Most £1M to £10M business owners make big decisions using old or incomplete data. If your accounts arrive months late, you’re not steering a business, you’re guessing. Real growth comes from visibility: live numbers, clear dashboards, and financial habits that tell you the truth before it’s too late.
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You wouldn’t drive your car at 70mph with a fogged-up windscreen, but that’s exactly how most £1M to £10M business owners run their companies.
They’re making daily decisions about staff, clients, and cash with no current data.
No idea where profit is leaking.
No idea when the next cash crunch will hit.
No idea if they’re actually winning until the accountant drops a three-month-old report that’s already irrelevant.
If that’s you, you’re not steering a business.
You’re guessing.
The most dangerous phrase in business isn’t “we’re losing money.”
It’s “I think we’re fine.”
Because that phrase hides everything:
You can’t grow from a feeling.
Traditional accounting is for compliance. It tells you what happened months ago.
Running your business from those numbers is like trying to drive by looking out the rear window.
By the time you know you’ve got a problem, it has already cost you profit, cash, and sleep.
You don’t need to be an accountant. You need a dashboard that tells the truth, fast.
1. Weekly Flash Reports
One page. Simple numbers. Cash in, cash out, aged debtors, and order book. It’s your heartbeat report.
2. Real P&L Visibility
Stop waiting for your accountant to interpret your business. You should review your P&L weekly, by department or service line, to see where profit is made and lost.
3. Live Dashboard
Pipeline, margins, cash position, conversion rates. All in one place. If you can’t see it quickly, it doesn’t exist.
This isn’t about software. It’s about discipline and habit.
Owners often say, “I don’t have time to look at all that.”
That’s like a pilot saying they don’t have time to look at the instruments.
You can’t fix what you can’t see.
You can’t lead if you don’t know what’s real.
The faster you get visibility, the faster you can act, correct, and grow.
Picture this.
It’s Friday morning. You get a 5-minute dashboard summary.
You know cash is healthy.
You see where the margin is slipping.
You spot a gap in the pipeline early enough to fix it.
That’s what control feels like. That’s what peace of mind looks like.
You stop reacting. You start steering.
If I stopped getting updates from my accountant or team today, would I still know what’s happening in my business?
If the answer is no, you’re flying blind, and sooner or later, you’ll hit something.
Richard Firth helps owners of £1M to £10M businesses move from firefighting to financial control. Through coaching, advisory, and mentoring, he helps leaders build real-time visibility and turn chaos into confident decision-making.
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