Evie Willow is a superb hand made kitchen company based in Oxfordshire. Like many business owners, finance was something that Dan did "off the side of the desk" but as his success became more evident and his business grew he realised he needed more support
The challenge
Dan had originally been on Sage, but the year before he engaged with us he had recognised that he’d prefer a cloud based software and had asked his bookkeeper to move him to Xero. This had proven problematic and the accounts were in need of some first aid. Dan also had a fast growing business, but no oversight of how he was doing other than checking the bank. For a business which is based on staged invoices and advance purchases, this didn’t really give him any sense of reality.
The solution
We delivered a finance function review for Dan; we delivered a lot of work to ensure that the year end accounts on the first version of Xero were correct, and then set about reviewing all processes in the business and understanding what Dan needed to look at monthly. We redesigned the management account structure so that the key cost drivers and revenue drivers were clear, and ensured that coding was in place for invoices and bills that moved the business to a one-touch process for both. This delivered the detail that was needed to open up the business for analysis. Subsequently Dan asked us to also take on bookkeeping, and we have supported further with new staff training.
The result
Dan now receives monthly management accounts as well as regular support meetings; the narrative we provide on his results means that he better understands how the business is performing, but also holds the magnifying glass to areas he would like to now get a better grip on. Dan is keen to understand his overheads, and how these are absorbed into his costing models and we are now working to support that. Without the detail by cost type and revenue type, Dan wouldn’t know what the right questions to ask were. We have helped bring that transparency.
Working with Strata has been a very engaging and productive experience. Over the last 12 months we have transitioned from running traditional accounting methods to live up to date accounting. After reviewing our current business processes, Strata implemented Xero and trained Evie Willow to use the software. This has provided an invaluable insight to where we are as a company and provided us with the strategic information to make calculated decisions for the future. Up to date management accounts, clear business mapping and professional advice has been a great step forward for Evie Willow
Daniel Allen, CE, Oct 2021
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