Carrie Hefner - Breakaway Business Advisor

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Carrie Hefner - Breakaway Business Advisor Helping business owners gain clarity and confidence in their financial future.

Q4 can go by quickly.Between wrapping up projects, planning for the holidays, preparing for year-end, and starting to th...
10/09/2026

Q4 can go by quickly.

Between wrapping up projects, planning for the holidays, preparing for year-end, and starting to think about next year, it's easy to stay focused on what's immediately in front of you.

But the final quarter is also a valuable opportunity to look at what your numbers are telling you.

Are your books current? Are there outstanding items that need to be cleaned up? How are margins looking? Where does cash stand? And are there decisions you can make now that will put the business in a stronger position heading into 2027?

Our latest blog shares practical steps business owners can take now to finish Q4 with greater clarity and confidence.

Read more at breakawayba.com/blog/q4-finances.

September was a great month for Breakaway Advising !At our Annual Meeting, I was recognized with the Joy Award and as a ...
10/07/2026

September was a great month for Breakaway Advising !

At our Annual Meeting, I was recognized with the Joy Award and as a Founding Member, while also getting the chance to spend time with so many of the advisors and colleagues who have been part of this experience.

We’re also welcoming new clients and continuing to build our team, which makes this an exciting time for the business.

One of the things I value most about being part of Breakaway is having a network of successful advisors who are willing to share what’s working, talk through challenges, and learn from one another. The support from Breakaway HQ has also played an important role in helping us continue to grow.

We always wrap up our Annual Meeting with a toast and a group photo, and this year there was a lot worth celebrating.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of it. I’m looking forward to seeing where we go next.

October is here, which means forecasting season is officially underway.For many businesses, this is the time to start lo...
10/05/2026

October is here, which means forecasting season is officially underway.

For many businesses, this is the time to start looking beyond how 2026 will finish and begin asking what 2027 could realistically look like.

A good forecast isn't about predicting the future perfectly. It's about using what you know today to make better decisions about what comes next.

What could revenue look like? Where might cash get tight? Are margins moving in the right direction? Can the business support another hire, a new piece of equipment, or another investment?

Those are the conversations we're beginning to have with clients now.

If 2027 planning is on your radar, now is a good time to start.

Learn more about how we support business owners at breakawayba.com/carrie-hefner.

A budget and a forecast aren’t the same thing, but a lot of business owners aren’t always clear on the difference.A budg...
10/01/2026

A budget and a forecast aren’t the same thing, but a lot of business owners aren’t always clear on the difference.

A budget is the plan you created. It sets expectations for what you expect to earn, spend, and accomplish over a certain period of time.

A forecast takes that plan and brings it into today. It looks at what’s actually happening in the business now and uses that information to anticipate what the next few months could look like.

That distinction matters because business rarely goes exactly according to budget. Revenue changes. Material and labor costs shift. Hiring plans evolve. A large project gets delayed—or a new opportunity comes along that you never planned for.

Your original budget gives you a benchmark, but your forecast helps you adjust as those things happen.

That’s why forecasting isn’t about trying to predict the future perfectly. It’s about regularly looking at where the business stands, what has changed, and what those changes mean for your cash flow, profitability, and upcoming decisions.

A budget tells you what you planned to do. A forecast helps you decide what to do next.

breakawayba.com/carrie-hefner

We had a great time attending the Big Brothers Big Sisters Building Bridges Gala as guests of CHR Creative.Thank you to ...
09/29/2026

We had a great time attending the Big Brothers Big Sisters Building Bridges Gala as guests of CHR Creative.

Thank you to Bryan Christensen and Tanner Bell for the invitation and for including us in an evening supporting such an important organization in our community.

It was also great connecting with everyone!

Pictured, left to right: Brian and Teresa Merrell of Damascus Christian School, Bryan Christensen, Holli Pappan, Mindy and Tanner Bell of CHR Creative.

Thank you to CHR Creative for having us!

As we head into the final quarter of the year, this is the financial reset I’d be doing with my own business:Look at YTD...
09/28/2026

As we head into the final quarter of the year, this is the financial reset I’d be doing with my own business:

Look at YTD performance. What actually happened compared with what you expected?

Review cash flow. What do the next few months look like?

Update your forecast. What has changed, and what does that mean for 2027?

Then decide on your priorities. What needs to happen before December 31st—and what belongs in next year’s plan?

You don’t need dozens of reports or more numbers just for the sake of having them.

You need the right information to understand where you are and make intentional decisions about where you’re going.

Ready for a strategy conversation? Let’s talk at breakawayba.com/carrie-hefner.

Growth has a way of exposing the processes that worked when your business was smaller.When important financial knowledge...
09/24/2026

Growth has a way of exposing the processes that worked when your business was smaller.

When important financial knowledge lives in one person’s head—or everyone has their own way of doing something, it becomes much harder to add customers, employees, and volume without creating problems along the way. That “tribal knowledge” can quickly become a liability when a business is trying to scale.

One of the lessons I discussed during my Accounting Today conversation was the importance of documented, repeatable financial processes. A strong process should be trainable, have a clear owner, and include regular reviews to make sure it’s actually being followed. It also needs to flex with the business and give you access to the current, historical, and forecasted information you need to make decisions.

For one growing contractor, we rebuilt AR, AP, quoting and purchasing—in that order. Putting those processes in place gave the business greater visibility into cash, better control over spending, and the ability to forecast with more confidence.

Growth doesn’t necessarily create the cracks in your financial operations. Sometimes it just makes them much easier to see.

Hear more from our Accounting Today session, “Outsourcing as Strategy: Scaling Capacity in a Talent-Constrained Market” at https://loom.ly/BHNHDEI.

Breakaway Advising

January shouldn’t be the first time you start thinking seriously about next year.October is when we begin forecasting wi...
09/22/2026

January shouldn’t be the first time you start thinking seriously about next year.

October is when we begin forecasting with clients because there’s still time to use what we know about the current year to make thoughtful decisions about the next one.

What is revenue likely to look like? What expenses are changing? Are you planning to hire, invest, or expand? What does that mean for cash?

A forecast gives you a chance to work through those questions before 2027 arrives.

Because planning ahead gives you a lot more options than reacting later.

Contact us to schedule some time to discuss your business needs at breakawayba.com/carrie-hefner

What would you do differently if you really knew your numbers?For many construction and manufacturing businesses, that q...
09/18/2026

What would you do differently if you really knew your numbers?

For many construction and manufacturing businesses, that question can show up in some very practical ways.

Would you hire another crew because you know the workload and margins can support it? Buy the equipment you’ve been renting? Bid on a larger project—or walk away because the numbers don’t work? Purchase materials earlier, expand into a new territory, or decide that protecting cash and holding steady is the smartest move right now?

Financial clarity isn’t just knowing how much revenue came in last month. It’s understanding what’s happening at the job level, your margins, labor costs, material costs, cash flow, and what each project is actually contributing to the business.

When you know those numbers, decisions become less about gut instinct and more about what the business can realistically support. And sometimes the best decision isn’t to grow faster. It’s knowing which jobs to take, where to invest, and when to say no.

That’s the kind of clarity that helps you build a stronger, more profitable business—not just a busier one.

breakawayba.com/carrie-hefner

✨ Meet Kateryna (Kate) Humanichenko, Assistant Controller at Breakaway Business Advising.Kate brings nearly 10 years of ...
09/16/2026

✨ Meet Kateryna (Kate) Humanichenko, Assistant Controller at Breakaway Business Advising.

Kate brings nearly 10 years of accounting experience across both international and U.S. organizations. After relocating from Ukraine to the United States, she continued building her career in accounting and financial operations, with experience spanning financial reporting, month-end close, accounts payable and receivable, reconciliations, and process improvement.

At Breakaway, Kate works closely with clients on their day-to-day accounting and reporting while also helping our team build stronger, more efficient internal processes. She has a particular talent for taking something complex, or even a little chaotic, and creating structure that makes the information clearer and more useful.

For Kate, accounting is about more than financial statements. It’s about building trust and giving business owners the confidence to focus on what they do best.

Outside of work, Kate enjoys spending time with her husband, Eugene, and their daughter, Nicole. She loves learning, organizing, and finding simple solutions that make everyday life a little more efficient.

And her idea of a satisfying day? Solving an accounting mystery, organizing something that was once chaotic, and knowing she made someone else’s job a little easier.

We’re grateful to have that mindset, and Kate, on the Breakaway team.

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Vancouver, WA

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 2pm

Telephone

+15642085142

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