Operational Finance

Accurate financials provide essential insights that drive both operational stability and strategic growth decisions while ensuring the company meets its obligations.

Standard

  • Bookkeeping

  • Corporate Tax Return

  • Company Accounts

  • VAT Return

  • R&D Tax Relief Claim

  • Management Accounts

  • CFO Review

Advanced

  • Bookkeeping

  • Corporate Tax Return

  • Company Accounts

  • VAT Return

  • R&D Tax Relief Claim

  • Management Accounts

  • CFO Review

  • Budget

  • Forecasts

  • KPI Matrix

Customised

  • Bookkeeping

  • Corporate Tax Return

  • Company Accounts

  • VAT Return

  • R&D Tax Relief Claim

  • Management Accounts

  • CFO Review

  • Budget

  • Forecasts

  • KPI Matrix

  • Financial Model

  • Cap Table

  • Pitch Deck

FAQs

Q.: What is Bookkeeping?

A.: Bookkeeping is the process of keeping track of a business's financial transactions and activities on a daily basis.

Q.: What is a Corporate Tax Return?

A.: A Company Tax Return is the financial information that most companies file with HMRC each year to report on their earnings, losses, loans and any other factors relevant to their tax liability.

Q.: What are Company Accounts?

A.: Company Accounts are documents prepared at the end of a financial year which show how a company has performed over the accounting period. All limited companies must deliver accounts to Companies House. It does not matter whether you've been successful, breaking even, not trading, or dormant.

Q.: What is a VAT Return?

A.: A VAT Return is a form you fill in to tell HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) how much VAT you've charged and how much you've paid to other businesses.

Q.: What is an R&D Tax Relief Claim?

A.: R&D Tax Relief is a UK government subsidy that rewards companies for investing in cutting-edge development work. R&D tax relief is a Corporation Tax relief that may reduce your company's tax bill or result in a payable tax credit.

Q.: What are Management Accounts?

A.: Management accounts are internal financial reports that provide detailed insights into a business's performance. For business owners, management accounts are essential in assessing the company's financial health and making informed decisions. They offer insights into the company's profitability, liquidity, and overall financial position, enabling owners to strategise and forecast effectively. These might include a review of debtors' ageing, cash runway, margin analysis, debt service coverage ratio (DSCR), and other key metrics.

Q.: What is a CFO Review?

A.: It is a free service offered to our customers who are subscribed to our Operational Finance support.

Why do we offer it for free?

It's an essential review step to ensure the accuracy and completeness of financial information. It would be performed anyway, but we add extra steps to tailor it to each company's needs. It guarantees high quality of our accounting services and provides assurance to business owners that their company is not just compliant, but that the information is reliable, and no surprises will be discovered at a later date.

Examples of our review include:

  • Conducting monthly Income Statement comparisons

  • Performing margin analysis

  • Monitoring key financial indicators

Q.: What is a Budget?

A.: Budget is a detailed financial plan for a future period, typically one year, that outlines expected income, expenditure, and financial goals. It serves as a roadmap for financial decision-making and performance monitoring.

Q.: What are Forecasts?

A.: Forecasts are predicted future business outcomes based on historical data, market trends, and other relevant factors. It helps organisations make informed decisions about future operations, resources, and strategies.

Q.: What is the difference between Budget and Forecasts?

A.: Budget is about planning and controlling finances, while forecasts aim to predict future financial performance.

While a budget is typically short-term, financial forecasting happens both short-term and long-term, which takes more time. Also, companies need to create multiple forecasts to have the most accurate predictions of their business conditions. 

Budget:

  • Is a target-setting exercise

  • Typically done annually

  • Represents desired outcomes

  • More detailed and rigid

  • Used for performance evaluation

  • Usually remains fixed for the period

  • Based on company goals and objectives

  • Used for resource allocation

  • Bottom-up approach common

  • More internally focused

Forecasts:

  • Is a prediction exercise

  • Updated regularly (monthly/quarterly)

  • Represents expected outcomes

  • More flexible and dynamic

  • Used for planning and strategy

  • Regularly revised and updated

  • Based on actual data and trends

  • Used for decision-making

  • Top-down approach common

  • More externally focused

Q.: What is KPI Matrix?

A.: A KPI Matrix is a structured tool or framework that allows an organisation to measure, visualise, and analyse Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across different dimensions, such as departments, teams, or projects. It is used to track performance against strategic goals in a systematic way, often providing a quick overview of multiple KPIs in a single place. This helps leaders and managers assess performance trends, identify areas that need improvement, and align efforts with business objectives.

Q.: What are KPI examples?

Financial KPIs: profit margins, cash flow, return on Investment (ROI), debt-to-equity ratio

Operational KPIs: production efficiency, quality metrics, on-time delivery, inventory turnover, employee productivity

Customer: customer satisfaction score, customer retention rate, Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value

Q.: What is a Financial Model?

A.: A Financial Model is a structured representation of a company's financial performance, projections, and potential outcomes.

Q. What is the difference between Financial Modelling and Forecasting?

Financial Modelling and Forecasting are both key tools used in finance for planning and decision-making, but they serve different purposes and have distinct approaches.

Financial modelling builds a structured, quantitative representation of a business’s current and future financial performance. The model typically combines historical data with assumptions to create projections and simulate various financial scenarios, often used for valuation, mergers and acquisitions, or capital budgeting.

Financial models are often used for “what-if” analyses, allowing users to see how changes in key variables impact financial outcomes.

Forecasting is focused specifically on predicting future outcomes based on trends and historical data. It is typically narrower and more focused on individual financial metrics such as revenue or cash flow.

Q.: What is s Cap Table?

A.: A Cap Table (Capitalisation Table) is a spreadsheet or table that shows the ownership structure of a company, including equity shares, preferred shares, options, warrants, and convertible securities.

Q.: What are the uses of a Cap Table?

  • Decision-Making: Assists in financial decision-making, helping founders and investors understand how new funding rounds or employee stock options affect ownership.

  • Valuation and Fundraising: Essential in fundraising rounds to show investors the current equity structure and potential future dilution.

  • Exit Planning: Used to calculate payouts to each stakeholder in scenarios like acquisitions or IPOs.

Q.: What is a Pitch Deck?

A.: A Pitch Deck is a brief presentation, often created in PowerPoint, Keynote, or other slide software, used to provide an overview of a business, its purpose, and its value proposition. The purpose of a pitch deck is typically to secure funding from potential investors, attract business partners, or explain a business concept to stakeholders in a concise, compelling way.