Hermit Business Solutions - CIMA-qualified cloud accountants in Baildon, Shipley and West Yorkshire
07847 586730
Management reporting

Numbers that tell you something, not just numbers

If the only time that you see your figures is once a year, at year-end, from your accountant, you're making every decision in between on instinct.

By the time that year-end accounts land, they're already history

They confirm what happened. They don't help you with what's happening now.

Most small business owners that we meet are running the business from the bank balance and a gut feeling, not because they don't care about the numbers, but because nobody has ever shown them the numbers in a way that's actually useful day to day.

The fix

Monthly and quarterly reporting, built to be read, not filed

We provide regular management accounts, monthly or quarterly depending on what suits your business, that show you where the money is really going and what it means for the decisions in front of you. Not a set of numbers that you nod at and move on from, but a report structured around the questions you're actually asking: is this sales line worth keeping, can I afford to take someone on, why did that quarter feel harder than it looked on paper?

This uses the same book-keeping and cloud software work we already do for you, so it's an extension of what's already in place, not a separate project or extra work for you, just for us.

Who this is for

  • Directors who currently only see their numbers at year-end and want something more frequent and more useful in between
  • Business owners making regular calls on pricing, staffing, or which parts of the business are actually worth their time and want the figures to back that up
  • Anyone who has been surprised by their own year-end accounts and would rather see problems coming a quarter, or a month, sooner

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between management accounts and annual accounts?

Annual accounts (for limited companies known as 'statutory accounts') are produced once a year, mainly for HMRC and Companies House, and they're historic by the time that you see them. Management accounts are produced monthly or quarterly, for you rather than for a regulator, and they're designed to help you make decisions whilst there is still time to act on them.

How often should I get management reports?

Monthly suits most growing businesses since it catches problems and opportunities early enough to do something about them. Quarterly can work for smaller or more stable businesses where monthly reporting would be more detail than you'd actually use. We'll agree what fits once we understand how your business runs.

What should be in a monthly management report?

At minimum, a profit and loss for the period, a comparison against the previous period or your budget and a short plain-English summary of what it means. Depending on your business, that might also include debtor and creditor positions or key numbers specific to your sector.

Do I need management reporting if I'm a small business?

If you're making decisions about staffing, pricing or spending without a current picture of the numbers behind them, reporting helps regardless of size. It tends to matter most once a business is growing, taking on staff or juggling more than one income stream, since that's when gut feel stops being reliable. It matters hugely during periods of change or expansion as nothing is 'as it was' so having a 'gut feel' doesn't work any more.

How much does monthly management reporting cost?

This is agreed as a fixed monthly fee alongside your other accountancy work, based on the size of your business and how often you need reporting.

Want figures you can actually use, not just numbers for the file?

Get in touch and we'll show you what monthly reporting for your business would look like.

Get in touch