30/09/2026
My first “accounting office” smelled like ci******es and wet towels.
I was 19, working behind the and restaurant at a hotel in High Wycombe...an all-rounder, doing a bit of everything as I went.
One gloomy afternoon, the financial controller had a blazing row with the owner and walked out.
I’d done a bit of training with her, but I wasn’t exactly office staff.
So when the GM turned to me and said,
“Dave, we need some help in accounts.”
…I thought he was going mad
Next thing I know, I’m in the office (which also happened to be the laundry room)
No windows,
the air thick with stale smoke,
piles of dirty sheets everywhere.
No computers. No software.
Just me, a calculator with a dodgy ‘+’ key, and a stack of paper.
Suddenly, I'm the one making sure everything adds up!
That was the day I realised: numbers tell you 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
Who’s coming in
What’s working
When the wheels are about to fall off
40+ years later, I’m still counting
But now it’s to help operators make decisions before the panic sets in.
I’ve seen brilliant collapse from bad .
And tired old sites find a second wind after reworking their GP%.
The numbers still talk.
Louder than ever.
I’ve been scribbling down recently some of what I’ve learned.
You’ll see what I mean soon.
But until then, what’s your biggest headache right now?
