Akona Business Practical insight for UK SMEs

Akona Business

Practical insight for UK SMEs

Latest Articles

The Inch That Becomes a Mile: A Scope Discipline Framework for UK Consultancies
Finance & Cash Flow

The Inch That Becomes a Mile: A Scope Discipline Framework for UK Consultancies

Fixed-fee and retainer consultancies rarely lose margin in one dramatic oversight. They lose it in a series of small, informal client requests that never reach a change note. This article sets out a lightweight scope-control system for UK professional-services SMEs: readable boundaries, a trade-off response, a one-page change note and a monthly review that keeps pricing honest without souring the relationship.
A Trade, Not a Discount: Responding to Supplier Price-Rise Notices at UK SMEs
Finance & Cash Flow

A Trade, Not a Discount: Responding to Supplier Price-Rise Notices at UK SMEs

Late-autumn supplier notices often arrive with a new-year effective date and an expectation of silent acceptance. This article sets out a disciplined five-step response for UK SMEs: verify the contractual basis, benchmark the increase, model the margin effect, negotiate a trade rather than a discount, and record a clear absorb, pass-on or switch decision.
The Creditor’s Queue: A Recovery Order for UK SMEs Facing a Customer Insolvency
Finance & Cash Flow

The Creditor’s Queue: A Recovery Order for UK SMEs Facing a Customer Insolvency

When a customer enters administration or liquidation, the instinct to send a demand can obscure the more important task: protecting the claim. This article sets out a practical order of operations for UK SME creditors, from confirming the event and pausing supply to lodging a proof of debt and capturing board-level lessons.
When the Company Pays First: A Pre-Filing Review of Director Advances
Finance & Cash Flow

When the Company Pays First: A Pre-Filing Review of Director Advances

An overdrawn director's loan account is often discovered at the point when it is most expensive to correct: during accounts preparation or after HMRC begins asking questions. This pre-filing review treats director advances as a formal credit facility, with reconciled balances, documented terms and a clear repayment path before the January filing season.
The Second Signature: A Payment Control Reset for Owner-Led UK Businesses
Finance & Cash Flow

The Second Signature: A Payment Control Reset for Owner-Led UK Businesses

Payment fraud at smaller UK businesses is usually a process failure, not an IT failure. This practical reset covers dual authorisation, call-back verification, supplier master-file alerts, escalation triggers and a thirty-day plan an owner-manager can run without a full finance team.
Repair, Reinstate, Reconcile: A Dilapidations Provisioning Method for UK Tenants
Finance & Cash Flow

Repair, Reinstate, Reconcile: A Dilapidations Provisioning Method for UK Tenants

Rent negotiations tend to absorb all the energy at lease signature, while the repairing obligation is signed with far less scrutiny. This article sets out how UK SME tenants can audit dilapidations clauses, secure a usable schedule of condition, and carry an exit provision in the business plan as a known cost rather than a late surprise.
The Authority Gap: Aligning Bank Mandates With Board Changes at UK SMEs
Finance & Cash Flow

The Authority Gap: Aligning Bank Mandates With Board Changes at UK SMEs

A director's departure can leave a UK SME with a bank mandate that no longer reflects the board. This practical reset covers signatories, dual authorisation, online tokens, direct debits and lender covenants, with a timetable for keeping governance and banking in step.
The Signature That Follows You Home: A Personal Guarantee Review for UK Directors
Finance & Cash Flow

The Signature That Follows You Home: A Personal Guarantee Review for UK Directors

Personal guarantees are often signed in the margins of a lease or facility and then forgotten until a lender or landlord calls. This review sets out a practical way for UK SME directors to find every guarantee, map its cap and trigger, and decide what to renegotiate, release or insure before renewal season.
What Your Schedule Doesn't Say: A Director's Pre-Renewal Insurance Review
Finance & Cash Flow

What Your Schedule Doesn't Say: A Director's Pre-Renewal Insurance Review

Most SME insurance schedules are a portrait of a business that no longer exists — drawn up before the new premises, the added service line and the doubled turnover. Because the duty of fair presentation rests with the policyholder, not the broker, renewal deserves an hour of board attention rather than a signature.
The Assessment You Didn't Commission: Auditing Your 2026 Rates Position
Finance & Cash Flow

The Assessment You Didn't Commission: Auditing Your 2026 Rates Position

The 2026 revaluation has changed many business rates bills, but the assessment behind the charge is rarely tested by the occupier paying it. This five-point audit gives finance and operations leads a structured way to verify the valuation basis, reliefs, transitional treatment, vacant space and challenge window before the next bill is budgeted.
Terms Before Prompts: A Contract Audit for AI Tools in UK Professional Services
Leadership & Advisory

Terms Before Prompts: A Contract Audit for AI Tools in UK Professional Services

AI tools can enter a professional-services firm through a free trial long before anyone reviews the contract. This practical audit focuses on confidentiality, training-data clauses, liability gaps and exit rights so UK SMEs can adopt AI without weakening client trust.
The New Name on the Rent Demand: A Tenant's Handover Protocol After a Commercial Sale
Finance & Cash Flow

The New Name on the Rent Demand: A Tenant's Handover Protocol After a Commercial Sale

A commercial property sale does not end a lease, but it can disrupt rent payments, deposit arrangements and service-charge records. This practical protocol helps UK SME tenants verify the new landlord, protect cash positions and avoid accidental defaults during the weeks after completion.
The Quiet Rollover: A Commercial Energy Contract Protocol for UK SMEs
Finance & Cash Flow

The Quiet Rollover: A Commercial Energy Contract Protocol for UK SMEs

Commercial energy contracts often renew on terms buried in the original paperwork, leaving busy SME owners exposed to out-of-contract rates. This practical protocol sets out how to map renewal dates, interrogate rollover clauses and run a disciplined November and December 2026 review before the supplier acts by default.
The Twelve-Month Lease Horizon: A Tenant's Month-by-Month Rent Review Plan
Finance & Cash Flow

The Twelve-Month Lease Horizon: A Tenant's Month-by-Month Rent Review Plan

A rent review, break clause or renewal is easier to manage twelve months out than in the final fortnight. This month-by-month plan sets out the surveys, service charge checks and negotiating steps that give SME tenants real leverage.
Verified or Vulnerable: The Director Identity Check UK Boards Can No Longer Delegate
Leadership & Advisory

Verified or Vulnerable: The Director Identity Check UK Boards Can No Longer Delegate

Companies House identity verification is no longer a background administrative task. For UK SMEs, it now tests whether the board knows its officers, its PSCs and its filing dependencies—and the awkward cases tend to surface at the worst moment.
The Notice-Period Playbook: Capturing Critical Knowledge Before a Key Employee Leaves
Leadership & Advisory

The Notice-Period Playbook: Capturing Critical Knowledge Before a Key Employee Leaves

A resignation is a knowledge loss event with a fixed deadline. This 30-day protocol helps UK SMEs map critical tasks, record customer and supplier context, assign backup owners and test access before the leaving date.
Closing the Premises, Not the Business: A Festive Risk Register for UK SMEs
Finance & Cash Flow

Closing the Premises, Not the Business: A Festive Risk Register for UK SMEs

A festive shutdown is a cash and control event, not just a calendar one. This risk register helps UK owner-managers document payment timing, payroll and VAT obligations, insurance cover, access and customer communications before the door is locked.
The Largest Name on the Invoice: Stress-Testing Customer Concentration
Finance & Cash Flow

The Largest Name on the Invoice: Stress-Testing Customer Concentration

When a handful of customers dominate turnover, the business is only as stable as its largest relationship. This stress test shows UK SME owners how to model the loss of a key client, read the warning signs and build a realistic diversification plan.
The Hidden Monopoly in Your Supply Chain: A Dependency Review for UK SMEs
Leadership & Advisory

The Hidden Monopoly in Your Supply Chain: A Dependency Review for UK SMEs

Single-vendor dependency rarely announces itself until the day the supplier stops answering. This review sets out how UK SME owners can map exposure, price the true cost of switching and negotiate terms that preserve optionality.
The 90-Minute Operational MOT: A Practical Audit for UK SME Owners
Leadership & Advisory

The 90-Minute Operational MOT: A Practical Audit for UK SME Owners

Most operational reviews expand to fill the time available. This focused 90-minute audit gives SME owners a practical checklist, common bottleneck patterns and a simple scoring method, so they leave with three prioritised fixes rather than another report.