The Accountancy Practice for the Video Games Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic was a defining period for gaming
Already growing at an exponential rate, the number of video game sales and the number of individuals and businesses profiteering from video games has increased phenomenally since the start of 2020.
With every year that passes, it becomes exponentially more exciting to be involved in this amazing creative industry that just keeps on expanding.
Video games are a thing of beauty that should be cherished by us all!
But with success often comes great failure. And unfortunately this is where the gaming industry rears a repugnant ugly head.
Gaming studios crash and burn all the time or get stuck in limbo land.
Hugely talented employees are rendered redundant without jobs and stable futures or having to fight for extremely competitive positions as the industry demands more and more.
And some games never get finished.
Which is probably the saddest part (because less than 1 per cent of games actually get published).
A Money Pit Business Model
One of the biggest problems in the gaming industry is when a seemingly perfect game becomes a hellish nightmare to work with from a financial point of view.
And there are always the merest of fine margins that when compounded unfortunately lead to the new best game ever heading down a deep, dark rabbit hole.
The finance function for a gaming studio is so imperative.
Without a tightly tuned budget that is regularly reviewed for variances against actuals and forecasts, any game being developed runs the risk of being stuck in limbo if finances become strained too early.
Games are bloody expensive to make and rightly so.
But it is much easier getting the budget right in the first place than trying to find more money under the sofa or asking the publisher for more later down the line.
Game Devs + Accouting =
Buzzkill
There has always been a massive disconnect between game developers and game publishers because developers need to spend money and publishers want to make money (without actually spending money if they can avoid it altogether).
Additionally, game studios are historically untrained or misguided in the world of finance and accounting so frustration will always be present and be a massive hurdle to overcome.
Left unchecked, a whole heap of other issues can arise leading to a vicious cycle of constant disappointment.
The Waiting Game
We’ve read the books.
We’ve seen the news articles.
It takes an age for games to be developed, tested, approved, and eventually launched.
Some amazing creations sadly never reach the shelf because (as mentioned) money gets tight and there is nowhere to go other than abandoning the game in progress and people lose their jobs.
However, let’s assume it’s all good news and the budget was enough and the amazing new game is being prepped for a long overdue launch with an epic launch party to boot.
Yay! Great! Congratulations!
But you can’t hang around can you?
Gaming studios are notoriously known for not being able to rest on their laurels!
The next game needs to be thought up and the process starts all over again.
Without the right level of financial support in your business from a fully loaded finance function, we know this can be absolutely exhausting.
“The entire video game industry is constantly teetering on the edge of unsustainability.”
Paul Tassi, Forbes Magazine (May 2021)
Bridging The Chasm
You’ll be pleased to hear there is a solution - a key to unlocking the chasm between starting a gaming studio and locking in behemoth financial strength and enabling studio founders and gaming entrepreneurs to achieve financial freedom.
And we call it Your MVP Finance Business Partner.
As semi-hardcore gamers ourselves, we salute the video games industry.
In this highly skilled creative landscape, we honestly believe that there is no harder working group of people in the creative landscape.
Who else has to crunch like a gaming studio does for weeks and months on end on the same job?
But it doesn’t have to feel like such an overwhelm all of the time.
We help take away this burden by becoming your MVP and converting your finance function into a system that is as slick as Sonic.
YOUR MVP FINANCE BUSINESS PARTNER
DESIGNING THE MOST EFFECTIVELY STREAMLINED FINANCE FUNCTION FOR START-UP GAMING STUDIOS IN THE UK
⭐ MAPPED OUT >>>🎥
A perfect blend of coordinated high level management meetings throughout the financial year focusing on client growth, business development and tax efficiency that maps out the new future and leaves the past behind
⭐ VISUALISATION >>>🎥
A perfect blend of beautiful yet pragmatic data visuals using the best and most modern accounting and business development software that ensures the map is being followed to 0~ with any roadblocks being identified as early as possible
⭐ PROCESSING >>>🎥
A perfect blend of digital bookkeeping, accounting and tax compliance services enabling precision data analysis to level up your gaming business in 2022 and 2023 that highlights new opportunities and new horizons on your journey
“The gaming industry is not recession proof. Recent quarterly results
from the US show that gamers
have pulled back spending
since the pandemic.”
Arthur Sants, Investors’ Chronicile (August 2022)
YOUR NEXT STEPS
“Complete a super quick Application Form
This lets us know if we are a good fit for you and that you are a good fit for us. We have specific criteria that we use to determine if working together will be a success! Rest assured, most gaming businesses pass the test!
”
“If we are a good fit, you’ll get invited to a Discovery Call
This gives us a chance to go through the client application form that you sent us and probe things a little further. We want to make sure we understand your story and situation correctly so that we can decide if we can help you.
”
“If everything looks good, you’ll get invited to a Live Proposal via Zoom
This is where it gets really interesting. Using a software system that has been designed specifically for accountants, we will go through your proposal together so that we can outline the true scope of all the services you require in the most systematic way possible.
”
“Once happy, you’ll sign the proposal you received (hopefully on the spot)
Signing up to your new accountant has never been so easy. You’ll be fully armed with all of the guided information you could ever need when the live proposal has been saved and sent to you. All you need to do is click the ‘Approve’ button.
”
“Once signed, we get notified immediately and the on-boarding process kicks off
Yay! You’re a new client and now the fun begins. We have a brilliant on-boarding system that will get you pumped and ready to hit the ground running alongside us as we build out your brand new outsourced annual finance function programme.
”
YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO
So what makes
Sky Life Accountancy so special?
Why should you sign up with us?
There are over 43000 tax, accountancy and bookkeeping practices in the United Kingdom. But we are the only practice who exclusively serves gaming and the entire video games industry.
We want to help you grow and improve your cash flow. We want to help you pay less tax or even better, get tax back in the form of Video Games Tax Relief and much more.
But most of all, we want gaming business owners to have more rewarding lifestyles. We want gaming business owners to be more respected and become more financially-minded. We want gaming business owners to gain financial, time and mind freedom. And this is where our practice blends into coaching and consultancy which is what we love doing the most.
This is why you should sign up with us.
#forthewin
A QUICK WORD FROM ANDREW
The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.
So Aim high.
Aim for The Sky Life!
