Insights | Pound Lane Financial Management

Planning for cashflow security
July 4, 2020
It’s finally here: the 4th of July, the day the reawakening begins! There’s been all sorts of work to adapt operations to make them “Covid secure” – hand sanitiser, face masks, physical distancing, etc. But as well as the practical/ physical preparations, reopening is likely to present financial challenges. Does this ...
Make a plan
June 18, 2020
How do you make a plan for the rest of this year? If the last six months have taught us anything it’s that we can’t predict the next twist in the story. So is planning a pointless waste of time? This is the (polite) argument that I’ve been engaged in this week while I was supposed to be working hard on other things. Granted, it’s difficult to see ...
When it rains…
June 12, 2020
“When it rains, look for rainbows. When it is dark, look for the stars. When it’s raining and dark… you should take care to look where you’re going and consider whether you’re still heading in the right direction” Courtesy of Oscar Wilde, but paraphrased during a Francis Clark webinar last week ...
Why bother with a cashflow forecast?
June 2, 2020
With CBILS, Bounce Back Loans, VAT deferrals, grants etc there may be more cash in the bank now than ever before and your cashflow is sorted for the next couple months. But what happens after that? Lockdown has probably helped the bank balance with customers paying while you’ve been running down stocks or furloughing staff. However the problems ...
What makes good management accounts?
May 19, 2020
Usually management accounts look very similar to the set of accounts that you get at the end of the tax year, but on a more regular basis – usually monthly – and in more detail. Most cloud accounting software produces all these reports, so surely that’s enough? In some ways, yes it is, but there are two things to remember: First: ...
Covid-19 support navigator
May 7, 2020
At the time of writing the lockdown has been in force for 6 weeks, and in that time there have been a myriad of support packages (and revisions) announced by the government in an attempt to keep businesses in business. It has been a constant struggle to try to stay up to date. But no longer: the government has added a “support finder” ...
Cashflow in a time of Coronavirus
April 12, 2020
As a follow up on my CBILS advice I want to share the cashflow checklist that I produced for my clients (and for myself!) A cashflow forecast is the best way to see how much help you need at the moment (and you will be asked for one if you intend to apply for help under CBILS) – surviving 2020 is going to be all about your ability to pay ...
Help with accessing support for small businesses
April 3, 2020
In the news recently there have been horror stories about how difficult it’s proving for small businesses to access the government’s CBILS business support scheme. Here we look at how to get the best result in any funding application, and particularly the Covid-19 support. We are currently supporting a number of businesses with their ...
Financing a growing business
February 12, 2020
Yesterday I was lucky enough to be at the NatWestBoost event in Exeter with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones of The Black Farmer. It was a fantastic morning full of inspiration and really good advice – but what struck me was Wilfred’s take on financing his business. With an eye-catching brand and great proposition it is ripe for raising capital ...
Train Life
February 1, 2020
I set myself a couple of challenges with my New Years Resolutions this year: firstly, to reduce my carbon footprint and secondly to use my time more effectively. So the first change to make on the way to achieving these goals was to switch the car for the train where possible. Admittedly I am lucky to live within a stone’s throw of the Tarka ...