Grant and investor reporting
A monthly board pack in the format your grant offer or investment agreement sets out, ready to send to Invest NI or your investors each month.
Part-time finance director for Belfast businesses
Peter Allen, Buzz’s co-founder and Financial Director, works as a part-time finance director for Belfast companies from Buzz’s Northern Ireland office in Ballymena. You get an annual plan, a 12-month cash flow forecast, a KPI dashboard and a quarterly board meeting, with the day-to-day finance work included. From £2,000 + VAT a month.
Belfast’s business base
Belfast has 11,400 VAT-registered businesses and about 247,100 jobs (Belfast City Council, Belfast at a glance, 2025). 1,490 of the city’s businesses employ 10 to 49 people and 345 employ 50 to 249 (ONS, UK Business Counts 2026).
A Belfast company of that size answers to more people than its owner. An Invest NI grant, an investor or a bank facility each come with reporting the company has to deliver on time. A company that sells goods into Great Britain, the Republic or the EU also plans around the Windsor Framework, which keeps Northern Ireland on EU VAT and customs rules for goods.
Our Northern Ireland office
Unit 13:62 Fenaghy Road, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, BT42 1FL
Meetings in person by appointment, or by phone, video call and WhatsApp.
Finance director work for Northern Ireland companies
Goods crossing the border
The plan and the forecast follow where your goods go: Northern Ireland, Great Britain, the Republic or the EU. The VAT on each route is different, and the forecast shows it.
Raising equity
A Northern Ireland company trading in goods can be a “specified company” under the Enterprise Investment Scheme, with limits of £5 million in 12 months and £12 million in its lifetime. Most companies can raise £10 million and £24 million.HMRC, EIS guidance, April 2026
A £120,000 project with a 40% grant
- Project spend
- £120,000
- Grant at 40%, paid on claim
- £48,000
- Company’s own share
- £72,000
- Cash the company needs before the claim is paid
- £120,000
The £48,000 comes back after the claim is approved. Until then it sits in the forecast as cash owed to the company.
An illustrative example with invented figures. The terms of each grant offer set when claims are paid.
Cash flow on a grant-funded project
A grant that is paid after the costs are claimed leaves the company to fund the whole project first.
The forecast shows the spend month by month, the date each claim goes in and the date the grant is expected. Peter takes the board through the low point in the bank balance before the project starts, so the overdraft or the timing of the spend is agreed in advance.
Your finance director is Peter Allen
Peter is Buzz’s co-founder and Financial Director, with more than 20 years’ experience. He built and grew his own accountancy firm, so he understands what business owners need from their numbers.
He writes the one-page plan with you, owns the forecast and the KPI dashboard, and runs your quarterly board meeting. Northern Ireland is Buzz’s largest base, and the Ballymena office is a straight run down the M2 from Belfast.
More on the finance director service
Questions from Belfast businesses
Do you have an office in Belfast?
Buzz’s Northern Ireland office is in Ballymena, at Unit 13:62 Fenaghy Road, BT42 1FL. Belfast clients work with us by phone, video call and WhatsApp, and can meet us at the Ballymena office by appointment.
Can you prepare reporting for an Invest NI grant?
We prepare the monthly board pack and the figures a grant claim needs. The terms of each grant offer set what is reported and when.
Are Northern Ireland companies treated differently under EIS?
A company with its registered office in Northern Ireland that trades in goods is a specified company under the Enterprise Investment Scheme. It can raise up to £5 million in 12 months and £12 million in its lifetime (HMRC, April 2026).
How much does a part-time finance director cost?
From £2,000 + VAT a month. The fee includes the day-to-day finance work as well: weekly bookkeeping in Xero, payroll and expenses, VAT returns, a monthly board pack, customer invoicing and chasing, supplier payments and cash monitoring. The fee is confirmed in writing before work starts.
Talk to us about a finance director in Belfast
Tell us about the business and what you need. A named person replies within one working day.
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