Systems & Controls for Scaling Businesses
Put in the financial plumbing now, before scale exposes how thin it is.
Who this is for
Businesses turning over £1m–£10m where the founder is increasingly the bottleneck on financial decisions and the books are starting to feel out of control.
The first £1m comes from hustle. The next £5m comes from systems.
Most businesses hit a wall somewhere between £1m and £3m revenue where the systems that got them there start breaking down. Suddenly the founder is approving every invoice, no one knows what the gross margin is per product line, the chart of accounts has 400 lines, and month-end takes three weeks. None of these are accounting problems strictly — they are systems problems.
We come in, map what exists, design what should exist, and help you implement it. The aim is a finance function that runs without the founder, produces reliable numbers, and can be handed to a future hire or a future buyer without embarrassment.
What's included.
Everything below is part of the standard engagement. We'll tell you up front if your situation needs anything outside this — there are no surprises.
Chart of accounts redesign aligned to how you actually run the business
Approvals workflow — purchase orders, expenses, supplier setup, payroll changes
Segregation of duties review and design
Month-end close process — what gets done when, by whom, against what checklist
Finance team structure recommendations — what to outsource, what to hire, in what order
Documentation: process maps, runbooks, financial policy doc
A predictable, four-step engagement.
Diagnostic
Half a day mapping what currently exists, who does what, where the failure points are.
Design
Target operating model — chart of accounts, controls framework, close process, team shape.
Implementation
Phased rollout with documentation, training and a 90-day stabilisation period.
Handover
We hand to your in-house team or stay on as fractional support. Either is fine.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a controls and systems engagement take?
Typically 8–12 weeks for the design and initial implementation phase, then a stabilisation period of 60–90 days. Some clients then keep us on a monthly retainer to act as a fractional finance director.
Do you implement specific software, or are you tool-agnostic?
Tool-agnostic on the principle that the process design comes first. In practice, most clients end up on Xero or QuickBooks plus a stack: Dext for receipts, ApprovalMax for approvals, Spotlight or Fathom for reporting. We will recommend what fits your shape and size.
What's the difference between this and just hiring an FD?
An FD runs the function. We design the function. Many clients eventually hire an FD — but they want to inherit a working machine, not the job of building one.
Related: explore the full growth & advisory suite —All growth & advisory
Talk to us about systems & controls.
Quick conversation, no commitment. We'll tell you honestly whether this is the right service for where you are.