Brown & Co grows revenue 8x and halves debtor days with Ignition
By implementing Ignition, Brown & Co transformed how it sells, bills, and gets paid. The firm built a scalable recurring revenue model, accelerated proposals, and gained predictable cash flow as it expanded through acquisitions.
“Ignition has become one of our key pieces of kit. We’ve slimmed down our app stack, but one thing we’ve never changed is Ignition.”
Chris Brown, Founder and Managing Director, Brown & Co
Brown & Co has grown rapidly over the past few years, expanding to two offices, serving around 1300 clients, and completing several acquisitions along the way. But scaling an accounting firm brings operational complexity, particularly when it comes to managing proposals, billing, and payments consistently.
Before adopting Ignition, the firm operated on a more traditional billing model. Work was completed first, then billed afterwards, and payments could take weeks to arrive.
“We were billing on completion and waiting 30 plus days to get paid for it.”
Chris Brown, Founder and Managing Director at Brown & Co.
This model made revenue less predictable and introduced the risk of revenue leakage. Work requested outside the original scope could easily go unbilled, and collecting payment often required additional admin work.
As the firm grew, these inefficiencies became harder to manage. Brown & Co was expanding both organically and through acquisitions, which meant more clients, more services, and more billing complexity.
At the same time, Chris wanted to build a more scalable and modern firm. That meant shifting toward a recurring revenue model with clear pricing, transparent proposals, and automated payment collection.
“We badged it as ‘no surprise fees,’” Chris explains. “If a client asks for something outside the scope, we can say no problem, we’ll send you over a proposal first.”
To support that shift, the firm needed a platform that could standardise proposals and engagement letters, automate billing, and provide visibility into revenue as the business continued to grow.
The solution: Creating a scalable recurring revenue engine with Ignition
Brown & Co implemented Ignition in early 2020 as the foundation for a new recurring-revenue model.
The firm began using Ignition to create professional proposals and engagement letters, capture client approvals, and automatically charge clients for services through recurring payments. This ensured every service was clearly defined and agreed upon upfront before work began.
“Everyone knows if a client asks for something and it’s not on the proposal, we’ll send a proposal first and get it signed before we do it,” Chris says.
This process helped eliminate scope creep and ensured that additional work was always captured and billed appropriately.
Ignition also dramatically simplified billing operations. Instead of managing multiple billing workflows manually, the firm centralised billing and payments within a single system.
“Most of our clients are now on monthly direct debit, so all the billing comes through Ignition.”
Chris Brown, Founder and Managing Director at Brown & Co.
The result was faster payment collection and more predictable cash flow. Before implementing Ignition, the firm’s average debtor days sat at around 30. Today, that’s dropped to 14 days.
“It’s effectively halved,” Chris explains.
Beyond improving cash flow, the platform has also given Brown & Co greater financial visibility as the firm scales.
“I go into Ignition every day and track what’s currently being collected,” Chris says. “I know what’s coming in and when every month.”
This predictable revenue stream has supported the firm’s growth strategy, including acquisitions. By demonstrating dependable recurring revenue and stable cash flow, Brown & Co was able to secure funding for a major acquisition that initially seemed out of reach.
“I think Ignition actually helped us do that acquisition in the first place because of the recurring revenue,” Chris says.
Since implementing Ignition, the firm’s revenue has grown from approximately £200,000 in 2020 to £1.6 million in 2026. Even when acquisitions are excluded, Brown & Co has maintained consistent double-digit annual growth.
“I think it was double-digit growth every year from 2020,” Chris explains. “We’ve had consistent good growth, and I think that comes down to the speed of getting proposals out and scalability.”
Just as importantly, the efficiency gains have allowed the firm to grow without dramatically increasing administrative overhead.
“Had we not had this model, we probably would have had to hire someone to manage credit control and billing,” Chris says.
Instead, the team handles proposals and billing as part of their normal workflow, allowing Brown & Co to scale efficiently.
Today, Ignition sits at the centre of the firm’s operations.
“I see Ignition as a revenue-generating tool. It’s easy to increase fees, easy to offer services to existing clients, and quick to send proposals.”
Chris Brown, Founder and Managing Director at Brown & Co.
The platform has also helped Brown & Co deliver a more professional and responsive client experience.
“We can often send a proposal within an hour of getting back to the office,” Chris says. “Clients are surprised by how quickly we get it to them.”
For Chris, implementing Ignition early was critical to the firm’s ability to scale successfully.
“If we hadn’t implemented it and scaled to the size we are now, it would be a nightmare,” he says.