When Balance Chartered Accountants realized that their old tool, Sage Winforecast, was being retired in 2014, they faced a common dilemma: how could they continue to deliver accurate, reliable, and professional financial advice to their clients?
For John Taylor, CEO and Business Development Partner, the solution needed to be more than just a replacement — it had to empower the team and their clients with clarity and confidence in financial decisions.
💡 Finding the Right Tool
John went in search of a replacement tool that would enable him to prepare complex budgets with Cost Centres, provide integrity and certainty in results and quickly produce accurate Balance Sheet, Cashflow and Profit and Loss reports.
After trialling several options, Forecast 5 stood out. Its ability to produce integrated budgets, Profit & Loss, Balance Sheets, and Cashflow reports with ease made it a clear winner.
“I can’t fault the ability to work smarter, knowing that the results produced by Forecast 5 have integrity and certainty, something that I was never quite sure of when using a spreadsheet solution.”
— John Taylor, CEO/Business Development Partner
📈 Features That Made a Difference
🔹Integrated Reporting: All reports tie together — P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cashflow all align perfectly. It saves so much time double-checking numbers.
🔹Scenario Planning Made Simple: Modelling different scenarios and immediately see the impact on forecasts is a game-changer for advising clients.
🔹Professional Report Packs: The reports are clear, professional, and tailored — it elevates our advisory services instantly.Clients will really notice the difference.
🔹Ease of Use: An intuitive interface, familiar features and new valuable functionality constantly being added, what more could you need.
“Forecast 5 has helped us to deliver an integrated reporting and forecasting advisory service to our clients, regardless of business size or sector. I have become especially attached to the One Touch Reporting feature. I love being able to provide customisable and professional report packs for my clients to use in their businesses or take to any third party they needed to.”
— John Taylor, CEO/Business Development Partner
✅ The Result: Confident Advisory and Happy Clients
Since adopting Forecast 5, Balance CA has:
🔹Streamlined the budgeting process across multiple clients.
🔹Boosted client confidence with reliable and professional reporting.
🔹Enabled their team to spend more time on strategic advice, rather than chasing spreadsheet errors.
“While I am is satisfied and pleased with how the product has performed over the years, I am even happier with the service provided by the Forecast 5 team. On the odd occasion that I have contacted support, the team have always been very helpful and quick to provide a solution or fix.”
— John Taylor, CEO/Business Development Partner
🌟 Forecast Smarter, Plan Better, Grow Faster
With Forecast 5, Balance Chartered Accountants can deliver accurate budgets, integrated reports, and scenario-based forecasting for clients. The platform provides clarity, efficiency, and confidence, enabling accountants to streamline reporting, reduce errors, and offer informed, strategic advice that supports client growth and business success.
Organisation Type: Chartered Accountant
