Are you worried about money?

It is a question that you shouldn’t be scared of. It’s ok to say…… “Yes, I am”. You are not alone, and help is out there.

There are lots of people “in the middle”. You are not super rich, where you don’t have to worry about money and you are not the other side of the coin either, where money is a daily struggle. You are somewhere in the middle.

The perception is that you are generally comfortably off – nice house, cars, a couple of holidays a year, daily coffees in Starbucks. Tap, tap, tap with the contactless card.

However, what people don’t see – you are living month to month, you are in debt and only maintaining this debt, rather than repaying. You have enough money coming in to cover the bills, and if a big, unexpected bill comes in you have to a bit of juggling, but you are ok. You can spin the plates and everything will be fine – fingers crossed.

You don’t have a plan beyond next month. You know you should maybe plan for the kids going to university or for retirement. You know you need to take some action, to get out of the cycle that you are in, but you are scared to look.

Below is a case study, based on a real situation, but I have changed some details to protect privacy.  A business owner that was struggling, but who reach out and asked for help;

Let me introduce you to Sarah……

Sarah runs a successful creative agency, providing design and branding services to a loyal client base. She’s built a solid reputation, is always busy, and her project calendar is packed months in advance.

From the outside? Things look great.But behind the scenes, Sarah is constantly worried about money.

She’s doing the work. Clients are happy. But cash is tight.

Sound familiar?

Sarah invoices after each project phase, but some clients take 30, 60, even 90 days to pay.

Meanwhile, she still has to pay her team, cover software costs, rent, and everything else that comes with running a business (and these costs are always on the increase). Sarah pays herself after everyone else has been paid and sometimes that is not enough to cover her bills.

The money should be coming in… but it’s just not coming in fast enough.

This is more common than you think. And it’s not about how much you earn, it’s about how you manage the money.

So, how can an accountant help?

Many small business owners see their accountant once a year, often in a mad rush before the tax deadline. But when you work with an accountant who understands your day-to-day, you get more than a tax return. You get real support, strategy, and peace of mind.

Here’s how we helped Sara,  and how we can help you too.

Cashflow Clarity

The first step was understanding where the bottlenecks were. We mapped out Sarah’s cashflow, looking at the invoices issued, payment terms, regular expenses, by doing this we were able to understand the gaps. From there, we built a simple cashflow forecast so she could see when the crunch points were coming, and plan around them.

Invoicing Systems & Payment Terms

One big win? Tightening up her invoicing process. We helped Sarah put systems in place to issue invoices promptly, set clear payment terms, and automate reminders. Clients started paying quicker, and the awkward “just checking in on payment” emails became a thing of the past.

Forecasting for Growth

When you don’t know what’s coming in or going out, planning becomes guesswork. We worked with Sarah to build financial forecasts based on her sales pipeline, seasonal patterns, and project timelines. This meant that Sarah could make confident decisions about hiring, investment, or even taking a holiday.

Reliable Bookkeeping

With day-to-day bookkeeping sorted and up to date, we made sure nothing was falling through the cracks, no missed invoices, no late VAT returns, no chasing through a shoebox of receipts at year-end. And because we use cloud accounting software, Sarah can check her numbers any time, from anywhere.

Regular Management Accounts

Now, instead of waiting until the end of the year to find out how the business is doing, we meet quarterly to review her performance. We talk profit, costs, margins, tax, and goals. It’s like a financial health check, and it means Sarah has all of the information she needs with no surprises around the corner.

You can be busy, booked up, and in demand, but still feel broke.That’s not failure. That’s just a lack of financial visibility and structure.

A good accountant helps you change that. We take the pressure off, help you build systems that work, and give you the tools to take control of your business finances, so you’re not just working hard, you’re building something sustainable.

If this sounds like your situation, and you're ready to stop stressing about money, maybe it’s time we had a chat.