Evenings Back, Career on Track
Ship your first real automation in 7 days, then keep compounding wins in ~1 hour/week; so you work less without slowing down your career.
Trusted By:
Ship automation without extra hours.
Straightforward playbooks from finance pros, plus plug-and-play workflows and unlimited Ask & Fix. Get the same real-world results members are already reporting.
Here’s What Members Are Saying:
One month into the automation lab, my month-end close is two days faster and I’m not living in Excel 12 hours a day.
No more copy/paste hell, and I can actually answer my boss’s ‘quick questions’ without spending an afternoon on them.
I finally got my team excited to automate all of our reporting, reports that used to take 5 hours are taking 10 minutes.
Between the templates and the advice in the Tool Stack space, I built an automation that now does half the work for me.
Before
Close data used to come in messy CSV files. Cleaning it and mapping it took hours.
After
Now, a totally free tool collects the data, cleans it, and maps it before 9am.
Get Your Data To Clean Itself
Just ask Jordan. She used to live in copy and paste hell. Now, her data is already clean when she opens her laptop.
Get Your Reports To Run Themselves
Just Ask Anna. Her reports used to take 5 hours to run. Now they update automatically and even email themselves to her executives.
Before
Reports used to be painstakingly built in Excel and copied to PowerPoint.
After
Now, an easy to use dashboard tool refreshes them and automatically send them.
Before
Massive email threads, phone calls, and slack messages to compile commentary. Then, he still had to write it up.
After
Now, his business units submit to a free consolidation tool. A secure AI tool compiles it and writes the first draft.
Get Your Commentary To Write Itself
Just ask Taylor. He shaved 2 days off his close by automating commentary collection from his business units and getting AI to write the first draft.
Build credibility as the “gets-it-done” pro, without staying late.
Just ask Alex: after applying these playbooks, he cut his 5-day close by 2 full days. That’s 24 workdays a year, back on his calendar, not lost to broken files.
Eliminate The Barriers To Automation
Barrier #1: I Don’t Have Any Tools To Use
IT backlog, locked connectors, no admin rights, legacy ERP exports.
In the Lab:
Use free tools you already own with step-by-step alternatives when access is limited.
Barrier #2: I Can’t Risk Breaking Anything
Month-end is high-stakes, so automation keeps getting pushed.
In the Lab:
We ship in shadow mode first; clone your file, use versioning, and prove the win before replacing the live process.
Barrier #3: I Don’t Know Where To Start
Too many tutorials, no finance-specific playbook, and no ROI story.
In the Lab:
A first-win menu (reporting, data cleanup, cash flow), plus an ROI one-pager and manager email template.
Choose Your Learning Path
Builder – Get Your First Win In 7 Days
Ship a real result this week and start saving time
- Pick a win (reporting / data cleanup / cash flow)
- Template → walkthrough → feedback (≈60 minutes)
- Run it in shadow mode, then swap it in confidently
Practitioner – Turn Wins Into Workflows
Turn one win into a reliable workflow that never breaks.
- Add refresh logic, error checks, inputs & handoff docs
- Schedule updates and kill one-off rebuilds
- Reuse the pattern across models and teams
Leader – Standardize & Scale Your Processes
Get consistent, faster delivery across your entire team.
- Reporting standards and rollout playbooks
- “Delegate this” briefs for your analysts
- ROI tracking + leadership approval kit
Turn reporting into a refresh, not a rebuild.
Just ask Anna: after applying these playbooks, she got her entire team interested in automation and now reports that used to take 10 hours take 5 minutes.
Your Monthly Membership Includes:
Quick Win Sprints
Ship one real automation in 7 days using tools you already have. Follow a 60-minute rhythm: template → walkthrough → feedback.
Annual value: $5,000
Always-On Resource Library
Process maps, Power Query patterns, dashboards, prompt packs, and working models you can copy and reuse. The library grows continuously.
Annual value: $2,500
Plug & Play Workflows
Drop-in templates with step-by-step guides that cut hours off recurring work. Connect your data, hit refresh, and reuse across models.
Annual value: $2,500
Unlimited Ask & Fix
Post your file or screenshots and get line-by-line fixes and alternatives from me and the community. No waiting for live calls; you get unblocked and ship.
Annual value: $5,000
On-Demand Workshops
Tactical deep dives on real finance processes (close prep, variance, commentary, forecasting). Watch anytime; get ready-to-run patterns.
Annual value: $2,500
Private Peer Community
Controllers, FP&A, fractional CFOs—peers solving the same problems, sharing wins, and reviewing real workflows. You’re not learning alone in a vacuum.
Annual value: $Priceless
Total Annual Value: $18,000+
All yours for just $59/month. (Cancel anytime, 30-day money back guarantee)
Built By a Finance Pro Who’s Saved Teams 50,000+ Hours
This isn’t theory from a random influencer who’s never closed a month.
I’m Mike Dion. I’ve:
- Led finance teams at Fortune 100 companies
- Automated over 50,000 hours of grunt work
- Built dashboards, workflows, and forecasting systems that actually work in the real world
- Helped more than 100 finance pros reclaim their time and finally get promoted
Now I’ve taken everything I know and built Finance Automation Lab. This is the resource I wish I had 10 years ago when I was buried in spreadsheets, missing dinners, and running on burnout.
My 100% Satisfaction Guarantee & Money-Back Promise
If you join the Lab, do the work, and you’re not 100% happy with the experience, email me and I’ll refund you. No questions asked.
What “do the work” means (simple and fair):
- Start and finish one First-Win Sprint.
- Post at least once in the Automation Workshop.
- Respond to at least one piece of feedback.
The fine print:
- Email [email protected] within 30 days of purchase with subject line “Refund – Finance Automation Lab.”
- After 30 days, you can one-click cancel anytime; you won’t be billed again.
- The guarantee applies to your first 30 days only, either your initial monthly payment or your annual membership.
Still thinking about it?
If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably wondering: “Is this really worth it?”
You could keep DIY-ing—YouTube, blog posts, random templates—and eventually stitch something together. I’ve done that grind. It costs dozens of hours, breaks at month-end, and nobody’s there when you get stuck.
The real value of Finance Automation Lab isn’t just templates or workshops.
It’s the weekly win + accountability + expert eyes that turn “I should automate this” into “it’s shipped and it works.”
Here’s the simple math:
- Save 1 hour a week (very conservative) → ~52 hours/year back.
- Even at a blended $100/hour, that’s $5,200/year in time value.
- The Lab is $59/month (or $600/year) with a 30-day guarantee.
- Net: it pays for itself many times over—and that’s before bigger wins hit.
Real outcomes from members:
- 5-hour report → 10 minutes (repeatable, no rebuilds).
- Close shortened by 2 days (that’s 24 workdays a year back).
- Promotions, earlier reviews, fewer “are these numbers right?” moments.
Make this your automation breakthrough month, not “someday.”
Join Finance Automation Lab and start your first win in 7 days.
Expense Guide: Get Your Company to Cover Finance Automation Lab
Step 1 — Find the right budget bucket
Most companies already have money for this. Look under:
- Learning & Development / Professional Development
- Technical Training / Data & Analytics Enablement
- Digital Transformation / Process Improvement / Continuous Improvement
Step 2 — Pick the Week-1 win you’ll deliver
Make the ask concrete. Choose one you can ship in the first 7 days:
- Turn a 5-hour report into a 10-minute refresh
- Clean & combine messy data sources (no manual copy-paste)
- Build a live cash-flow view that updates automatically
- Standardize a variance package (commentary capture + rollup)
Step 3 — Do the math (quick ROI)
Use conservative numbers your manager can’t argue with.
- Typical finance blended rate: $80–$150/hour
- Save 1 hour/week → ~50 hours/year = $4,000–$7,500 value
- Save 3 hours/week → ~150 hours/year = $12,000–$22,500 value
- Save 5 hours/week → ~250 hours/year = $20,000–$37,500 value
Membership: $49/month (annual available at checkout). 30-day money-back guarantee.
Step 4 — Send this email to your manager (copy-paste)
Subject: Request: Expense Finance Automation Lab
Hi [Manager Name],
I’d like to expense a membership to Finance Automation Lab—a finance-specific automation program run by Mike Dion (F9 Finance). It includes plug-and-play workflows, on-demand workshops, and async “Ask & Fix” coaching. The goal is simple: ship one real automation in the first 7 days and then keep stacking weekly wins.
Why now: I plan to use it immediately to improve [insert process: e.g., monthly reporting / data cleanup / cash-flow forecasting]. Based on the Lab’s templates and member results, this should save ~[conservative hours]/week, which at our typical rate ([your estimate]/hour) is ~$[annual value]/year in time back.
What we get:
- Ready-to-use finance workflows + step-by-step guides
- Async coaching on our actual files (no waiting for live calls)
- A monthly workshop focused on real finance processes
- Leader resources for standardization and documentation
Cost: $59/month (annual available). There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee if it doesn’t deliver.
If approved, I’ll share the first win and a short before/after summary with the team.
Thanks for considering,
[Your Name]
[Title]
Step 5 — If procurement asks, we can provide:
- PDF invoice / receipt and company-name billing
- Training participation confirmation (for L&D)
- Vendor details and W-9 on request
- Multi-seat/team pricing if you want to enroll a few people
Need help? Email [email protected] with subject “Corporate Invoice Request” and we’ll get you the paperwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Don’t Wait Another Minute To Get Out Of The Weeds
You weren’t hired to fix spreadsheets. You were hired to drive results.