How is profitability developing? Is there enough cash to fund the purchases needed for growth? What does a change in sales mean for the full-year result?
Answering these questions requires reliable financial information and the ability to interpret it. Smooth day-to-day accounting provides the foundation: invoices are issued, purchase invoices are processed, accounts are prepared and agreed obligations are met on time. This foundation makes it possible to build a partnership that supports planning and management decisions.
Businesses have different needs. One may need a partner to handle daily accounting, another may need additional expertise alongside its own finance team. A third may want regular support with budgeting, forecasting and financial analysis.
An effective service is built around the customer's needs. Its scope, responsibilities and timetable are agreed together.
Smooth daily operations create a foundation for reliable information
The quality of financial information depends on many parts of a business. Sales invoicing relies on information about deliveries and completed work. Processing purchase invoices requires knowing what was purchased, for what purpose and who approves the purchase.
For example, the cost of materials purchased for a project is easier to allocate correctly when the project reference is included from the purchasing stage. If it is missing, someone must investigate afterwards. Until then, the picture of project profitability may remain incomplete.
The company and its accounting partner should agree on practical responsibilities:
- who provides the information needed for invoicing and accounting
- who checks and approves purchase invoices
- who monitors receivables and investigates discrepancies
- who prepares payments and who approves them
- where open questions are handled and when they will be answered.
Cover arrangements and procedures during absences are also part of this division of responsibilities. Collaboration needs to work without every detail depending on one person's memory.
Budgeting connects goals with practical plans
A budget starts with the company's goals and plans. What will the business sell? At what margin? What will growth require from its people, production and other resources?
An accounting and finance partner can help turn these plans into calculations and assess whether they fit together. If sales are expected to grow, the figures also need to account for recruitment, purchases and working capital — the money tied up in day-to-day operations.
Depending on the agreed scope, budgeting support can include gathering source data, building calculation templates, reviewing assumptions and comparing alternative scenarios.
Management contributes the business goals and its view of the future. A finance specialist helps assess the implications and highlights questions that need clarification. The assumptions behind the budget are documented so they can later be compared with actual performance.
Financial indicators need an explanation of what drives them
Revenue can grow while profitability declines. A healthy profit can also coincide with cash being tied up in receivables or inventory.
That is why individual indicators need interpretation. Depending on the business, relevant areas may include:
- sales and margin trends
- personnel and other costs in relation to business activity
- profitability by customer, product or project
- receivables collection and capital tied up in inventory
- changes in liquidity and the company's financial position.
The scope of the analysis depends on the company's needs and the quality and detail of the available information. Project-level analysis, for example, requires consistent allocation of revenue and costs.
Alongside compiling figures, the partner's role can include investigating the reasons for changes together with the customer. Has a margin changed because of pricing, purchase prices, the sales mix or delivery costs? Understanding the cause helps management assess what action is needed.
Updating forecasts makes changes visible in time
Order books, delivery schedules, costs and staffing needs change during the year. Updating the forecast helps assess what those changes mean for the coming months.
The budget remains the agreed target and point of comparison. The forecast represents the current view of what is likely to happen.
Consider a business whose major delivery is delayed by a month. Invoicing and the customer's payment may move with it, even though purchases have already been paid for and personnel costs continue as planned. The forecast then needs to consider the effects on profit and cash separately.
Within the agreed service scope, the accounting and finance partner can compile actual figures, update calculations using business information supplied by the customer and review the changes with management. The frequency is agreed according to need, for example monthly or when a significant change occurs.
Effective forecasting requires input from both parties. The customer knows about upcoming sales, deliveries and decisions. The finance specialist helps make their financial implications visible.
Cash flow planning shows funding needs and room to manoeuvre
Cash flow planning examines when money will come in and when it will go out. The current bank balance is a starting point, but it needs to be complemented by a view of upcoming payments and receipts.
The agreed planning scope can include:
- customer payments and their expected timing
- purchase invoices, wages and taxes
- loan repayments and other financing costs
- investments and the effects of seasonality and growth.
This review helps identify a potential cash shortfall early. It also helps assess the cash buffer needed for the company's operations, uncertainties and future commitments.
A strong cash position also needs interpretation. A large balance may be necessary preparation for an upcoming purchase or a seasonal peak in expenditure. If cash is expected to remain above anticipated needs for a longer period, planning gives management a basis for considering how to use it.
The accounting and finance partner can prepare calculations and alternatives to support decision-making. Decisions on financing, investments and the use of funds remain with company management.
A shared system and agreed ways of working support each other
When business transactions and accounting work take place in the same Odoo environment, collaboration can be built around shared information. Making use of that information still requires agreed recording practices, allocation rules and responsibilities.
Management reporting and planning tools, such as Revise EPM, can form part of the service where the need and implementation are agreed separately. Alongside these tools, people are needed to assess data quality, interpret changes and discuss what they mean.
Revise's accounting and finance services are intended for Odoo environments implemented and maintained by Revise. This provides a basis for developing financial processes and the use of the system together.
The scope of collaboration is agreed to fit the business
In addition to daily accounting, Revise has the expertise and resources to support budgeting, analyse financial indicators, update forecasts and plan cash flow.
These services are not automatically included in every contract. The service is tailored to the customer's needs, with responsibilities agreed between Revise and the company's own team.
The need may be a single budgeting assignment, regular financial reviews or ongoing expert support alongside management. The working rhythm and the information produced are defined to support practical business decisions.
What support does your business need for daily financial operations and planning ahead? Let's discuss how you work today and build a service that meets your needs.