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[ Business Advisory ]
Understand what the business is telling you.
Revenue can be growing while cash gets tighter. Profit can improve while the owners feel like there is less money available. A new hire can look affordable until tax, debt and working capital are added to the picture.
We use the numbers to work through what is changing, why it is changing and what the people running the business need to decide next.
[ Start here ]
You do not need a strategy document. You need an answer to the thing in front of you.
Maybe revenue is up but cash is not.
Maybe wages have grown faster than sales.
Maybe you are trying to work out whether the business can afford another person, another vehicle or another location.
Maybe there is more than one owner and you do not all agree on how much cash should stay in the business.
Those are useful places to start.
- 01Why is cash getting tighter?
- 02Can we afford the next hire?
- 03Are our margins holding up?
- 04Which part of the business is actually making money?
- 05How much can the owners take out?
- 06What happens if growth is slower than we expect?
[ Performance ]
Know what changed, and why.
No single number explains a business.
Revenue can increase while margin falls. Profit can improve while cash reduces. Wages can rise because the business is inefficient, or because it has hired ahead of the next stage of growth.
The number matters. The reason behind it matters more.
Depending on the business, we might look at:
- →Revenue
- →Gross profit and gross margin
- →Wages and labour costs
- →Capacity
- →Operating expenses
- →Cash
- →Debtors
- →Stock and working capital
- →Tax liabilities
- →Business debt
- →Owner drawings and distributions
- →Other measures that are relevant to the way the business actually operates
Not every business needs a dashboard full of ratios. We focus on the information that helps explain what is happening.
[ Cash ]
Profit can be up while cash gets worse.
That does not necessarily mean something is wrong with the accounts.
Cash may be sitting with customers who have not paid yet. More money may be tied up in stock. The business may be repaying debt, buying equipment, paying tax, funding growth or distributing money to the owners.
We work through three things:
Where is the cash going?
What is already committed?
What is actually available for the next decision?
That becomes particularly important before the business hires, borrows, invests or distributes a significant amount of cash.
The balance sheet usually holds part of the answer. If that statement has always felt harder to read than the profit and loss, our article how to read a balance sheet is a useful place to start.
[ Before you commit ]
Put the decision into the numbers before you commit.
Another employee. A truck. New equipment. A larger premises. A second location. A price change. A loan.
Before committing, we can work through what the decision changes.
- 01How much cash is required upfront?
- 02What does it add to the monthly cost base?
- 03How much additional revenue is needed?
- 04When does the cash impact occur?
- 05What happens if the benefit takes longer than expected?
- 06How does existing debt affect the decision?
- 07What happens to the tax and cash position?
- 08What does the business give up by using the money here instead of somewhere else?
A forecast does not make the future certain. It makes the assumptions visible.
[ An example ]
A new hire can look different once the whole cost is included.
A business might be considering another employee because the team is at capacity.
The salary is only the starting point. The owners may also need to consider superannuation, payroll-related costs, equipment, software, recruitment, the time required to bring the person up to speed and how long it may take before the additional capacity produces more revenue.
The question is not simply
Can we pay the salary?
It is
Can the business carry the full cost while the new capacity is being built?
[ Reporting ]
A report should tell you what needs attention.
A profit and loss statement that arrives with no explanation tells you what happened. It does not necessarily tell you why.
The useful conversation is about the movements.
Depending on the engagement, reviews may include:
- →Actual performance compared with budget
- →Performance compared with prior periods
- →Revenue and margin
- →Wages and capacity
- →Operating costs
- →Cash movement
- →Debtors
- →Stock or working capital where relevant
- →Tax liabilities
- →Debt
- →Owner accounts
- →Business-specific KPIs
- →Decisions coming up in the next few months
The frequency and depth of reporting depends on the engagement and what the owners actually need.
[ More than one owner? ]
More than one owner changes the conversation.
One owner might want to reinvest.
Another might want to reduce debt.
Another might want to take more cash from the business.
All three can be reasonable positions.
Our job is not to decide what the owners should want.
It is to make sure everyone is looking at the same financial position, understands the trade-offs and knows what each option means for the business.
That can mean working through:
- →how much cash the business needs to retain
- →planned investments
- →distributions and drawings
- →debt reduction
- →individual owner priorities
- →growth plans
- →risk
- →timeframes
- →what has actually been agreed
The objective is not to remove disagreement. It is to make the discussion better informed.
[ Follow-through ]
A useful meeting should change something.
Sometimes the answer is to proceed.
Sometimes it is to wait.
Sometimes more information is needed before anyone makes the call.
What matters is that the conversation ends with a clear understanding of what happens next.
- 01What did we decide?
- 02What still needs to be worked out?
- 03Who is doing what?
- 04When does it need to be reviewed again?
Some periods need more discussion than others. We do not create meetings simply because the calendar says another meeting is due.
[ The work ]
The scope depends on the business, the owners and the level of support included in the engagement.
What the engagement can include.
- 01Management reportingRegular financial information with explanation of the movements that matter.
- 02Cash-flow forecastingUnderstanding expected cash movements and upcoming pressure points.
- 03Budgets and forecastsSetting expectations for revenue, costs, profit and cash, then comparing what actually happens.
- 04Profit and margin analysisLooking at where the business makes money and where margin is changing.
- 05KPI reportingTracking measures that are genuinely relevant to the way the business operates.
- 06Scenario modellingTesting the financial effect of hires, purchases, borrowing, pricing changes, expansion and other decisions.
- 07Owner drawings and distributionsUnderstanding what is coming out of the business and how it affects cash, alongside the relevant tax work.
- 08Funding and capital planningUnderstanding what the business can reasonably fund itself and when outside finance may need to be considered.
- 09Business planningTurning the owners’ plans into financial assumptions that can be reviewed over time.
- 10Review and follow-throughKeeping track of what has been agreed and what needs to happen next.
Not every engagement includes every service above. Scope and frequency are agreed before the work begins.
[ When to call ]
Bring us in while the question is still open.
The conversation is usually more useful before a commitment has been made.
“We want to hire another person.”
“Revenue is growing but cash keeps getting tighter.”
“Our margin has dropped and we do not know why.”
“We are considering new equipment.”
“We need to increase our prices.”
“We are thinking about another location.”
“We are carrying more debt than we used to.”
“The owners want to take more money out.”
“Our monthly reports do not tell us much.”
“We have grown, but the business feels harder to run.”
You do not need to know which advisory service you need before you call. Start with what is happening.
[ Underneath the advice ]
The advice depends on numbers we can rely on.
Business advisory does not sit separately from the accounting and tax work.
The financial records help us understand what has happened. Tax obligations affect the cash position. Owner accounts can affect what money is actually available. The balance sheet can tell a very different story from the profit and loss statement.
We bring those pieces together when they are relevant to the decision.
That is also why current, reconciled accounting information matters. A forecast built on numbers that are wrong or months out of date is not especially useful.
[ Technology ]
Technology should create more time for advice, not less time with people.
We use Xero, connected reporting tools, automation and AI where they can reduce repetitive work and improve the flow of information.
They help us prepare and understand the information faster.
They do not decide whether the business should hire, borrow, invest, increase a distribution or open another location.
Those decisions still require judgement and a conversation with the people running the business.
[ Client experience ]
What clients say about the conversations.
“Love Mitch and the team. My planning meetings are always helpful, insightful and useful. Relaxed, down to earth, relatable team. Love you guys!”
Ali Worrall
Google review
“Mitch isn't your typical accountant who just crunches numbers once a year—he's proactive, forward-thinking, and genuinely invested in our success. Whether it's structuring strategies, keeping us accountable, or just being available for a call when something urgent comes up, the support has been next level.”
Ray Beaufils
Google review
“A+++++ HIGHLY RECOMMEND. My business wouldn't be where it is today without the team at Wakefield — engaging, efficient, and they've really guided me on my business and growth. I've recommended a number of others to these guys and they've all been stoked with the service.”
Christopher Nielsen
Google review
[ Start here ]
Start with the problem you’re trying to solve.
Tell us what is changing, what you are considering or what does not make sense in the numbers.
We can work out what needs to be looked at and whether our advisory work is the right fit.