Hospitality accountants · North YorkshireYour business should serve your life.
We're the finance team for pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés. We help you protect your margins, your cash and your weekends, without jargon or surprises.
Trusted by independent operators across Harrogate, Leeds, York and beyond.
What you get
Three kinds of freedom
Margins and labour percentages matter because of what they buy you. This is what we're working towards.
Time freedom
We handle your entire finance function to give you time back.
Cash freedom
We help you build a business that makes the cash you need for the life you want to live.
Mind freedom
No more 2am sums. Real-time reporting means you always know where you stand, and what to do about a problem before it becomes one.
Who we help
We work with the independent businesses that bring our communities together
Independent pubs, bars, restaurants and coffee shops, from single sites to small multi-site groups.
For the first time I know exactly where the business stands before the month has ended. The decisions are easier because the numbers are already there.
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I got my Sundays back. The finance side is handled, and I only hear about it when there's something I actually need to act on.
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Luke talks about our business the way we do — covers, wet-to-dry, staffing on a wet Tuesday. No jargon, no lectures, just straight answers.
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In their words
Hear it from the operators themselves
Ninety seconds from someone who runs a venue like yours does more than a page of our copy ever will.
Multi-site bar group
Getting a grip on labour percentage across four sites without living in spreadsheets.
Independent taproom
Why the monthly numbers finally started making sense, and what changed because of it.
Coffee shop group
Handing over the finance function, and what the owner did with the time it gave back.
Filmed on a phone in the venue is fine — better, in fact. Send a YouTube or Vimeo link for each and these cards become embedded players.
Our approach
Three steps we never skip
Success takes planning. This is how we work with you through the year.
Strategic planning and forecasting
We'll help you decide what winning looks like, for you and for the business. We look at margins, labour percentages and operating profit, and at your personal goals too. Then we build a plan and a financial forecast so the business serves your life, rather than the other way around.
Where you're headingReal-time reporting
Our real-time reports measure your progress against the forecast, so you can see what's working, what isn't, and where you need to act to get back on track. When the numbers are clear, you can make decisions with confidence and stop lying awake at night worrying about them.
Where you areAction and accountability
Once you understand your numbers, we help you focus on the right actions and hold you accountable for getting them done, so the business supports the life you want to build.
How we get therePersonal foundations
Protect the person behind the business
A stronger business should support a more secure personal life.
Your accounts tell us what is happening in the business. They also open up bigger conversations about the personal financial world around it.
Protect your family
Wills, powers of attorney and life cover conversations, so the people who depend on you are not left guessing.
Protect the business
Key person cover, shareholder protection and continuity planning, so the business is less exposed if life changes suddenly.
Plan what comes next
Retirement planning, wealth conversations and introductions to trusted specialists through the All in Place network.
I don't replace specialist advice. I help you spot the gaps, ask better questions and find the right specialist when something needs attention.
What's included
Your whole finance function, covered
All of these come as standard, to help you reach the three kinds of freedom.
Every operator is different, so we scope the work around your sites, systems and volumes, then give you the price before you commit.
Where it helps, we can also look beyond the business accounts at personal protection and succession planning, and introduce you to trusted specialists through All in Place.
Getting started
Switching is easier than you think
Most operators put it off a year longer than they need to. It takes one conversation and a couple of signatures, and you don't have to wait for your year end.
- A proper chat about where the business is now
- We handle the handover with your current accountant
- A fixed monthly fee, agreed before you commit
What we stand for
Our core values
Five things we won't compromise on.
People over paperwork
Every decision starts with what the owners and teams we work with want to achieve. We measure success by your freedom as well as your balance sheet.
We speak your language
No accountanese. We always use plain English and turn complex data into what matters for your business.
Own the outcome
We take responsibility for your numbers and your results. When we say it's covered, we mean it.
The hospitality heart
We're part of the industry we serve, and we bring the same care and urgency to your finance function that you bring to your customers.
Ahead of the shift
In hospitality, if you're not prepped for the rush you're underwater. We report on the past and look ahead, so we can spot what's coming before it lands.
Hello
I'm Luke, and I'm the one you'll speak to.
I set up Covered Accounting because hospitality operators deserve better than a once-a-year set of accounts and an invoice. You need someone who understands GP margin, wet-to-dry split and what a bad August does to your cash.
You won't be passed around a team or chased by a portal. You get one accountant who knows your business, answers the phone, and tells you straight.
Luke, Covered Accounting
Questions
The things operators usually ask
Do you only work with hospitality?
Almost entirely, yes: pubs, bars, restaurants and coffee shops. So we already know what a good GP margin looks like, how your labour percentage should move across the week, and which numbers drive a hospitality business. You won't spend the first six months explaining your industry to us.
What if my books are in a mess?
That's usually where we start, and it's nothing we haven't seen. We'll agree a clean-up plan and a fixed cost for it up front, so you know exactly what it takes to get to a reliable set of numbers.
How does switching accountants work?
Easier than most people expect. We write to your current accountant, request your records and handle the handover. You sign two forms and that's about it. There's rarely a reason to wait for your year end.
What does it cost?
It depends on how many sites you run and how much of the finance function you'd like us to take on. We'll quote a fixed monthly fee after a proper conversation, once we know which services you need.
Which software do you work with?
The tools hospitality businesses use: Xero for the ledger, Dext for receipts and invoice approvals, Apron for employee spend cards, Telleroo for payments, Deputy for rotas, and the main EPOS systems. If you're already set up, we'll work with what you have rather than force a migration.
Can you help with things outside the business accounts?
Yes, where it affects your wider finances. I'm part of the All in Place network, which helps accountants support business owners with the personal side of things: wills, powers of attorney, protection, insurance and retirement planning. I won't do specialist work myself, but I can help you see what needs attention and introduce you to the right expert.
Will I be dealing with you, or a team?
Me. You'll have one accountant who knows your business, answers the phone and tells you straight, instead of a different name on every email.
Fancy a chat over a coffee?
There's no pitch and no obligation. It's a proper conversation about where your business is and where you'd like it to go.