Accounting, Finance and Funding

Accounting & Finance

In today's complex financial and business world, business owners need the support of professionals who provide on-time, cost effective solutions to help their business move forward.  One of the critical success factors for a business is to evaluate where profit is being made and as importantly where it is being eroded.    Financial and management accounts produced on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis can be extremely beneficial towards focusing short-range plans.

Management accounts will enable you to:

• Compare your accounts with original budgets or forecasts
• Better manage your resources
• Identify trends in your business
• Highlight variations in your income or spending which may require attention

They should be used for the following:

• Recording business transactions
• Measuring results of financial changes
• Projecting financial effects of future transactions
• Preparing internal reports in a user-friendly format

Planning and control:

• Collecting cash
• Controlling stocks
• Controlling expenses
• Co-ordination and monitoring of strategy/performance

Decision making

• Using cost information for pricing, capital investment and marketing
• Evaluating market and product profitability
• Evaluating the financial effect of strategies and plans

Fit Business work with clients to provide a platform from which their finance function becomes not only a historical and legal requirement of their business but an integral tool from which informed business decisions are made.   Our services include

• managing your accounting / finances in part or in total  (outsource)
• developing a financial model from which to work from
• setting up systems – accounting, payroll, CRM and so on
• creating business plans with financial plans
• produce grant aid applications
• liaise with bankers, revenue, sheriff  if required on your behalf

Financing / Funding

Financing your business is often the critical component to success. There are a wide variety of ways this can be accomplished particularly during the start up phase and then the high growth or development phase, whether you raise the funds privately, approach your banker, apply for grants, consider investors Fit Business walk you through the process, introduce you to the relevant parties or develop your financial and business plans to secure private or grant aid.

Personal Funding – where the business owner invests his/her own funds to set up the business or invests by foregoing their salary in the start up phase

Friends & Family – assistance from those nearest and dearest

Borrowing / loan -  this usually has a personal guarantee associated with the loan or is backed by some personal or business assets.   The rate of interest can be negotiated by comparing different financial institutions

Overdraft -  an overdraft is where your bank gives authorization to have a minus / negative balance on your account.   The overdraft is essentially a loan to the business by your banker and the facility incurs an interest charge.   The overdraft facility is set at a specific limit as agreed

Debt Factoring – this is where you essentially sell your debtors book to the bank and they advance funds on this basis.   Debtor Book is the sales invoices that you have yet to receive payment.   Debt factoring agencies / banks charge for this facility, and also discount for debts that are over 90 days old (60 in some cases)

Angel Investors are individuals who invest in businesses looking for a higher return than they would see from more traditional investments. Many are successful entrepreneurs who want to help other entrepreneurs get their business off the ground. Usually they are the bridge from the self-funded stage of the business to the point that the business needs the level of funding that a venture capitalist would offer

Grant Aid can be a fantastic source of funding and they can range from feasibility grand,  employment grants,  export grants, high potential start up grants etc.  The process for application varies between each body and it is advisable to get professional and experienced assistance in preparing applications