by Nathan Hayes | Oct 25, 2025 | Financial Operations, Leadership & Management, Practice Management
As a “money guy” by profession, I completely understand that talking about finances, profits, or growing your personal income can sometimes feel a little icky or even selfish. After all, much of your day-to-day involves: Asking patients to pay for your...
by Nathan Hayes | Oct 18, 2025 | Financial Operations, Leadership & Management, Practice Management
I’ve recently spoken with a few practice owners who were disappointed with their financial results. Two of them had added staff in anticipation of growth, but it never came. Increasing expenses without a matching increase in revenue can quickly reduce profits and cash...
by Nathan Hayes | Sep 7, 2025 | Financial Operations, Tax Prep
Author’s note: This blog shares my take on a framework I learned from Adam Cmejla, CFP®, in a recording of the 20/20 Money podcast. Just want to give him credit for the idea! It’s no surprise that Books & Benchmarks, a firm that prepares optometry financial...
by Nathan Hayes | Aug 30, 2025 | Financial Operations, Practice Management
An OD called me the other week after sending me a scan of his current fee schedule. His question: “Should I raise my fees? And by how much?” I asked him, “When was the last time you increased your optometry fees?” “2019, I think.” My response: “Yes,...
by Nathan Hayes | Aug 23, 2025 | Budgeting, Cash Flow & Cash Management, Financial Operations
During a recent financial review with a client, one of our optometry bookkeepers was surprised when I praised the practice owner for investing extra cash instead of aggressively paying down debt. Disclosure: We are not Certified Financial Planners (CFP) at Books...
by Nathan Hayes | Aug 2, 2025 | Cash Flow & Cash Management, Financial Operations
Where did all the money go? Most of our clients have been fairly flush with cash since Books & Benchmarks got started. We happened to launch right around the time COVID-19 relief funds were landing in practice bank accounts, giving many a temporary...
