You ordered the second machine in March; six months later the accounts said the first was barely paying for itself.

Work was backing up, the quotes looked good, and the machine seemed like the obvious answer.

Nobody could tell you that afternoon how many hours the first machine actually ran, or what each job left behind.

Or read on to see how it works.

How the second machine gets bought before anyone checks the first

Work backs up
Gut says buy
Finance arranged in days
Hours split across two
Year end, ten months later
First machine barely covered

Every step in that chain is reasonable, and not one of them tests the assumption.

The figure that would have settled it, hours run against hours available, was sitting in the business all along. It simply wasn’t being counted anywhere you could read it.

The five questions nobody could answer on the afternoon you decided

None of these need a forecast. They need last month’s numbers, counted properly.

How many hours did the first machine actually run?
Which jobs still carry margin once labour is counted?
What payback would a second machine have to earn?
Could overtime have cleared the backlog for less?
How much cash leaves before the extra work pays?

That makes everything downstream harder.

MarginPricingCapacityCashHiringPurchases

See where the gaps are

What that afternoon looks like when the numbers are current

Same day. From live numbers. With the reasoning.

You open utilisation, margin by job and the payback, and you have an answer before the supplier rings back.

3numbers before you sign
Utilisation, month by month
Margin by job
Payback tested in writing
Decide with payback visible

The purchase may still go ahead, and this time you know what it has to earn.

See if Ardein fits

Your year end can confirm the decision. It can never inform it.

Ten months too late.

What changes in ninety days, and what you can decide after

None of this is a project; it is the finance routine running to a date.

Before day one
Records collected, handover managed
We agree the scope, complete the checks, and deal with your current accountant at no separate charge.
Day 30
The books tell the truth
Bookkeeping complete, banks reconciled, and debtor and creditor balances that make sense.
Day 60
You can see where money is made
Routines for supplier bills, credit control and reporting, so margin by job and customer stops being a guess.
Day 90
The purchase decision takes an afternoon
Management information arrives on an agreed date each month, in time to test the next machine before you sign.

Begin the review

The review is a fixed fee, credited in full if you go ahead

Sixty minutes with Gavin on your actual records: how the bookkeeping runs, what reporting exists today, where debtors and creditors sit, and what your systems can already tell you about margin.

Your numbers, not a template.

You leave with the top five priorities and an indicative monthly service structure, whether or not you take it further.

60 minuteswith Gavin, on your records

Credited in fullagainst onboarding if you go ahead

Gavin takes on four new clients a month, so the review is also how capacity gets decided.

Who this review helps, and who it would waste an hour on

Being honest about this early saves us both a meeting.

This fits if

You run an owner-managed business with staff and real monthly transaction volume.
You have a purchase, a hire or a price decision coming in the next quarter.
You already have an accountant, and the accounts arrive long after the decision.
You want monthly management information rather than a filing exercise in the spring.
You can explain how your business makes money, even if the records cannot yet.

This does not fit if

You run a cash business.
Your work depends on CIS-heavy construction subcontracting.
You want year-end filing only, at the lowest price you can find.
You cannot say what you actually need from a finance function.
You are asking for anything non-compliant or reportable.

Check whether this fits

Two minutes. If it fits, you’ll book the review with Gavin.

£20,000

of goods supplied and never invoiced

We found it reconciling the sales ledger against delivery records during the first bookkeeping clean-up at an owner-managed trading business. The invoices were raised and collected, and invoicing moved into the month-end routine.

“”

UK SME owner

The next purchase is coming. The question is what you’ll know.

Keeps the books straight
Shows margin by job
Answers the purchase question
Delivers numbers on a date

One accountant, properly inside the business, with records current enough to answer on the day you ask.

Think your numbers should be answering this?

See where the gaps are

Two minutes, and Gavin reads every answer himself.

See if your finance function fits your size / structure

Xero partner Xero payroll certified