Frequently asked questions

The straight answers on what the diagnostic is, what it costs, and who it is for. The idea underneath all of it: build the business as if you were going to sell it, because a business built to sell is simply a business built well.

What is PeakRatio?

PeakRatio helps owner-managed businesses find the one thing holding them back, and fix it. It is a financial and operational diagnostic run by one experienced finance and operations director, not a big consultancy. It works to one standard: build the business as if you were going to sell it. A business built to sell is simply a business built well, run on evidence and not dependent on one person, and that is worth having whether you ever sell or not. Get the ratios right, and the business starts to run itself. On a recent turnaround that meant taking a loss-making business back into profit and finding roughly £100k a year that was leaking out unseen.

What is the diagnostic, and what do I get at the end?

It is one structured pass across the whole business, eight areas: the numbers and margins, pricing and charging, sales and pipeline, customers, operations and delivery, people and decisions, systems and data, and where the business still depends on you. Together those eight are the standard a business built to sell is measured against, so the diagnostic is really a read on how close yours already is. At the end you get a clear picture of where time and money leak, the one or two things costing you most right now, and a short, practical plan of what to change first. Found on evidence, not a hunch.

How much does it cost?

£1,495, fixed. No surprises, no lock-in, and the contract ends when the diagnostic is delivered. Two free ways to start before you spend anything: a 16-question Ratio Check you can take in five minutes to see where to look first, and a 15-minute call where I will tell you honestly whether the diagnostic would actually help you. If it would not, I will say so.

How long does it take?

Thirty days. One focused pass across the business, from the first call to a finished plan, not something that drags on. If timing matters for you, we can talk it through on the 15-minute call.

Who is it for?

Owner-managed businesses, from just getting going up to around £10m turnover. What they share is that most of it still runs through the owner, and the numbers and operations have not yet been built to a standard the business could stand on without them. Whether you want to build it to that standard from the start, or get an established business into that shape, that is the fit. The five-minute Ratio Check is the quickest way to see if it is you.

What happens after the diagnostic?

That is your call, and there is no lock-in. Some owners take the plan and run the changes themselves. Others want a hand putting them in place, and that hands-on work is what I do next, one experienced operator alongside you, not a report handed over. Either way you leave the diagnostic knowing exactly where you stand and what to fix first, which is the same work that gets a business into the shape a buyer pays a premium for.

How is this different from a management consultant?

The usual consulting story is that an outside team arrives, writes a strategy document, presents it, and leaves, and nothing actually changes. This is the opposite. One experienced operator, a fixed fee, an honest read, and a plan built to be acted on rather than filed. Diagnostic first, then the practical changes, built from the operations up to one standard: a business that runs well and does not lean on one person, which is exactly the shape a buyer pays a premium for. It is the same eye that took a loss-making business back to profit and renegotiated an HMRC position that kept a business trading.

What makes you qualified to find it?

One person runs the diagnostic, and it is not a junior with a template. The background is a finance and operations director with an engineering delivery track record on systems worth £100m and more, now working with owner-managed businesses. In practice that has meant taking a loss-making business back into profit and finding around £100k a year, and renegotiating a position with HMRC that kept a business trading. The point is not the size of those numbers, it is that finding the constraint is what I actually do.

Is it confidential? Will you sign an NDA?

Yes. What you share stays between us, and I am happy to sign a mutual NDA before you send anything over. The whole point of the diagnostic is an honest look at the real numbers, so it only works if you can be straight with me, and that needs confidence it goes no further.

What if I already know the problem, or only want one area looked at?

You might be right, and often owners are half right. The trouble is the thing you feel is usually a symptom, and the real constraint is one step back from it. That is why the diagnostic looks across all eight areas rather than the one that hurts, so the fix lands on the cause and not the noise. If you genuinely only want one area, say so on the 15-minute call and I will tell you honestly whether that is enough.