technologyreseller.co.uk 19 at that’, I had a more negative view of my own business and what had been achieved until I saw others. I think there’s a danger within the community of comparing the wrong things, but you can also compare the right things and realise where you are doing well and that gives you the extra energy to push on,” he adds. Business as usual So, what advice would Daniel give MSPs at this time when there is so much uncertainty about world events, the price of energy, product shortages, interrupted supply chains and weak demand? How should MSPs prepare for the challenges ahead? “I would say MSPs should be doing what they should always be doing, because the fundamental business model hasn’t changed and creating a more profitable, sustainable business will give them more financial resilience. This is the time for MSPs to double down and work even harder on improving their business and delivering more value to their clients, which will hopefully then protect their position with those clients.” He says this should include a focus on client management, the role of the technical account manager and advocating for regular client communications and education, QBRs (quarterly business reviews) and TBRs (technology business reviews). “Again, business as usual. Because if an MSP focuses on doing that then they’re going to create better relationships with their clients, and their clients are going to see the value of that and buy more from them for longer.” https://mspfinanceteam.com/ The success of this event, which is taking place again on October 9 at Brands Hatch with behind-the-scenes insight from two-time BTCC champion Tom Ingram, has prompted Daniel to add a second flagship motor sport-themed event to this year’s programme – the new Summer Karting MSP Meetup at Daytona Milton Keynes on July 16. “This is the first time we’ve done a karting event with this format,” he explains. “In 2024, I organised a private karting event for Sophos, and for this new summer event I’m effectively bringing together the structure of the Touring Car event and the activity of that karting event.” He believes that events such as these meet rising demand for small, peer-led gatherings where the emphasis is very much on entertainment, collaboration and knowledge-sharing. “One challenge I think MSPs do have as a result of being generally low-profit or loss-making is that they have time limitations on themselves. To commit to time without a client drama interrupting them and getting to an event to unlock knowledge and information is always a challenge. I feel the fun aspects that we build into our events give MSP owners and leaders an additional reason to leave the office or to not go and fix that server that’s just exploded or whatever else is competing for their interest. MSPs that engage with the community often see the value of doing so. “Had I known about the MSP community 12 years ago, when I was considering my first exit, I may not have exited, because when I found myself working in the acquirer’s business, I realised ‘Oh, actually, I was pretty good £5 million would be our sweet spot, where the business is of a sufficient size and rate of growth to understand and appreciate the intelligence and insight that we can offer,” says Daniel. As SLI-certified coaches (Service Leadership Index is an IT solution provider benchmarking programme owned by Connectwise), Daniel and Adam mentor MSPs on how to grow a business and run it more profitably. They have also been involved in 15-plus M&A projects which themselves can be the result of good financial management. “The whole principle of exit is what drives the mundane behaviour of bookkeeping and management accounts and growing your business. If you look at your business as though you want to sell it, that will inform what you should be doing today and make it better and more attractive. Having knowledge of M&A bears down into what we do with our clients, for example surfacing the fact that they’re making a level of gross margin that is below what a best-in-class business might achieve. The first part is surfacing the problem; the next part is how to make more money. That’s where our mentoring service comes in.” The bookkeeping and business accounting side of the business is looked after by Director of Finance and Operations Chas Roopra, who started out as a network engineer before retraining as an accountant. Because these services are delivered by an expandable network of accounting experts, this is where MSP Finance Team has most growth potential. “The mentoring half of the business is restricted by Adam’s and my availability. We have some capacity, but we can’t scale it infinitely, unlike our bookkeeping and management account services, which we can by virtue of a distributed delivery model. Our ambition is to continue to grow our UK client base and open our bookkeeping, management accounts and compliance business to as many MSPs as we can. We have an interest in the international MSP market as well, although compliance accounting across international borders is obviously another challenge.” New event for 2026 Uniting both parts of the business is MSP Finance Team’s popular BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) MSP Meetup where up to 50 MSP clients can network and share knowledge with their peers and five vendor sponsors while enjoying the action on the track. MANAGEMENT Daniel Welling (l) with two-time BTCC chamption Tom Ingram (r) at MSP Finance Team’s BTCC MSP Meetup
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