Testimonials
Feedback from our clients and partners
We are a new social enterprise and were looking for a bookkeeper/accountant to help produce our first end of year accounts.
We were given a recommendation to ask Solid Base and we are not disappointed.
Chris responded to our request swiftly and was very professional in his work.
He was friendly, understanding and very helpful when we met up, as well as being at the end of the phone for any concerns we had.
Chris also helped with submitting the information to HMRC.
We would highly recommend anyone who is looking for a bookkeeper to get in touch with Solid Base.
We look forward to working with you again in the future.
Thank you.
Diane
CIC Founder and Director
If you manage any aspect of finance at your Non-profit Organization, you need someone like Chris to help you succeed. I’ve had the opportunity to learn so much from Chris during this past year, where he's been consulting for us at Sage Foundation on a large research project to help improve Financial Literacy for UK Non-profits. One thing that has particularly impressed me is the way he’s taken his many years of experience and applied that to developing his business helping Non-profits in the Northeast learn to manage their finances.
I’ve seen proof of his ability to transform struggling organizations into successful and financially healthy Non-profits. He’s also just a pleasure to work with – friendly, kind, patient and genuinely interested in others. With Chris’s help, you’re sure to take your skills and your organisation to the next level and beyond.
Kim Witten
Customer Experience Manager at Sage Foundation
Fabulous support, knowledgeable, trustworthy, reliable and efficient. I would highly recommend Christopher's service to anyone needing efficient and timely financial advice, auditing and accountancy. He has a keen business eye and a thirst for integrity and professionalism. He also champions equity and diversity. A wonderful asset and I look forward to many working years together! |
Chris has worked with my organisation since 2021 and has been key to our growth and success. Having timely and accurate financial information is imperative to inform strategy and adapt in the current uncertain environment. I personally value his direct business development advice and mentorship. Chris is professional, skilled, experienced and trustworthy and a huge asset to any team. Highly recommended. |
I first met Chris in 2020 when we collaborated on a project. Chris supported me in developing a financial training course specifically for the non-profit sector. Throughout our collaboration Chris was excellent at bringing his specialist knowledge and experience of the sector to bear on the training course. He was very good at understanding the unique IP that we have, and applying his expertise to help shape the content in a meaningful way for the audience.
I have no hesitation in recommending him to you to work with your team to be proficient in charity finance.
Adam
Head of Learning at Color Accounting
Chris has brought enormous benefit to the Charity I am involved with.
I was Chair during a time when the Trust was in financial trouble. We had struggled to find a Treasurer, and the ability of the trustees to make adequately informed decisions on financial matters had been lacking.
It also became increasingly difficult to give the detailed and transparent feedback to funders on the impact we made with their grants. This is increasingly required by funders, to ensure that funds are spent on what the budget forecasts in our applications to them were. Core costs had risen, too.
There is often the temptation, and some need, to juggle funding streams but this can get out of hand if one isn’t in a strong position to negotiate changes with funders in the light of changing needs and circumstances. This requires detailed day to day knowledge to hand, of where the money is being spent.
From his experience in work with Charities, Chris has worked with our CEO to clarify past confusion and uncertainty and put in place systems to greatly improve our Board’s ability to manage funds responsibly and to give sound advice to enable forward planning.
Roger
Former Charity Chair of Trustees
I worked with Chris for several years at a charity that I was a member of the board. Chris understands the need for a structured approach to managing the finances of a non-profit organisation. I was especially impressed with his determination to gain a detailed understanding of the various bills and to minimise the costs through review and negotiation. |
Chris’s understanding of the charity sector and charity finance is fantastic. He can track progress in multiple projects v forecast and report back to funders easily – highly recommended! I highly recommend the Solid Base Team! |
Chris has demonstrated a very good working knowledge of how to report on and process claims for ESF funded projects and charity finance in general. This was particularly true when we worked a number of years together on the Wise Steps project. If your project is struggling with the complexity of ESF - I highly recommend Chris!
Jennifer
Senior Partnership Manager
I have worked with Chris on a number of occasions so knew when we needed someone with the skills to work on our charity budgeting strategy and finance outlook he was the person to contact. We had worked on the strategy and ethics of what we wanted to achieve but had little knowledge of the costings and funding we would need to achieve with the limited experience within the team.
Within the first 2 months Chris had put in place a sound and working budget that would help us gain the traction we needed to get the project started. Having Chris involved has both widened our scope and made the project financially plausible for both funding streams and outside corporate sponsorship. On top of this his overall knowledge of the charity sector, Chris has been integral in both growth and sustainability, thank you Chris!
Gareth
CEO - CIC
I worked alongside Chris previously, he was a pleasure to work alongside, really understanding the need for charities to work with businesses to promote their influence and reach. Working alongside us, Chris helped to access local funds to pay for the renovation of the greenhouse sprinkler system, which our team installed free of charge.
It was clear that Chris had a strong sense of the wider financial challenges that his charity faced and had worked hard to identify potential efficiencies elsewhere. I would recommend Chris to charities seeking to find financial efficiencies and engage the private sector.
Lee
Stewardship Manager
I have worked with Chris on numerous projects over the years and have always found him to be very knowledgeable of and forward thinking regarding the running of Charity organisations. Chris understands the need for such organisations to modernise and utilise technology in order to produce streamlined and effective work. This is tandem with his knowledge of charity finances makes Chris’s services invaluable to the sector. Highly recommend!
John
Business Owner
I worked alongside Chris for a number of years in the hospitality industry. He was a very reliable, trustworthy and dependable colleague. I was most impressed with Chris and his creative abilities, I witnessed a number of projects where Chris applied innovative methods to lead projects to successful conclusions and ultimately leading those businesses to profit growth. Chris was always very popular within the teams we worked with and had an engaging style which helped to get all involved on board to achieve his goals. I highly recommend Chris if you are considering him to help with your businesses and you can trust that he will do a thorough, committed and trustworthy job.
Tony
Guest Experience Specialist
