Management accounts & business advisory in West London
Know what the business is doing before the year-end accounts tell you what already happened.
SV&Co helps owner-managed companies and growing SMEs across Southall and West London turn bookkeeping into useful monthly numbers: profit, cash, margins, debtors, tax reserves, payroll cost and forecasts for the next decision.
Profit versus cash
£80,000 profit can still produce very little cash.
The profit and loss account measures income earned and costs incurred. The bank account also reflects when customers pay, when suppliers are paid, tax, capital purchases, borrowing and money taken by the owners.
Simple £80,000 example
The question management accounts should answer
Not “Did the business make a profit?” alone.
Ask: Where did the profit go, when will the cash arrive, and what commitments are coming next?
That turns accounting into a decision tool instead of a historic filing exercise.
Management reporting
A useful pack is designed for the owner, not the accountant.
Profit & Loss
Current month, year to date, previous period and budget/forecast where useful. Highlight the variances that actually need explaining.
Balance Sheet
Cash, debtors, creditors, VAT/PAYE/Corporation Tax, loans, stock and director's loan balances. This is often where cash-flow problems hide.
Cash Forecast
A rolling short-term view of receipts, wages, suppliers, VAT, payroll taxes, Corporation Tax, finance and planned investments.
Debtors
Who owes the business money, how long invoices have been outstanding and which balances need chasing now.
Margins
Track gross margin and, where the data supports it, margin by product, service, customer, site or job rather than only total sales.
Owner dashboard
A small number of KPIs specific to the business: utilisation, average job value, repeat customers, payroll %, stock days, debtor days or another real driver.
Five numbers to start with
You do not need 50 KPIs.
For many owner-managed businesses, five well-understood numbers are more useful than a dashboard full of figures nobody acts on.
Tax reserves
The bank balance is not the amount available to spend.
A business can show £100,000 in the bank while part of that cash is already committed to VAT, PAYE/NIC, Corporation Tax, pension contributions, supplier bills or other liabilities.
“Of the £100,000 in the bank today, how much can we safely use without creating a tax, payroll or supplier problem over the next 90 days?”
Interactive business tools
Test the business question before the monthly review.
Profit-to-Cash Bridge
See why accounting profit and the movement in the bank account can be completely different.
Can We Afford This Hire?
A simple screen combining employment cost, gross margin, sales contribution and cash runway.
Business Financial Health Check
Tick what you can confidently say about the business today.
Management accounts FAQs
What business owners actually want to know.
Are management accounts the same as annual accounts?
No. Annual statutory accounts are prepared for legal/tax reporting and cover a completed financial period. Management accounts are internal reports prepared more frequently so the owner can understand current performance and make decisions during the year.
How often should I receive management accounts?
Monthly works well for businesses with employees, VAT, stock, significant debtors, fast growth or regular decisions. Some smaller businesses may get enough value from quarterly reporting. The information should arrive quickly enough to change a decision.
Why can profit go up while cash goes down?
Sales can be recognised before customers pay, stock and equipment use cash without being immediate P&L expenses, loan capital repayment does not reduce accounting profit, tax payments have timing differences and owners can extract cash through dividends or drawings.
What is the difference between bookkeeping and management accounts?
Bookkeeping creates the reliable transaction records. Management accounts turn those records into reconciled reports, analysis, forecasts and decisions. Poor bookkeeping produces unreliable management information.
Can management accounts tell me whether I can take a dividend?
They can provide important current information about profit, retained reserves, cash and liabilities, but a lawful dividend also depends on available distributable profits and proper company records. Cash in the bank alone is not enough.
Do I need complicated software?
No. The software should fit the business. Reliable bookkeeping plus a clear monthly reporting process is more useful than an expensive dashboard with inaccurate data.
Reviewed by
Sandip Vadher, PhD FCCA
Founder of SV&Co Accountancy. Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant with more than 20 years of finance and accountancy experience.
Management Accounts & Business Advisory
Bring us the bookkeeping. Leave with the decisions.
We can design a monthly or quarterly reporting pack around profit, cash, margins, debtors, tax reserves and the decisions you are actually making.
Current bookkeeping/software, latest accounts, bank balance, debtor/creditor reports, payroll, VAT position, existing budget/forecast and the next major decision you are considering.
Ask for a management reporting review