Business advice for owners who want to plan ahead
Cash flow forecasts, budgets and plain-English advice from chartered accountants who know your figures, for the decisions that shape your business.
When owners come to us
- Starting out and deciding between sole trader and limited company
- Making a profit but still running short of cash
- Applying for a loan or finance and needing figures to back it up
- Thinking about hiring, moving premises or buying equipment
- Unsure whether prices cover costs
How we work with you
- 1
Understand
We look at your accounts, your bank and where you want the business to go.
- 2
Forecast
We build a cash flow forecast and budget from your real figures.
- 3
Decide
We test the options with you, in numbers, before you commit.
- 4
Review
We compare results against the plan and adjust it as things change.
What we do for you
Cash flow forecasts.
Week by week or month by month, a forecast shows when money comes in, when it goes out and when you will be short, early enough to do something about it.
Budgets and targets.
A budget for the year ahead, built from your actual costs, with the sales you need to hit it.
Management accounts, explained.
Monthly or quarterly profit and loss, balance sheet and key figures, with a conversation about what they mean rather than a report in your inbox.
Pricing and margins.
We work out what each product or service earns you after costs, and where a price change or cost cut would make the most difference.
Finance applications.
Lenders want forecasts and accounts they can rely on. We prepare the figures and help you explain them.
Starting up.
Sole trader or limited company, which records to keep, when to register with HMRC and how much to set aside for tax. We set you up properly from day one.
Why profitable businesses still run out of cash
£60,000
Profit for the year, on paper
£45,000
Still owed by customers
£15,000
Actually received in cash
A simplified example. Profit counts a sale when you make it. Cash counts it when the customer pays. A business can show a healthy profit and still be unable to pay its bills, because most of that profit is sitting in unpaid invoices. A cash flow forecast shows the gap before it becomes a problem.
What a cash flow forecast tells you
- The month your bank balance is lowest, and by how much
- Whether you can afford to hire, and from when
- How much to set aside each month for VAT and tax
- How late-paying customers change the picture
- When you will need finance, before you need it urgently
Advice before the decision, not after the year end
Many owners only hear from their accountant when the accounts are due, by which point the year is over and the decisions have been made. We would rather talk before you sign a lease, take on staff or agree a large contract, while the numbers can still change the outcome.
Taking money out of your company
How directors pay themselves affects both company and personal tax. We plan it alongside your payroll and your personal return, so the numbers work together. See Payroll and Self Assessment.
Why Penny Minders
Chartered accountants
qualified with the ICAEW and ICAS
Senior finance experience
from audit at KPMG and BDO to group finance roles
A dedicated accountant
who knows your figures
Fixed fees
agreed before we start
Frequently asked questions
Answers reviewed by our accountants.
Talk through your next decision
Book a free consultation and tell us what you are weighing up. Our accountants will tell you what the numbers say.
See your price
