Where the figures come from
Companies House publishes every set of accounts filed in the UK as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/companies-house-data-products">bulk data</a>. Chivvy reads those files as they are published and keeps the tagged figures from each one: cash, debtors, stock, creditors, net assets, equity, the average number of staff, and turnover and profit where the company files them.
Small companies file a balance sheet and no profit and loss account, so the comparison centres on cash, debtors, creditors, net assets and staff numbers. Where turnover and profit are filed they are compared too, and the report says how many companies in the set filed them.
Who the client is compared with
Companies with the same primary industry code (the SIC code on the Companies House record), in a similar size band by net assets or staff numbers, for the same accounting year. Where there are enough companies the set is narrowed to the client's region.
The report shows the size of the comparison set, and the median and quartiles for each measure. If the set is small it says so and widens the band.
What the report shows
- The client's figure beside the median for each measure, and which quarter of the set the client sits in.
- The client's own trend over the last three filed years.
- Ratios where the figures allow: current ratio, cash days, net margin, turnover per employee, growth in net assets.
- A short list of the measures where the client is furthest from the middle, as talking points for the review meeting.
In short
- The client's figures
- From their accounts in Accountin, or from their own filed accounts at Companies House
- The comparison set
- Public filed accounts, read by Chivvy's own software as Companies House publishes them
- What you keep
- A printable report, saved against the client
Questions
Does my client's data leave Accountin?
No. The comparison set is built from public filings. The client's own figures are read from Accountin or from their filed accounts and stay in Accountin.
Can I benchmark a sole trader?
The comparison set is limited companies, because they file accounts. A sole trader's figures can be set against companies in the same trade, and the report says that is what it has done.
Price
Each tool is available on its own, so your clients' books can stay where they are. Prices will be published when Accountin opens, and practices on the waiting list hear first.
Accountin is opening to its first practices
Join the waiting list and we will tell you when the tools open, and what they cost, before anyone else.