Hands-On Finance Support for Construction & Trade Businesses

Clarity, control, and fewer financial surprises — without hiring in-house

I work primarily with builders, trades, and design & build businesses who want their finances properly under control, not just filed once a year and forgotten about.

While construction is the core focus, I also support owner-managed service businesses facing similar pressures around cashflow, VAT, payroll, and compliance.

This isn’t cheap bookkeeping or reactive compliance.

It’s ongoing finance support designed to help you:

• Understand where the money is actually going

• See which jobs make you money (and which quietly don’t)

• Stay ahead of VAT, payroll weeks, and cashflow pressure

• Make decisions with confidence, not guesswork

Most clients come to me because:

• They don’t really know which jobs are profitable

• VAT keeps catching them out

• Cashflow feels tighter than it should, despite steady work

• Their accountant tells them what happened, not what to do next

How My Support Is Structured

My support is structured in two clear layers, so expectations stay clean and fees stay proportionate.

Ongoing Monthly Support

This covers the day-to-day financial running of your business and is how most clients work with me long-term.

It’s designed to keep your numbers:

• accurate

• compliant

• visible

• and useful month to month

Project-Based & One-Off Work

Some work sits outside normal monthly support and is scoped and priced separately before starting — so there are no surprises.

This includes things like:

• project accounting or detailed job cost reviews

• business restructures or inter-company planning

• new entity or system setups (Xero, QuickBooks, integrations)

• historical clean-ups or reconciliations

• director’s loan reviews or specific planning exercises

• training or implementation work

Most clients like this approach because it:

• avoids scope creep

• keeps monthly fees sensible

• ensures senior-level input when it’s actually needed
  

Typical Retainer Bands

Packages are flexible and tailored to your business size, sector, and complexity.
The ranges below are for guidance only.

Construction Starter Support

Guidance range: £600–£900 per month

Designed for smaller construction and trade businesses that need reliable monthly support without unnecessary complexity.

This is often the right fit for businesses who want things done properly from the start, without overpaying for support they do not yet need.

Who this is for:

• Early stage or newly established businesses who want clean records from day one

• Sole traders or small limited companies

• Builders and trade businesses

• Turnover roughly up to £150k

• Owner-managed, hands-on operations

What’s included:

• Bookkeeping oversight and reconciliations

• VAT and CIS support where applicable

• Payroll for directors or small teams

• Basic monthly management accounts

• Core cashflow visibility

• Practical guidance for day-to-day decisions

What this gives you:

• Confidence in your numbers

• Fewer VAT and tax surprises

• Less admin and chasing

• A clear financial baseline to build from

Construction Growth Partner

Guidance range: £1,500–£2,000 per month

For growing construction businesses that need consistent oversight and clean compliance, without full strategic finance leadership.

What’s included:

• Bookkeeping oversight and reconciliations

• Payroll review and management

• Monthly management accounts and statutory filings

• VAT, CIS, and regulatory compliance support

• Ongoing financial guidance as the business grows

This level suits businesses with regular staff, multiple jobs, and increasing financial complexity.

Construction Finance Partner

Guidance range: £2,000–£3,000 per month

For businesses that have outgrown basic support and need proactive, hands-on financial involvement.

What’s included:

• Everything in Construction Growth Partner

• Budgeting and 6-month rolling cashflow forecasting

• Job and project profitability insight

• Process improvements and efficiency improvements

• Strategic advice for directors and owners

• Board-level reporting and governance support where required

This is long-term, retained support, not short-term fixing.

Fractional Head of Finance

Guidance range: £3,500–£4,000 per month

For larger or more complex businesses that need senior financial leadership without hiring full-time.

What’s included:

• Full strategic finance leadership

• Governance and audit ownership

• Decision-making accountability with CEO and board

• Leading budgeting, forecasting, and long-term financial planning

• Advisory and oversight for complex construction or multi-entity groups

What This Looks Like in Practice

Client type: Design and build contractor
Turnover: £750k–£1m+
Structure: Limited company with multiple active projects and staff

The situation

The business was busy and growing, but financially reactive.

• Turnover was increasing, yet cashflow always felt tight

• Job profitability was unclear until long after projects finished

• VAT and CIS payments regularly caused pressure

• Decisions were being made on instinct rather than forward visibility

• Year-end accounts looked fine, but didn’t help during the year

The risk was not lack of work.
It was scaling without financial control.

How I supported them

I worked with the business on an ongoing basis as a Construction Finance Partner, providing hands-on monthly support rather than year-end-only compliance.

This included:

• Building clear job and project profitability visibility

• Producing monthly management accounts the directors could actually use

• Implementing a 6-month rolling cashflow forecast

• Supporting pricing, resourcing, and timing decisions

• Acting as a consistent financial sounding board as the business grew

The outcome

Over time:

• Profitability became visible by project, not just in hindsight

• Cashflow improved through planning rather than firefighting

• VAT and tax payments became predictable

• Directors made decisions with confidence instead of guesswork

• Financial stress reduced even as turnover increased

The business did not slow down.
It grew with control.

Why this matters

For growing construction businesses, this level of support:

• Costs less than hiring in-house finance

• Reduces risk as turnover increases

• Improves decision-making before problems arise

It is the difference between being busy — and being sustainably profitable.

Project Work & Ad-Hoc Support

Not all businesses need a monthly retainer. I also provide project-based or ad-hoc support, particularly for smaller businesses or specific needs.

Typical projects include:

• Bookkeeping clean-ups and historical reconciliations

• VAT, CIS, or payroll adjustments

• Job costing reviews or project profitability analysis

• Business structure or inter-company planning

• Corporation tax planning or multi-year reconciliations

• Training or system setup (Xero, QuickBooks, integrations)

Hourly and project work is scoped based on complexity, responsibility, and industry.
Project work is scoped individually based on complexity and responsibility.

What This Is — and Isn’t

This is:

• ongoing, hands-on finance support

• proactive involvement, not reactive filing

• clear numbers with context

This is not:

• year-end-only compliance

• junior bookkeeping

• call centres or ticket systems

• “here’s the software, figure it out yourself” support
  

Why Work With LK Accounting

• Over 20 years’ experience, with deep construction industry knowledge

• Practical, hands-on support grounded in real operational understanding

• Flexible packages for businesses of all sizes and sectors

• Strategic input that grows with your business

• Continuity and reliability without the overhead of hiring in-house

Next step

If you’re unsure which level of support best matches your business, a short, no-pressure call is the easiest way to clarify.

During the call, we’ll:

• Review where your business is now and how it’s tracking financially

• Identify any friction points, inefficiencies, or hidden risks

• Determine whether working together would actually help you gain clarity and control

Book a short call

I work with a small number of construction and trade businesses so each client receives consistent, hands-on financial support.

If it looks like a good fit, we can discuss availability and the level of support that makes the most sense for your business.