The Conversation That Stuck With Me
I spoke to a construction director recently – her business was turning over around £3 million, with a strong pipeline that could take them to £10 million within the year.
On paper, it looked like a textbook growth story.
But as soon as we started talking about finance, the tone shifted. She didn’t mince her words:
“I am absolutely exasperated with the whole thing… it’s crippling us. I can’t carry on like this. It’s even starting to destroy my relationship.”
This wasn’t drama. This was raw honesty.
Behind the scenes, the business was in chaos:
Who was left picking up the pieces?
She was.
At night. On weekends. Cross-checking numbers and trying to piece together a financial picture she should never have had to build herself.
And here’s the reality – this isn’t a one-off story. This is common in construction businesses that hit the messy middle growth phase.
The Growth Curve That No One Prepares You For
Most construction firms follow a familiar path.
You start small. A few jobs. Keep it lean. Your accountant files the year-end accounts and VAT returns, and that’s enough to keep things moving.
But then you hit £1m. Maybe £2m. The pressure builds.
You’ve got staff, multiple sites, suppliers, subcontractors, and funding relationships to manage. Cashflow gets tighter. Projects overlap. The admin load grows faster than you realise.
VAT liabilities jump. CIS becomes a minefield. Funders – whether banks or developers – want accurate, timely reports before they release any money.
And your year-end accountant?
Still just sending you annual accounts – many months out of date. Still focused on compliance, not control.
That’s when most firms realise: we need more.
The Common Fix That Backfires
The obvious next move? Bring finance in-house.
It feels like the grown-up thing to do. You hire a finance assistant. Maybe a qualified accountant. Maybe even a part-time FD to ‘own’ the numbers.
That’s what this business did.
Their setup looked solid:
It should have worked.
But it didn’t.
The QuickBooks-to-Xero migration fell apart. Reconciliations didn’t match. The numbers bounced around with no explanation. VAT returns were way off. CIS was mishandled.
One funder described their reports as “not usable.”
And every time something broke, the directors had to step in and sort it themselves.
They were spending big money on finance – and still didn’t have control.
Why Most In-House Finance Teams Struggle
It wasn’t that the people weren’t qualified. It’s that the setup was flawed from the start.
When you build an internal team from scratch, you’re taking on the responsibility of an entire finance department – but trying to cover it with one or two people.
That means:
Even the best finance people can’t do everything: VAT, CIS, payroll, management accounts, forecasting, reporting, systems admin… all to a high standard, every single week.
But most directors don’t realise that until it’s too late – when they’re already firefighting and fixing mistakes at 11pm.
What £170,000 Should Buy You
Here’s what really stung: they were spending nearly £170,000 a year on their finance setup.
Salaries. Pensions. Day rates. Accountant fees.
That level of investment should buy you confidence.
Instead, they got chaos.
They made the call to go back and rebuild everything from scratch.
Let that sink in: £170k a year… and starting over.
The Personal Toll
This wasn’t just a business problem. It became deeply personal.
The director told me she was waking up at 4am to review spreadsheets. Not because she wanted to – but because no one else was getting it right.
Evenings and weekends were swallowed up by finance admin.
“I’m supposed to be out winning work and growing the business – but instead I’m stuck in spreadsheets, trying to work out what’s gone wrong.”
It affected her focus. Her health. Her relationship.
And once that trust in the numbers disappears, everything slows down. You hesitate. You second-guess. You hold back from growth.
In construction, that kind of delay costs real money.
The Dangerous Middle Ground
This kind of chaos shows up in a specific phase – the “messy middle” between £1m and £20m turnover.
You’ve outgrown your year-end accountant. But you’re not ready for a full finance department with specialists for every area.
So you patch it together – one or two hires, maybe a part-time FD, and hope for the best.
But here’s the hard truth:
One or two people – no matter how capable – can’t deliver a full finance function.
They can’t cover:
It’s too much. Gaps form. Mistakes creep in. And when they do, they’re expensive to fix.
The Setup That Would Have Saved Them
This mess could have been avoided.
They didn’t need five different people on the books. They needed a better structure:
That setup would have cost less than £80k a year – less than half of what they were spending.
And more importantly, it would have worked.
They would have had:
They would have had the freedom to focus on running the business, not patching holes in the finance.
A Quick Test for Your Business
If this story feels uncomfortably familiar, ask yourself:
Do we have a finance department – or just a few finance people?
That distinction matters.
Here’s a quick test:
If you’re nodding to any of those, you’re not alone. But you are at risk.
When You’re Ready to Fix It
That director wasn’t daft. She was smart, driven, and building something special.
But she fell into the same trap so many contractors fall into as they grow:
They spend money on finance – but don’t build a finance function.
If you’re lying awake wondering if you can commit to that next project… if your confidence in your numbers has taken a hit… maybe it’s time to fix it properly.
You don’t need more people.
You need numbers you can trust.
If that’s what you want – let’s talk.
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