Small businesses face many challenges and keeping on top of cashflow can be the difference between make or break at any point.
Choosing to work with an experienced adviser such as Mark Howard from Skymark Financial, who is a great advocate of CaFE’s intuitive cashflow management app, allows some of the potential pitfalls to be avoided and gives business owners vital peace of mind.
We caught up with Mark to find out more about him and the reasons he chose to become a CaFE Ambassador.
A head for figures
Mark Howard’s love for numbers and his passion for supporting the growth of small businesses began whilst working as a bookkeeper for his father’s engineering business back in the 1980s.
Having learnt the ropes in the family business, Mark served a form of apprenticeship, working with small businesses and larger finance departments to achieve a vast amount of industry experience, becoming a ‘Qualified by Experience’ accountant before attaining formal qualifications.
In 2006, Mark moved to New Zealand, where he joined the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand as an Associate Chartered Accountant, again working closely with SMEs to add real value through an in-depth understanding of each business’s individual challenges and requirements.
Supporting small businesses in the UK
Now back in the UK, and with over forty years’ experience in accounting, Mark’s desire to help small businesses achieve their full potential led to the launch of Skymark Financial in 2019.
On the services Skymark Financial provides, Mark explains: “We work with small to medium sized businesses as an outsourced finance department, providing a solution tailored to the client’s needs. Our services include bookkeeping, payroll, VAT returns, management accounts and year end compliance.”
Helping these clients analyse and interpret their financial information using accounting technology is one of the ways Mark supports his clients in an advisory role.
Mark was already a Free Agent Partner, a Xero Certified Advisor and a Quickbooks Pro-Advisor when he was introduced to CaFE in 2020. Now a fully accredited CaFE Ambassador, Mark comments, “Making use of accounting tools means that clients see what we see, it’s easy to work together. CaFE is permanently linked to the cloud software, which means we see real-time information.”
For small businesses, staying on top of day-to-day cashflow is critical, and by simply plugging into the business’s accounting software, CaFE produces automated cashflow forecasts, identifying any potential cashflow shortfall or surplus. Mark comments, “The CaFE dashboard is very clear and intuitive; it displays a three–month position instantly and sends an email alert if there is an upcoming problem. The system will also show what is causing the problem and the action that needs to be taken to remedy it.”
Giving clarity and control
Working with businesses to monitor their cashflow using CaFE has enabled Skymark Financial’s clients to go from being reactive to proactive; if a temporary loan or bank overdraft needs to be put in place to cover a shortfall for a month or two, the business owner has the chance to resolve it ahead of time.
Commenting on working as a CaFE Ambassador, Mark explains: “Using CaFE means we can instantly add value for our clients. We’re not just crunching numbers; we’re working with clients to offer strategic advice that will help inform their business decisions and identify savings.”
“Ensuring companies have access to the financial information they need to support their full potential is crucial,” says Mark, “A lot of our clients are start-ups, who may not have the time or resources to look after the day-to-day financial management of their business. Most people start their business because they have a passion for what they do, not because they have a passion for paperwork or financial reporting. Using CaFE frees up their time so that they can concentrate on what they do best – building their business.”
Real-time information, broken down into clear, easy to understand reports, alongside expert advice from a trusted adviser is a winning combination. Mark says “CaFE is such a great tool; it really does all the work for you. If there’s a problem, CaFE will tell you. I recommend it to all my clients!”
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