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Your finance team
Buzz runs the finance department for you: weekly bookkeeping, payroll and VAT returns, a monthly board pack, customers invoiced and chased, and suppliers paid on time.
Run by Andy Jackson and Peter Allen · AAT licensed · ICPA member · FreeAgent and Xero partner
- Xero and your apps set up and kept running
- Weekly bookkeeping, each month closed within five working days
- Payroll and expenses every month
- VAT returns
Two levels
The Financial Controller level includes all the Finance Manager work.
Finance Manager
The day-to-day finance work, done every week in Xero.
- Xero and your apps set up and kept running
- Weekly bookkeeping, with each month closed within five working days
- Payroll and expenses every month
- VAT returns from records ready for an auditor, lender or investor
Financial Controller
All the Finance Manager work, plus the cash coming in and going out:
- A monthly board pack you can send to your bank, investors or board
- Customers invoiced and chased, so cash arrives sooner
- Suppliers paid on time, with each payment run sent to you to approve
- A cash alert when the bank balance drops below a level you set
Cash tied up in unpaid invoices
A business that invoices £480,000 a year bills about £1,315 a day. When customers take an average of 62 days to pay, £81,534 is owed to it at any one time.
A Financial Controller invoices customers promptly and chases late payers. At an average of 30 days, the amount owed falls to £39,452 and £42,082 comes into the bank.
A business invoicing £480,000 a year
| Sales invoiced a day | £1,315 |
| Owed by customers at 62 days to pay | £81,534 |
| Owed by customers at 30 days to pay | £39,452 |
| Cash released | £42,082 |
Sales are shown before VAT. With VAT on the invoices, every figure here is higher.
The cost of employing a finance team
A finance manager on the national median salary costs £69,859 a year once employer National Insurance and a workplace pension are added. A Buzz Finance Manager starts from £9,000 a year.
| For the 2026 to 2027 tax year | Finance Manager | Financial Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | £60,250Robert Half median | £70,000Robert Half median |
| Employer National Insurance | £8,28815% of £55,250 | £9,75015% of £65,000 |
| Employer pension | £1,3213% of £44,030 | £1,3213% of £44,030 |
| Cost of employing them, a year | £69,859 | £81,071 |
| Buzz fee, a year | From £9,000 + VAT | From £18,000 + VAT |
Salaries are the national 50th percentile for each job title in the Robert Half 2027 UK Salary Guide. Employer National Insurance is 15% of pay above the £5,000 secondary threshold. The employer pension is the 3% minimum on qualifying earnings between £6,240 and £50,270. Both are the rates for the 2026 to 2027 tax year (GOV.UK, rates and thresholds for employers; The Pensions Regulator, earnings thresholds). An eligible employer can take up to £10,500 a year off its employer National Insurance bill through the Employment Allowance. Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
Questions about the finance team
Which level does my business need?
If you need the records kept, payroll run and VAT filed, start with a Finance Manager. If cash is tight, customers pay late or a lender or board wants monthly figures, a Financial Controller fits. If you need a plan, a forecast and someone senior to take decisions with, look at the part-time finance director.
How much does it cost?
A Finance Manager starts from £750 + VAT a month and a Financial Controller from £1,500 + VAT a month. The fee depends on the volume of transactions, bank accounts, invoices, payroll, the number of companies and your reporting needs, and is confirmed in writing before work starts.
What happens when a customer will not pay?
A Financial Controller chases late payers every week. When an invoice is still unpaid after the usual chasing, Business Debt Recovery sends a letter before action and handles the claim, and Buzz Legal can tighten your payment terms so it happens less.
Who approves payments?
You do. We prepare each supplier payment run and send it to you to approve, and you keep authority over your bank accounts.
Which software do you use?
Xero, with apps for receipts, expenses and payments connected to it.
How long does it take to start?
Expect a month or two before the reporting can be relied on, and longer if the records are behind. Bringing records up to date is quoted separately as a one-off.
Who will I deal with?
Named people from Buzz’s accounts team, with the wider team providing cover for holidays and sickness.
Talk to us
Tell us about the business and which level you are looking at, or book a 30-minute call.
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