A North Wales entrepreneur is aiming to put health, happiness and personal wellbeing at the heart of financial planning, through the launch of a new cloud-based software product for accountants.

Chartered accountant Gareth Salomon, from Wrexham, created PF Director after spotting a gap in the market while running his own accountancy practice. The intelligent advisory software combines financial data with a personal profile of each business owner – such as family life, hobbies, retirement goals and desired work/life balance –  allowing accountants to look at the person behind the business and offer advice based on more than just the balance sheet.

Gareth said:

“When I started out running my own practice I was working as most accountants do, focusing on normal things like bookkeeping, end of year tax returns – and thought would it not be better to do things differently?

“It’s all based around getting to know the client better – what lifestyle they want, every aspect of their personal financial life and then using this alongside their business data to draw up sound financial advice.”

PF Director helps accountants ask their clients three simple questions – where am I now, where do I want to be, and how am I going to get there – allowing both the accountant and their client to clearly access key information. Using the data inputted into the system, intelligent algorithms work behind the scenes to create powerful reporting tools. These include a Smart Advisor, which identifies potential personal wealth and tax planning opportunities.

Steve Pipe, founder of the ‘Get and Give a Million’ movement for accountants, believes PF Director could have a transformational effect for both accountants and business owners.

He said:

“PF Director allows accountants to focus exactly on what its name suggests – personal finances – and it’s something which I wish was available when I was in practice.

“I’m sure if you asked anyone who runs their own business, their family is much more important to them than the success of the business itself. This goes over and above giving financial advice. By focusing on family, we can help business owners make better, more accurate and targeted lifetime financial projections using our own expertise and knowledge of accountancy.”