Accountants in Cheshire running the finance function behind your next decision
Accountants in Cheshire for owner-managed businesses and grant-funded organisations, working remotely from a base in Chester. We run the whole finance function and report on an agreed date each month.
Cheshire businesses rarely lose money on a bad year. They lose it on a decision made without the number: the second van, the cheaper supplier, the price left alone for three years. The question is how long you wait to find out which one it was.
Ardein is an outsourced finance function for owner-managed businesses and grant-funded organisations across Cheshire, run remotely by Gavin Jardine MIAB from Chester. Bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, year-end accounts and monthly management information, delivered on an agreed date. Fees are a monthly amount scoped to the work, and the handover from a current accountant is managed at no separate charge.
“They don't feel like a contractor. They get fully involved in the business and are well respected by all.”
UK SME owner
- IAB member (MIAB 292185)
- Anti-money-laundering supervised
- Established 2021
Three things you’d know before you signed
Sign off the purchase with the payback worked out
The cash position and the commitments are current, so the sum takes an afternoon rather than a quarter.
Know which job, customer or contract carries the margin
Income and cost are coded as they happen, so last month reads as a result rather than a guess.
Answer a funder or a bank in the same week
Restricted money and awards are tracked as they move, so the evidence is already assembled when it’s asked for.
The decisions that go wrong in Cheshire, and the number that was missing
Three things owners and chief executives have said to us in a first conversation.
- Purchase
“We bought the second van in March. By August it was barely covering its own finance and fuel, and I only saw that at year end.”
A year of a vehicle earning nothing. The job-level figures were in the records the whole time; nobody was reading them monthly.
- Supplier
“We moved to the cheaper supplier to save on the unit price, then spent the saving twice over on waste and reordering.”
Nobody compared the landed cost, because purchases were only coded properly during the year-end tidy up.
- Funder
“The funder asked how last year’s award had actually been spent. It took three weeks and two evenings to put an answer together.”
The money had been spent correctly. The records simply didn’t separate restricted funds, so the evidence had to be rebuilt from bank statements.
- Day 90
What it looks like when the answer is in the room
The month closes on the same date, whether you chase it or not. When the hire, the price rise or the contract comes up, the figures behind it are already current. A funder’s question is answered from the register that week, not from a shoebox. You still make the call, but you make it knowing what it costs.
Quick check · no email
If your accountant in Cheshire cannot tell you this week whether you can afford the next hire, and only speaks to you after year end, you have the wrong accountant.
Three questions about the accountant you have now. Answer them honestly before you read the result.
Question 1 of 3
Could they tell you this afternoon whether the business can afford the next hire?
Could they show you which job or customer carried the margin last month?
Could they send a funder or a bank the figures they asked for this week?
The gap is real, and it shows up as decisions made on numbers that arrive after the event. The review is where we work out which part of the finance routine is missing and what it would take to put it back.
That’s a reasonable position, with one area still exposed. If moving is what puts you off, the handover from your current accountant is managed here at no separate charge.
You’re well served and there’s no reason to move. The guide on the first ninety days is worth a read if you ever want something to compare against.
A practice down the road or one working remotely, and which answers you faster
Both do proper work. They answer different questions, and you notice the difference in March rather than December.
A practice you can drive to
Meets you in person, usually once or twice a year.
Files the accounts and the tax return correctly and on time.
Knows the county and the local trade well.
Tells you how last year went, several months after it ended.
A finance function that runs remotely
Bookkeeping kept current, so the figures are live rather than historic.
Management information on the same date each month, before the decision.
An answer on the hire, the purchase or the funder’s question the same day.
Calls, screen shares and Xero instead of a drive into Chester or Macclesfield.
Eight decisions, and whether your numbers could carry them
Answer each one about the past three months, not about how things are meant to work.
- 01
Could you price a new contract today from last month’s actual margin?
If not, the price is set from memory.
- 02
Do you know which customer or job made the most money this quarter?
Turnover is not the same answer.
- 03
Could you work out the payback on a purchase this week?
That needs current cash and commitments, not last year’s accounts.
- 04
Do you know what the next hire costs you in a full year?
Salary, pension, employer costs and the cover you’d still need.
- 05
Is your corporation tax liability visible well before it falls due?
Finding out in month eleven limits what you can do.
- 06
Could you list who owes you money, oldest first, right now?
Cash tightness usually starts in that list.
- 07
Could a funder or board see how restricted money was spent this week?
That means a register kept monthly, not rebuilt on request.
- 08
Do your monthly figures arrive on the same date every month?
A date that moves is a report nobody plans around.
What we run for Cheshire clients, and what it lets you decide
One monthly arrangement covering the routine work and the reporting built on top of it.
Management information you can act on
Cash, debtors, creditors and performance reported on an agreed date, while there’s still time to change something.
Bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and year end
Records kept to a timetable, returns filed on time, and statutory accounts that confirm rather than investigate.
Virtual CFO and FD input
A finance lead for the hire, the funding application, the pricing and the margin question, without a full-time salary.
Entry 01
The part of switching accountants that puts owners off, and who actually does it
The reason most owners stay where they are has very little to do with the accounts.
Figures as recorded in client work · names withheld
What clients say
“They don't feel like a contractor. They get fully involved in the business and are well respected by all.”
UK SME owner
What changes by day ninety, and what you have to do about it
The first ninety days follow a set order, so you know what you get and when.
You know what moving actually involves
Scope agreed, due diligence and AML checks done, and we deal with your current accountant and collect the records.
The records tell the truth again
Bookkeeping complete, banks reconciled, debtor and creditor balances that make sense, and any historic gaps named.
The month closes without you chasing it
Routines running for supplier bills, credit control, payroll and reporting, with responsibilities agreed on both sides.
The next decision takes an afternoon
Management information on an agreed date, and an answer on cash, margin or a funder’s question when you ask for it.
Who we turn down, and why it’s said early
We don’t take on cash businesses.
We don’t take on construction work that depends on CIS.
We walk away from anything illegal or reportable, from falsified VAT records, and from anyone who won’t complete AML checks.
The relationship doesn’t work when an owner cannot explain their own business or say what they actually need.
If none of that applies, the review is where we both find out whether the fit is right.
Questions Cheshire owners ask before they move
Is the review just a sales call?
No. It’s a paid piece of work. We look at your records, your reporting workflow, your debtor and creditor position, payroll and systems, then set out the five things to fix first and an indicative monthly structure. The review fee is fixed and credited in full against onboarding. If we’re not the right fit, we say so.
We already have an accountant in Cheshire, so is it worth talking?
Most of our clients already had one. Usually the filing is correct and nothing is wrong; what’s missing is anything month by month. If your accountant answers the year-end questions and nobody answers the ones about the hire, the purchase or the price, that’s the gap worth a conversation.
What happens with our current accountant if we switch?
We handle it. We write for professional clearance, request the records and files, and agree a transition plan around your year end so nothing is filed twice or missed. You don’t chase anyone, and the handover carries no separate charge. Most owners tell their accountant once and that’s the end of their involvement.
Are we committing to anything by starting the review?
No. The review ends with a written set of priorities and an indicative monthly structure, and you can act on it yourself or with your existing accountant. Capacity is capped at four new clients a month, so if we both want to go ahead we agree a start date rather than run a sales process.
Can accountants in Cheshire work with us remotely if we’re in Crewe or Macclesfield?
Yes. Ardein is based in Chester and works remotely across Crewe, Warrington, Macclesfield, Altrincham, Northwich and the rest of the county, by call, screen share and Xero. Being down the road matters less than the figures being current. Clients tell us we’re more involved than a practice they visited twice a year.
How are your fees worked out?
It’s a monthly fee scoped to the work, agreed once we’ve seen the records and understood how the business runs. Transaction volume, payroll size and how much reporting you want all affect it. For CICs and charities it’s scoped on the number of funding streams and the reporting cadence. The handover is not charged for.
Three ways to take the next step
Start the review
Answer the questions, and if the fit looks right we book a call and tell you what we’d look at first.
See what you’d be told 02 · A question firstNot sure it applies to your business?
Call or email Gavin and describe the decision you’re stuck on; you’ll get a straight answer on whether we’d help.
Ask Gavin a question 03 · Still decidingStill deciding
The guide on the first ninety days sets out what changes each month and what we need from you.
When bookkeeping falls behind →