Why this matters: Ashly's story isn't about working harder - it's about the specific decisions that let her scale advisory services without adding chaos.
Five years later: 20x growth in client base. Operating in 13 US states. Three part-time staff members and two full-time employees, including a newly hired CPA who can help lighten the tax workload she no longer wants to manage on her own.
The growth isn't the interesting part. Every firm wants growth. What matters is how she did it: by refusing to scale the old way.
"I knew if I was going to grow, I couldn't do it all myself," Ashly says. "And I knew I needed to move to the cloud."
But the bigger decision came next: she wouldn't let clients dictate her systems.
Most firms bend their processes to fit each client. Ashly did the opposite. She built one standardised workflow - cloud-based, automated, designed for advisory delivery - and told clients this is how we work.
"If you take away the pain of finances and accounting, most people will use what you need them to use," she explains. "And if they won't, there are other people ready to work with us."
She fired her first client. It was difficult. After that, saying no became easier.
Ashly's practice runs on what she calls "rinse and repeat" - the same process for every client, regardless of operation size.
→ The tech stack: QuickBooks Online, Figured for field-level accounting and cash flow projections.
→ The pricing: Value-based monthly fees that include advisory tools. No hourly billing. No surprise invoices when clients call.
→ The workflow: Everything happens remotely. Ashly can meet with a client while they're in the tractor or feeding cattle. No farm visits required.
"We provide all the services, but the additional part we do is the advisory that you don't get in traditional compliance work," she says. "That's the piece that makes it feel like we're in your back pocket."
After speaking on a webinar about her transformation, 15 accountants reached out asking for 30-minute coffee chats to learn how she built her practice.
Since the webinar, Ashly has gained three coaching clients. That demand led her to create a coaching program, Scaling with Precision, where she helps other accounting firms replicate the systems and growth strategies she’s built. A new revenue stream—and a new way to scale her expertise.
She’s also receiving tax referrals from other Figured partners, such as Empire Ag. Her newly hired CPA helps lighten the tax workload, allowing Ashly to stay focused on the advisory work and coaching she truly enjoys.
Ashly points to three things:
Ashly's speaking at Summit26 in Auckland because this transformation isn't unique to her. The decisions she made - about systems, about clients, about service delivery - are decisions every advisory-focused practice needs to make.
She'll break down the specifics: