ABOUT AVANI
Avani is a leading name in UK beer quality services, working with hospitality operators nationwide to make sure every draught pint is served as the brewer intended. We hold ourselves to high standards and we are always looking for capable, motivated people to join a growing team.
Our purpose is to raise the bar on beer quality — with the aim that one day every draught beer served will be perfect. That ambition rests on exceptional service standards and a range of services that cut waste and turn beer quality into both a profit driver and a genuine point of difference for our customers.
THE ROLE
This is the senior finance role in the business and it owns the finance function end to end — from recording day-to-day transactions through to trial balance, management accounts and the commercial analysis that shapes decisions.
Reporting directly to the Managing Director and sitting on the Senior Leadership Team, you will run the ledgers, produce the monthly management accounts, own cash flow and budgeting, and turn the numbers into insight that functional heads can act on. It is a genuinely broad role: hands-on transactional work sits alongside board-level reporting, and you will have real influence over how the business measures and improves its performance.
It will suit someone who wants ownership rather than a narrow remit — confident working on their own initiative, comfortable being the person everyone comes to with a numbers question, and interested in a business rather than just its accounts.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Financial control and reporting
- Production of monthly management accounts, from the recording of day-to-day transactions through to trial balance, including accruals, prepayments and fixed assets.
- Management of stock as carried in the accounts.
- Coding of all income and expenditure to support departmental and technician-level reporting.
- Support of the year-end process with our external accountants, covering statutory accounts, tax returns and R&D claims.
Sales and purchase ledger
- Sales ledger: gathering data from a range of reports and systems, maintaining the supporting schedule, raising sales invoices and chasing payment.
- Purchase ledger: processing supplier invoices and receipts through AutoEntry, and running the weekly supplier payment run.
- Processing of fortnightly employee expenses through AutoEntry.
- Acting as the point of contact for customers and suppliers on accounting queries.
Cash, budget and forecast
- Ownership of cash flow management, including rolling twelve-month cash flow forecasts as required.
- Production of the annual budget, together with comparison reporting through the year and periodic reforecasts.
Commercial analysis
- Production of KPI reporting and performance analysis for the Senior Leadership Team meeting.
- Departmental profitability reporting, and individual technician P&Ls for the Field Services team.
- Ad hoc analysis and reporting for colleagues across the business, and support for improvement initiatives.
Payroll, tax and compliance
- Monthly payroll for approximately 50 employees — processed in-house on Sage 50 Payroll or overseen through an outsourced provider — together with all associated HMRC and pension submissions.
- Preparation and submission of the quarterly VAT return.
People
- Management and development of a part-time finance assistant.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
Essential
- Demonstrable experience producing a full set of management accounts through to trial balance, unaided.
- Sound grasp of budgeting, forecasting and cash flow management.
- Hands-on payroll, VAT and HMRC compliance experience.
- Working knowledge of QuickBooks Online, AutoEntry and Sage 50 Payroll, or clear evidence of picking up comparable systems quickly.
- Advanced Excel.
- Strong analytical judgement and commercial awareness — the ability to explain what the numbers mean, not only what they are.
- Experience in an SME, where the finance function is small and the work is varied.
Advantageous
- Experience of stock-based or field-service businesses.
- Exposure to R&D claims.
- Experience supporting or sitting on a senior leadership team.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR:
We are more interested in what you can do than in how you got there. We are looking for someone who can operate independently, provide robust financial control and deliver insight that helps the business make better decisions. You will be confident dealing with managers across the organisation and able to translate financial information into practical recommendations they will act on.
If that sounds like the role you've been waiting for, we would like to hear from you.
Pay: £50,000.00-£55,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Free parking
- On-site parking
- Private medical insurance
- Store discount
- Work from home
Application question(s):
- Having read the job description, why do you think you'd be a great fit for the role and the Company?
- Where are you based? *PLEASE NOTE* Only applicants whose location is commutable to the office will be considered. (Just postcode required)
Work Location: In person
