We help businesses see where their money actually goes
Started in 2019 when we noticed something odd. Most small businesses had accounting systems that told them what happened last month—but nothing that helped them plan next week.
So we built something different. A budget analysis approach that connects past spending patterns with future business decisions.
How this started
Back in early 2019, our founder was working with a café owner in Perth who kept running out of cash despite decent sales. Turns out they had no visibility into weekly cost patterns.
That conversation led to building our first budget tracking tool—nothing fancy, just a way to map income against actual spending cycles. The café owner could suddenly see that their weekend staff costs spiked right before their supplier payments were due.
Word spread. Other business owners wanted the same clarity. By mid-2020, we'd developed our core analysis framework and started working with clients across Western Australia.
These days we work with around forty businesses—from retail shops to service providers—helping them understand their numbers well enough to make confident decisions about hiring, inventory, and growth timing.
What guides our work
We've learned a few things about what actually helps businesses manage their finances better. These principles show up in every analysis we do.
Clarity over complexity
Financial reports shouldn't require a degree to understand. We present budget data in plain terms that make sense for how you actually run your business—not how accounting textbooks say you should.
Patterns matter more than single numbers
One month's figures don't tell you much. We look at spending cycles, seasonal variations, and how different cost categories relate to each other over time. That's where useful insights live.
Analysis that leads somewhere
Every budget review ends with specific next steps. Not vague advice about "controlling costs," but concrete actions you can take next week based on what the numbers are actually showing.
Key moments along the way
First client engagement
Developed our initial budget tracking system for a local café. Simple spreadsheet-based approach that focused on cash flow timing rather than just monthly totals. Results were immediate enough that three other businesses asked for the same analysis.
Framework refinement
After working with twenty different businesses, we noticed recurring patterns in how budget problems showed up. Built a structured analysis process that could adapt to different business types while maintaining consistency in how we identified issues.
Regional expansion
Started working with businesses outside the Perth metro area. This taught us how to conduct effective budget reviews remotely and highlighted differences in cost patterns between urban and regional operations—particularly around inventory management and supplier terms.
Current focus
Now working with clients across various sectors—retail, hospitality, professional services, trades. Our analysis approach has matured to include scenario planning and growth budgeting, not just expense tracking. Looking ahead to expanding our team in 2026.
Who does this work
Small team, focused approach. Everyone here has spent years working directly with business finances before joining varquinalos.
Freya Koskinen
Spent seven years in operational finance at mid-sized manufacturers before starting varquinalos. Her background is in cost accounting and production budgeting—which turns out to be surprisingly useful for retail and service businesses dealing with variable expenses.
Freya handles our more complex budget analyses, particularly for businesses planning expansion or dealing with significant operational changes. She's also the one who developed our scenario planning framework back in 2022.
Outside work, she's usually hiking somewhere around the South West or trying to keep her vegetable garden from being destroyed by possums.
Want to understand your budget better?
We're taking on new clients for mid-2025. Initial consultations usually take about ninety minutes and give you a clear picture of where your budget analysis could improve.
Get in touch