Your books, closed by the tenth — and one plain page that says how the month went.
Count keeps the books for about ninety owner-managed businesses. A fixed monthly fee, set by how many transactions you have; every month reconciled and closed by the tenth; and sent back to you as a single page. This is that page — switch it to the trade nearest yours.
A steady month. You cleared $2,500, and you are holding about three weeks of running costs in the bank. We set $1,150 aside for GCT so nothing bites in January.
What it costs
One number a month, set by transaction volume alone — not turnover, not your sector, not a guess at what you can pay. Four bands, printed in full.
| Under 100 transactionsFewer than 100 a month | $150a month |
|---|---|
| 100 to 300 transactions100 to 300 a month | $280a month |
| 300 to 800 transactions300 to 800 a month | $480a month |
| Over 800 transactions800 or more a month | $780a month |
Payroll is $8 a head a month on top, minimum three. If your volume is genuinely too low to need us, we set you up to do it yourself for nothing. The fees page has every band and the add-ons.
How a month closes
Bank feeds, the card machine, the payment apps and the receipts you already have. You send nothing you have to prepare; we chase whatever is missing.
Every account tied out to its statement, by the tenth. When a number looks wrong we ask you before we guess — that one habit is most of the value.
One page in your inbox: money in, money out, profit, what is in the bank, and what to set aside for tax. In plain words, not a wall of ledgers.
A profit that is really unsold stock, an invoice nobody chased, a tax bill quietly building. The reason to keep a person and not just an app.
What clients tell us
The pack lands on the ninth every month and I read it in two minutes. For the first time I know what I made, not just what came in. Their warning about my cash last winter saved me.
They chase my clients' unpaid invoices harder than I do, and the tax is always set aside. I have not thought about my books since I signed, which is exactly what I paid for.
I moved over in July, half a year behind. They had me current in three weeks and never once made me feel bad about the mess.
Straight answers
How is the price set?
By transaction volume alone: how many lines move through your accounts in a month. Not your turnover, not your sector, not what we guess you can pay. It is the fairest measure because it is the actual work, so a low-margin business with lots of small sales is not subsidising a high-margin one with a few big invoices.
Do you bill by the hour?
No. Hourly billing punishes you for asking a question and rewards us for being slow, so we do not do it. The monthly fee is the fee, a phone call is free, and there is no clock running when you email.
Which software do you use?
Yours, usually — QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, whatever you are already on. If you are on a shoebox or a spreadsheet we move you onto something sensible as part of setting up, and we do that migration for you.
What if I do not need you?
We say so on the first call and set you up to do it yourself for nothing. It happens a few times a year. A client paying us for work they could do in an afternoon does not stay a happy one, so we would rather lose the fee and keep the goodwill.
When exactly are my books closed?
By the tenth of the following month, every month. It is the one promise the whole practice is built on. We have missed it twice in six years, and told the client both times before they noticed.