What is the difference between Management Accounts and Financial Accounts?

Management accounts are for internal use, have a flexible format, focus on decision-making, and are not necessarily compliant with strict accounting standards. Financial accounts are for external use, must adhere to a strict accounting standard, focus on providing a true view of the company's financial position, and are prepared annually.

How often should Management Accounts be reviewed?

There are no set rules for Management Accounts, but monthly or quarterly is ideal. Regular updates allow you to stay on top of your business's performance and adjust in good time.

Do you need an accountant to prepare Management Accounts?

Management Accounts are not a statutory document, so it is possible to prepare them yourself. However, we strongly recommend working with a qualified accountant who can use their expertise to ensure accuracy and provide meaningful analysis.

What KPIs do Management Accounts focus on?

The KPIs that Management Accounts focus on depend upon the priorities and needs of each business. Common KPIs include gross profit margin, net profit margin, cash conversion cycle, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, and return on investment.

How detailed should Management Accounts be?

As there are no set rules, Management Accounts should be as detailed as the business needs them to be. For more complex businesses they can be extensive, whereas simpler businesses may wish to focus on a few key risk areas.

Can Management Accounts identify unprofitable products or services?

Yes, this is one of the most useful aspects of Management Accounts. By analysing revenue and cost data at a product or service level, you can see what is underperforming and make informed decisions about whether to continue with them.

Management Accounts

Monthly or quarterly management accounts give you a clear, up-to-date view of your business performance. Our accountants prepare the figures and explain what they mean, helping you make better decisions sooner.

What you get

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What are Management Accounts?

Management accounts are internal financial reports prepared monthly or quarterly. They show your recent profit, cash position, balance sheet and key performance indicators, and can be tailored for you, your leadership team and other stakeholders.

Know your numbers every month, not once a year

Many businesses do not see the full picture of their financial performance until they file their annual accounts, often months after the year has ended. By then, they may already have made important decisions that more timely information could have improved.

At Gravitate, we prepare accurate, fully adjusted management accounts from your cloud accounting software, based on what matters most to your business. Then we sit down with you to explain what changed and what that means for the months ahead.

Gravitate is based in Sheffield but can prepare management accounts for businesses all across the UK.

Features

What's included in your management accounts

Each set of management accounts that we prepare is tailored to your business and includes a number of essential reports.

These provide a clear picture of revenue, gross margin, overheads and net profit for the period and for the year to date; the figures are compared with your budget and with the corresponding period last year so that you can tell where you are ahead or where you are behind, and importantly, they will explain why.

The balance sheet provides a snapshot of the assets and liabilities of your business at the end of each reporting period and takes into account your fully reconciled bank accounts, debtors, creditors and loans so that you can have confidence in the figures when making decisions.

You'll be able to see where your money originated and where it was spent; on the basis of that information, you can find out what is due next, including the most recent VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax liabilities. With management accounts you can avoid being caught out when a payment is due.

We’ll help you select and track the key performance indicators (KPIs) most relevant to your business. These KPIs might include gross margin, debtor days or revenue per head, each tracked over time. Each Management Accounts pack comes with written commentary from your accountant that translates the numbers into what's actually happening.

We provide the adjustments which convert raw bookkeeping entries into reliable figures, covering depreciation, accruals, prepayments, accrued income and deferred income. This ensures your profit reflects the period in which it was earned.

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Services

Additional services linked to Management Accounts

Alongside your management accounts, our team can build a robust budget and rolling cash flow forecast. This means you can regularly compare actual performance against your plan and anticipate shortfalls or surpluses well in advance.

Management accounts are only as good as the records behind them. If needed, our digital bookkeeping team can keep your books reconciled and up to date daily, weekly, or monthly, improving the quality and timeliness of your reports.

If you have reporting obligations to a board, investors, a bank, or even all three, we can prepare your management accounts in the specific format they expect, including covenant reporting where needed.

For all your financial needs as a growing business, our Managed Finance service provides ongoing, dedicated access to an experienced finance professional who works as an extension of your team, with greater flexibility and less cost than a full-time hire.

Advisory

Reports are the starting point.
Gravitate helps you act on them

A management accounts pack that lands in your inbox and goes unread doesn't help anyone. Knowing your numbers means understanding your figures, seeing the trends behind them and, most of all, knowing what to do next.

Finding the right fit

Are management accounts right for you?

We really enjoy working with business owners and ambitious companies who want to grow in a sustainable way and make a genuine difference in their field. If you're in any of those situations, then we should get in touch!

You're making important decisions on hiring, pricing or investment without up-to-date figures to back them up.
Your business has expanded and the amount in your bank account now gives you no accurate indication of its real performance.
You need regular, reliable figures for a board, investors or a lender.
You want to know which products, services or customers make you the most money, and which don't.

We probably aren't right for you if...

You're simply after a series of reports that are produced automatically by your software without any review, adjustment, or further investigation. While qualified and experienced accountants prepare and check our management accounts, we intend to go into the details that they give.

Got a question? Get in touch with our team today

Tell us a little about your business and what you need. One of our Sheffield team will come back to you, usually within one working day.

Call0114 321 7459
Emailhello@gravitate.digital
VisitUnit 13E, 92 Burton Road, Neepsend,
Sheffield S3 8BX
Opening hoursMon – Fri, 9:00am – 5:00pm

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Client stories

Video Client Testimonials

These video testimonials were kindly provided by our clients as part of our dedicated Client Stories sessions, where you can learn the stories behind the amazing organisations we work with.

Check out our Client Stories ➤

Why businesses trust Gravitate

Gravitate are Chartered Accountants based in Sheffield, with a strong and dedicated presence in the South Yorkshire business community.

Don't just take our word for it, we have over 129 5 Star Google reviews from clients, including detail about how our specific approach helped them.

Our Mission

Our People

Who will you be working with?

As a Gravitate client, you have access to a team of specialists. Every accounting client has a dedicated squad, overseen by a Senior Squad Leader. This team also includes a Finance Director, Financial Controller and Digital Accountants, depending on your requirements.

Jonathan Carr

ACA

Director & Co-Owner, Senior Squad leader

Jonathan Carr, or “JC”, is an ICAEW ACA qualified chartered accountant with over nine years of experience, six qualified. He joined Gravitate in 2021.

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Mike Crocker

FCCA

Co-Founder & Director, Senior Squad leader

Mike co-founded Gravitate with Sam Newton in 2019. He has over 18 years of experience and is an ACCA and AAT qualified chartered accountant.

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Meet the Team

If you aren’t looking to switch accountants, but require regular management accounts and other financial deliverables that your current accounting set-up cannot provide, our Managed Finance team is here to help.

Pricing

Management Accounts Pricing

At Gravitate, we are proud of our transparent pricing; it's just one way we're trying to change our industry for the better. Our management accounts fees scale with your turnover, how often you need reports, the volume of transactions and the complexity of your business.

Your Turnover	Monthly MAs from	Quarterly MAs from
Up to £125k	£324/month	£162/month
£125k – £250k	£379/month	£189/month
£250k – £1m	£439–£540/month	£219–£270/month
£1m – £4m	£595–£649/month	£297–£324/month
£4m – £10m	£811–£1,060/month	£406–£530/month
£10m+	Quote on request	Quote on request

All figures above exclude VAT.

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Please note, all fees shown here are illustrative, based on monthly management with a monthly review meeting, prepared from up-to-date bookkeeping. Quarterly reporting is available at a lower fee. Fees may be subject to change upon consultation.

Support

Management Accounts FAQs

What are management accounts?

Management accounts are internal financial reports which are prepared either monthly or quarterly so that business owners and directors can understand how the business is performing and on this basis make decisions; they usually consist of a profit and loss account, a balance sheet, a cash flow summary and key performance indicators, together with comments explaining the results

Are management accounts a legal requirement?

No. There's no legal obligation to prepare management accounts. However, lenders and investors often ask for them, and they give directors the up-to-date information needed to run the business well.

What's included in a management accounts pack?

A standard package includes a profit and loss account with comparisons to the budget and the previous period, a balance sheet, a cash flow summary, current HMRC liabilities, the KPIs important to your business, and written comments from your accountant.

What KPIs should management accounts include?

It depends on your business type and objectives. Typical key performance indicators are gross and net profit margin, debtor and creditor days, cash conversion cycle, revenue per employee, customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value. We will agree on yours with you when the setup is carried out.

Can I produce management accounts myself in Xero?

Xero and similar software can generate standard reports, but they're only accurate if your books are reconciled and period-end adjustments, such as accruals, prepayments and depreciation, have been made. A qualified accountant ensures the figures are reliable and explains what they mean.

What do you need from me?

Access to your accounting software, your bank feeds and any supporting documents, such as purchase invoices and receipts. If we already handle your bookkeeping, you'll have very little to do.

Do you prepare management accounts for businesses outside Sheffield?

Yes. Our team is based in Sheffield, but we work with businesses across the UK using cloud accounting software and video calls.

What's the difference between management accounts and statutory accounts?

Companies are legally required to produce (annual) statutory accounts, which must be prepared in accordance with the required accounting standards and submitted to both Companies House and HMRC. Management accounts are optional and are prepared for use within the company, being produced in any format and at any frequency that is most useful to the business.

How often should management accounts be prepared?

Monthly management accounts are of great advantage to most growing businesses since they allow problems and opportunities to be identified quickly. In the case of smaller or more stable businesses, quarterly reporting may be appropriate. We will advise you as to the correct frequency.

How much do management accounts cost?

The amount you have to pay will depend on your turnover, how frequently you need the reports, the volume of your transactions and the complexity of your business. The pricing table above shows illustrative fees, and we will agree on a fixed monthly charge after a brief consultation.

Can management accounts show which products or services are unprofitable?

Yes, and this is one of their most valuable applications. If you analyse revenue and costs by product, service, customer, or location, you can identify what is underperforming and decide whether to adjust the price, improve it, or discontinue it.

What's the difference between bookkeeping and management accounts?

Bookkeeping records your day-to-day financial transactions. Management accounts use those records, plus period-end adjustments, to produce reports that analyse performance. Good bookkeeping underpins accurate management accounts.

Can management accounts help me get funding?

Yes. Banks and investors usually want to see recent, reliable management accounts alongside a budget and cash flow forecast. Regular, well-presented reports make you a more credible borrower or investment.

Gravitate Knowledge Hub

If the specific answer you are looking for is not in our FAQs listed above, we also have an in-depth Knowledge Hub, featuring helpful articles on a variety of topics relevant to business owners, as well as up-to-date video content, free downloadable guides, and even a couple of interactive quizzes!

Knowledge Hub