Your business is probably
more profitable than
your accounts show.
Most small businesses get five things wrong every month — revenue recognised too early, costs in the wrong period, VAT errors building silently, accruals missed, prepayments expensed in full. I fix all of them. Automatically. Without you understanding a single accounting concept.
The Five Problems
Your accounts are probably wrong.
Here is why.
These are not exotic accounting questions. They are the five things a competent bookkeeper fixes automatically every month. Every business without a bookkeeper gets them wrong — also without realising it.
01 — Revenue Recognition
Income recorded when cash arrives — not when it is earned
A deposit taken in March for work delivered in May sits in revenue today. The P&L looks healthy. The reality is different. You are making decisions on numbers that do not reflect what has actually happened. Profits are overstated. Tax may be paid on income not yet earned.
02 — Stock Accounting
Goods purchased going straight to cost of sales — sold or not
Stock on the shelf has no value in the accounts. Margins look wrong. Profitability is a guess. You cannot tell whether you are making money on what you sell because the cost timing is completely disconnected from the revenue timing.
03 — Missing Accruals
Costs recorded when invoiced — not when incurred
The electricity bill comes quarterly. The accounts show three months of zero cost followed by one month of triple cost. Monthly management accounts are meaningless because costs do not match the period they belong to. You are flying blind.
04 — Prepayment Errors
Annual premiums expensed in full in the month of payment
Insurance paid in January. Expensed in January. Eleven months of understated costs follow. The balance sheet says one figure. The Excel schedule says another. Nobody notices until the accountant reviews 47 lines at year end. By then the damage is done.
05 — VAT Errors
Wrong rates, missed reverse charge, timing errors near quarter end
VAT claimed on exempt purchases. VAT missed on overseas service suppliers. Timing errors on transactions near the quarter end. HMRC random inspections find errors accumulating for months. Real money leaving your business for entirely avoidable reasons.
A CIMA qualified finance director who fixes all five. Every month. Without you thinking about it.
Not a bookkeeper. Not a template. A qualified finance director who fixes the five errors at source — and keeps them fixed, every month.
Check your books →The Financial Clarity Framework
Five rungs.
One clear picture.
Most businesses try to get to financial clarity without fixing the foundations first. That is why the numbers never quite make sense. The Financial Clarity Framework works because the sequence matters.
Clean Data
Every transaction coded correctly. Bank accounts reconciled. VAT treatments checked against HMRC guidance. The foundation everything else builds on.
Correct Timing
Accruals and prepayments applied so every period shows what actually happened — not what was invoiced or paid. The matching principle applied automatically.
Reliable Reporting
Monthly management accounts you can actually trust. P&L, balance sheet, KPI dashboard. Plain English commentary — what it means and what to do about it.
Cash Visibility
13-week rolling cash flow forecast. Know what is coming before it arrives. No more surprises from the bank balance.
Strategic Insight
A finance director thinking alongside you. Decisions informed by reliable numbers. Growth built on solid foundations.
The Financial Clarity Framework
"Most businesses try to reach strategic clarity without fixing the data and timing beneath it. That is why their numbers never quite make sense."
Who we work with
Sector specialism.
Where it matters.
The core service is CIMA-supervised bookkeeping and Virtual FD support for any SME under £5m turnover. Where we go deeper is with seven sectors that face genuine sector-specific accounting complexity — and where a generic bookkeeper simply doesn't understand what to look at.
CIS & Reverse Charge
Construction
CIS deductions posted to the right side of the balance sheet, domestic reverse charge checked supply by supply, retentions tracked, contract income matched to the period.
Explore the construction service →Costing & WIP
Manufacturing
True cost per unit, overhead absorption done properly, work in progress valued with labour absorbed, monthly stock movement, margin by product line.
Explore the manufacturing service →Subsidy & Diversification
Agriculture
Scheme and stewardship income recognised in the right year, diversification VAT apportioned across mixed supplies, machinery finance coded to the agreement.
Explore the agricultural service →Funds & SORP
Charities & Not-for-Profit
Restricted, unrestricted and designated funds tracked from the day money arrives, grant reporting against funder categories, partial exemption VAT.
Explore the charity service →SIC 86230
Dental Practices
NHS UDA reconciliation, dental exempt vs cosmetic VAT split, associate reconciliation, lab and material cost tracking. For independent practices only.
Explore the dental service →SIC 69102
Solicitor Firms
SRA Accounts Rules Rule 8 client account reconciliation, WIP and lock-up tracking, COFA-ready audit trail. For independent firms — not top-50.
Explore the solicitor service →SIC 47730
Community Pharmacies
NHS BSA reimbursement reconciliation, locum cost tracking, gross margin analysis by category. For independent single-site and small-group only.
Explore the pharmacy service →Services
What I do.
And how it is priced.
Fixed monthly fees. No timesheets. No surprises. Everything agreed upfront — and you deal directly with a CIMA-qualified finance director, not a junior or a call centre.
Monthly Bookkeeping
All transactions coded and posted. Bank accounts reconciled. VAT treatment checked on every transaction against HMRC Notice 700. Trial balance delivered monthly. VAT return prepared and filed. On your Xero or Sage.
Management Accounts
Monthly P&L, balance sheet and KPI dashboard with plain English commentary. Accruals and prepayments applied correctly. Delivered by the 15th of the following month, every month. Not just numbers — what they mean.
Virtual Finance Director
A CIMA qualified finance director thinking alongside you every month. Management accounts, cash flow forecasting, budgeting, board and lender reporting, strategic input. The complete finance function — without the full-time salary.
Statutory Accounts & Corporation Tax
Year-end accounts and the CT600 for small and micro-entity companies, prepared from books we already know because we keep them. Filed to Companies House and HMRC. No year-end scramble, no surprises.
Costing & Pricing Review
What each product or job actually costs, with overheads absorbed properly rather than spread evenly. Margin by line, so you can see which work is carrying the rest. A defined project, not an ongoing commitment.
Credit Control
A structured chase sequence rather than an awkward conversation — reminders before due date, follow-ups after, escalation only with your say-so. Aged debt and debtor days reported monthly.
Catch-Up & Cleanup
Months or years behind? Historic transactions coded, bank accounts reconciled, ledgers rebuilt and the VAT position established period by period. Fixed fee, quoted after someone has actually looked at the records.
Sage 200 & Sage 50 Support
Stock that won't reconcile to the nominal, month-end that takes a week, a nominal structure that no longer matches the business. Accounting support from someone who has run Sage for a decade — not IT support.
Plain answers
Questions worth answering
before you hire anyone.
Written to be useful whether or not you ever speak to us. No sign-up, no email gate.
Can your figures be relied on?
Seven questions from memory — no logins, no exports. An honest verdict in one minute.
How much does bookkeeping cost?
Hourly rates, monthly packages, and what employing someone actually comes to once NI and pension are counted.
Bookkeeper or accountant?
What each actually does, which you need first, and the three questions worth asking either of them.
Do you need an accountant at all?
Legally, no. What you must file, when doing it yourself works, and when it stops working.
How to change accountants
The whole process, including the notice letter written out so you can copy it. You don't have to wait for year end.
What are management accounts?
What's in them, when they should arrive, and why the ones you already get may not be reliable.
Sage VAT codes explained
What each T code means, which get confused with each other, and what happens when the wrong one is used.
Bookkeeping cost calculator
Put your own figures in — doing it yourself, employing someone, or paying a freelancer — and see the annual total.
The VAT reverse charge, explained
Who it applies to, the end-user exclusion, a sample invoice with the right wording, and how to post both sides in Sage and Xero.
Postponed VAT accounting
How to get your monthly PVA statement, which boxes the figures go in, and why the statement rarely matches the supplier invoice.
CIS deduction rates
20% or 30%, what the deduction is actually taken from, and the four changes landing on 6 April 2026.
Is there VAT on bank charges?
Mostly no, because finance is exempt rather than zero-rated. The financial costs that do carry VAT, and the ones everyone reverses.
Sage nominal codes
What each band is for, the control accounts you must never journal into, and why the suspense account should be empty at month end.
Xero VAT rates and tax codes
Zero Rated, Exempt and No VAT do different things to your return. Plus a mapping of Xero rates to their Sage T-code equivalents.
Dispensing practice VAT check
Seven questions on the administered-versus-dispensed split, apportionment, the annual adjustment and de minimis — built on VAT Notice 701/57.
The Free Entry Point
Start with the
Quick Books Check.
You do not know me yet. I do not know your business. The Books Check exists to give you something useful before any money changes hands — and before you have to speak to anyone.
Seven questions, one minute
Answerable from memory. No logins, no exports, no spreadsheets. You get the verdict before we ask you for anything at all.
An honest verdict
Including bad news where it is warranted. If two answers point at something that makes the numbers unreliable, the report says so plainly and explains why each one matters.
The fix list, if you want it
There is a right order to fix these, and doing them in the wrong one wastes weeks. Leave an email and you get the order, what each involves, and roughly what it costs.
A conversation, only if it helps
If there is a clear case for ongoing support, that conversation happens. If there is not, it does not — and you still keep the report.
Quick Books Check
A plain-English read on whether your figures can actually be relied on, by a CIMA qualified finance director. Most owners have never had this checked — and most need it.
- Is the bank actually reconciled, and how often?
- Is income recorded when earned, or when paid?
- Are quarterly and annual bills spread properly?
- Is anything sitting in suspense?
- Do you know this month's gross margin?
- When did you last look at a balance sheet?
- Do you know what your customers owe you?
- Scored out of 100, with the specific risks named
No login. Nothing uploaded. The verdict comes before the email.
About
A finance function that
actually knows your business.
I founded Insight Professional Partners because I watched good businesses make bad decisions — not because they were careless, but because their accounts were wrong and nobody told them.
I spent 25 years as a senior finance professional, including as Head of Finance reporting to CEOs and boards. I have built financial models, managed eight-figure cash positions, led Xero migrations and produced board packs from scratch. I understand what the numbers should look like and why it matters when they do not.
I keep my client list deliberately focused. Not because I cannot scale — my systems let me carry a proper book without ever dropping the ball — but because every client deals directly with me, and I make it my business to know their numbers as well as they do.
I am CIMA regulated. I carry professional indemnity insurance. Every decision I make on your accounts is traceable to a published accounting standard. When I tell you something is wrong, I can show you why.
On tax: statutory accounts and Corporation Tax for small and micro-entity companies are handled here, prepared from books I already know. Personal Self Assessment and specialist tax work go to a firm that does that properly — and I will say so rather than stretch.
Tamara Edwards — Business Manager
Tamara runs the commercial side of the practice: engagement terms, contracts, onboarding and the administration of the business itself. Her background is in contract negotiation, and she is a shareholder in the practice.
She does not work on client accounts. Every piece of accounting work — the coding, the reconciliations, the VAT, the management accounts — is done by Peter personally. That division is deliberate, and it is how a one-accountant practice keeps the promise that the person preparing your numbers is the one who explains them.
"If you want a faceless firm that processes your books in bulk — where you never speak to the person doing the work — I am not for you. If you want a CIMA qualified finance director who knows your business and is on the end of the phone — let's talk."
— Peter Edwards ACMA CGMA, PrincipalSoftware We Build
Beyond the practice.
The Vigil family.
Alongside the practice, we build Vigil — a family of finance software for UK businesses and the accountants who serve them. Same CIMA supervision as the practice, priced honestly, each tool built to do one job properly.
For accountancy practices
Vigil Ledger
Continuous compliance monitoring for practices on Xero. Connect a client's file and get a free Bookkeeping Health Check that scores it and flags what's wrong — prepayments, accruals, deferred income, VAT, director's loan and more. When you want the corrections posted back to Xero, that's the paid part. Simple monthly pricing, tiered by the number of clients you connect.
For growing SMEs
Vigil Books
Full-service bookkeeping run by a CIMA-qualified finance director rather than a processing factory. Clean books on Xero, monthly management accounts you can actually trust, and a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast from month three. A fixed monthly fee, no surprises.
For self-employed & UK landlords
SheetMTD
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from a Google Sheets spreadsheet you already know. Keep your digital records free; add HMRC-recognised quarterly filing when you need it, for £24.99/year. No new software to learn — built for the self-employed and landlords pulled into MTD from April 2026.
Contact
Tell me where you're
stuck.
Prefer to write rather than book a call? Send a few lines about your business and what is not adding up. I read every message myself and reply within one business day.
Call: 07540 288 077
Email: peter@insightprofessionalpartners.com
Prefer a call? Send the form and I'll email you a link to book a free 30-minute review at a time that suits you.