The Method
This is how we work.
Every engagement is different. But the approach is consistent: understand the business first, build the model, then go as deep as the business needs.
The starting point
The model is the starting point for most engagements. But not every business comes to Builders Ledger for a full model build. Some come for a Jobman implementation. Some want a diagnostic. Some want the model and nothing else. Some want the model and everything that follows.
Whatever the starting point, the process is the same: understand what the business needs, agree the scope, agree the fee, then do the work. No surprises.
The model engagement
For businesses starting with the model, the engagement works like this.
01
We map your business
A working session to understand the business properly. Workforce structure, roles, wages, on-costs. Overhead structure. Job types and revenue streams. Quoting assumptions. Operating risk. This is where we build the foundation the model sits on.
02
We build the model
A practical financial model showing what the business should be capable of producing: revenue, gross profit, labour recovery, overhead recovery, target return. Three views: potential performance, expected performance, and actual performance. The gaps between those three views are where the insight lives.
03
You get the tool
A live Excel-based model configured for your business. You have write access to the input workbook and read access to the model output. The tool is yours. You update the inputs, run scenarios, and share the output with your accountant or bookkeeper. It does not sit in a drawer. It gets used every time a significant decision needs to be made.
04
Scenario planning and budgeting
Because the model is live and the inputs are yours, it becomes the natural tool for annual budgeting and forward planning. What happens if we hire? What if material costs increase? What revenue do we need to support a new piece of equipment? The model answers those questions with a number, not a guess.
Going deeper
Beyond the model, engagements are scoped individually. Most clients identify the next step naturally once they have seen what the model shows. There is no obligation to go further, but if the gaps are visible, the conversations are there to be had.
Project management software implementation
Jobman implementation
Builders Ledger works closely with Jobman for joinery, cabinet making and shopfitting businesses. We implement Jobman around the model, not just as a tool for storing job information. For businesses coming primarily for a Jobman implementation, a full model engagement is not always required. We carry out a light modelling review to confirm that current pricing assumptions are sound before building a system that relies on them.
Configuring job tracking software around the model so it measures performance, not just activity. Workflow design, stage setup, required fields, approval gates, and handover processes built around how the business actually operates.
Workflow and process mapping
Journaling processes and period-end support
Mapping the the business processes from client enquiry through to job completion and sign-off. This is the work that makes software implementation stick. Without it, the software becomes a digital filing cabinet. Further, we identify areas of risk, duplication and confusion for your team to help you realise a more streamlined, profitable business.
Building the EOM, quarterly or year-end journal processes that turn job tracking data into reliable monthly performance reporting. Designed to work alongside the existing bookkeeper or accountant, not replace them.
Custom cashflow models
Reporting tools
Built around how the business actually invoices and gets paid. Stage payments, progress claims, deposits, retentions. Not a generic template. Cashflow models are highly dependent on standardising data entry practice and recognising that cashflow projects are dictated by the breakdown of customer quotes and and the timing of revenue and expenses.
Tools that extract meaningful data from project management software and present it in a format the accounting team can rely on each month.  This is not dashboarding. These are tools to help you interpret information from your project management report so that it can be understood in the context of your business model
Business systems planning and advisory
Working with the owner to plan, design and implement the systems the business needs. Practical guidance on what to prioritise, what to build, and how to make it work in practice.