Know what your business is really earning - not just what it's billing
When you sell expertise, time and professional services, a busy business doesn’t always mean a profitable one.
Business FiTT helps professional service businesses understand their numbers, manage cashflow and see what’s really driving profit — so you can make better decisions about pricing, people, costs and growth.
Does this sound like you?
Your business is busy. Clients are coming in. Work is getting done. But it can still be surprisingly difficult to answer some fairly basic questions about how the business is performing.
Where are you right now?
Different businesses need different levels of support. You may need to get the basics properly organised, hand over the bookkeeping altogether, or simply get more useful insight from the information you already have.
Financial Foundations
I need to get a better financial management system in place.
Your bookkeeping or reporting may have become messy, inconsistent or simply not set up to give you useful management information.
I can help you put the right structure in place — from bookkeeping systems and chart of accounts to reporting and the key figures you should be tracking.
Bookkeeping & Profit Support
I want someone to handle the bookkeeping but to give me monthly insight inot the figures as well.
You don’t just want accurate books. You want to know what the figures mean for your business.
I can manage your bookkeeping and provide regular financial insight, helping you keep on top of cashflow, margins, costs and profitability throughout the year.
Profit & Performance Support
I have a bookkeeper and my bookkeeping is fine but I just want better insight into profit.
You may already have a bookkeeper or accountant, but still feel you’re missing the information you need to make good business decisions.
I work alongside your existing finance support to analyse financial and operational performance, identify profit drivers and highlight where there may be opportunities to improve.
What should a professional services business be measuring?
Revenue matters — but on its own it doesn’t tell you whether the business is performing well.
Depending on your business, we might look at:
- Revenue and gross profit
- Gross and net profit margins
- Recurring versus once-off revenue
- Revenue by client, project ior service
- Staff costs versus sales
- Revenue generated per employee
- Debtor days and outstanding invoices
- Client acquisition and conversion rates
- Cashflow and future cash requirements
- Average client or project value
The objective isn’t to create a complicated dashboard full of numbers. It’s to identify the few measures that actually tell you how your business is performing.
Turn your numbers into better decisions
Knowing the figures is only useful if they help you decide what to do next.
That might mean identifying a service that isn’t generating the margin you expected, reviewing your pricing, understanding whether you can afford another employee, improving cash collection or recognising that certain types of work are taking up a disproportionate amount of time.
I combine financial information with the practical realities of running a business, helping you understand what’s happening, why it’s happening and what you can do about it.
How it all works
Good business management doesn’t need to be complicated.
We get the financial information right, make sense of what it is telling you, and focus on the key drivers affecting profit, cashflow and growth.
1
Understand
We start with your business — how you make money, how work flows through the business, your current systems and the decisions you’re trying to make.
2
Measure
We identify the financial and operational numbers that matter and make sure you have a reliable way of tracking them.
3
Improve
We review what those numbers are telling us and identify practical opportunities to strengthen cashflow, profitability and overall business performance.
What Financial Clarity Could Give You ...
Financial clarity is not about producing more reports or spending hours looking at spreadsheets.
It is about understanding what is happening in your business, why it is happening and what you may need to change.
With the right financial information in front of you, you can manage the practice with greater confidence and fewer surprises.
Confidence in your decisions
Make decisions about pricing, staffing, spending and growth based on accurate financial information rather than instinct alone.
A clearer view of profit
Understand which areas of the practice are performing well, where margins are being squeezed and whether increased turnover is actually improving profitability.
Better control of cashflow
See what money is coming in, what is going out and what the practice will need over the coming months.
More time to focus
Spend less time trying to organise figures or work out what they mean, with your bookkeeping and financial information kept clear, current and useful.
How I Work
1
Book an initial conversation
The first step is simply to talk.
I’ll ask about your practice, how you currently manage the financial side of the business and what you feel is working- or not working- at the moment.
You don’t need to have everything organised before we speak. In fact, very often the reason someone gets in touch is because they’re not quite sure what they need.
My job is to help work that out with you.
2
I look at what you already have
Before recommending anything, I want to understand the information and systems already available.
Where possible, I work with what is already there rather than introducing new systems unnecessarily.
Sometimes only a few changes are needed. Other times, there are gaps that need to be filled before you can get a reliable picture of how the practice is performing.
3
We decide what would make the biggest difference.
Once I understand the current position, I’ll recommend the support I think will be most useful. That might be putting stronger financial foundations in place.
It might mean taking over your bookkeeping and providing regular analysis alongside it.
Or you may already have good bookkeeping in place and simply need someone to look more closely at performance, margins, costs,and the areas that are driving – or limiting- profit.
You'll receive a clear proposal setting out what I recommend, costs and what is involved before you any further commitment required.
The kind of things I put in place...
Setting up a bookkeeping system
Set up or improve your cloud bookkeeping system, usually using Xero, so your financial information is organised, accessible and kept in one place. Put straightforward systems in place for managing receipts, invoices and financial paperwork so less time is spent chasing documents and information.
Meaningful profit reporting
Structure your accounts so you can see more than simply total income and expenses. Depending on your business, this might mean understanding different income streams, staff and supplier costs, materials or stock, overheads and other key areas of expenditure.
Cashflow forecasting
Put a simple cashflow forecast in place so you can look ahead, not just at what has already happened. See what your expected bank position could look like in 3, 6 or even 12 months, helping you plan for tax, larger expenses, quieter periods, investment in the practice or how much you can comfortably take from the business.
The right performance measures
Your accounts tell us a lot — but they don’t tell us everything. We can identify the other numbers worth tracking in your business, such as customer numbers, sales activity, average transaction value, conversion rates etc. Where needed, I’ll put a simple system in place to capture this information so it can be reviewed alongside your financial results.
What business owners often say after working together...
“We were flat out, but I couldn’t see where the money was going. We weren’t as profitable as I thought. Once we reviewed it properly, the problems were much clearer.”
RACHP business owner, Ireland
“I was always worried about taking time off as there was no money going into the bank account. I’m delighted I know how to manage that now. I take more Saturdays off now as well!.”
Jamie Cummins, Dentist,
“I just wanted to do less of the day to day time consuming chores but wasn’t sure how to make that happen. Now I have evreything down to a 2 hour window each week. .”
Peter, Facilities Management.
Let's talk about your business.
Need help with your bookkeeping, financial reporting or understanding how to make more profit?
Tell me a little about your business and what you're looking for, and I'll be in touch to discuss how I can help.
Working with business owners all over Ireland