No financial plan
A business plan exists but there is no cash model behind it, so the runway is a guess.
Foundations for new businesses
Start-up & Business Support
Most early-stage businesses do not fail from a lack of ideas. They fail from cash they did not plan for, a structure that does not suit what they became, and records that cannot answer an investor's first question. We help founders build the financial foundation early, while it is cheap to do, rather than reconstructing it two years later under pressure.
Who this service is for
- Founders launching a business and needing the financial and operational basics set up correctly from the start.
- Early-stage companies preparing to raise money and needing their numbers to withstand scrutiny.
- Existing businesses formalising — registering, restructuring, or separating personal and business finances.
- Founders who have outgrown doing everything themselves and need to know what to delegate first.
- Businesses entering a new market, product line or partnership and needing the financial case tested.
The problems this addresses
Business and personal finances mixed
Which makes the position unknowable and creates tax and liability problems later.
Structure chosen by default
The registration route was whatever was quickest, not whatever suits the business and its owners.
No records from day one
Reconstructing two years of transactions before a funding round is slow, expensive and unconvincing.
Pricing set without cost clarity
The first customers are acquired at a margin that does not cover the real cost of serving them.
Operations built ad hoc
No approval process, no supplier controls, no stock discipline — fine at five orders, painful at five hundred.
Scope and deliverables
Support is scoped to the stage of the business. Typical work includes the following.
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Financial planning and modelling
A realistic financial model: revenue build, cost structure, working capital, cash requirement and runway, with sensitivities on the assumptions that matter most. Output: a model you can update and a written assumptions note.
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Business structuring support
Explaining the options for registration and structure, the practical consequences of each, and coordinating with your legal adviser on the documents. Output: a structuring note with the trade-offs set out, for discussion with your lawyer.
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Accounting set-up
Choosing and configuring the accounting platform, designing the chart of accounts, setting up banking, invoicing and expense capture, and establishing the monthly routine. Output: a configured system with a written process.
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Statutory and compliance foundations
The registrations, records and filing calendar the business needs from the start, so compliance is a routine rather than a crisis. Output: a compliance calendar with responsibilities.
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Operational readiness
The basic processes a growing business needs: quoting and approvals, supplier onboarding, invoicing and collections, stock or service delivery controls, and basic reporting. Output: a simple SOP set and control list.
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Investor and lender preparation
Preparing the financial pack a funder will request: model, accounts, assumptions, use of funds and the answers to the questions that always come. Output: a funding pack and preparation sessions.
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Management reporting
A short monthly pack a founder will actually read: cash, runway, revenue, margin, burn and the two or three operational measures that matter. Output: a reporting template and a review routine.
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Ongoing advisory
Regular review sessions as the business develops, so decisions are made with the numbers in front of them.
How the engagement works
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Understand the business and the plan
What you are building, for whom, how it makes money, and what stage you are at.
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Establish the starting point
What exists already — registration, accounts, records, systems, processes.
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Build the financial model
Revenue, costs, working capital and cash, with the assumptions visible and challengeable.
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Set up the foundations
Structure decisions, accounting set-up, compliance calendar and the basic processes.
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Establish the monthly routine
Recording, reconciliation, reporting and a short review meeting.
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Review as you grow
Regular sessions on the decisions ahead, and a review of whether the foundations still fit.
What we need from you
Preparation is where most engagements are won or lost. The more of this you can gather before we start, the faster the work goes and the more accurately we can scope it.
- Your business plan or pitch material, in whatever state it exists.
- Any financial information you already have, however informal.
- Registration documents and any existing agreements.
- Honest answers on the cash position and the commitments already made.
- Time for a proper working session rather than a series of emails.
What you can reasonably expect
- A financial model you can update yourself and defend to others.
- Records kept properly from the start rather than reconstructed later.
- Clarity on the cash requirement and the runway.
- A structure that suits the business rather than one chosen by default.
- Basic processes and controls that scale with volume.
- A financial pack ready for a lender or investor when the time comes.
We do not guarantee funding, investment or business success. What we do is make sure the financial foundation does not become the reason the business struggles.
What affects fees and timelines
We do not publish a price list. The drivers below vary too much between businesses for a published figure to be honest — and a price quoted before an assessment is usually wrong in one direction or the other.
| Factor | How it affects the engagement |
|---|---|
| Stage of the business | Pre-launch set-up differs from formalising an operating business with two years of history. |
| Scope selected | A financial model alone is a smaller engagement than model, structuring, accounting set-up and process design together. |
| Complexity of the model | Multiple revenue streams, imported inputs, foreign currency and staged investment all add modelling work. |
| Existing records | Where records must be reconstructed before planning can begin, that is scoped separately. |
| Advisory frequency | Ongoing monthly sessions are agreed as a retainer. |
Foundational work is quoted as a fixed-fee project. Ongoing advisory is a monthly retainer. We do not take equity or success fees as standard; if a different arrangement is ever proposed, it is documented and discussed with your legal adviser.
Software and industries this service applies to
Platforms we commonly work with for this service
Sectors we apply this service in
Frequently asked questions
Can you get us funding?
No, and be cautious of anyone who says they can. We prepare the financial case, the model and the documentation, and we explain what funders examine. We do not arrange introductions as part of this service and we do not accept success fees. Never pay an upfront fee for a promise of capital.
We are not registered yet. Can we still start?
Yes. In fact that is the right time to talk, because structure and record-keeping decisions are cheapest before you start trading. We explain the options and coordinate with your legal adviser on the documents.
Do we need an ERP system as a start-up?
Usually not at the start. A properly configured accounting platform is normally the right answer until volume, stock or operational complexity makes more sense of an ERP. We will tell you when that point arrives rather than selling you a system you do not need yet.
How much does this cost?
It depends on the scope you select, and we quote a fixed fee once we understand it. What we can say is that foundational work done properly at the start costs a fraction of reconstructing it later.
What should we do first?
Separate business and personal finances, start recording from day one, and build a cash model. Those three things prevent most of the problems we are asked to fix later.
Do you work with businesses outside Lagos?
Yes. We work with clients in Abuja, Port Harcourt and elsewhere in Nigeria, and much of this work is delivered remotely with on-site sessions where they add value.
Let’s build a stronger financial foundation for your business.
Tell us what you are dealing with. We will tell you honestly whether we can help, what it would involve and what it would cost.