Business Advisory and MIS Services
Beyond the Balance Sheet.
Overview
At SCORE, we believe that accounting is the language of business, and we speak it fluently. We move beyond traditional bookkeeping to provide high-level Business Advisory that transforms raw financial data into actionable intelligence.
Who this service is for
Business advisory is for owners and managers who need better numbers than a bank statement and a tax return. That usually means a growing SME without a finance lead, a family business where decisions are made on instinct, or a company that has outgrown the spreadsheet it started with.
We are not a bookkeeping shop. We work on the questions behind the ledger: which product makes money, where working capital is stuck, which process is creating rework and what the next quarter actually looks like.
What we do
MIS & Reporting
Process Optimisation
Cloud Accounting
Financial Health Checks
How the engagement works
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Discovery
We interview the owners and the finance team, review the chart of accounts and look at the reports actually used to make decisions. This usually surfaces more issues than the original brief.
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Reporting design
We agree a short list of numbers that matter, then design the MIS around them. A good monthly pack fits on two pages and is read, not filed.
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Implementation
We clean up the chart of accounts, set cost centres, automate data pulls from the accounting system and build the first few reporting cycles with your team.
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Monthly review
Each month we review the pack with management, explain the variances and agree actions. The review is where the value is created; the report is only the input.
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Quarterly strategy
Every quarter we step back to look at pricing, cash, capacity and the next big decision, with a simple model rather than a forecast built on hope.
What you can expect
The result is a finance function that answers questions in hours rather than weeks. You know your margin by product, your cash runway and the three actions that will move both. That clarity tends to change the quality of the decisions, not just the reports.
Frequently asked questions
What does a business advisory engagement include?
It usually combines MIS design, a review of processes and controls, cash flow forecasting and a monthly management review. The scope is agreed after a discovery session, so you pay for the work your business actually needs rather than a fixed package.
How is this different from bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping records what happened. Advisory uses those records to explain why it happened, what it means and what to do next. We can work alongside your bookkeeper or manage the accounting as part of the engagement. The two work best together, with clear handover points each month.
How long before we see useful MIS?
A first management pack normally takes four to six weeks, including the chart-of-accounts clean-up. The pack improves over the next two cycles as the data quality and the questions get sharper. The first cycle is always the slowest because the data has to be cleaned.
Which accounting systems do you support?
We work with Zoho Books, Tally, QuickBooks, SAP and Xero, and with spreadsheet-based businesses that are about to move. We recommend the system only after understanding the volume, the team and the reporting needs. If a system change is not imminent, we work with whatever export your team can produce.
Can you work with our existing accountant?
Yes. Many clients keep their accountant for compliance and use us for reporting, cash flow and decision support. We agree the handover points in writing so nobody is waiting for the same number from two people. The split is documented so nothing falls between the two.
What does a financial health check cover?
Liquidity, debtor and creditor ageing, inventory turns, debt covenants, margin trends and the quality of the numbers themselves. The output is a short report with red flags, quick wins and a 90-day action list. It is deliberately short and written for the promoter, not for a filing.
Do you help with bank funding?
Yes. We prepare the financial model, the CMA data, the project report and the answers to a lender's questions. We also review the proposal before submission so the assumptions survive credit scrutiny. Where a proposal is weak, we say so before it reaches the lender.
How often do we meet?
Most clients have a monthly review and a quarterly strategy session, with email support in between. During a fundraising or a turnaround, we meet weekly until the position is stable. Most clients find the monthly rhythm is enough once the first quarter is complete.
Can you build a budget and cash forecast for us?
Yes. We build the annual budget from the operating plan, link it to a monthly cash forecast and review the variances with management. The model stays with your team, with a short guide on how to update it, so it does not become a document that only we can open.
Talk to the partner who will run this engagement.
A short call is usually enough to say whether we are the right fit.