By day ninety, could you decide a hire, a price rise or a purchase in Manchester the same afternoon?
Manchester owners who can answer that sign the purchase with the payback in front of them. The ones who cannot wait for year end, and learn the second van was barely covering itself. Ardein runs the finance function and has the number ready when the decision lands.
Three things you’d know before you signed anything
Sign off the purchase with the payback in front of you
The asset, the finance cost and the revenue it has actually carried sit on one page each month.
Know which job and which customer carries the margin
Sales and costs are coded so performance splits by job, customer or service line rather than arriving as one total.
Answer the hire question on the day it comes up
Cash, committed costs and debtor collection are current, so the salary can be tested against real money.
Three Manchester decisions that went the wrong way, and the number that was sitting in the books
Each of these was decided with the information available. The problem was what arrived afterwards.
- Purchase
“We bought the second van in March and only found out in December that it was barely covering itself.”
Nine months of finance payments on an asset that never earned its keep. The utilisation was in the records the whole time, just never put in front of him.
- Supplier
“We moved to the cheaper supplier and the saving disappeared somewhere in wastage and returns, and I still cannot tell you where.”
The unit price fell and the total cost rose. Nobody was comparing credits and rework against purchase invoices month by month.
- Hire
“I held off hiring a fourth engineer for two quarters because I could not tell whether the work would cover the salary.”
Two quarters of turning down work to stay safe. The forward revenue and debtor position existed in the ledgers and was never reported.
- Day 90
What it looks like when the answer is in the room
The report lands on the same date every month, before you need it. You know which jobs carried the margin and which customers are slow to pay. A purchase gets decided in one afternoon with the payback written down. The ones that do not stack up get dropped in the same afternoon.
Year-end accounts or a same-day answer: which one does the decision in front of you need?
Both have a job. Only one of them is available on the Tuesday you have to decide.
A year-end accountant
Files accurate accounts and the corporation tax computation, which is work that has to be done properly.
Confirms what happened, usually several months after the decisions were made.
Answers a margin question by going back to records that were closed off long ago.
Costs you nothing extra until the year you needed the number in March.
Ardein each month
Delivers management figures on an agreed date, so the reporting is available when the question is asked.
Splits performance by job, customer or service line rather than one company total.
Keeps cash, debtors and creditors current, so a hire can be tested against real money.
Still prepares the year-end accounts and corporation tax, from records that already reconcile.
Eight decisions. How many could you make this week?
Answer each one yes or no, quickly, without opening a spreadsheet.
- 01
Could you say which customer made you the most money last quarter?
Not the biggest invoice value, the one that left the most behind after costs.
- 02
Could you price a new contract knowing your current recovery rate?
If the rate comes from memory, the quote is a guess with a decimal point.
- 03
Could you approve a piece of equipment with a payback period on the page?
Months to pay back, not a feeling about how busy the team is.
- 04
Could you tell whether last year’s supplier switch actually saved money?
Unit price, wastage, credits and delivery cost, compared over the full year.
- 05
Could you commit to a salary from April on this month’s cash position?
Cash after committed costs and realistic collection, not the bank balance today.
- 06
Could you see a price rise working through to margin within a month?
If it takes until year end, you cannot correct a rise that was set too low.
- 07
Could you name the three customers who owe you the most, right now?
Late payment is a decision you are making by not making it.
- 08
Could you tell a lender or a landlord your numbers this week?
Funding, leases and larger contracts all ask for figures on a short timetable.
If you called your accountant this morning about a Manchester purchase, a price rise and a new hire, and none of the three got an answer this week, you have the wrong accountant.
- 01Could they tell you today which of your jobs made money last month?
- 02Could they show you the payback on a purchase before you commit to it?
- 03Could they say whether this month’s cash covers a new salary from April?
Three yeses and you’re fine. Anything else is what the review is for.
Entry 01
What changes when the figures arrive on a date you chose?
One promise carries most of the value on this page, and it is a date.
Figures as recorded in client work · names withheld
“”
Ninety days from now, what will you be able to decide in an afternoon?
Four markers, each one described by what you can do at the end of it.
You know exactly what switching involves
Scope agreed, client checks completed, and the handover from your current accountant or bookkeeper managed by Ardein at no separate charge.
You can act on the first month’s figures
Cash, debtors and creditors are current and consistent, so the first report is something you can put a decision on.
A question on Tuesday gets an answer on Tuesday
Routines for invoicing, supplier bills, collection and payroll run to a timetable, so nothing has to be reconstructed before you can be answered.
The hire, the purchase and the price rise take an afternoon each
Monthly management information lands on the agreed date with margin by line, cash and committed costs, and the reasoning behind each figure.
What Manchester clients actually buy, once you look past the reports
Three things, each described by the decision it makes possible.
Management accounts you get before the month’s decisions
Performance by job, customer or service line, delivered on the agreed date, with the reasoning rather than a pack of tables.
A cash, debtor and creditor position you can commit against
You can see what is genuinely available before you sign a lease, a salary or an order.
A finance lead for the calls that carry real money
Virtual CFO and FD input on hiring, pricing, funding and margin, without carrying a full-time salary.
Who this does not work for, said plainly
We do not take on cash businesses, whatever the turnover.
We do not work with construction that depends on CIS subcontractor arrangements.
We walk away from anything illegal or reportable, from falsified VAT records, and from anyone who will not complete client checks.
The relationship does not work when an owner cannot explain their own business or say what they actually need.
If none of those describes you, the review will show which decisions are currently being made without the numbers.
The questions Manchester owners ask before booking
Is the review a sales call?
No. It is a sixty minute working session covering your bookkeeping and reporting workflow, debtors and creditors, payroll and systems, ending with your top five priorities and an indicative monthly structure. It carries a fixed review fee, credited in full against onboarding.
We already have an accountant. Why would we do this?
Most of our clients did. The accounts were filed correctly and nobody could tell them by Thursday whether the second van was paying for itself. This is the month by month side, and it sits above the filing rather than replacing it.
What happens with our current accountant?
Ardein manages the handover at no separate charge. We write for professional clearance, collect the records, agree what transfers when, and plan the transition around your year end so nothing is filed twice or missed.
How long are we committing to?
The monthly fee is scoped to the work and agreed after we have seen the records. Capacity is capped at four new clients a month, so the start date is a real conversation rather than a formality.
Do you need to be in Manchester?
No. Ardein works remotely from a Chester base across Greater Manchester, Stockport, Altrincham and the wider North West, which is why reporting dates hold regardless of where either of us is sitting.
Make the next Manchester decision with the number already in the room
Start with the review. You will leave knowing which decisions you are currently making blind, and what it would take to have the answer on the day instead.