When it comes to early adopters, Neil Criddle might just take the title. As the founder of Neil’s Data Consultancy, Neil was one of the first to sign up with Adfin - even before our direct debit functionality had officially launched. That kind of trust isn’t something we take lightly.
In this week’s spotlight, Neil shares how he built a business that blends data consultancy with accounting, why he took a chance on Adfin early on, and how streamlining payments has helped him deliver a better experience for his clients.
Can you tell me a little bit about you and your company?
I spent about 12 years in commercial finance with big corporate businesses. Most of my time was focused on taking numbers and communicating them in a way people could understand. That’s really where my passion lies.
I was made redundant multiple times, and after the last time in January 2020, I decided enough was enough. I started my own business, doing something similar to what I did before but leaning more into traditional accountancy - things like tax returns and bookkeeping.
Two months later, COVID hit. We had no money, no clients, and I had to homeschool the kids…but we grew pretty quickly over 2020 and 2021 by offering support around things like the furlough scheme. People really needed help.
By the end of 2021, we started building a team. Fast forward to now, and just over five years later, we’ve grown to a team of 12 with around 650 clients. We're based just outside Bristol, in Weston-super-Mare. It’s been rapid growth, and we’re having a great time.
Do you work with any particular clients or serve specific industries?
We serve all sorts of clients, but the businesses we work best with are owned by people who are ambitious, entrepreneurial, and really want to grow. That mindset aligns with ours.
How would you describe your dream client?
Ideally, it’s someone who’s not interested in the back-office financial admin. They’re happy for us to just get on with it and they value what we do. On top of that, they want to grow. That’s where we come in - not just doing their bookkeeping and tax returns, but also helping with management reports, budgeting, forecasting, and acting as a trusted advisor. We’re not just someone they speak to once a year at tax time.
How do you differentiate yourself from other accountancy firms?
It’s definitely our consulting focus, thanks to my background. Locally, we do a lot of business advisory work - helping people actually understand their numbers, not just handing them a tax return and a bill.
But I think our biggest differentiator is our marketing. We have a strong social media presence. Most accountants either don’t do social media or don’t do it well. During lockdown, I had to build the business online because we couldn’t go anywhere. That gave us a major edge.
How has LinkedIn and social media shaped your business growth? Were there any challenges?
Social media has definitely created more opportunities. The challenges have mostly come from trying to manage the rapid growth. But, being active online helped me connect with so many people. I’m friends with people like you - the team at Adfin, folks at Xero. I now coach on behalf of an academy I started learning through at the beginning. The owner saw my journey through what I posted online, and now I get to go to Portugal twice a year to work with them. These opportunities wouldn’t have happened if I just delivered great service but didn’t talk about it online.
We have clients all over the country. I go to London five or six times a year to meet them, all because of the visibility we've built online.
Do you have any advice for founders or business owners trying to grow their visibility online?
Surround yourself with people who get it - not just revenue drivers, but peers in your industry. I’ve got a great circle of accountants I talk to regularly. We’re not in competition; we want to help each other grow. That’s been a big part of building my business - sharing, networking, and being part of that community.
Do you have any fun facts about your journey or about yourself?
We sponsor a couple of professional darts players - one of them is also a client and currently in the top 10 in the world. So if you follow darts, you might recognise him.
Another fun fact: I spoke at Xerocon last year, which was a huge milestone for me. And I’ve mentioned the work I do with the academy - when I go to Portugal I get to meet people from the US, Canada, South Africa. It’s amazing to get all those folks in one place. It’s inspiring to be part of that kind of network.
Do you have a moment in your business journey that you're especially proud of? A point where you felt like you'd made it?
Buying our forever home. It’s everything I’d dreamed of - a lovely garden, a swimming pool, loads of space, and it’s out in the countryside. The kids love it, the dog loves it, and my wife adores the kitchen with the island. That’s when I stopped to reflect and thought, “We’ve actually done all right.”
Speaking at Xerocon was another big moment. That kind of recognition was huge. Xero even sponsors some of our workwear now. And on the tech side, we were the very first UK accountancy firm to use Adfin’s direct debit functionality. I actually signed the agreement before it was even live, back in July last year. That’s a fun fact not many people know.
We’ve also acquired a couple of accountancy firms in the past year, which is something I wouldn’t have imagined doing even two or three years ago. And now, five years in, we’re the highest-rated firm in our town on Google - beating out companies that have been around for 30 or 40 years. So yeah, those are the big milestones for me: the house, Xerocon, and our Google rating.
What drove you to start using Adfin?
We were reshuffling our tech stack and moving away from a platform that handled both proposals and direct debits. So we needed two replacements. I already had a proposal tool lined up - my friend Jonathan in Bristol was building one, and I knew I’d use it.
When it came to finding a payments provider, I hadn’t done much research because our old tool covered it. I was looking at GoCardless when a friend, Jordan, messaged me on LinkedIn. He suggested jumping on a call with a new company - Adfin - for some market research.
I hopped on a Zoom call with Tom, Sam, and Ciprian. They were just getting started and couldn’t do direct debits yet, but I really liked their roadmap and ethos. The platform was new, but I felt like we could help shape it. It was a bit of a leap, but I was excited about being part of something from the ground up. We signed up pretty much straight away.
Is there one particular feature of Adfin that you find most valuable?
It changes month to month as they keep developing. Right now, it’s the credit control functionality. We’ve restructured internally and created an ops team, and one of their responsibilities is credit control.
Once all our legacy invoicing is phased out, everything will be run through Adfin. The dashboard is really clean, easy to understand, and allows for filtering and tagging, which helps a lot. We don’t have a massive credit control issue, but as we’ve grown, 10% of a bigger number becomes a more serious issue. Adfin handles that far better than pulling reports from Xero.
They’re also natively integrating with Socket, our proposal tool, which was a lucky coincidence. We're doing some beta testing with them now, helping refine that integration.
Are there any tech trends or other tools you’re particularly excited about?
Definitely. Socket has only been around for about a year, but we’ve been involved in its roadmap, and they’re doing great work. Another one is our practice management system, Engager, which was also built by an accountancy practice owner. He really understands the challenges we face, and it’s been brilliant for workflow.
We’re also looking at implementing Active Workpapers. Since we acquired a couple of firms last year, we’ve got a lot of new team members and clients. This tool should help standardise our working paper processes moving forward.
If you could automate anything in your life, what would it be?
Definitely my email inbox. I get over 100 emails a day, and when I’m offsite it gets out of control fast. I’d love an AI that could filter and respond intelligently.
What’s your go-to drink while working? And while not working?
Water during work hours, cider after (class west country choice!). Though a recent trip to Portugal converted me to neat spirits - age changes things!
Want an accountant who goes beyond the numbers? Get in contact with Neil and his team to grow your business with clarity and confidence.
Neil signed up to Adfin before direct debits were even live. Book a demo and see why it’s one of the best operational decisions he's made.
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