Accounting

Business Advisory · Central London

Business advisory in Marylebone, Westminster

Owners in Marylebone rarely have anyone to think out loud with who understands the numbers. Our advisory sessions are that: a structured conversation about the question you bring, prepared from your figures, with a written summary afterwards saying what we recommend and why. Fixed fee per session, no retainer required, no hourly clock.

from £149 · fixed, per session

Next deadlines

  • VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
  • VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
  • VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
  • Tax year ends: last day for pension, ISA and dividend timing decisions

Who this is for

Business Advisory for Marylebone

Owner-managers in Marylebone, Westminster facing a decision or a recurring problem: businesses that are busy but not profitable, owners considering a first or next hire, companies choosing between loan, invoice finance and investment, founders preparing to scale or to sell, franchisees and partnerships needing an independent view, and anyone who wants a quarterly conversation about the numbers with someone who has read them.

What is included

Everything inside the fixed fee

  • A structured 90-minute session on the question you bring, with preparation from your numbers beforehand
  • A written summary within three working days: what we discussed, what we recommend, what to do next
  • Pricing and margin review: unit economics, price points, discounting and the gross margin you actually make
  • Growth readiness review: hiring plans, funding options, systems, controls and what breaks at the next size
  • Quarterly advisory retainer: a session each quarter with your management figures and a standing agenda
  • Introductions to lenders, grant bodies and specialists where the question needs them

How it works

Business Advisory from Marylebone, Westminster, step by step

  1. Scope the job

    We find out what you need filed, when it is due and what state the records are in, and tell you which fixed-fee package applies.

  2. Agree the price

    The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.

  3. Hand over the records

    Photographs, PDFs, software access or a spreadsheet, sent however suits you. We confirm what we have and what is missing within two working days.

  4. Approve, then we submit

    You review the draft with our explanation, sign off, and we file. Receipts, copies and the next deadlines come back to you immediately.

Why IGI

Why Marylebone businesses file with IGI

One fixed fee for business advisory in Marylebone, Westminster, agreed in writing before any work starts and never changed part-way through the job, however long it takes us.

We work to the HMRC and Companies House calendar, not an appointment diary. Clients in Marylebone, Westminster get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each date that applies to business advisory.

We serve Marylebone, Westminster remotely by design: records by WhatsApp or email, drafts back for approval, filing electronic. The saving on premises is passed to you in the fee for business advisory.

Continuity matters in business advisory: the person who prepared last year's work for your Marylebone business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.

We explain business advisory in the words Marylebone, Westminster business owners use, not in accountant's shorthand, and we show our working so you can check it.

You stay in control of business advisory: drafts go to Marylebone clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.

Local facts

About Marylebone, Westminster

Marylebone, Westminster is in Central London, within Westminster, in the W1U postcode district, England. For businesses in England the tax rules are those set by the UK Parliament: the 20/40/45% income tax bands, Class 4 National Insurance for the self-employed at 6% and 2%, Corporation Tax at 19% to 25%, and Stamp Duty Land Tax on property. Business rates are set locally by the council.

Nearby places we also serve for business advisory
PlaceDistanceDirection
Marylebone High Street0.1 miE
Baker Street, Westminster0.4 miNW
West End of London0.4 miS
Bryanston and Dorset Square0.4 miW
Marble Arch0.5 miSW
Oxford Circus0.6 miSE
Mayfair0.6 miS
Fitzrovia0.6 miE

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

Closing a company

A solvent company that has finished its purpose can be dissolved by voluntary strike-off: form DS01 with a £13 Companies House fee, after three months without trading and with all debts paid, final accounts and tax return filed, and assets distributed. HMRC objects to any application where returns or tax are outstanding, so the sequence matters more than the form.

Switching accountants

The main reasons people switch accountant are surprise invoices, missed deadlines and not understanding what they are being told. Switching involves a clearance letter between the firms, a transfer of records and agent authorisations, and a short handover of the current position. It takes about two weeks and should cost nothing extra.

Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment

Workplace pension compliance is part of payroll, not separate from it. Each pay period the payroll assesses who is eligible, calculates employer and employee contributions on qualifying earnings between the lower and upper thresholds, and sends the contribution file to the scheme. The minimum total is 8%, and many employers choose to contribute more as a recruitment advantage.

Employer National Insurance

Since April 2025 employer National Insurance has been 15% on earnings above a £5,000 secondary threshold, a substantial increase for small employers. The Employment Allowance rose to £10,500 at the same time to soften it for the smallest businesses. Directors deciding their own salary weigh this cost against the Corporation Tax deduction a salary provides.

The trading and property allowances

Small side incomes are covered by two £1,000 allowances, one for trading and one for property, which remove the need to register or report income below that level. Once income exceeds £1,000, the allowance can be used in place of expenses, a choice worth making deliberately: a freelancer with £900 of costs is better off with the allowance, one with £3,000 is not.

Dormant companies

Dormancy is a status that is easy to lose. The strict rule is no accounting transactions other than share capital and Companies House fees, which means no bank account activity at all in practice. Fees should be paid personally by the director. A company that traded and has stopped becomes dormant only after its final trading accounts and tax return are filed and HMRC is told.

The 60-day property CGT return

The 60-day Capital Gains Tax return on residential property is the deadline landlords most often miss, because it falls outside the Self Assessment cycle and runs from completion, not exchange. Private residence relief for periods you lived in the property, plus the final nine months, reduces the gain. Penalties for a late return mirror Self Assessment, starting at £100.

Questions

Business Advisory questions from Marylebone

Can a session be about a partnership or shareholder disagreement?

Yes, where the question has a financial core: how profits are shared, how a partner is bought out, what a shareholding is worth, how to structure an exit. We give an independent financial view. Legal advice on the agreement itself needs a solicitor, and we tell you what to ask them.

Do you advise on selling a business?

We advise on preparing a business for sale: cleaning up the accounts, documenting what the buyer will ask for, understanding how value is calculated and what reduces it, and the tax position on exit including business asset disposal relief. For the transaction itself you need a corporate finance adviser or broker, and we work alongside them.

How does the quarterly retainer work?

For £129 a quarter you get a session each quarter with your management figures, a standing agenda of the things you are tracking, and a written note afterwards. It is for owners who want a regular, structured conversation about the business rather than one-off help, and it works best alongside our management accounts.

What is the growth readiness review?

For £399 we look at what the business would need to operate at the next level: people and roles, funding and cash, systems and controls, pricing capacity and the owner's own role. The report identifies what will break first at the larger size and sets out the fixes in order, with costs. It is often used before a fundraise or a major hire.

What is the pricing and margin review?

For £299 we analyse your sales by product, service or customer against the true cost of delivering each, including the overheads that are usually ignored, to show where the margin is actually made and lost. The report recommends price changes, discount policy and which lines to grow or drop, with the profit effect of each quantified.

What happens in the £149 session?

You tell us the question when you book and send your recent figures. We prepare, then spend 90 minutes by video working through it: the numbers, the options, the trade-offs. Within three working days you receive a written summary of the discussion, our recommendation and the next steps. One session often resolves the question; some lead to a review product.

How do I get started from Marylebone, Westminster?

Message us on WhatsApp or email with a sentence about your business and what you need. We reply in working hours with any questions and a fixed fee for business advisory. Once you confirm, we tell you exactly which records to send and the work begins. Most Marylebone clients are set up within a day.

Which deadlines matter most for business advisory?

The next four dates that apply to business advisory are shown at the top of this page, calculated from today. For Marylebone clients we diarise every one of them from the day you join and send reminders before each, so the work is done in good time rather than in the last week before a penalty.

Fixed fees, filed on time, for Marylebone

Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.

WhatsApp for a fixed quote