Sequel Partners
Helping you achieve your business potential
We specialise in helping entrepreneurs grow faster with the right advice and Future-Focused Accounting
Do you struggle with
Understanding your business finances?
Managing you bookkeeping?
Planning your cashflow?
Forecasting how much tax you need to pay
Growing your real disposable income?
Take control of your numbers – build a stronger business
Hi I’m Tim Bowler
My mission is to help entrepreneurs like you to build a more profitable, successful and impactful business.
I aim to help give you more time and the financial freedom I’m sure you deserve…
Helping give you the confidence and clarity – to overcome frustrations and roadblocks and to unlock the true potential within you and your business.
What I see
Too many frustrated entrepreneurs who feel held back with day to day fire fighting,
Most entrepreneurs set up their business to give them control over their time –
To work when and how they chose to – not to be chained to a 9-5 job but to feel in control of their own destiny…
My aim is to help you achieve that goal.
I act for companies who are ambitious to grow and need help in achieving their vision
Most accountants are good at giving you a history lesson – but traditional accounts only look backwards. They say nothing about where you are today, where you seek to be tomorrow and how you aim to get there…
That’s where we start.
Who we work with
Successful owner managed businesses – based in the North West and typically its technology, software and other growth sectors such as logistics.
We also have clients building niche manufacturing businesses, servicing clients throughout the world – including acquisitive groups.
What we offer
The services our clients need today are very different – agile, growth focussed companies need financial information to support them in making informed decisions.
That means complete and accurate reports – available 24-7 – harnessing the latest cloud technology – and complete with cashflows, working capital data and KPIs.
To deliver this we specialise in
Virtual Finance Director
Virtual Finance Office
Corporate finance and strategic advice
Wealth and tax planning
Virtual Finance Director – Your finances in safe hands
Why many business owners are unhappy
When you set up your business you probably did it for these reasons:
Freedom: to work when, how and where you wanted
Control: over your life to do the things that made you happy and spend time with your loved ones
Money: to enable you to do the above without worrying
But now you’re in business, reality is far from the dream!
You’re the MD of your business but what you do day-to-day is far from the strategic input you should be spending your time on.
Instead you’re spending your time:
Fighting fires
Recruiting and managing staff
Managing cash flow
Trying to make sense of your finances
Businesses fail or don’t achieve their potential if they don’t have a handle on the numbers.
As you know profit and cash are not the same…..
Profitability is key to any business’ success. Cash is key to every business’ survival.
Monitoring both profitability and cash is therefore the difference between success and failure.
The problem…
When a business gets to a certain size and can afford to, they can hire a finance director. The role of a finance director is critical is ensuring the financial sustainability and future of a business.
The problem is, for small businesses, they simply cannot a full or even part time FD. According to payscale.com, the average base salary of an FD in the UK is £71,633 (in London it’s £108,534) and this is before any bonuses, benefits, pensions etc are added in.
Your business has grown in size yet you cannot afford to hire a Finance Director as the going rate is between £75,000 - £120,000. Even Financial Controllers salaries are no less than £45,000 plus tax and benefits.
The consequence
The result is that you sail along not really knowing whether your business could be doing better, trying to manage your finances yourself without any assistance from financial experts.
That takes your time and energy away from doing what you’re good at. Meeting customers, generating enquiries, driving your business forward.
That’s where we can help.
The solution – a Virtual FD
We provide a bespoke Virtual FD service to small businesses at often, less than the cost of a junior staff member.
Don’t let the word ‘virtual’ put you off. It may be tech focussed but our service is very much based around the human element – and giving you access to our team of experienced Finance professionals who have managed the entire finance function for other businesses like yours.
So, what benefits can a Virtual FD offer?
Perhaps the main benefit is the comfort of being able to hand responsibility of managing your finance function to someone else to let you concentrate on what you’re good at and growing your business.
It’s essentially a combination of a sounding board, business coach and strategic financial expert partnering up with you to help you achieve your business objectives.
Other benefits include:
Provision of real time management information with analysis in a timely manner
Strategic financial input on growing your business
Having finance staff report to someone who can hold them to account
Find out more
Just Download our Virtual Finance Director guide and book a 30 minute Discovery Call
Corporate finance and strategic advice
Are you considering an Exit Plan?
Are you looking to raise finance to support your growth plans?
Do you need help with restructuring your business to reduce debt or resolve strategic issues?
Do you have problems incentivising or motivating your key managers so they align more closely to your business goals?
We specialise in corporate finance – and have acted for entrepreneurs selling companies with shareholder value up to £10m.
We particularly focus on business owners who are looking ahead 2-3 years and need help preparing their companies for sale.
Our advice links up with tax and wealth planning as well as helping find the right buyer, negotiate the sale transaction and support the full legal process to Completion
If you need help or just at the early stage we are offer a Diagnositc Review – focussed around the business today – what its worth. hurdles to overcome and the opportunity to build shareholder value from now to exit -whether this be 12 months or several years away.
Find out more
Just download our detailed guide to Selling your business and book a 30 minute free Discovery call
Virtual Finance Office
Effective management of your business’ finance function
When you set up your business things were relatively simple. No employees, hardly any transactions, no one to answer to….
Then you started to grow and things changed. You had to hire people, trust that they knew what they were doing and rely on them for advice on areas that were not your forte.
One of those areas was finance….
However, you find it difficult to find the right people at a level you can afford to give you the advice and financial management you require.
As a result you try and get by with what you have and it all gets a bit overwhelming – in short you may not have the grip on your finances you really need.
Look closely at your business
Do you struggle keeping your bookkeeping up to date
Do you have the right information to hand when you need it ?
Are you struggling to keep track of your key numbers ?
Is managing cashflow proving to be a real headache?
The consequence
The result is that you sail along not really knowing whether your business could be doing better, trying to manage your finances yourself without any assistance from financial experts.
That takes your time and energy away from doing what you’re good at. Meeting customers, generating enquiries, driving your business forward.
worry about meeting financial obligations like taxes as you don’t have real time cash flow forecasts to refer to.
Your business is not giving you the financial return you hoped for when you set up your business.
You’re not sure whether you are profit making until after the year end when your accountant prepares the accounts as you don’t get accurate management accounts. All a little too late by then.
Above all you don’t have financial systems in place that you feel confident in.
Find out more
If this sounds like you – and you are thinking about a Virtual Finance Office just download our brochure and book a 30 minute Discovery call