Porterdale’s Business Growth Platform: a SYIP Deploy Solution

Sheffield-based consultancy Porterdale Ltd have been providing financial guidance to South Yorkshire SMEs for over ten years.

One of the biggest barriers to business growth is access to finance. To address this, Porterdale developed an online tool, Clearview, which helps SMEs compile financial forecasts.

The challenge:

Previously, Clearview had been entirely free to access, which was not commercially sustainable for Porterdale in the long-term. Their goal was to generate revenue with Clearview while continuing to offer free financial education for businesses. To do this, they knew they needed to maintain the free version and introduce a paid one with additional functionality for more experienced users.

The project:

Porterdale approached The Curve Consulting in Sheffield, who quickly understood their requirements. Steve Carroll, Founder of Porterdale Ltd, explained:

‘Firstly, we needed to build a mechanism to deliver both free and paid versions, deciding which features would be included in each. Free users would be able to create a basic forecast for use in decision making and funding applications, with more complex options restricted to paid ‘advanced’ users. Both versions had to be financially robust for calculations and reporting.’

Additionally, they had to ensure all the associated plug-ins and software were updated to the latest versions and could support the platform’s new ‘freemium’ model.

Steve said, ‘Offering two versions with different access levels provides us the opportunity to find out more about how different types of users benefit from our product. We’ll be asking users for their feedback on both versions to guide future development.’

Porterdale accessed the Deploy Grant from the South Yorkshire Innovation programme (SYIP), which provided £2000 of funding towards the cost of developing the new paid service. With this new service the business, which previously focused on in-person consultancy services within South Yorkshire, is now able to attract and serve customers from across the UK.

Reflecting on their project and experience with SYIP, Steve said:

‘It’s great to get support for a project which might have been out of reach otherwise and that has made a big difference to both our business and the products we offer.’

SYIP supports organisations across the region to innovate and grow; develop new ideas, improve processes, access new markets, and launch new products.

The SYIP Deploy Grant can provide up to £2,000 in funding towards lower value, quick turnaround projects to implement an innovative solution from a commercial supplier.

To find out more about SYIP and how we could help your organisation innovate, please contact us at innovation@shu.ac.uk. 

The South Yorkshire Innovation Programme is being delivered by Sheffield Hallam University in partnership with The University of Sheffield and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, and is part-funded by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.