Advisory, from the books you already hold.
A budget against actuals, a rolling forecast with bands and cash runway, a board pack the agent writes, and a radar across your client list that says who is worth a call this month. The figures come from the ledger you already pull; the conversation is yours.
Every client whose books are pulled gets a plan and a radar. Included in the per-client price.
Three things to know first.
- The figures are the client's own
- Actuals come from the books engine, month by month, not from a spreadsheet someone keyed in. When the ledger moves, the plan moves with it.
- It tells you who to ring
- The radar reads every client's plan and books and raises the few things worth a partner's call: cash running out, a VAT threshold crossed, a margin slipping, debtors overdue. Each one says what to raise.
- The agent drafts, you advise
- The agent writes the board pack, the appraisal and the note that opens the conversation. What you say to the client, and what they decide, is yours.
The advisory work, piece by piece.
Budget against actuals
A budget by month, laid against the ledger as it fills: income, cost lines, net profit, cash. Variances in the open, with the lines that moved named.
A rolling forecast with bands
The next twelve months from the run rate and the plan, with a higher and a lower case, and the month the cash would run out in each. The forecast rolls as each month closes.
The advisory radar
Signals read from each client's books and plan: over or near the VAT threshold, cash falling three months running, losses, margin slipping, costs up with sales flat, sales down on a year ago, growing fast, a third of debtors overdue, profits worth planning around.
Each signal says what it watched and what to raise with the client.
Board packs and appraisals
The agent writes the month's pack from the plan and the books: what happened, against what was expected, and what it means for the forecast. Saved to the client's file, dated.
Worth raising, across the firm
One list for the practice: every client with a signal this month, by severity, so the partners' hour goes where it earns the most.
The client's own view
A client sees the plan, the forecast and the pack in their portal, and asks the agent what a line means. The advice still comes from you.
From the ledger to a conversation.
01
The books are pulled
Xero, QuickBooks Online or Sage, read through your connection and kept current by the nightly job.
02
A plan is set
A budget by month, from last year's shape or from numbers the client and the firm agree. Minutes, not an afternoon.
03
Each month closes into the plan
Actuals land against the budget. The forecast rolls forward; the bands and the runway move with it.
04
The radar reads the result
Across every client. A signal is raised only when the books show it, with the figures that caused it.
05
The agent drafts the note
What the signal is, what the books show, what to raise. The partner makes the call, and the client hears it from a person.
What it watches, and what it asks you to raise.
| Signal | What it watches, and what to raise |
|---|---|
| Over the VAT threshold | Income over the last twelve months above the registration threshold. Raise registration within 30 days of the month it was crossed, the effective date, and pricing with VAT on. Within 10% of it: whether to register ahead. |
| Cash runs out on the forecast | The forecast's month in which cash goes below zero, in the central or the lower case. Raise funding, a cost cut or a push on collections before that month. |
| Cash falling three months running | Month-end cash down for three months and more than a fifth below where it started. Raise where the cash is going: debtors, stock, drawings or losses. |
| Loss-making three months running | A loss in each of the last three months. Raise what has changed in the trade, and whether pricing, costs or the model needs to move. |
| Margin slipping | Net margin down five points or more against the three months before. Raise which costs grew faster than sales, and whether prices kept up. |
| Costs up with sales flat | Costs up 15% or more while income stayed within 5%. Raise which lines rose and whether each was a choice. |
| Sales down on a year ago | Income over three months 15% or more below the same months last year. Raise lost customers or lost volume, and what the forecast assumes. |
| Growing fast | Income 25% or more above a year ago. Raise capacity, working capital, the VAT position and whether the structure still fits. |
| A third of debtors overdue | A third or more of what is owed past due. Raise credit control: terms, chasing, and whether any debt is going bad. |
| Profits worth planning around | Twelve months with no loss-making month. Raise pension contributions, the dividend and salary mix, capital spending before the year end, and the structure. |
Straight answers.
- Does the agent give the advice?
- No. It reads the books, raises what the figures show and drafts the note. The advice is given by a person at the firm, who decides what to say and signs it.
- Where do the numbers come from?
- From the client's ledger, pulled through your connection into the books engine. Budgets are the numbers the firm and the client set; the forecast is computed from them and the run rate.
- Which clients get a radar?
- Every client whose books are pulled. The signals are read across the whole list, and the firm's Worth raising view ranks them by severity.
- Can a client see their forecast?
- Yes, in their portal, with the board pack. They can ask the agent what a line means; anything that amounts to advice comes from the firm.
- What does advisory cost?
- Nothing extra. It is part of the per-client price on the pricing page.
Find the clients worth a call this month.
Connect the books of a few clients and the radar reads them within the hour. We set it up on the demo company first, then on yours.