Case Studies
The situation
Jennifer was running a fast-growing online business in the baby products sector. As sales increased, so did the complexity — systems, processes and financial decision-making all needed to keep pace with growth.
She wanted reassurance that the numbers were right, confidence in her decisions, and the ability to plan ahead — without losing momentum.
My role
I joined the business at an early stage to provide ongoing finance support and guidance as the business grew.
My role has evolved over time — from putting robust systems in place, to acting as a trusted adviser as new challenges arise. This includes ensuring financial information is reliable and meaningful, helping Jennifer think through decisions, and bringing in specialist expertise when needed.
The focus throughout has been on creating strong financial foundations, clarity, and confidence — so the business can grow sustainably.
This type of support is particularly valuable for growing businesses that want to strengthen decision-making as complexity increases.
“Sue joined our team around 12 months into our business journey and has been absolutely invaluable. She took hold of our accounting practices and moved us on to Xero, ensuring all of our systems interfaced with ease, trained all staff on how to use the system and is on hand whenever we need advice on custom reporting or plug-ins that need lining up with our Xero software. Sue’s expert knowledge of start-ups has been invaluable — and she is exceptionally well connected, introducing us to specialists in areas such as export, business structures and VAT when needed“
Jennifer Unsworth, Director
I have worked with Nathan on a number of his businesses after being introduced when networking and finding we had contacts in common. Nathan’s latest business is chatbots, We Are Gabba. But no matter what the business, we set up Xero enabling us both access to the software via the cloud. Like many people Nathan likes up to date financial information on this business and Xero enables this.
“Starting any business is tough. Long hours, lots of obstacles and disappointments on the way as you look to build momentum. For me having a great team around me is vital if you are going to succeed. Working with Sue is great. Super reliable, solid and always there to provide support and advice. Without hesitation I see Sue as an important part of our team and Gabba’s success.”
Nathan Smith, Managing Director
Social Communications outsourced their finance function to a local firm of accountants. Unfortunately, this meant that they were always making management decisions based on old historic data. With the company planning a growth strategy, they needed to bring finance in house but without employing someone to do this. As outsourced FD my first job was to use in-house software and Xero fitted the bill. John and his fellow director Caty could initially enter the data and I could ensure accuracy until a part-time accountant could be employed. My involvement is to now support the growth of the initial business and the new subsidiary companies, while providing guidance to the in-house accountant.
” Sue has given is so much more visibility of your business finance. With an outsourced solution, our figures were always out of date. We are now looking forward to growing the business with Sue’s support and guidance”
John Quinton-Barber, Managing Director