Case study
We are working closely with a software development client that has experienced significant growth in the past couple of years. They had got to the point that they needed more than a bookkeeper in the finance department but did not need a full time Finance director.
Previously we only supplied year end accounts and tax returns.
However, to support the growth, we increased the services we provided to:
Business Planning Service
Over two sessions we looked at why the business existed, what the business needed to deliver to the directors and shareholders, what the key focus is over the next 12 months to deliver the directors’ personal goals.
Set the annual forecast
Taking the business goals from the business plan we then set the financial forecast for the next 12 months. This sets the financial road map of what needs to be delivered.
Applied for funding
The forecast identified the funding requirement for the next stage of the business growth. So we worked with a partner to get the finance they needed to ensure that the business has sufficient cashflow for the 12-month plan.
Monthly Management Accounts
We don’t just send over pages of figures that are meaningless to the client. We sat down and discussed what information they need and what information the staff needed to ensure that they met their targets. Following this we provide monthly management accounts with a video summary so that the client can understand their results.
Quarterly update meetings
We can provide all the information, but the client wanted to ensure that they are accountable for being on track. So, we meet once a quarter to make sure that the business is on target, discuss any burning issues then set the goals and actions for the next quarter.
32 Ways tax review
Whilst we had previously talked about areas of tax savings we had never sat down and formally reviewed and quantified them. Nor had we discussed the directors’ personal situations and how applying this can help the directors extract more value out of the business. The review alone has a saving over £10k per annum.
Read this blog article about 10 reasons why you should have a 32 ways tax review .
Completed a R&D reclaim
There are huge tax reliefs for businesses that are undertaking R&D activity this was covered in our previous blog. As this client is profitable, making the R&D tax claim resulted in a refund of corporation tax due to the R&D activities they undertake.
Share re-structure
As the business has grown so has the profits available for dividend. However, to ensure that the clients were extracting dividends in the most tax efficient manner, we worked with them to re-structured the business shareholdings.
Salary Exchange Scheme
To reduce the company and employee NIC we worked with the client to implement a Salary exchange scheme for the company pension scheme.
The benefits for the client have been:
- They have a clear plan for the financial year and can make decisions based on that plan.
- Quarterly accountability so they know they are on track.
- Get the services of a finance director but without the huge investment.
- Tax savings of over £20k
The finance function in a business growth stage can result in a skill shortage as often the expertise of a finance director is required but not on a full time basis. This is why we have our Spotlight on You and Spotlight on Track services to help clients with that transition.
If your business is in the growth stage and needs a bit more financial support then please get in touch.
