Several-Fold Growth. Line of Credit Untouched. A Finance Team Built to Last.

Company

Tessaline Devices

Location

Dallas–Fort Worth, TX

Industry

Consumer electronics importer

Engagement

5 years, fractional CFO & outsourced accounting

Line of credit

Never drawn

Ended with

In-house CFO & accounting team

The Question Every Fast-Growing Product Company Asks

"Can our finance function keep up with our growth — and show us which growth is worth it?"

When revenue climbs quickly, the questions that matter change faster than the reporting does. Which products earn the most after landed cost, freight, returns and warranty? Which channel? How much cash will the next stage of growth require, and in which month? In a hardware business, where inventory is bought in containers months before it's sold, those answers decide how fast a company can safely grow.

About Tessaline Devices

Tessaline Devices is a Dallas–Fort Worth consumer electronics company. It designs its own devices, imports finished inventory and sells through two channels: business customers buying in volume, and consumers buying direct. When we began working together five years ago, revenue was climbing fast.

Leadership was ambitious and moving quickly. They had invested in a full SAP implementation to support growth, and they ran two promising business lines — B2B and direct-to-consumer. What they wanted next was a finance function sized to the company, with reporting that could guide each line on its own merits.

What the Numbers Revealed

The system could be right-sized. SAP brought enterprise cost and complexity ahead of the scale that would justify it. A system matched to Tessaline Devices's stage could free up money and attention for growth.

Two businesses deserved two views. The B2B and direct-to-consumer lines had different margins, working capital cycles and economics. Reporting them separately would show what each was really earning.

Growth needed a funding plan. Doubling revenue means roughly doubling the inventory being financed. The usual answer is a line of credit. Tessaline Devices had a better option: customers who valued a reliable supplier.

The right systems, the right reporting — and growth that funded itself.

What We Built Together

1. A system matched to the business

We migrated Tessaline Devices from SAP to Zoho, sized to the company it was, and redirected the savings toward work that produced value.

2. Accounting processes and a month-end close

We built the sequence, ownership and controls so numbers arrive on a predictable schedule and can be trusted when they do.

3. Profitability visible during the growth

Reporting now shows margin by product line and by channel after landed cost, freight, returns and warranty — so leadership knows which growth is worth pursuing.

4. Cash planned through the growth

We forecast the working capital growth would consume and built budgets and operating plans around it, so inventory buys and expansion were sized against real cash.

5. Growth funded by customers, not debt

Tessaline Devices's large enterprise customers needed devices and a supplier who could reliably deliver them. We restructured payment terms so customers paid an agreed percentage of each order at commitment, with the balance due on delivery as before. Tessaline Devices used that deposit to buy the phones — moving cash to the front of the cycle, so the working capital gap was closed rather than financed.

6. Two companies, each standing on its own

The B2B and direct-to-consumer lines became separate legal entities. We ran the finance side of the separation — systems, accounting and standalone financials for each — so each line could be operated, measured and valued independently.

7. Audited financials

We designed the processes, documentation and controls to meet outside scrutiny and carried Tessaline Devices through a completed audit.

8. Support for the capital raise

When Tessaline Devices was ready to bring on additional investors, we helped the company find investment bankers and provided the financial preparation the process required.

9. An in-house finance team to carry it forward

We transitioned Tessaline Devices to a full-time in-house CFO, a controller and an accounting team — handing over a finance function built to run on its own.

The Results

• Revenue grew several-fold across the engagement.
• The line of credit was never drawn — through several-fold revenue growth, growth funded itself.
• Audited financials and two separate entities, each with its own systems and standalone financials.
• A staffed, in-house finance function, operating independently.

That last result is the one we're proudest of. The goal of a fractional CFO is to build a finance function strong enough to outgrow the engagement — and Tessaline Devices did exactly that.

What This Means for Your Business

Fast growth is the best time to build the finance function you'll need next: a system sized to your stage, a reliable close, and reporting that separates the businesses inside your business.

When growth needs funding, debt isn't the only option. If your customers value what you make, part of your working capital can come from them — often at a lower cost, and in a way that strengthens the relationship.

And it's worth deciding early what your finance function should become. If the answer is an in-house team running an audited company, the outside help you hire should be building toward that from the first week.

Some client names and identifying details have been changed at the client’s request. Results are unchanged.