A full finance team without the overheads.
Outsource your finance function and get a properly run team, for less than the cost of one junior hire.
To build a good business, you need good numbers. Do you spend too much time on your accounts, aren’t sure you can trust the numbers, or don’t really understand them? Imagine having your own team to call on whenever you need them: a financial controller, credit controller, bookkeeper and payroll staff, backed by a finance director. That’s a Virtual Finance Office: an outsourced finance department from Blueski, ACCA accountants based in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and working with businesses across the UK.
- ACCA accountants
- Outsourced finance team
- Bookkeeping to finance director
- Xero, QuickBooks, Sage & bespoke systems
What your outsourced finance team handles
Everything a finance department should do, joined up and run properly.
Bookkeeping & transactions
Every sale, purchase, receipt and bank transaction recorded accurately and on time, not caught up at the year end.
How we helpBank feeds, receipt capture and rules set up properly, so the books stay up to date with less effort from you.
Payables, receivables & credit control
Suppliers paid on the right day, customers invoiced promptly, and late payers chased before they become a problem.
How we helpScheduled payment runs, invoicing straight from your jobs, and polite, persistent credit control. Speed up your cash cycle →
Payroll & pensions
Employees, subcontractors and directors paid correctly, with RTI submissions, auto-enrolment pensions and CIS returns where they apply.
How we helpPayroll run for you, every week or month, with payslips and returns handled. Payroll & CIS services →
VAT, compliance & deadlines
HMRC, Companies House and The Pensions Regulator all have deadlines, and missing them costs penalties and reputation.
How we helpVAT returns, Making Tax Digital, year-end accounts and filings tracked and done on time, every time.
Reporting, cash flow & forecasting
Monthly management accounts you can trust, a cash flow forecast that looks ahead, and budgets that guide decisions.
How we helpMonth-end closed properly, then a clear report and a conversation about what it means. Two jobs every finance team must do ↓
Most accountants look back at last year. We run your finance function now.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Start with the hard questions.
I spend my evenings and weekends doing the books.
Every hour on admin is an hour not spent winning work, looking after customers or with your family.
I’m not sure I trust the numbers I’m getting.
If the figures are late or wrong, every decision built on them is a guess.
We’ve got a bookkeeper, but no one has oversight.
Transactions get processed, but no one checks the whole picture or asks what it means.
We have reports, but no real insight.
Pages of figures that tell you what happened, but not why, or what to do next.
Our systems don’t talk to each other.
Spreadsheets, re-keying and workarounds that waste time and let errors creep in.
Cash always feels tight, even in a good month.
Without a forecast, every payroll and VAT bill is a surprise you have to firefight.
You’re making decisions without full visibility. That rarely ends well.
The gap
Too complicated to do yourself. Too small for a full in-house team.
When you start out, finance is simple. A few invoices, basic bookkeeping and an accountant for the year-end tax return. Then come the questions: when do I register for VAT? What can I claim? Since April 2026, sole traders and landlords with income over £50,000 have had to send HMRC quarterly updates under Making Tax Digital, that threshold falls to £30,000 in April 2027, and finally to £20,000 in April 2028.
Then you grow. More transactions, more staff, more pressure on cash, margins and reporting. You need a new van or a bigger machine, so where does the money come from, and how do you get the best deal?
That’s the gap. So things get patchy: a bookkeeper but no oversight, reports but no insight, systems that don’t quite talk to each other. And no one owns the whole picture.
Why outsource your finance function?
A full finance team without the £240k salary bill
To run finance properly you need every one of these roles. Most small and medium-sized businesses don’t need any of them full-time, so they either overpay senior people to do basic tasks, or under-resource the function and accept the gaps. Neither works.
Outsourcing to a Virtual Finance Office gives you the whole team, often for less than the salary of one full-time junior. If you already have good people, we work alongside them and fill the gaps.
Average UK salaries, indeed.com.
In-house finance team or outsourced Virtual Finance Office?
An honest comparison.
| Hiring in-house | Outsourced Virtual Finance Office | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Salaries, National Insurance, pensions, bonuses, recruitment and training for every role | Fixed monthly fee for the support you actually need |
| Skills | Limited to the people you can afford to hire | A full team from bookkeeper to finance director, plus tax and VAT expertise |
| Holidays, sickness & staff leaving | Work stops, or piles up, until they’re back or replaced | Continuous cover from a team, not one person |
| Growing or slowing down | Hire, restructure or make redundancies | Scales up or down with your business |
| Systems | Often whatever the last person set up | Designed and run properly, with automation where it helps |
| Control | You manage the team as well as the business | You stay in control, without managing a finance department |
Your time
What is doing the books yourself really costing you?
Your time is the most expensive resource in your business. Spend 8 hours a week on finance admin, and value your time at £80 an hour, and that’s 384 hours and over £30,000 a year, before counting the mistakes and missed deadlines. Try your own figures.
Illustration only, based on 48 working weeks a year. Hours back = hours a week × 48. Cost = hours back × the value of your time.
Two jobs every finance function must do
Reliable numbers from the past, and a clear plan for what happens next.
1. Keep the numbers right
Your bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, pensions, accounts and reports all need to be accurate, up to date and properly controlled. When the numbers are wrong, you don’t know what profit you’re really making, where the cash has gone, or whether you can afford the next hire, van or machine.
- Books accurate and month-end closed properly
- Compliance with HMRC, Companies House and The Pensions Regulator under control
- Numbers you can trust when you look at them
That’s the job of a strong financial controller.
2. Decide what happens next
Knowing what happened last month isn’t enough. To grow, improve profit, control cash or take the pressure off you personally, you need to look forward, and turn your numbers into better decisions.
- Forecasting and cash flow planning
- Pricing, margins and cost control
- Funding, tax planning and growth strategy
That’s the job of a virtual finance director.
How outsourcing your finance works
Work alongside your existing team, or hand us the whole function. Either way, it starts the same.
1. Health check
We review your current finance function: the people, systems, processes, reports and deadlines, and where the gaps and risks are.
You getA clear picture of what’s working, what isn’t, and what to fix first.
2. Fix & set up
We tidy the books, set up your chart of accounts and systems properly, connect your apps and agree who does what.
You getClean, reliable numbers and a finance function built around your business.
3. Run & improve
We run the day-to-day finance work, close each month properly, and meet you to talk through the numbers and the next steps.
You getBetter information, better decisions, and your evenings back.
Technology, run properly
Fast, clean, reliable information with less effort from you
Most businesses know they should be using better systems. Few have the time, knowledge or headspace to set them up properly. We design and manage finance systems built on Xero, QuickBooks or Sage, with the right apps connected around them.
- Automate manual tasks and cut out re-keying
- Reduce errors and connect your data properly
- See the right numbers more quickly, without chasing them
- A system that grows with you, so you don’t have to keep starting again
See how we set up a real-time finance system for one growing business →
Who we work with
Owner-managed businesses, typically turning over £1m to £5m with a team in place, that want better control of their finances.
Shopfitters & fit-out companies
Job costing, work in progress, CIS and cash flow across the factory and the site.
Accountants for shopfitters →Construction companies
CIS, the VAT reverse charge, retentions and cost to complete on every contract.
Accountants for construction companies →Manufacturers
True cost per unit, labour efficiency, materials yield, R&D tax relief and the Patent Box.
Accountants for manufacturing companies →Motor trade
VAT on vehicles, profit per unit, stock days and stocking finance.
Motor trade accountants →Josef, founder of Blueski, has worked at the coal face inside businesses like yours, as a finance director in construction and manufacturing, and as a company accountant in shopfitting and motor dealerships. Now a business owner himself, he knows the pressure, the decisions and the need for numbers you can trust, so you can build a business that works for you, not just because of you.
Questions about outsourcing your finance
What is a Virtual Finance Office?
It’s an outsourced finance department. Instead of hiring a bookkeeper, credit controller, payroll clerk, financial controller and finance director, you get all of those skills from one team for a fixed monthly fee. We either fill the gaps in your existing team or run the whole finance function for you.
What does outsourcing my finance function actually mean?
We take on the finance work your business needs, such as bookkeeping, supplier payments, credit control, payroll, VAT, management accounts and forecasting, using your accounting software. You still own the business and make the decisions. We make sure the numbers behind them are right and on time.
How much does an outsourced finance team cost?
It depends on what you need and how many transactions you have. Hiring a full in-house team would cost around £240,000 a year in salaries alone. A Virtual Finance Office usually costs less than one full-time junior. After a free 30-minute call, we send you a fixed monthly fee, so there are no surprises.
Will I lose control of my finances?
No. You stay in control and approve what matters, such as payments. What changes is that you get better information, sooner, without having to manage a finance team yourself.
Can you work with my existing bookkeeper or finance staff?
Yes. Many clients keep their own bookkeeper or accounts assistant, and we add the oversight, reporting, financial control and finance director support around them. We can also train and support your team.
Which accounting software do you use?
We work with Xero, QuickBooks and Sage, and with bespoke and industry systems. We connect the right apps for receipts, payments, payroll and reporting, so the information flows without re-keying.
Do you handle payroll, pensions and CIS?
Yes. We run weekly or monthly payroll, RTI submissions, auto-enrolment pensions and, for construction and shopfitting businesses, CIS returns and subcontractor statements.
Do you deal with VAT and Making Tax Digital?
Yes. We prepare and file VAT returns through Making Tax Digital, keep your records digital, and help sole traders and landlords with the quarterly updates now required for Income Tax.
What’s the difference between a Virtual Finance Office and a virtual finance director?
A virtual finance director is one part of the team: the senior person who looks forward and helps you plan, price, fund and grow. A Virtual Finance Office is the whole team, from day-to-day bookkeeping and payroll to the finance director, so the past is right and the future is planned.
Is it only for larger businesses?
No. Our main focus is owner-managed businesses turning over £1m to £5m, but we also help smaller, growing businesses that have reached the point where doing the books themselves no longer works.
Do you only work with businesses near Melton Mowbray?
No. We’re based in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and work with businesses across the UK using cloud accounting software and regular video calls. We’re happy to visit you too.
Are your fees tax deductible?
For a company or a sole trader, fees for running the business’s finance function are normally an allowable business expense, so they reduce your taxable profit.
Run your business. Don’t let the numbers run you.
Find out before it costs you.
Book a free 30-minute call with Josef. We’ll look at how your finance function works today and show you where it could work harder for you. No charge, no obligation. Or get our free e-book below.
Free e-book
The 8 Numbers Every Business Should Know & Track
The key numbers every owner should see each month, from gross profit and break-even to cash days and how fast work turns into cash. Enter your details and we’ll email it to you straight away.
T: 01664 774041 · M: 07887 921705 · E: Sales@MrBlueski.co.uk
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