Leadership

What Makes a Business Attractive to Investors or Buyers?

What makes a business attractive to investors or buyers? If your business is profitable, you might be forgiven for thinking it’s already a sound option for potential investors or buyers. But after working alongside companies for decades – in roles that inevitably includes helping owners prepare for investment, buyouts and exits – we know that [...]

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How To Build a Business That Isn’t Dependent On Its Founder

How to build a business that isn't dependent on its founder If you have started a business, it will inevitably be dependent on you in the early days – you are your brand. You win customers, approve spending, recruit people and solve problems. You probably hold important information about pricing, suppliers, clients and processes that [...]

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How to Calculate the True Cost of Hiring an Employee

How to calculate the true cost of hiring an employee Hiring an employee on a £35,000pa salary doesn’t cost your business £35,000 a year. It sounds obvious, but the difference between salary and the true cost of employment can easily be underestimated when businesses are budgeting for growth. Employer National Insurance, pension contributions and recruitment [...]

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The Hidden Benefit of Working With Dartcell: Access To Our Trusted Suppliers

The hidden benefit of working with Dartcell: Access to our trusted suppliers When business owners think about working with a fractional finance director, they usually focus on the obvious benefits: stronger financial control, better reporting, improved cash flow, and strategic guidance for growth. These are all things we often talk about in great detail here [...]

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Why Experienced Fractional FDs Are In More Demand Than Ever Before

Why experienced fractional FDs are in more demand than ever before For years, business owners viewed finance directors as a luxury reserved for larger organisations. Smaller and scaling businesses often relied on accountants, bookkeepers, or outsourced finance teams to keep operations moving while leadership themselves focused on sales, growth, and delivery. But the modern business [...]

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Smart Staffing: How to Get the Most from your People Without Increasing Costs

Smart staffing: How to get the most from your people without increasing costs For many SMEs, payroll is one of the largest expenses on the profit and loss statement. So, when growth slows or margins tighten, the instinctive reaction can be to hire fewer people or push existing staff harder. Unfortunately, that approach often leads [...]

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How to Run a Successful Business (Despite What’s Happening in the Economy)

How to run a successful business (despite what's happening in the economy) If you’re running a small or medium-sized business in the UK, it might feel like you’ve been trying to push your organisation uphill with the handbrake on for the last few years. Costs remain stubbornly high, customers are cautious, hiring feels harder than [...]

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The Hidden Cost of “AI Everywhere”

The hidden cost of "AI everywhere": Are businesses over-investing in artificial intelligence? After more than three decades working inside and alongside small and medium-sized businesses, the team here at Dartcell has learned to be sceptical of any idea that claims to be essential for survival overnight. AI is the latest example of this. Many of [...]

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5 Ways to Use Technology to Drive Financial Transformation

5 ways to use technology to drive financial transformation In today’s fast-moving business landscape, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face a common challenge: how to scale efficiently while keeping their finances under control. It’s easier said than done. Growth brings complexity; more transactions, more customers, more data, and more decisions to make. The right technology [...]

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The Role of a Non-Executive Director Explained

The role of a non-executive director explained When it comes to running a business, few topics create as much confusion as the difference between executive and non-executive directors. Both roles sit on the board and share responsibility for guiding the organisation, but they do very different things – so if you’re thinking of hiring this [...]

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