Clear numbers, and what to do about them
Reports only earn their keep when somebody explains them. Every month we close the period, prepare a clear management pack from reconciled records, and sit down with you to go through what it shows and what it means for the decisions ahead, so you always know where the business stands and what to do next.
How it works
- The month is closed
Bank, sales and purchase ledgers reconciled, control accounts checked, so the figures are real before anyone reads them.
- The management pack is prepared
Profit and loss, balance sheet, cash position and the comparisons that matter for your business, presented clearly and consistently each month.
- We review and advise
A regular call or meeting where we walk through the pack and explain what the numbers are showing: trends, margins, cash and anything that needs watching. We say what we would do about it and why. The decisions stay yours; our job is to make sure they are informed ones.
What it covers
- Performance against last month, last year and budget where you set one
- Cash position and what is due in and out over the weeks ahead
- Debtors and creditors, so slow payers are spotted early
- Margins and cost movements, picked out rather than buried in the detail
- A short written summary of what changed, what to watch and what we recommend
Because the same people keep your records and prepare the pack, nothing is lost in translation between the bookkeeping and the reporting, and questions get answered in the meeting rather than taken away.
Fees
Management advisory is a fixed monthly fee, agreed in advance under our price transparency policy, usually alongside bookkeeping or management reporting.
Common questions
How is this different from management reporting?
Management reporting is the reports. Management advisory is the standing monthly rhythm around them: the pack prepared to a consistent standard, and a regular session where it is explained and we advise on what it means. Some clients take the reports alone; clients who want the discipline of a monthly review, and a second opinion on the numbers, take this.
Do we need to be a large business for this to be worth it?
No. The service scales to the business. For many owner-managed businesses it is a focused half hour a month, and it is often the only regular occasion the owner steps back from trading to look at the numbers properly.
Is this financial advice?
No. We prepare your management information, explain what it shows and advise on the business implications; decisions about the business remain yours. Where a question needs specialist tax, legal or investment advice, we will say so and can liaise with the right adviser.
She has this way of breaking down the trickiest financial stuff so it actually makes sense, and it’s clear she’s built a team around her who share that same care and attention to detail.