Accounting

Business Advisory · South East London

Business advisory in Upper Elmers End

Whether the question in Upper Elmers End is whether to hire, how to price, how to fund growth or why the business is busy but not profitable, we bring the accountant's view to it for a fixed fee. Businesses across South East London use the single session for one decision and the quarterly retainer for a standing conversation. Everything online.

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 Upper Elmers End

Owner-managers in Upper Elmers End 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 Upper Elmers End, step by step

  1. Tell us your situation

    A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.

  2. Fixed fee in writing

    You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.

  3. Send records, review the draft

    Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.

  4. We file, you get the receipts

    Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.

Why IGI

Why Upper Elmers End businesses file with IGI

The price for business advisory is published on this page and is what a client in Upper Elmers End pays. We confirm it in writing first, and the invoice matches the quote.

Deadline-first: the dates that matter for business advisory are shown at the top of this page, diarised for every Upper Elmers End client and chased before they arrive.

Online only, UK based. There is no office in Upper Elmers End to pay for, which is why the fee is the same here as anywhere in England; the work is done by people in the UK who answer the same day.

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

Plain English, with the numbers. Every draft for Upper Elmers End comes with a short explanation of what the figures mean and what, if anything, you should do about them.

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

Local facts

About Upper Elmers End

Upper Elmers End is in South East London, within Bromley, in the BR3 postcode district, England. Income tax in England follows the UK rates: 20% basic to £50,270, 40% higher to £125,140 and 45% additional, with the personal allowance of £12,570 tapered away above £100,000. National Insurance, VAT and Corporation Tax are UK-wide, and Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property purchases.

Nearby places we also serve for business advisory
PlaceDistanceDirection
Eden Park0.3 miN
Kelsey and Eden Park0.6 miNW
Park Langley0.6 miNE
Monks Orchard0.8 miW
West Wickham0.8 miSE
Spring Park1 miSW
Elmers End1 miNW
Shirley, Croydon1 miSW

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

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.

Closing a company

Voluntary strike-off is available only to solvent companies. One that owes money it cannot pay needs a creditors' voluntary liquidation through a licensed insolvency practitioner, and directors who dissolve an insolvent company face personal consequences. For a solvent company the process takes three to four months from filing the DS01, with notice to creditors and shareholders within seven days.

Employer National Insurance

The cost of an employee is more than the salary. Employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year, the 3% minimum pension contribution, holiday pay, equipment and management time all come on top. The Employment Allowance of £10,500 reduces the National Insurance for most employers with more than one person on the payroll.

Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment

Auto-enrolment duties begin the day you take on your first employee, not when the Pensions Regulator writes to you. Eligible staff must be enrolled, contributions paid every pay period and re-enrolment carried out every three years. Director-only companies without employment contracts are usually exempt. Fines for non-compliance are fixed and escalating.

Dormant companies

Companies formed to protect a name or hold a future business are dormant but not exempt: Companies House still expects dormant accounts within nine months of the year end and a confirmation statement annually with its £50 fee, and HMRC must be told the company is dormant or it will demand Corporation Tax returns. The filings are short, but the penalties for missing them are the same as for a trading company.

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.

Crypto records and reporting

HMRC treats cryptoassets as property. Swapping one token for another, spending crypto or gifting it are all disposals for Capital Gains Tax, and staking and lending rewards are income. Gains are computed under pooling rules with same-day and 30-day matching. From 2026 HMRC receives data from exchanges worldwide under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, so unreported activity is increasingly visible.

Questions

Business Advisory questions from Upper Elmers End

Do you need to be my accountant for compliance?

No. Advisory is available on its own, and we work from management figures or accounts prepared by another firm. Where the session reveals a compliance issue we tell you, and where implementing the advice needs ongoing accounting we quote it separately as a fixed fee.

How do I get the most from a session?

Bring one clear question and send your figures beforehand. The best sessions are specific: should I take on this contract at this price, can I afford this hire by March, which of my three services should I stop. Broad questions get broad answers; specific ones get decisions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Do you have an office in Upper Elmers End?

No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Upper Elmers End and every other UK postcode remotely, with records sent by WhatsApp or email and everything filed electronically. The absence of local premises is why the fee for business advisory is the same in Upper Elmers End as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.

Is business advisory in Upper Elmers End really the same price as elsewhere?

Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Upper Elmers End pays and what a client in any other part of England pays. It is confirmed in writing before work starts and the invoice matches the quote. Where a higher package applies because your situation is more complex, we say so at the quote stage, never afterwards.

One message from Upper Elmers End, one fixed price

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