Client stories

Voices from recent work

“We had been running on gut feel for the winter season. The review showed our gross margin had slipped on two product lines we thought were strong — uncomfortable, but it stopped us expanding into a third.”

— Marcus Hale, owner, coastal wholesale firm, Bay of Plenty · Financial Performance Review

“I still prefer my accountant for the year-end. Data Progressive sat between that and the day-to-day, which is where I was stuck. The monthly pack takes half an hour to read now instead of a Sunday afternoon of guessing.”

— Priya Nair, managing director, professional services practice, Auckland · Owner Reporting Pack

“The cash map was useful; the first draft of our receivables assumptions was optimistic and they said so. We argued about one supplier term for longer than I liked, but the GST week no longer blindsides us.”

— Tom Reeves, co-owner, fabrication workshop, Waikato · Cash Flow Planning

“I wanted someone to tell me the marketing hire would pay for itself. They would not. They showed me the contribution needed per month and left the decision with me — which was irritating at the time and correct in hindsight.”

— Elena Vos, founder, specialist retail group, Wellington · Advisory Retainer

Case note: Margin drift in wholesale

A Bay of Plenty wholesaler asked for a Financial Performance Review ahead of leasing a larger warehouse. Two seasons of “busy” sales had not translated into owner drawings. The review found freight and discounting on a legacy product family had quietly eroded gross margin while overhead grew with headcount hired for peak weeks that never fully arrived.

Constraint: Inventory records were tidy; customer-level margin was not. We rebuilt contribution by product family from invoice extracts rather than trusting the summary P&L alone.

Outcome: The warehouse lease was deferred six months. Pricing on the weak lines was adjusted, and one SKU family was marked for exit. The owner kept the existing accountant for year-end; our written summary became the agenda for an internal pricing meeting.

Case note: Reporting that fits a lean practice

An Auckland professional services director had Xero in place and a capable bookkeeper, yet still spent weekends reconstructing the month. The Owner Reporting Pack reduced the owner view to utilisation, aged WIP, cash, and drawings — with a fixed call on the second Tuesday after month-end.

Reservation noted by the client: Early packs felt sparse compared with the detailed exports she was used to printing. After two cycles she preferred the shorter format because the conversation stayed on exceptions.

If your situation is different, tell us what you need clarity on.