Virtual Finance Director

Managing your finance function

Congratulations! You have established a business that provides you with income, employment to others, a valuable service to your customers and a sense of achievement and optimism for your future. It’s not easy and hopefully you are proud of what you have achieved (and rightly so).


The question is though… are you happy?


Do you get to choose where you work, when you work, and how you work? Do you have the time to do the things you enjoy outside of work and spend time with your loved ones? And are you able to do these things without worrying about having enough money to do them in the first place?

As the MD of your business, is your time spent concentrating on strategy and business development or are you continually putting out fires, resolving customer complaints, or recruiting new members of staff?

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Accountant and client discussing their management accounts on a tablet

Why you need a Virtual FD

Many clients approach us because they just don’t have the complete overview of their finances that they need to control the cash flow of their business.

Your background probably isn’t in finance but somehow you are expected to be on top of the all important figures that will ensure your business is profitable and sustainable. Many business owners make the mistake of believing that they can monitor how their business is doing just by seeing what’s in their bank account. Unfortunately it’s not that easy.


We know you are serious about growing your business and understand the need for financial stability. And that’s why you need a Finance Director or the equivalent to free you up to do your job.

Benefits of a Virtual FD

One of the most important benefits is having someone else take over the managing of your finance function, leaving you to concentrate on the day-to-day running of your business.

Your Virtual FD will act as someone you can bounce ideas off, as well as acting as your business coach and being someone who will work alongside you to ensure you meet your business goals.


Other key benefits include ensuring your financial data is in sync with your business objectives so that the management information you receive is useful and helps you in your decision making. We will also offer practical input into your financial situation that will help you grow and succeed.

Your options

Wherever you are at in your business life, we will have a Virtual FD package that will suit you. But first of all, here is a quick overview to aid you in your decision:

The Growth FD

This option is ideal for business owners who are keen to grow and scale their business. We would work closely with you in all areas of your financial position, including your systems, processes and projections.

The Reliance FD

This option is ideal for business owners who may have some in-house financial staff but would benefit in having someone to help them streamline their systems and have access to regular management reporting.

The Comfort FD

This option has been designed for business owners who are mostly happy to manage their own finance systems but would benefit from independent advice to provide them with reassurance.

The Comfort FD

This option has been designed for business owners who are mostly happy to manage their own finance systems but would benefit from independent advice to provide them with reassurance.


By investing a small fixed fee, you will have the benefit of the following:

  • Access to your dedicated financial director

    Your dedicated financial director can be contacted at any time and will work closely alongside you. You will have a direct point of contact for help with the added benefit of knowing they are supported by our other team members. This also means that you will always be able to speak with someone to discuss any issues you may have.

  • Support for your internal finance staff

    Managing staff can be a time consuming and tricky affair at the best of times and when these staff are involved in tasks that aren’t in your area of expertise, it can be even more difficult.

  • Health check on your existing finance function

    We will undertake a “health check” on your current finance function systems and processes to flag up any potential problems and advise on any improvements that can be made to save you both time and money.

  • Real time management reports

    Supplying you with real time management reports as to the state of your business will be vital to your ability to make the best business decisions. We will set up your finance function to provide you with reports as often as you like so that you are always on top of how your business is doing at any given time. Along with the reports, we will supply you with our analysis and explanation as to what the figures actually mean to you and your business.

  • Access to unlimited telephone and email support

    Your dedicated finance director is always on hand for you to email or call at no extra charge. We will always notify in advance and provide a quote to you should you require anything outside of the agreed range of services we have with you. We will never send you a bill that you aren’t expecting!

The Reliance FD

This option is ideal for business owners who may have some in-house financial staff but would benefit in having someone to help them streamline their systems and have access to regular management reporting.


In this package, you have access to everything in the Comfort option, plus the following:

  • Using suggestions from the review to increase efficiency

    Once the financial health check has been completed, we will work with you and your team to see how any suggestions made can be implemented in your business to the best effect. This might include issues such as how you get paid by your customers, or improving your invoicing processes through automation (which has the benefit of reducing errors and freeing up employees time) and thus ensuring that cash is received faster. Employee costs can be kept down if you don’t need to employ someone for instance to process your purchase invoices and receipts if this can be done automatically.

  • Keeping control of costs: monitoring, analysing and advising on expenses

    As your business grows, it can be easy to lose track of what is being spent. Expense claims will rise as you take on more employees. Having processes in place to alert you to anything out of the ordinary can be of great benefit.

  • Reviewing and improving your credit control function

    Poor invoicing and cash collection procedures can lead to problems with cash flow. We will undertake a review of your credit control function which will highlight any areas where cash can be received into the business quicker. This could be achieved by automating your credit control function, encouraging and setting up direct debit payments or simply making sure you are paid upfront.

  • “What if” questions and decision making

    You may find yourself at a point when you want to hire new personnel or invest in a product or service that will move your business forward. The question is though, can you afford it? And if you do, what will be the impact on your finances. Have you taken into account all the other costs associated with doing so? We can identify the “what if” questions you need to ask yourself so that you can reduce your risks and help you in your decision making.

  • Setting up and monitoring cash flow forecasting

    The survival of any business can very much rely on cash. It is essential to monitor cash flow so that you are in a good position to see you through “lean” periods when trade may not be as good as you would like, or if you need money to help you grow. Future liabilities must be remembered, e.g. PAYE, VAT and corporation tax which can unfortunately be easily overlooked. By developing, monitoring and keeping your cash flow forecast up-to-date, we can ensure that you have a clear view of your cash balance.

  • Review of apps relevant to you and their implementation

    There are hundreds and hundreds of apps to choose from when it comes to accounting packages. We are here to research them for you and find the best apps to use in your cloud accounting software. These will be the most efficient for you and will mean you save time and money. We will look at both apps that are specific to your type of business and other more general apps covering business processes that might be of benefit to you.

  • Managing risk

    Risk management is crucial for the survival of your business. We will identify the risks involved in your business and help you reduce these risks so that you have peace of mind. An example of this might be if you took on a new client and you wanted to ensure that they will be able to pay their bills. In this case, we would do a credit check on them so that you are fully aware of their financial position.

The Growth FD

This option is ideal for business owners who are keen to grow and scale their business. We would work closely with you in all areas of your financial position, including your systems, processes and projections.


In this package, you have access to everything in the Reliance and Comfort options, plus the following:

  • Tracking financial and non-financial KPI’s via a dashboard

    The data contained in management reports can be very helpful. It becomes even more helpful when it is combined with key performance indicators which will help you achieve your targets in relation to growth. A dashboard where you have all your financial and non-financial KPi’s in one place will help you keep track of them and realise your goals.

  • Setting and monitoring goals through strategic planning

    To best understand your short, medium and long-term goals for your business, we will arrange to have a strategic planning session with you. By doing this together we can set in place targets that will help you identify and achieve your goals.

  • Our accountability programme

    To achieve your goals, of course, action has to be taken and this can be very hard when your time is taken up just with the everyday running of your business. Very often it’s a really good thing to have an independent person who will hold you to account and give you that nudge when things need to be done. We will hold a meeting or video call with you each month to work through your action plan and offer any help required and our support. Accessing an independent party can help clear your mind and see things from a different perspective and give you the impetus to achieve your goals.

  • Raising finance and reporting to investors

    Raising finance or looking at your existing finance may be necessary if your plans to expand require it. We have access to a wide range of financiers and will approach them on your behalf to get you the best help that you need to ensure your growth plans.


    We will work with you to provide the management reports that all financiers will require from you to reassure them that their investment in you is safe. By supplying these in a timely manner, as and when required, will benefit your credit line and your overall credibility.

  • Exit strategy considerations

    If you feel the time has come for you to exit your business then you will want to know that you will be fully recompensed for all the hard work you have invested in it, not to mention your time, energy and hard-earned cash. We will work alongside you to make sure you get maximum value for this. Options that we can help you with are MBO’s and considering whether to introduce a tax efficient employee share option scheme for key employees.

  • Supplying a non-exec FD role to assure credibility to third parties

    It might be that you need to have a non-exec FD on board if you are accountable to other shareholders or investors. Similarly, if you have taken on risk finance. We will take on this role at no extra cost to your package to give you the credibility needed and the reassurance your financiers will want.


    Overseeing and managing a finance function in this day and age is a huge undertaking. Luckily, technology has automated many procedures that would have had to be undertaken by employees in the past. It is therefore a very worthwhile exercise to review how your finance function operates so that you can identify areas in which you can save your precious time, energy and money.

Virtual FD v Employed FD

If you find yourself in the position of wondering whether to employ an FD, whether full time or part time, please consider the following when deciding if a Virtual FD might be a better choice.

Recruitment

Finding the right staff who have the relevant skill set is very hard to do. The whole process can be lengthy, time consuming and costly. And who’s to say how long they will stay.

Salary

The average basic salary for an FD is £80,000. And all the added costs on top of it such as recruitment, bonuses, NI, pension, company car, share options.

Flexibility

Changing someone’s working hours can be very difficult. We offer complete flexibility in the packages that we offer; you can tweak your package to suit your needs at any time.

Availability

If you go down the route of hiring someone part time what happens when they are not in the office or on annual leave?

Skill set

If you employ an FD you will be restricted to their particular set of skills. We can offer a wider skill set drawn from all members of our professional team who have worked with businesses involved in many different sectors.