Fixing Cash Flow, Pricing and Profit with Barbora Red

Barbora Red loves being an accountant, but it is the people behind the numbers who make the job worthwhile for her. What struck me in our conversation was how much she cares about business owners who deliver something valuable, yet struggle to pay themselves or feel anxious about opening their banking app. She wants them to feel calmer, understand their options and build a business that supports the life they actually want.

Barbora is the founder of Red Viking Finance Ltd, based in Edinburgh and working with businesses across the UK. Her route into accountancy started in corporate London, took her into parkour training and then into working in the parkour world, where she discovered how much she enjoyed running a small business. After a couple of years, she began working with more businesses and kept finding that the questions holding them back came down to money. She went on to qualify as an accountant and establish her own practice, although we did not discuss the calendar years of those moves. Today, her team handles day-to-day accounting and tax needs while she focuses on strategic finance support and CFO services.

A note on the financial discussion

This conversation is for general information and does not constitute personalised accounting, tax or financial advice. Barbora discusses pricing, profitability, cash flow and business planning, but the right approach depends on your circumstances. Speak to an appropriately qualified adviser before making changes, and manage payment timing within your agreed terms and legal obligations.

The conversation

We talk about what changes when your accountant becomes someone you can ask for help before a decision, rather than someone you hear from when a tax bill arrives. Barbora explains why rising sales do not necessarily mean a healthier business, how fear can influence pricing, and why financial information only becomes useful when you can understand it. We also explore the trust involved in sharing your books and being honest about what is not working.

What to take away

The first thing I would pass on is the distinction between being busy, being profitable and having cash available. Those are not the same thing. Barbora starts with tidy, current books so she can help an owner examine costs, capacity and pricing, then look at whether the money from those sales is actually reaching the bank. Winning more work isn't automatically the answer if the price doesn't cover delivery or the business cannot collect payment.

Another key point is that a financial plan must fit both the person and the business. Some owners want spreadsheets and graphs; others need a clear explanation or a story that makes the figures understandable. Barbora combines that tailored approach with regular reviews, keeping the owner's pay, time and personal priorities in the conversation rather than treating them as whatever is left over.

Timestamps

00:00 Meet Barbora, an accountant who genuinely loves the job

02:00 How parkour opened the door to a different working life

04:00 Supporting the people who create things she never will

06:00 Why fear of tax and finance can turn into avoidance

08:00 Beyond filing accounts: hiring, capacity and paying yourself

10:00 Building the business around the life you want

12:00 Why your accountant's network can be useful too

14:00 What attention to detail says about a working relationship

16:00 Tidying the books to see where profit is being lost

18:00 The fear behind charging too little

20:00 Confidence, comparison and underselling your own value

22:00 Financial plans for people who do not love spreadsheets

24:00 Why a profitable business can still run short of cash

25:00 Taking the discomfort out of chasing invoices

27:00 Why the work depends on the business and the decision ahead

28:00 How Barbora keeps capacity available for strategic clients

30:00 Finding the right fit between accountant and business owner

32:00 Turning an agreed strategy into the normal way of working

34:00 Recognising when financial uncertainty needs attention

35:00 Why money should not be a difficult subject to discuss

36:00 Finding Barbora and her closing thoughts

Connect with Barbora

• You can book a meeting with Barbora
• Find out more about Red Viking Finance
• Barbora on Instagram
• Connect on LinkedIn

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