# Operating Resources

For the part that starts after the wire.

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/category/operating-resources
Last checked: 2026-09-07

## Every Entry in This Category

### The First 90 Days (Michael Watkins)

A playbook for taking over a business you bought.

- Pricing model: One-Time
- What it costs: The updated and expanded edition, published May 2013, is $30.00 in hardcover from the publisher's own store. No workbook, assessment or digital toolkit is sold beside it.
- Best for: The 90 days between wiring the money and feeling like the actual owner
- Website: https://hbr.org/books/watkins
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/the-first-90-days

### Traction / EOS (Gino Wickman)

The operating cadence behind EOS.

- Pricing model: One-Time
- What it costs: Book, paperback typically around $20 retail (Simon & Schuster / BenBella; varies by retailer), with a free chapter download and 50% off bulk orders of twenty or more. The software half now publishes a flat price: the first user is free forever and every additional user is $10 a month, with no contracts, no minimums and no feature tiers. Certified implementer fees are still unpublished and are the significant cost.
- Best for: Owners a few months post-close who've learned the business and are ready to install an operating rhythm
- Website: https://www.eosworldwide.com/traction-book
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/traction-eos

### Aspen HR

Payroll, benefits and HR under one contract.

- Pricing model: Custom Pricing
- What it costs: Nothing published. The site has no pricing page and quotes after a benefits and payroll review, which is normal for the PEO model: cost is usually a per-employee administrative fee plus the insurance it places, and the two are worth asking to see separately.
- Best for: A buyer whose new company has no HR function and a benefits renewal coming
- Website: https://aspenhr.com/
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/aspen-hr

### Bookkeeper360

Books, payroll, and tax in one shop.

- Pricing model: Subscription
- What it costs: Bookkeeping from $399/mo (monthly) or $599/mo (weekly), plus onboarding and catch-up from $1,000; business tax from $1,000/yr and business-plus-personal from $1,500/yr; payroll administration from $200/mo; sales-tax filing from $125/mo; fractional CFO from $2,000/mo. Works on QuickBooks Online and Xero. Verified on bookkeeper360.com/pricing.
- Best for: An owner who wants bookkeeping, payroll, and tax handled by one team on QuickBooks or Xero
- Website: https://www.bookkeeper360.com
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/bookkeeper360

### Decimal

Done-for-you back office at a flat fee.

- Pricing model: Subscription
- What it costs: Fixed monthly pricing advertised with no hidden fees, but specific tiers are not published on the site and are scoped by a custom quote. Verified on decimal.com.
- Best for: An owner of an operational SMB (home services, dental, franchise) who wants the whole back office run
- Website: https://www.decimal.com
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/decimal

### More Staffing

Remote hires for a business you just bought.

- Pricing model: Subscription
- What it costs: Published on its pricing page at $1,000 a month per full-time hire, covering recruiting, onboarding, coaching, retention support and replacement cover. The hire's own salary is billed separately.
- Best for: Filling an operations or bookkeeping seat without paying a US salary
- Website: https://morestaffing.co/
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/more-staffing

### OnPay

Full-service payroll priced per worker.

- Pricing model: Subscription
- What it costs: $49/mo base plus $6 per worker; federal, state, and local tax filings and year-end W-2s and 1099s included with no filing surcharge; an accountant and bookkeeper partner program starts at $55/mo with revenue share. Verified on onpay.com/pricing.
- Best for: A new owner who wants to run payroll and basic HR in-house rather than outsource the whole back office
- Website: https://onpay.com
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/onpay

### Pilot

Outsourced books, tax, and CFO help.

- Pricing model: Subscription
- What it costs: Bookkeeping from $99/mo (Essentials, up to $100k monthly expenses) up to a Core plan with a dedicated US bookkeeper; business tax filing from $1,000/yr (single-member LLC) to $2,450/yr (C-corp); fractional CFO from $1,750/mo and COO/operations support from $850/mo. Pre-revenue discounts advertised. Verified on pilot.com/pricing.
- Best for: A new owner who wants clean accrual books and fractional CFO help without hiring in-house
- Website: https://pilot.com
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/pilot

### Ravix Group

Outsourced accounting and CFO help after close.

- Pricing model: Custom Pricing
- What it costs: No pricing published on the homepage, the services pages or the search fund page. Quote only.
- Best for: A bought business whose books need rebuilding before anyone can run it
- Website: https://ravixgroup.com/
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/ravix-group

### System Six

Bookkeeping and CFO help after you take over.

- Pricing model: Custom Pricing
- What it costs: Nothing published. Scope is quoted after a call, which is standard for bookkeeping engagements priced on transaction volume and the state of the books being inherited.
- Best for: A new owner who inherited the seller's bookkeeping and a lender who wants monthly statements
- Website: https://systemsix.com/
- Full review: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/system-six

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