Limited company guide
ARR, MRR, gross margin, CAC payback, net revenue retention, burn multiple and runway, defined properly, and tied back to your accounts.
Written and reviewed by Waqas Sagar Member of ICAEW, Fellow of ACCA, Fellow of AAT, a double graduate and entrepreneur at heart, helping startups grow and serving thousands of businesses nationwide with an excellent team. Published by LimitedCompany.Accountants, 12 London Road, Morden, London SM4 5BQ. Reviewed 12 September 2026 against 2026/27 UK rates and current Companies House and HMRC guidance.
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QuickBooks PartnerCertified ProAdvisor100+ yearsCombined team experienceFully insuredUp to £2m indemnityGross margin decides whether growth helps or hurts. A SaaS business at 80% margin can afford to spend into growth; a reseller at 15% cannot, however similar the revenue chart looks.
Start with margin, not growth
Recurring revenue and retention
Efficiency
Cash
Gross margin decides whether growth helps or hurts. A SaaS business at 80% margin can afford to spend into growth; a reseller at 15% cannot, however similar the revenue chart looks.
Compute gross margin honestly: hosting, inference and compute costs, payment fees, support costs directly attached to serving customers, and third-party licences all belong above the line.
MRR and ARR should be defined once, in writing, and reconciled to recognised revenue. Report the movement, new, expansion, contraction, churn, not just the total, because the composition is the story.
Net revenue retention above 100% means your existing base grows without new sales. It is the metric investors interrogate hardest, and it can only be produced from clean cohort data.
CAC payback measures the months of gross profit needed to recover the cost of winning a customer. Under twelve months is strong for B2B SaaS; over twenty-four means growth is consuming cash faster than it returns it.
Burn multiple, net burn divided by net new ARR, is the blunt version of the same question. It has become one of the most quoted efficiency measures in UK and US venture reporting.
Runway is cash divided by net monthly burn, including the irregular items: corporation tax, VAT quarters, annual renewals, employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 and pension contributions.
Report runway every month against a threshold the board has agreed in advance. Deciding when to raise while there is still time is a fundamentally different conversation from deciding it at four months of cash.
Local help
We work with company directors across London and Surrey from our office at 12 London Road, Morden, London SM4 5BQ. Pick your area, or send the form below and we will call you back.
Frequently asked
Five to eight, consistently defined, with commentary. A pack with thirty charts is usually hiding the three that matter.
Yes. Where investor metrics cannot be reconciled to the ledger, diligence slows and credibility drops.
Only where revenue is genuinely contracted and recurring. Applying ARR to project revenue is a common and quickly detected overstatement.
Finance, in writing, agreed with the CEO. Otherwise each department reports a slightly different version and every board meeting starts with a reconciliation.
Keep bank statements, sales and platform reports, purchase invoices, payroll records, VAT workings, finance agreements and Companies House correspondence. We confirm the exact list at onboarding and identify gaps before a filing deadline becomes urgent.
The fee depends on transaction volume, record quality, VAT and payroll requirements, historic catch-up and the level of reporting needed. We agree a fixed scope and price before technical work starts, with published packages available on our fees page.
Yes. We request professional clearance, collect the prior records and authorities, check the next Companies House and HMRC deadlines, and give you one clear handover list. The process is normally completed remotely.
Yes. We work through secure cloud records, scheduled reviews and digital approvals, while keeping a named team available by phone, video call and email. Clients can also visit our Morden office by appointment.
We regularly work with Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Sage and connected sales or expense apps. The right setup depends on transaction volume, integrations and the reports you need, not simply the software brand.
The relevant calendar may include annual accounts, Corporation Tax payment and return dates, confirmation statements, VAT returns, payroll submissions and Self Assessment. We map the dates from your company year end and registrations.
Included approach
Check the current rules
Deadlines, thresholds and filing rules change. GOV.UK and Companies House publish the current statutory position; advice should then be applied to your company’s circumstances.
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Share your next deadline, accounting problem or growth question. We will reply with a clear next step and quote any technical work before it begins.
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Work with us entirely online, or sit down with your accountant at whichever office suits you. Open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm. Office visits are by appointment only, so please book before coming in.
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Pick a time that suits you and a qualified accountant will call you about your company, deadlines and fees.
Appointments run monday to friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm. Your confirmation is emailed straight away.
