You bought the second machine in March, and six months later the accounts said the first was barely paying for itself.
The order went in on a Tuesday, on gut feel, because nobody could tell you otherwise.
A second machine’s finance, floor space and insurance, committed against a utilisation figure you would not see for nine months.
Or read on to see how it works.
The way that purchase actually got decided, and what it cost you
- Orders backing up
- Gut says buy another
- Finance signed on Tuesday
- Both machines run light
- Year end, months later
- Utilisation finally visible
By the time the accounts explained the decision, the repayments were a third of the way through.
Nothing in that chain was careless. The information that would have changed it arrived after the money was committed.
Five questions about that machine your year end will never answer
These are worth asking on the afternoon you decide, rather than the following autumn.
- How many hours a week is the first machine running?
- Which jobs on it actually carry a margin?
- What must the second one bill to pay itself back?
- Are you short of capacity or short of scheduling?
- What happens to cash in the three months after delivery?
That makes every decision downstream a guess.
The same purchase, decided in an afternoon, with the payback in front of you
Same day. From live numbers. With the reasoning.
You see utilisation on the machine you own, margin by job type, and what a second one has to bill to cover itself.
- 3numbers before you sign
- Utilisation on machine one
- Margin by job type
- Payback in months
- Buy it, or schedule better
Either answer is fine, as long as you have it before the finance agreement is signed.
What changes in ninety days, and when you feel it
The finance function is rebuilt in order, so the answers arrive earlier each month.
- Before day one
Your records in our hands
We agree the scope, complete the checks, and collect the records from whoever holds them now.
- Day 30
Bookkeeping complete and reconciled
Banks reconciled, debtor and creditor balances that make sense, and any historic gaps named out loud.
- Day 60
A routine that keeps pace
Invoicing, supplier bills, credit control and payroll run to a timetable, so the figures stop going stale.
- Day 90
Monthly numbers you can decide on
Cash, debtors, margin and performance arrive on the agreed date, while the decision is still open.
The review costs a fixed fee and is credited in full against onboarding
Sixty minutes with Gavin, on your actual records: how bookkeeping and reporting run today, what your debtors and creditors are doing, payroll, and the systems in between.
Your records, read properly, with the reasoning explained.
You leave with the top five priorities and an indicative monthly structure, whether or not you go ahead.
Capacity is capped at four new clients a month, and the handover from your current accountant carries no separate charge.
Who gets something from this, and who will not
Worth being honest before either of us spends an hour on it.
This fits if
- You run an owner-managed business and make the capital decisions yourself.
- You have an accountant, but nobody tells you anything between year ends.
- You are weighing a purchase, a hire or a price rise in the coming months.
- You want numbers every month, while there is still time to act on them.
- 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 construction subcontracting.
- You want the records to say something other than what happened.
- You will not complete anti-money-laundering checks.
- You want an annual filing at the lowest possible cost and nothing more.
Two minutes. If it fits, you’ll book the review with Gavin.
The next capital decision will come round again this year
- Keeps the books straight
- Tells me what each job makes
- Answers the purchase question same day
- Sends the numbers on time
It is one accountant, inside the business, working from records he keeps himself.
Think your numbers should be answering this?
See where the gaps areTwo minutes, and you will know whether it is worth an hour.
See if your finance function fits your size / structure
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