The design-partner programme
Verify us in two weeks.
You should not take our word for your own numbers. So do not. Load one real month, tie every headline figure back to the file it came from, and ask the assistant ten questions you already know the answer to. If it passes, you will know — because you checked, not because we said so.
We promise verifiability, not correctness.
Any tool can print a confident number. What matters is whether you can trace it back and catch it when it is wrong. This programme is built so you can — before you pay for anything.
The two-week protocol
Ten checks, in order, over two weeks. T1–T5 are the gate: pass them on your own data and the tool has earned a paid conversation. T6–T10 are for deciding how far to take it.
- T1
Week 1
Load one real month
Upload the CSV or Excel files you already have — your P&L, a bank or payments export, your headcount — for a single closed month. No connectors, no IT project. This is the month you already know the answers to.
- T2
Week 1
Reconcile revenue and cash to the source
Take the revenue and closing-cash figures CEODash shows and tie them, line by line, to the same figures in the file you uploaded. Use the reconciliation template below. They should match, or the difference should be one you can explain.
- T3
Week 1
Trace one headline number back to its inputs
Pick a summary figure — margin, burn, runway — and follow it back to the rows it was built from. You are checking that every number can be explained, not just displayed.
- T4
Week 1
Ask the assistant ten questions you already know the answer to
Use the "ten known-answer questions" template below. The point is not to be impressed — it is to catch a confident wrong answer. Score each one right, wrong, or "said it could not tell", and keep the sheet.
- T5
Week 1
Confirm the "no data" rule holds
Ask the assistant something your files genuinely do not contain. A trustworthy answer is "I do not have that", not an invented one. This is the single most important check, and it is the fifth gate: pass T1–T5 and the tool has earned a paid conversation.
- T6
Week 2
Add a second month and watch the trend
Load the prior month too. Confirm the month-over-month movement matches what actually happened in the business — a real dip shows as a dip, a real jump as a jump.
- T7
Week 2
Correct a number and confirm it propagates
Change a figure at the source and re-upload. The headline numbers, the trend and the assistant’s answers should all move together. Nothing should keep quoting the old value.
- T8
Week 2
Put it in front of the person who will actually use it
Hand the dashboard to your CFO, your accountant, or your board contact. Their trust is the real test — if they would not present from it, it has not passed.
- T9
Week 2
Generate the board-ready pack
Produce the pack from the same numbers you just reconciled. Check that what it prints is what you verified — no figure in the deck should be one you have not already tied to a source.
- T10
Week 2
Decide on evidence, not a demo
Total the scores from T2, T4 and T5. You now have a written record of how the tool did on your own data. Subscribe, extend the pilot, or walk away — either way the decision is yours and it is grounded.
The reconciliation template
For T2 and T3. The figures worth reconciling differ by business, so pick the variant that fits and tie each row: CEODash’s number against your own source. A match, or a difference you can explain.
Services
VariantAgencies, consultancies, SaaS, professional services
- Recognised revenue for the month — CEODash vs your ledger
- Deferred / unbilled revenue carried forward
- Billable utilisation, if you track it, vs your timesheet source
- Closing cash vs your bank or payments export
- Headcount and payroll cost vs your HR file
Trade
VariantRetail, wholesale, e-commerce, manufacturing
- Net sales for the month — CEODash vs your POS or invoices
- Cost of goods sold and gross margin
- Margin by SKU or product line for your top sellers
- Inventory value at close vs your stock system
- Closing cash vs your bank or payments export
Ten questions you already know the answer to
For T4 and T5. Write your own answer first, then ask the assistant, then score it: right, wrong, or “it said it could not tell”. A wrong answer to a question you can check is worth more than ten right answers you cannot.
- 1What was our revenue last month?
- 2What is our closing cash right now?
- 3Which month this year had the highest revenue?
- 4What was our gross margin last month?
- 5How many people are on the team?
- 6Who is our largest customer by revenue?
- 7What did we spend on payroll last month?
- 8Is revenue up or down versus the month before?
- 9What is our current monthly burn?
- 10A question about data you did not upload — the honest answer is "I cannot tell".
The design-partner terms
What we give
- A free pilot period — no card, no annual commitment asked for until T1–T5 have passed on your real data.
- Accountant-led setup: we help you load and reconcile your first month, on a call, using your files.
- Priority on the gaps you find. A design partner’s reconciliation breaks ties on what we build next.
What we ask
- You run the protocol on real data — not a sample — and share where the numbers did or did not tie.
- A reference call, if and only if the pilot earns it. We do not ask for a logo before you are convinced.
- 2–3 companies only, so each one gets real attention. This is a small, named cohort, not a waitlist.
Apply to the programme
We are taking 2–3 companies into the current cohort. Tell us about your business and we will be in touch to set up your first reconciliation. Who you would be working with.