This Air Conditioning and HVAC contractor has consistently grown turnover year-on-year. SDH credits the foundation of real-time financial information established with the help of Prevail Accountancy as the basis for the firm’s continued profitable growth.
Since engaging Prevail, the SDH team has achieved a fantastic 40 percent year-on-year growth rate. The business provides a comprehensive range of air conditioning, ventilation, HVAC, heating, plumbing and electrical building services, including design, installation, maintenance, testing and commissioning.
SDH chooses Prevail Accountancy to modernise
SDH has worked with Prevail Accountancy for more than six years. The engagement started in 2019 when the SDH team realised the business had outgrown its existing accountancy service.
One of the first projects on which the Prevail team supported SDH was a timely migration to the cloud-based Xero accounting software. This essential modernisation helped the SDH accounts team to continue working through the pandemic lockdowns.
Since then, the partnership has continued to grow in strength. The business now boasts a £4.2m annual turnover, up 255 percent from 2020. Since engaging Prevail, the SDH team has achieved a fantastic 40 percent year-on-year growth rate.
“Prevail has massively helped us with moving forward and being able to know where our costs are and where the costs of a job are in real time,” explains Yvonne Hunt, accounts manager at SDH Air Conditioning Services. “And that knowledge has helped us to profitably grow.”
Real-time information is at the heart of business improvement
“Working with Prevail Accountancy is not like working with a traditional accountant where you put your books in at the end of the year and you only find out later whether everything is ok. We’re no longer asking six months down the line, after the job has finished, have we done alright on that job?” explains Yvonne. “We know there and then.”
“Prevail is very keen on us having the information when and where it’s needed so we can change direction if we need to – before it’s too late.”
Establishing this foundation of relevant, real-time information has involved some digital transformation for SDH. Migrating to Xero, for example, has provided the team with a better platform for collaboration and enhanced the reporting options available.
Implementing Dext has further simplified SDH’s accounts processes. The bookkeeping automation platform enabled SDH to begin scanning invoices rather than retyping information into the system – saving time and minimising delay and error.
SDH is now looking at modernising its payroll systems and improving the way job costings are recorded in Xero.
“We’ve now got all that information,” emphasises Yvonne. “Without it, you don’t know what you need to fix, what you’re struggling with or what direction you need to go in.”
Digital transformation is only one part of the story, though. Prevail meets up with the SDH team every month, taking on the role of fractional CFO, to review the financial status of all projects.
Yvonne explains, “Together, we drill down on every job. We look at how it’s doing, how it should be doing: are we on track? Are we behind? It gives us a lot more control.”
Real-time financial information drives optimisation
As well as being able to monitor the profitability of individual jobs in real time – and take action if required – the SDH team uses the information to optimise processes, supplier relationships and the way it creates quotes for prospective clients.
Yvonne explains, “We have a margin we want to target. If a job exceeds that margin, we look at what we’ve done well. Then we can replicate that good practice. If a job hasn’t achieved the desired margin, we can look again at procedures and pricing and material costs.”
These regular reviews enable SDH to optimise its operations so that it achieves the right margin on each job while offering the best price for customers.
Yvonne adds, “We’ve been able to review labour, determine which is the best supplier and improve the way we price jobs.”
A partnership characterised by continuous improvement
For Yvonne and the rest of the SDH team, working with Prevail is a true partnership.
“Prevail keeps us up to date with new training and new legislation that affects us,” she adds. The close collaboration enables a working relationship characterised by continuous improvement.
“Prevail pushes us all the time!” Yvonne enthuses. “We are continually working on how to take out unnecessary or duplicated processes.”
These continuous improvement efforts led, in part, to the development of the BuildQS software application. Having spotted a need unfulfilled by existing software solutions, the Prevail founder built and launched an application that fills the gap between valuation and invoicing. The new, cloud-based BuildQS solution streamlines valuation, variation and application for payment processes. SDH was among the cohort of BuildQS BETA testers.
“BuildQS has brought what we do into a simpler, easier format,” says Yvonne. “Prevail has been really good; showing us how to do things, logging in and helping us with it. And they are still supporting us with the usual, day-to-day financial management support as well.”
“It’s just what we wanted,” continues Yvonne. “And this is just the start. I’m looking forward to having job costings added – that will be the next big thing. Stage by stage, it’s going to improve. It will be a lot easier for the lads onsite as well – and that will really help.”
Better financial control powers business growth
SDH will continue on its path of digital transformation with the goal of streamlining operations, making life easier and capturing the real-time information the leadership needs to continue to profitably grow the business.
“From a business point of view, the information allows us more control,” says Yvonne. “From a personal point of view, it means I’m not doing so many hours at home. I have a better work-life balance – and that’s massive.”
Looking forward, the SDH team is excited about the new improvements that their partnership with Prevail Accountancy will continue to bring.
“Prevail is unique in the way they work – it’s all about control and putting the right checks in place,” Yvonne concludes. “With that extra control, we can concentrate on the growth of our business.”
What next?
Find out more about SDH Building Services: SDH Building Services | Air Conditioning | Ventilation | UK
Or book your own consultation with the Prevail Accountancy team to drive real-time understanding and continuous improvement through your own construction industry business.