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Stories from the council table

Three walkthroughs of how a consultation plays out, from connected data to what happened next.

These are illustrative scenarios written for this page, not client case studies. The businesses are composites and all figures are examples.
Electronics distribution, PenangIllustrative scenario

When growth was quietly eating the cash

Revenue was up and the bank balance was not. Receivables ageing showed why.

The situation

A components distributor in Bayan Lepas supplies contract manufacturers across the northern corridor. Sales had grown steadily for two years, yet the owners kept drawing on the overdraft to pay suppliers on time. They asked the council one question: why is growth making us poorer, and what do we fix first?

Data connected

  • AutoCount: profit & loss and balance sheet, with last year's comparison
  • AutoCount: 24 months of receivables ageing
  • AutoCount: payables ageing and supplier list
  • AutoCount: 12 months of sales invoices by customer and agent

How the advisors disagreed

  • Growth leadRevised in round 2

    Keep extending terms to the two largest manufacturers. They drive the growth, and tightening now hands the volume to a competitor.

  • Finance chief

    Debtor days have drifted to 97 while suppliers are paid in about 38. We are financing our customers with an overdraft. Collections come first.

  • Risk officer

    Two customers hold 44% of receivables. If either slows payment further, the overdraft limit is reached within a quarter.

In round 2 the growth lead accepted tiered credit limits, provided the directors handled the two key accounts personally.

The resolution

Run a six-week collection sprint and renegotiate supplier terms before chasing more volume.

Action plan

  1. 1.

    Collection sprint on the 15 most overdue accounts, reviewed weekly

    Owner: Finance and receivablesNow
  2. 2.

    Ask the three largest suppliers to move from 30 to 60 days

    Owner: PurchasingThis quarter
  3. 3.

    Tiered credit limits, with supply paused at 120 days overdue

    Owner: Sales lead with FinanceThis quarter
  4. 4.

    A 13-week cash forecast, updated every Monday

    Owner: Finance chiefNow

What they did next

They set a routine to re-run the consultation after each month-end sync, watching debtor days and the over-90-day share. Two cycles later, the council's attention had moved from collections to stock levels.

Food and beverage, Klang ValleyIllustrative scenario

A third outlet, and a chair who asked for the downside

Two profitable outlets, one tempting lease and a council split between growth and cash.

The situation

A family-run group with cafés in Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam was offered a lease in a new mixed development. The second outlet had paid back its fit-out in 14 months. The question for the council: open a third outlet this year, or wait?

Data connected

  • AutoCount: profit & loss and balance sheet
  • AutoCount: 18 months of monthly trend
  • Upload: the contractor's fit-out quotation
  • Upload: key terms of the offered lease

How the advisors disagreed

  • Growth leadRevised in round 2

    The second outlet paid back in 14 months and sales are still climbing. Good sites in that development will not wait for us.

  • Finance chief

    The buffer is 3.1 months of fixed costs. A RM 480k fit-out takes it below one month, and there is a term loan covenant to respect.

  • Risk officer

    The lease has a three-year lock-in. If the new outlet ramps up slowly, the covenant is the first thing to break.

The chair stepped in

The owners paused after round 1 and asked for a downside case: the new outlet trading 30% below outlet two for its first six months. In round 2 every advisor had to answer against that case.

Under the downside case the buffer fell to 0.6 months. The growth lead still backed the site, but agreed the timing depended on financing.

The resolution

Open the third outlet only once a working-capital line is agreed, and phase the fit-out.

Action plan

  1. 1.

    Secure a working-capital line before signing the lease

    Owner: Finance chiefNow
  2. 2.

    Negotiate a three-month rent-free fit-out period

    Owner: OwnersNow
  3. 3.

    Phase the fit-out: kitchen and counter first, seating later

    Owner: OperationsThis quarter
  4. 4.

    Stop rule: pause phase two if outlet two misses plan two months running

    Owner: Finance chiefLater

What they did next

The lease was signed five months later, after the credit line came through. The owners exported the resolution to PDF for the bank meeting, and a routine now re-runs the downside case after every month-end sync.

Engineering services, JohorIllustrative scenario

Finding where the margin went

Gross margin slid for two years. Raising prices everywhere looked obvious, and would have been wrong.

The situation

A fabrication and maintenance contractor in Pasir Gudang serves plants along the Johor coast. Gross margin had slipped from 31% to 22% over two years while the order book stayed full. The directors asked the council whether to raise rates across the board.

Data connected

  • AutoCount: profit & loss with last year's comparison
  • AutoCount: monthly trend of revenue and cost of sales
  • AutoCount: sales invoices by customer and agent
  • Upload: job costing workbook for the last 40 jobs

How the advisors disagreed

  • Growth leadRevised in round 2

    Our rates have not moved in three years. An 8% increase across the board closes most of the gap.

  • Risk officer

    The largest customer is 35% of revenue and re-tenders next year. A blanket increase puts that account in play.

  • Operations lead

    The losses sit in fixed-price maintenance contracts. Steel and consumables went up and we had no way to pass it on.

  • Finance chief

    Quotes from two agents carry discounts averaging 12%, well above everyone else. That is a pricing leak, not a pricing level.

In round 2 the growth lead dropped the across-the-board increase in favour of repricing by contract type.

The resolution

Reprice by contract type rather than across the board: add material escalation clauses and cap discretionary discounts.

Action plan

  1. 1.

    Material price escalation clause in every new fixed-price quote

    Owner: CommercialNow
  2. 2.

    Director sign-off for any discount above 5%

    Owner: Sales leadNow
  3. 3.

    Reprice the three loss-making maintenance contracts at renewal

    Owner: OperationsThis quarter
  4. 4.

    Monthly margin report by job type

    Owner: Finance chiefThis quarter

What they did next

They exported the action plan to Excel for the management meeting, then asked the council a follow-up: which customers would push back if escalation clauses became standard?

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