Restoring Financial Control for a Growing Software Business

Sector: IT / Software Development
Service: Accounting System Migration, Ledger Clean-up, Reporting & Advisory

Summary of Benefits Delivered

• Migration from Sage to Xero for real-time financial visibility
• Sales ledger rebuilt and historic errors resolved
• Tens of thousands of pounds recovered from overdue invoices
• Improved reporting and faster financial insights
• Stronger relationship between management and accountants

The Challenge

This digital software business came to the Sanders Partnership after experiencing a series of disappointing relationships with previous accountants.

At the initial meeting, the managing director openly admitted he had grown frustrated with accountants due to poor service and limited communication. Their accounts were maintained in Sage, but the business itself had no direct access to the system, leaving management without real-time visibility of their financial position.

The most significant risk was the sales ledger. Without accurate information about what customers owed, what had been paid, and what remained outstanding, credit control became guesswork. This was especially problematic when dealing with large multinational clients, where payment processes can involve multiple approval layers.

The Sanders Solution

The first step was migrating the business from Sage to Xero, immediately giving the management team full access and visibility of their financial data.

This change alone transformed the dynamic. Instead of waiting for updates from their accountant, the team could see their sales ledger in real time, with invoices recorded as soon as they were issued and payments allocated quickly when received.

The Sanders Partnership then undertook a detailed clean-up of the sales ledger, resolving historic allocation issues, removing duplicate entries and identifying invoices that had slipped through the cracks.

With an accurate ledger in place, the client could pursue overdue payments with confidence, presenting clear and detailed transaction histories to their corporate customers. This approach enabled the business to recover tens of thousands of pounds in outstanding invoices.

Alongside this work, the Sanders team introduced regular reporting and advisory conversations to ensure the financial data supported better decision-making across the business.

“We finally have a system we can see and trust. Instead of chasing numbers, we can focus on running the business.”

Client Background

This Wakefield based company develops workforce management software used by large international organisations as well as mid-sized businesses. At the time they engaged Sanders Partnership they employed around 15 people and were experiencing cashflow pressure due to poor credit control.

With improved systems and better financial oversight, the company now manages its receivables efficiently and has regained full control of its cashflow planning.