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Sarahs Story.
The past twelve months for Sarah has been one which she will always remember, running her pub the Monument in Kent which is testing at the best of times has also had the excitement of the birth of her first child.
Juggling their business on a day to day basis, which as we all know in the trade, can be extremely demanding. Sarah had started to struggle in one particular area of the running of the pub, the financial controls.
The consequences of this had stemmed back from the very early days, when they began trading in February 2009. It was apparent that the weekly cash reconciliation sheets were not being completed correctly, the net effect, meant that Sarah had no idea as to how the business was financially performing and therefore was unable to plan accordingly.
In March 2011, INNventory were appointed to act on their behalf, as licensed trade accountants. It was soon bought to light the severity of the Monuments financial position.
Through the professional support of their business consultant, Duncan Finn, Sarah now feels confident how to complete the cash reconciliation sheets fully; and understands the consequences of such now. Sarah said “Duncan has been extremely helpful and informative; he has spent a lot of time with us explaining why our accounts need to be prepared fully so that we are better able to understand the workings of the weekly cash sheet and now complete them rather than being, what I now see was, rather vague”.
Through the financial support of both Duncan Finn and Lee Greenwood, Enterprise Inns Regional Manager, Sarah has been able to implement additional control measures; one of particular importance to Sarah was a work sheet that allowed her to track the performance of her food trade to identify areas for improvement.
Sarah is now able to be proactive, rather than reactive, as in the past. Sarah said “Duncan replies to my emails promptly and is always quickly available should I need to speak with him; he speaks to me in layman’s terms and is realistic with the goals and targets he sets for us so that they are achievable”. Sarah is now starting to see cost savings; INNventory have already saved her nearly £800 by way of a tax refund from HMRC, due to corrective action of historical accounts. INNventory are also trying to claim some loss tax relief in respect of the earlier years.
Sarah now has the confidence to manage the day to day financial aspects of running the pub, coupled with the vital business tools now in place, allows her to manage the business effectively, knowing the professional ongoing financial support of her consultant, Duncan; is on call. Sarah goes on to say “I am more than satisfied with the service provided by INNventory and their ability to provide support to the licensed & public house trade; I would without doubt recommend them to other people in similar positions to myself.