Finance support that knows your sector.
I work with founder-led companies across most sectors. A few come up often enough that I know their cash traps before you describe them. If yours isn’t listed, that’s not a no.
“She has improved my cash flow no end with her knowledge of how CIS works.” Adam Clare, Google review
Three sectors, three different cash problems
The fix is always the same: reliable numbers and a forward view. Getting there looks different in each. Not in one of these? Most of my clients aren’t either; the same approach works.
Agencies, studios and production companies
Project income arrives in lumps, freelancers and crew get paid long before the client does, and a busy year can still end with an empty bank account.
What I usually see
- No clear view of which clients and projects actually make money
- Retainers and projects mixed together, so cash is hard to predict
- Rate cards that haven’t moved while costs have
- Invoicing and chasing left until someone has time
How I help
- Profitability by client and by project
- A cash forecast built around project timing
- Pricing and rate-card reviews with real margins behind them
- A simple routine for invoicing, deposits and chasing
Contractors, trades and scaffolding firms
Busy order books don’t always mean healthy margins. Retentions, variations, late payers and kit bought up front can quietly drain cash from profitable jobs.
What I usually see
- Jobs priced on gut feel, margins found at year end
- Retentions and late payments squeezing cash
- Scaffold stock, vehicles and labour paid long before the client pays
- VAT and CIS bills catching the business out
How I help
- Job costing and margin by contract
- A 13-week forecast that copes with lumpy income
- A routine for chasing debts and retentions
- Decisions on hire versus buy, and pricing reviews before the next tender
Companies that have grown faster than their finances
Rapid growth, a sale on the horizon, or a founder carrying a large team alone. The order book is strong, the processes are thin, and nobody senior is watching the cash. Overtrading in a record year is more common than people think.
What I usually see
- Nobody senior owning the numbers as the headcount grows
- Processes and reporting that haven’t kept pace with sales
- Cash squeezed by growth, even though every job is profitable
- A sale or funding round coming, with numbers that won’t stand up to scrutiny
How I help
- A 13-week cash forecast so growth is funded, not survived
- Monthly reporting the management team can run the business on
- Pricing, hiring and investment decisions modelled before they’re made
- Numbers ready for a buyer, a lender or an investor
Sector questions
Do you only work with property and construction businesses?
No. These are the sectors I know best, but I work with founder-led companies across many sectors. The problems are usually the same: cash, profitability and nobody senior owning the numbers.
Do you understand CIS and retentions?
Yes. Construction cash flow is shaped by both, and they’re built into the forecasts and reporting I set up.
Can you help us get ready to sell?
Yes. Getting the numbers clean, consistent and explainable is usually the first job, ideally a year or more before a sale.
Do you work with businesses outside the South?
Yes. I work fully virtually with businesses across the UK, with meetings on Microsoft Teams.
The three packages
Shaped to your business. Move between them as it changes. All prices plus VAT.
Not in one of these? Let’s still talk.
The problems are usually the same: cash, profitability and nobody senior owning the numbers.
