000 |
| Gross margin | 76.0% | 72.9% |
Calculated in code from the import. The AI wrote the sentence; it did not produce a single number in it.
Fig. 1.1 — The draft is written from calculated figures; open the trace to see period, formula and source rows.
Revenue
$186.4K
+3.6% vs Aug
Gross margin
72.9%
−3.1 pts vs Aug
Operating margin
-18.9%
−1.6 pts vs Aug
Cash runway
14.1 mo
$1.21M ÷ $86K burn
Fig. 1.2 — The four numbers a SaaS client’s board asks about first, with six months of trend.
- Revenue$186,400 / $190,000−1.9%
- Hosting (AWS)$27,000 / $22,000−22.7%
- Payroll$126,900 / $128,000+0.9%
- Sales & marketing$31,800 / $30,000−6.0%
- G&A$12,500 / $14,000+10.7%
Fig. 1.3 — Variance to budget by line. Anything more than 5% unfavorable is flagged.
Total $110,400
Over 60 days $10,100 · 9.1%
- Current
- 62.4K
- 1–30
- 28.1K
- 31–60
- 9.8K
- 61–90
- 6.2K
- 90+
- 3.9K
Fig. 1.4 — Receivables by age. Past 60 days goes on the meeting agenda automatically.
Monthly close OS
A close that runs on business days, not memory.
Build the checklist once — steps, owners, dependencies, due dates counted in business days from month-end. Varyn rolls it out to every client each month and tells you which close is about to slip before the client notices.
Day 5 reconciliation means day 5
Due dates skip weekends and roll forward with each month.
Dependencies hold
Accruals can’t start until AP/AR cut-off is done. Delivery waits on review.
Reminders, then escalation
The owner of the next step gets the nudge. A slipped step goes to the lead CFO.
People close the books
AI drafts commentary. It never marks a reconciliation, adjustment or approval complete.
6 of 8 steps complete
Today · BD 7 of 10
- 01Statements requestedClient · BD 1Client · Auto-requestBD 1Done
- 02Trial balance & GL importedR. Diaz · BD 2R. Diaz · AccountantBD 2Done
- 03Bank & card reconciliationsR. Diaz · BD 3R. Diaz · AccountantBD 3Done
- 04AP / AR cut-off reviewR. Diaz · BD 4R. Diaz · AccountantBD 4Done
- 05Accruals & deferred revenueS. Kim · BD 5S. Kim · Senior accountantBD 5Done
- 06Variance analysis — AI draftT. Wells · BD 6T. Wells · AnalystBD 6Done
- 07CFO reviewM. Ortiz · BD 7M. Ortiz · Lead CFOBD 7Needs CFO review
- 08Package delivered to portalM. Ortiz · BD 8M. Ortiz · Lead CFOBD 8Waits on 07
Fig. 2.1 — One client’s close on business day 7. Step 08 can’t start until 07 is signed off.
Reporting & approval
Nothing reaches a client until a CFO signs it.
Assemble the month’s package — commentary, statements, KPIs — under your firm’s brand. Approve it and it lands in the client’s portal as PDF and Excel, with the approval on the record.
- Draft
- CFO approved
- Delivered
- 01Executive summary & commentaryApproved
- 02Profit & loss — month and YTD
- 03Balance sheet
- 04Cash flow & runway
- 05KPI page
- 06AR aging
- Oct 8 · 09:12 — Package assembled, commentary drafted by AI · T. Wells
- Oct 8 · 16:40 — Commentary edited and approved · M. Ortiz, Lead CFO
- Oct 8 · 16:41 — Published to the client portal · Varyn
Client portal
What Pinecrest’s CEO sees
Reports
September 2026 financial package
Approved by M. Ortiz · Oct 8
Only approved packages appear here. Drafts never do.
Fig. 3.1 — Draft, CFO approval, delivery — each step written to the audit log.
Document collection
Month-end without the email chase.
Recurring requests go out on business day 1. Clients upload to the portal, your team marks what’s reviewed, and anything late gets a reminder before it holds up a reconciliation.
- Operating account statement ••4821Requested automatically on BD 1Reviewed
- Corporate card statementRequested automatically on BD 1Reviewed
- Payroll registerRequested automatically on BD 1Received
- Line of credit statementRequested automatically on BD 1Reviewed
- Sales tax return — Q3Due BD 2 · 2 days overdue · reminder sentPending
Fig. 4.1 — Five requests for one client. The Q3 sales tax return is two days late.
Set once per client
Statements, payroll registers, loan statements — on the schedule that client needs.
Versions and review
Re-uploads keep their history. Nothing counts as received until someone reviews it.
Tied to the close
A missing statement shows up as the reason a reconciliation is late.
CFO Copilot & meeting prep
Walk into every advisory meeting prepared.
Ask about a client’s numbers and get an answer that cites them. Before each meeting, Varyn assembles the brief: what moved, what’s open, what you agreed last time.
Copilot
Operating margin went from −17.3% to −18.9%. Two drivers: gross profit fell $914 even though revenue grew, because AWS hosting rose $5,400; and operating expenses rose $3,200, with sales & marketing running $1,800 over budget.
Answers from this client’s imported data only. Internal until you share it.
Fig. 5.1 — Answered from Pinecrest’s P&L, GL and budget — sources listed.
- 01
The numbers
- Revenue $186.4K, +3.6% on August
- Gross margin 72.9%, down 3.1 pts
- Runway 14.1 months at $86K burn
- 02
Open items
- Hosting 22.7% over budget — decision needed
- AR over 60 days: $10,100 across 2 invoices
- 03
Since last meeting
- Q4 hiring plan held at 2 roles (agreed Sep 11)
- Deferred revenue schedule cleaned up
- 04
Suggested talking points
- Reserved-instance commitment: 1-year vs 3-year
- Collections owner for the two late invoices
Fig. 5.2 — The brief for Thursday’s meeting, built from the close and the last meeting’s notes.
Capacity & profitability
Know which retainers pay for themselves.
Assignments and time entries roll up into load per person and margin per client — so the $4,000-a-month client eating 31 hours shows up in September, not at year-end.
- M. Ortiz Lead CFO148/160 h · 93%
- S. Kim Senior accountant152/160 h · 95%
- R. Diaz Accountant120/160 h · 75%
- T. Wells Analyst96/160 h · 60%
| Client | Retainer | Hours vs budget | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinecrest Software$6,500/mo | $6,500 | 28 h / 30 h | 35% |
| Harbor Lane Dental$3,500/mo | $3,500 | 14 h / 16 h | 40% |
| Oakmont Bakery$4,000/mo | $4,000 | 31 h / 20 h | −16% |
| Kestrel Freight Co.$5,000/mo | $5,000 | 22 h / 25 h | 34% |
Oakmont Bakery: 31 h against a 20 h budget. $4,650 of time on a $4,000 retainer.
Fig. 6.1 — September. Margin is retainer less hours at a $150/h blended cost.
Clients, onboarding & billing
From proposal to first close, on rails.
Track prospects through discovery and proposal. When one signs, an onboarding run starts from your template: portal invites, chart of accounts, historical imports, team assignment, the first close. Retainers and billing schedules sit next to the work they pay for.
Discovery2
Alder & Finch Architects
$3,000/mo · call Oct 14
Summit Physio Group
$2,500/mo · referred
Proposal sent2
Northgate Supply
$4,500/mo · sent Oct 6
Lumen Dental Partners
$3,800/mo · sent Oct 2
Onboarding1
Bluegate Labs
Day 4 of 14 · 6/9 tasks
6 of 9 tasks · started from your template on signing
- Engagement letter signed(done)
- Client contacts invited to portal(done)
- Fiscal year & chart of accounts set(done)
- Historical trial balances imported(done)
- Lead CFO and accountant assigned(done)
- Close template applied(done)
- Bank & card statement requests scheduled(open)
- Budget FY26 imported(open)
- Kickoff meeting held(open)
Fig. 7.1 — New business and the onboarding run for a client who signed four days ago.
| Client | Bills | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Pinecrest Software | 1st of month | $6,500 |
| Harbor Lane Dental | 1st of month | $3,500 |
| Oakmont BakeryScope review: hours over budget in September | 1st of month | $4,000 |
| Kestrel Freight Co. | 1st of month | $5,000 |
| Total | $19,000 |
Fig. 7.2 — Retainers billed on the 1st. Oakmont is flagged for a scope conversation.
Retainers per client
Amount, billing day and engagement type, kept with the client record.
Margin beside the invoice
When hours run past budget, the retainer is flagged before the next renewal.
The rest of the firm
Everything else the firm runs on.
The client side of the practice lives in the same workspace as the numbers: one login for your clients, one system for your team.
Client work
Communication
Firm operations
Integrations
Works with the systems your team already uses.
Slack, Microsoft Teams, HubSpot, Google Calendar and Stripe connect today. Your accounting system stays the books of record: numbers come in by CSV or Excel now, and more connections — QuickBooks Online and Xero first — are on the way.
Varyn CFO
Accounting data
- CSV & Excel importTrial balance, P&L, balance sheet, GLAvailable
- QuickBooks OnlineDirect ledger connectionComing soon
- XeroDirect ledger connectionComing soon
Team chat
- SlackAlerts and client channelsAvailable
- Microsoft TeamsAlertsAvailable
CRM
- HubSpotContacts and dealsAvailable
Meetings & calendar
- Google CalendarAvailability and invitesAvailable
- Built-in videoMeeting room with transcriptionAvailable
- Google MeetMeeting linksComing soon
Payments
- StripeInvoices and retainer paymentsAvailable
Website
- Custom websiteWe build and maintain it. Form submissions go straight to Leads.Included
Security
Built to hold other people’s financials.
The controls that keep each firm’s data — and each client’s — where it belongs.
- Tenant isolation
- Every record belongs to one firm, enforced in the database with row-level security — not only in the app.
- Role-based access
- Partner, CFO, senior accountant, accountant and analyst roles. Client contacts see their own company’s approved work and nothing else.
- Encryption
- Encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Audit log
- Every export, approval, delivery and AI action is recorded: who, what, when.
- Approval gates
- Reports, AI commentary and client deliveries need a CFO’s sign-off before anything leaves the firm.
Running a security review for your own clients? Book a demo and we’ll walk your team through how data is separated, accessed and logged.
Pricing
Priced by the size of your book.
Pick a plan by the number of client companies you serve. Every plan includes the full agency toolkit — team roles and permissions, invites, approvals and a client portal. Prices in USD, billed monthly.
Founding
For firms putting the practice on one system.
$799/ month
- Clients
- Up to 10 clients
- Team seats
- Up to 5 team seats
All modules
- Client CRM & lifecycle
- Close & onboarding workflows
- Client portal & document collection
- Financial reporting packages
- AI CFO Copilot
- Custom website, built & maintained
Book nowFull agency toolkit included
Team roles & permissions · Invites · Approvals · Client portal
Growth
RecommendedFor firms adding clients and staff.
$999/ month
- Clients
- Up to 25 clients
- Team seats
- Up to 12 team seats
Everything in Founding, plus
- Expanded automation
- Team analytics
Book nowFull agency toolkit included
Team roles & permissions · Invites · Approvals · Client portal
Scale
For larger practices. Sized with you on a call.
Custom
- Clients
- 25+ clients
- Team seats
- 12+ team seats
Everything in Growth, plus
- Plan sized to your book
- Sales-assisted setup
Book nowFull agency toolkit included
Team roles & permissions · Invites · Approvals · Client portal
Questions
Straight answers.
Does Varyn replace QuickBooks or Xero?
No. Your accounting system stays the books of record. Varyn reads the numbers out of it and runs the practice around them: the close checklist, reporting, the client portal, team assignments and advisory prep.
What does Varyn connect to?
Today: Slack, Microsoft Teams alerts, HubSpot, Google Calendar and Stripe, plus CSV and Excel import for financial data and a built-in video room with transcription. Coming soon: QuickBooks Online, Xero and Google Meet. Every plan also includes a custom website for your firm, built and maintained by Varyn, with its forms going straight into Leads.
Is QuickBooks Online connected today?
Not yet — QuickBooks Online and Xero connections are coming soon. Today you import CSV or Excel exports (trial balance, P&L, balance sheet, GL detail), and every figure Varyn calculates links back to the rows it came from.
Does the AI make up numbers?
No. Every figure is calculated in code from the data you imported and keeps its lineage — period, formula, source rows. The AI writes the commentary around those figures; it doesn’t produce them.
Can the AI send anything to my clients?
No. AI output is a draft. A CFO approves it before anything reaches the client portal, and the AI can’t mark reconciliations, adjustments or approvals complete.
What do my clients see?
Their own portal: approved reports, their projects and the steps waiting on them, documents to sign, invoices to pay, messages and meetings — for their company only. Drafts, internal notes and other clients are never visible.
Is Varyn only for the financial work?
No. The same workspace runs the rest of the firm: the client portal, client projects, e-signatures, forms, messages and client email, a calendar with booking and built-in video meetings, automations, your team and billing through Stripe.
Do messages reach clients who don’t log in?
Portal messages stay in the portal. When something should land in the client’s inbox, an automation can send the email automatically — or wait for approval, if you switch that on for it — and an email Copilot drafts is sent once someone at the firm approves it. Invoices, signature requests and meeting reminders are emailed too.
How is this different from Varyn for Everyone?
Varyn for Everyone is the all-in-one platform for consultants and agencies. Varyn for Fractional CFO Agencies is built on the same foundation, with the close, financial reporting and advisory workflows a CFO practice runs every month.
We serve more than 25 clients. Can we use it?
Yes — that’s the Scale plan. Book a call and we’ll size it with you.
How do we get started?
Book a 15-minute call. We’ll look at how your practice runs today, then set up your firm with you and invite your team. Every plan is billed monthly.
Do team seats and roles cost extra?
No. Every plan includes the full agency toolkit — team roles and permissions, invites, approvals and the client portal — up to the plan’s seat count.
Your next close starts on business day 1.
Book a 15-minute call. We’ll set up the firm with you, import a client’s trial balance, and run the first close in Varyn together.