Profit First Accountants UK — Led by the UK's First Profit First Accountant of the Year
Gro Profit First Accountants help UK business owners take home more profit every single month using the Profit First cash management system. Our founder, Stephen Edwards FCCA, is a Certified Profit First Professional — certified through Mike Michalowicz's Profit First Professionals programme — and was named the UK's first Profit First Accountant of the Year in 2022. Based in Cheltenham and working with clients across the UK, we make profit a habit, not an afterthought. We're ACCA Chartered Certified Accountants.
What is a Profit First Accountant?
A Profit First accountant does everything a traditional accountant does — bookkeeping, tax, and year-end accounts — but builds it all around the Profit First system so you keep more of what you earn. Traditional accounting follows Sales − Expenses = Profit, leaving profit as whatever happens to be left at month end. Profit First flips it: Sales − Profit = Expenses. You allocate profit first, then run the business on what remains.
Traditional Accounting vs Profit First
With traditional accounting, profit is an afterthought, cash feels unpredictable, tax bills arrive as a year-end shock, and owner's pay is whatever is left over. With Profit First, profit is taken first and ring-fenced, cash is allocated across dedicated accounts, tax is set aside every month, and you pay yourself a consistent, predictable salary. The result is a business that is profitable by design rather than by luck.
The Five Profit First Bank Accounts
The system uses five dedicated bank accounts — Income, Profit, Owner's Pay, Tax, and Operating Expenses. Twice a month, your income is allocated into each account using target allocation percentages (TAPs) tailored to your business. Because profit and tax are physically separated from your operating cash, they never get accidentally spent — giving you total clarity just by checking your bank balances.
How We Implement Profit First
Our 12-month Profit First programme starts with a full financial assessment of your business. We set up your Profit First bank accounts, calculate your target allocation percentages, and run regular rhythm meetings to keep you on track. Each quarter we review your allocations and adjust them as your business grows, handling the bookkeeping, tax planning, and financial coaching so the system runs itself.
What Results Can You Expect?
On average, our Profit First clients keep over £20,000 in extra profit and cash. Most notice a tangible difference within 90 days — more cash clarity than they've ever had, plus a predictable profit allocation every two weeks. By month 12, the system is embedded in your business for good. If we don't save you more than our fee in your first 12 months, we'll refund the difference.
Transparent Pricing — From £129/month, No Tie-In
Our Profit First programme starts from £129/month as part of our fixed-fee packages, with no long-term tie-in. You'll always know exactly what you're paying, and fees are matched to the size and stage of your business. See full details on our pricing page.
Who We Help
Profit First works for businesses of all sizes — from sole traders turning over £100k to companies doing £5m+. We work with tradespeople, contractors, creative agencies, and influencers and YouTubers, as well as limited companies and ecommerce sellers. Wherever you are in the UK, most meetings happen on Zoom, so location is never a barrier.
Learn More About Profit First
Explore our in-depth guides: what Profit First is and how the system works, how to set up your UK Profit First bank accounts, and why cash flow problems are rarely what you think. You can also browse all our Profit First articles or meet Stephen Edwards, the UK's first Profit First Accountant of the Year.
A real Profit First case study: how Nathan turned his business around
When Nathan (name changed) came to us in late 2022, he had been running his maintenance business for nearly five years and his finances were all over the place — overdue on corporation tax and VAT, on a CIS payment plan, sinking under personal debt, and ready to walk away. A fellow business owner told him to talk to Stephen. We set up the Profit First system — dedicated bank accounts, allocation percentages built around his business, and regular reviews — so he could finally see exactly where his money was going. Over the next two years Nathan went from making around £20,000 a year to £60,000 a year, all of which he was able to draw in cash, while building a business that could run without him by hiring a senior supervisor and putting a support team in place. Nathan's full story was featured in The Circular, the magazine of the Entrepreneurs Circle.