Profit Cash Growth

Hosted by Claire & Simon

Business Entrepreneurship Management

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146

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Nov 2026

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About the show

This is the podcast for 6 & 7 figure business owners who are looking to grow a financially successful business. Claire Hancott is a Finance Director, Chartered Accountant and Entrepreneur and every week we explore guidance and frameworks designed to help you increase your profits, improve your cash flow and grow your business.

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November 12, 2026Episode 14630 min

5 Sales Metrics Your Management Accounts Are Missing #146

Your sales report says turnover is up, but does it tell you whether that growth is new customers or just more work from the ones you already have? Claire breaks down the five sales metrics most management accounts leave out, across business development, account management, and customer delivery. It is useful for any owner of a seven or eight-figure business who suspects the headline sales number is hiding something. Key Topics Covered Why Headline Turnover Hides More Than It Shows Lead Volume, Conversion Rate, And Days From Lead To Signed Customer Gross Profit By Sales Channel, And Why Return On Ad Spend Is Not Profit Average Customer Spend And The 10% Customer Concentration Limit Customer Retention, Churn, And Why Lifetime Value Takes Years To Prove Tracking Delivery And Customer Experience So Sales Effort Is Not Wasted How To Start: Feed Three Years Of Sales Data Into AI And Ask What Is Missing ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

November 5, 2026Episode 14552 min

Fireworks for Your Focus: Sharing Our Top Productivity Hacks #145

Claire and Simon each share their top five habits for staying productive while running several businesses and a busy team. It’s a practical listen for businesses who feel like their diary, inbox and meetings are running them, not the other way round. Key topics covered: Starting the day by writing down what success looks like at the end of it Putting everything into the diary, from emails to quotes, so your capacity is visible Turning off notifications and deciding when you look at messages Controlling who reaches your inbox, and training clients and colleagues on the right channels Capping meetings at 45 minutes to build in prep and follow-up, and refusing meetings without an agenda Why saying no to good opportunities matters as you grow, and how every habit comes back to protecting your time ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

October 29, 2026Episode 14444 min

Founder’s Relief: Too Good to Be True? Budget Special Explains the Catch #144

We recorded this an hour after the Budget landed cutting through the headlines to what actually affects owners of seven figure businesses: tax on exits, property income, business rates, payroll costs and the much-hyped Founders Relief. If you run a business and want the plain-English version, this is for you. Key topics covered: Business Asset Disposal Relief: the lifetime limit halved from £1 million to £500,000, and what it really costs you Why Founders Relief sounds generous but only suits a tiny group of businesses Business rates: who gets relief, and why the freeze is not what it sounds like Higher income tax rates on property and savings income, and what it means for landlords The small print nobody mentioned: mandatory direct debits for VAT and PAYE, payrolling of benefits from April 2027, e-invoicing, and HMRC’s new powers The profit extraction consultation and what to watch if you ever plan to buy out a shareholder ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

October 22, 2026Episode 14344 min

Can't Pay Your Tax Bill? These Steps Protect Your Business #143

Struggling to pay a tax bill is far more common than most business owners realise, and the way you handle it can affect your borrowing for years. In this episode Claire explains how HMRC time to pay arrangements work, which tax bill to defer first when you have several due, and what to think about before you pick up the phone. It’s useful for owners of six and seven figure businesses with lumpy or seasonal cash flow. Key topics covered: How an HMRC time to pay arrangement works, and why agreeing it before the due date can avoid penalties Why a quarter of VAT-registered businesses were penalised for late payment last year Why corporation tax is usually the bill to defer, and PAYE and VAT the ones to protect How interest on VAT and PAYE costs more than it looks, because it isn’t tax deductible How HMRC debt on your balance sheet can affect bank lending, overdrafts and commercial mortgages Why time to pay has tripled since 2020, and why a 12 to 36 month cash flow forecast should come before any decision ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

October 15, 2026Episode 14240 min

Reviewing The UK's Balance Sheet: Would You Invest If it Was A Company? #142

What does it actually mean when someone says a country, or a business, is in trouble? In this episode, Claire and Simon take a headline number, debt to GDP, and test it the way you would test a business: against turnover, against assets, and against what those assets are really worth. It is useful for any business owner who has ever looked at one figure and drawn a big conclusion from it. Key topics covered: Why debt to GDP is really debt compared to turnover, and why nobody values a business that way How the four parts of a balance sheet (income, expenses, assets and liabilities) change the picture Why the same set of numbers can look solid or alarming depending on the ratio you choose Book value versus real value, and why assets recorded at cost rarely show what they are worth How buyers and brokers can put wildly different prices on the same business What confirmation bias does to the way we read our own numbers ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

October 8, 2026Episode 14149 min

Why All Revenue Isn’t Created Equal: 5 Types Ranked In Order #141

Not all revenue is equal. In this episode, Claire and Simon break business revenue into five types, from project and consultancy fees to repeat customer sales, and look at how each one behaves in a downturn, what it does to your cash flow and what it does to the value of your business. It is useful for any business owner who wants to build something that pays well now and is worth more when they sell. Key topics covered: The five types of revenue a business can have, and why none of them is a silver bullet Why specialist project work can be highly profitable and still be the easiest revenue to underprice The renewal cliff edge on annual contracts, and why clustered renewal dates can keep owners awake at night When a 12-month contract is genuinely justified and when it simply protects the business Why one-off and repeat customer revenue depend so heavily on your market and your marketing How a buyer thinks about future revenue, and why the best business to run is not always the best business to sell ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

October 1, 2026Episode 14048 min

Should Business Owners Still Invest In Property Right Now #140

If your business is sitting on surplus cash right now, this episode tackles the question every profitable owner eventually faces: property, or back into the business? We dig into the real economics of investing spare cash in commercial versus residential property, why leverage changes the maths entirely, and when the smarter move is actually to reinvest in yourself. Key Topics Covered: Why buying your own trading premises is close to a no-brainer, and why letting out commercial property to others is a different risk entirely The case for residential buy-to-let through a limited company, and why quality beats yield How leverage turns a flat property market into an 18 to 23% return on capital employed Why illiquidity is a feature, not a bug, when it comes to protecting you from your own worst financial decisions The real decision most business owners are actually facing: property, or reinvesting surplus cash back into a growing business Why building security first, then taking risks in business, worked better than doing it the other way round ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

September 24, 2026Episode 13940 min

How To Survive This Era of Profitless Prosperity #139

Rising sales don't always mean a healthier business, and right now some of the UK's best known brands are proving it. In this episode, Claire and her co-host unpack "profitless prosperity," the point in an economic cycle where revenue keeps climbing but profit quietly falls away, and what it means for business owners watching their own numbers do exactly that. Key Topics Covered: What profitless prosperity means, and why household name UK brands are reporting it right now Three traps that drain profit while revenue keeps climbing: the inflation trap, the volume trap, and the fixed cost squeeze Historical parallels, from the 1920s agricultural crisis to the 1990s dot com bubble Practical ways to protect margin: dynamic pricing, longer supplier contracts, bundling instead of discounting, and fractional outsourcing Why cutting price to protect volume can quietly turn you into a busy fool What might come next, and how business owners can prepare ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

September 17, 2026Episode 13832 min

Is HMRC’s £100m ‘AI Supercomputer’ Watching You? We Find Out #138

There's a rumour doing the rounds that HMRC has built a £100 million AI supercomputer that's scanning your social media to catch you out. In this episode, we separate the scaremongering from what HMRC's Connect system actually does, and why the real risk for most business owners has nothing to do with AI and everything to do with whether their own numbers add up to each other. If you've ever wondered whether HMRC is watching you, or worried that a genuine mistake could turn into an investigation, this episode will put your mind at ease and show you what actually matters. Key Topics Covered What HMRC's Connect system really does and why it's not the AI conspiracy people think The difference between a genuine mistake and tax evasion, and why that distinction matters Why your turnover, VAT, and payroll figures all need to tell the same story When HMRC can and cannot use social media or bank data to investigate you Why a good accountant should already be catching these mismatches before HMRC does What to do if you receive an HMRC letter questioning your figures ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.

September 10, 2026Episode 13736 min

Why Having Too Many Companies Can Kill Your Cash Flow #137

Having more than one limited company feels like smart planning until it pushes your business into a completely different tax regime. In this episode, we unpack why the £1.5 million corporation tax threshold isn't a single number, it's a number that gets divided across every company you control, and why that catches so many growing businesses off guard. If you've ever set up a company because "that's what everyone does" for property or acquisitions, this one is for you. Key Topics Covered Why the corporation tax "large company" threshold gets split between every company you own The real difference between paying tax annually and paying it in quarterly instalments How op-co, prop-co, and hold-co structures can bring the threshold down without you realising it The associated companies rule and how family shareholdings can unexpectedly count against you Practical ways to balance profit across multiple companies to avoid a cash flow cliff edge When it makes sense to simplify or consolidate your company structure ⭐ Rate, Review & Share this episode with fellow business owners, and let's grow together! ⭐ Take the Finance Fitness Scorecard https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/finance-fitness-score ⭐ Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to get Expert Advice Straight to Your Inbox: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/subscribe ⭐ Get a Free copy of Claire's book Profit By Numbers: https://www.profitcashgrowth.com/book VALUABLE RESOURCES Website LinkedIn YouTube Facebook ABOUT THE HOST: Claire Hancott through Profit Cash Growth helps 7 & 8 figure business owners to increase their profit, improve their cashflow and grow their business using their numbers. As a finance director & chartered management accountant, Claire has nearly 20 years’ experience in finance and running businesses of her own. This gives her a unique insight into the information and support business owners need to grow a financially successful business. Claire passionately believes that every business should be run by the numbers because the numbers in your business are telling you a story about what is and isn’t working and where your opportunities lie. Claire’s mission is to provide insightful management accounts, reports and advice to business owners and support them to make smarter decisions. *The content of this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional advice.