The UK finance function, run here
For a subsidiary that has no finance staff of its own. We act as its finance department, reporting to the group finance director, at a fixed monthly fee in place of the standard compliance charge.
An outsourced finance function for the UK company
Most new UK subsidiaries have a country manager, a sales team, and no one whose job is the money. Invoices go unchased, suppliers are paid late because an approval sat in an inbox eight time zones away, and the parent learns the cash position when the subsidiary asks for more of it.
What you get
- Supplier payments and credit control run
- Payroll, VAT, accounts and tax included
- Monthly reporting to the group
- Cash management with the parent
- Finance director input at the top tier
- One fixed fee replacing the 2% charge
What we do
A finance inbox, answered in UK hours
One address for the UK company's finance, monitored during the working day and answered the same day.
Payables run to a schedule
Supplier invoices approved by whoever you nominate, paid on agreed run dates rather than whenever someone remembers.
Receivables chased
Invoices raised from your sales records and chased on a timetable you set, which is usually the single biggest cash improvement in year one.
Weekly cash forecast
So the parent knows what to send and when, rather than being asked.
The whole compliance layer
Payroll, pensions, VAT, statutory accounts, corporation tax and company secretarial, included rather than added.
Finance director input
At the top tier: management accounts with commentary, budgets, board attendance, and a view on pricing, hiring and funding for the UK business.
Most new UK subsidiaries have a country manager, a sales team and no one whose job is the money. Invoices go unpaid because no one chased them, suppliers are paid late because the approval sat in someone's inbox in another timezone, and the parent finds out about the cash position when the subsidiary asks for more of it. This service puts a finance department in place from the first month, run by us and reporting to whoever runs finance for the group.
The three tiers
Virtual Finance Office
Transactions only
The transaction layer. Bookkeeping, supplier invoices approved and paid on a schedule, customer invoices raised and chased, expenses processed, bank reconciled weekly. The compliance work is added at the standard rates.
Virtual Finance Manager
The usual choice
Everything in Finance Office plus the whole compliance layer: payroll, pensions, VAT, statutory accounts, corporation tax and company secretarial, with a monthly reporting pack to the group. This is the tier most subsidiaries with UK staff take.
Virtual Finance Director
With board input
Everything in Finance Manager plus management accounts with commentary, budgets and rolling forecasts, cash planning with the parent, board attendance and a finance director's input on pricing, hiring and funding decisions for the UK business.
How it works day to day
- A shared inbox for the UK company's finance, monitored during UK working hours and answered the same day.
- Supplier invoices approved by the UK manager or the group through Xero, paid on agreed run dates.
- Customer invoices raised from the UK company's sales records and chased on a schedule you set.
- A cash forecast updated each week at the top two tiers, so the parent knows what it needs to send and when.
- The group's reporting pack on the group's day, every month.
When this is the right fit
When the UK company has staff and customers but no finance person, and the group would otherwise hire one. The Finance Manager tier covers the work a subsidiary of ten to thirty people generates, and it comes with the practice behind it rather than one person's holidays and notice period.
What we need from you
- Who approves spending in the UK, and up to what amount
- The group's payment and reporting calendars
- Access to the UK company's sales system for invoicing
- A weekly slot with the UK manager and a monthly one with group finance
Common questions
Is the 2% compliance fee charged on top?
No. The Finance Manager and Finance Director tiers include the compliance work. The Finance Office tier is the transaction layer only, with compliance added at the standard rates.
Can we start at one tier and move?
Yes. Most subsidiaries start at Finance Manager and add the Director tier when the UK business is large enough to need forecasting and board-level input.
Who do we speak to?
A named accountant runs the UK company's finance day to day, with Peter Allen or Andy Jackson involved at the Director tier. You have one inbox and one named contact.
Does this include the audit?
Audit preparation, yes. The audit itself is carried out by a registered audit firm and charged by them.
Related services
Bookkeeping and annual accounts
QuotedUK bookkeeping and statutory accounts
Xero set up in the parent's currency and account codes, bank feeds, monthly close, and year-end accounts under FRS 102, FRS 101 or IFRS filed at Companies House and with the tax return.
Management accounts and group reporting
QuotedA monthly pack in the group's format, on the group's close calendar
Monthly close, the reporting pack in the group's template, budget against actual, intercompany agreed, and the year-end schedules for the group auditors.
Expense management for a UK operation
QuotedA UK expense policy, the system behind it and the VAT it recovers
A UK expenses policy that matches HMRC's rules, an app your people will use, approvals that route to the right person, and the VAT recovered on everything eligible.
Get a fixed quote
Tell us where the parent company is and what the UK operation has to do.
