Transforming Financial Forecasting for Businesses
Sheffield-based Steve Carroll heads up Porterdale, a business advisory service who saw many clients struggling to prepare financial forecasts when seeking new funding which was especially challenging during Covid.
Cashflow forecast spreadsheets were simply not up to the job, they could be error-prone and difficult to keep up to date as well as it not being feasible to send a tailored one to each new client, Steve was inspired when he discovered even large established companies often used obsolete forecast packages and decided it was time to create his own.
Steve and his financial specialist, Lindsey, initially developed an Excel-based proof of concept to help businesses manage their financial projections. However, the complexity of maintaining formulas, ensuring data integrity, and making the tool easily accessible presented major obstacles. The need for a scalable, cloud-based solution became evident, but the transition posed technical challenges—most notably, accurately translating Excel formulas into a web-based environment while maintaining precision and usability.
The Curve partnered with Steve in November 2020 to develop ClearviewHub, an advanced online financial forecasting platform designed to give businesses a clear picture of their financial future. Using the original spreadsheet model as a foundation, The Curve worked closely with Porterdale to create a user-friendly, interactive, and highly accurate forecasting tool. The platform was built using Ruby on Rails for rapid development and efficient handling of complex financial calculations.
ClearviewHub has already helped over 300 businesses gain control of their finances. Users appreciate having an integrated forecasting tool that consolidates key financial details into a single, easy-to-use platform. Beyond forecasting, ClearviewHub has evolved into a community hub for business finance, offering expert resources and free tools to empower entrepreneurs.
Project Results
Built in quote feature for bulk orders and special requests
Preview of the custom design with accurate detailing
Simple checkout system for the customised designs
Their Thoughts
Steve Carroll – Owner, Porterdale / ClearviewHub
“It felt as though they understood and were excited by the project. They came up with positive suggestions, not just blindly doing what we asked. They were responsive and good at communicating, and at critical points we had daily stand-up meetings with them. I was also pleased that many checks were built into the model to ensure integrity.”
