15 years in bookkeeping.
Every client loved me for the first 6 months. By year two? At each other's throats.


I ran a fractional bookkeeping business. In the beginning? I was great. New clients, 
new systems, new problems. But once the novelty wore off—same reconciliations, 
same reports, same emails asking for the same missing documents.
I thought the problem was the clients. The work. Me.
Then I got diagnosed with ADHD.
Turns out my brain runs on uniqueness. I need to feel like what I'm doing is special, 
different, mine. Repetition kills that. So I stopped fighting my wiring and started 
building around it.
Now I build AI tools that solve real problems for real businesses—starting with the 
industry I know cold.
First up: OnboardLy. It kills the document chaos that happens before bookkeepers 
can even start their real work. Because the worst part of a bookkeeper's job isn't the 
bookkeeping—it's hunting down missing bank statements at 11pm.
I work in 10-week sprints. Build, market, launch, rotate. It's the only way my brain lets 
me finish anything.
My white whale? The search tool Ezra Klein said newspapers need. Ask a question, 
get a syllabus—not a list of links, but a structured path through the archives with every 
source at your fingertips. I'm the one building it.
I'm documenting the whole journey here. Wins, failures, everything in between.
Fractional bookkeeper drowning in client onboarding? Let's talk.
Building software for an industry you've never worked in? I have thoughts.

Tim O'Rourke

Is your restaurant profitable on paper but struggling with cash flow?

You're not alone. Most restaurant owners are brilliant at hospitality but wrestle with the financial side of their business. That's where I come in.

Who I Help:

I'm Bruce Nelson, and I help independent restaurant owners transform their financial chaos into clarity and profits. As a Fractional CFO specializing in restaurants, I've spent 20 years turning around struggling operations and scaling successful ones.

What Makes Me Different:

While others push "industry averages" and gut-feel pricing, I use data-driven strategies that actually work. My approach — detailed in my book "Restaurant Management: The Myth, the Magic, the Math" — cuts through the noise to focus on what matters: your bottom line.

What I Do:

✅ Menu Engineering That Works: Stop guessing at pricing. My Menu Profit Boost program helps you optimize every item for maximum profitability

✅ Cash Flow Clarity: Understand exactly where your money goes and how to keep more of it

✅ Financial Strategy: From daily cash management to long-term growth planning

✅ Restaurant365 Guru: Leverage technology to automate your back office and get real-time insights

Results That Matter:

My clients typically see:
• 15-30% improvement in cash flow within 90 days
• Clear understanding of their true profit potential
• Confidence to make data-driven decisions
• More time to focus on guests instead of spreadsheets

My Background:
I’ve spent my entire life in the restaurant/finance industry, working every conceivable position from dishwasher to chef instructor, from busser to CFO. I am also the author of "Restaurant Management: The Myth, the Magic, the Math" and a regular speaker at Restaurant conferences and hospitality events. Join the 10,000+ restaurant professionals in my network.

Ready to Stop Guessing and Start Growing?
👉 Book a 15-minute assessment call:  https://forms.gle/8Fujs2LUTJERCiw68
Because in the restaurant business, hope isn't a strategy — but math is.

taplio

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Tim O'Rourke

Bruce Nelson

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