Sales tell you how much work you won. They do not tell you which work was worth doing. Finantrics helps growing UAE businesses understand margins by project, client, product or service line.
We connect accounting records with the operational detail needed to explain profit. The starting point is agreeing what you want to measure and whether your current records can support it.
For contracting businesses, including fit-out
- Compare contract value, recorded costs and the forecast cost to complete.
- Review purchase commitments and subcontractor costs that have not yet reached the ledger.
- Track the status and cost impact of variations rather than assuming every claim will be approved.
- Review billing, collections and retention separately from profit.
- Explain changes in forecast margin so management can investigate them while work is still running.
For manufacturing, services, and trading and distribution
Manufacturers may need visibility into production costs, overhead allocations, stock and product margins. Service businesses may need client and service-line margins supported by staff-cost or time records. Trading and distribution businesses may need product and customer margins after relevant freight, discounts and other attributable costs.
We agree which costs are direct, which need allocation and which stay at business level. Where data is incomplete, we flag the limitation instead of presenting a precise-looking margin without support.
From a margin report to a decision
The review can examine why a result moved: a cost overrun, a pricing change, a mix shift, unbilled work or a change in allocation. We then discuss what management can check or change. A report should help you ask better questions, not just display a percentage.
How the work starts
- Agree the projects or business segments to measure.
- Review the chart of accounts, coding, contracts and cost records.
- Set the allocation rules and assumptions, and identify gaps.
- Prepare the agreed analysis and explain material changes.
- Review actions and refine the reporting as the data improves.
Deliverables, fees and reporting dates are agreed after reviewing your systems and available information. We can work with your existing accountant or include accounting support. VAT and Corporate Tax services are coordinated with specialist partners under an agreed scope.
Is a profitable project always good for cash?
No. A project can earn a margin while cash remains in unpaid invoices, retention or work not yet billed. Profit and cash should be reviewed together, but they are not interchangeable.
Can you analyse older projects?
Where records are available, a retrospective review can help explain margin changes and inform future estimates. Missing cost coding or contract information may limit what can be concluded.
Does this require new software?
Not necessarily. We first check your current accounting tools and data. Any reporting changes, integrations or systems work are scoped after that review.
Related reading
See where contractor margins can leak, why committed costs matter and why your best-selling product may not have the best margin.