Advisory & planning
Business advisory
Business advisory is the part of an accountant's work that has traditionally been hardest for small businesses to buy, because it was sold by the hour and nobody knew what a conversation would cost. Yet the questions it answers are the ones that determine whether a business succeeds: how to price, when to hire, how to fund growth, why a busy business has no cash, what will break at the next size. Owners of small companies face these decisions with less information and less support than any other group of managers, and usually make them alone.
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
Fees
Packages, fixed and published
£149
Single advisory session (90 min + written summary)
£299
Pricing and margin review
£399
Growth readiness review (hiring, funding, systems)
£129/quarter
Quarterly advisory retainer
Who this is for
Business Advisory
Owner-managers in the UK 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
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
In detail
How business advisory works
We sell advisory as fixed products so that the decision to buy one is itself simple. The single session at £149 is 90 minutes by video on the question you bring, prepared from your figures beforehand, with a written summary within three working days setting out what we discussed, what we recommend and what to do next. Many questions are resolved in one session. The quarterly retainer at £129 a quarter gives owners who want a standing conversation a session each quarter with their management figures and an agenda of the measures they are tracking, and it works best alongside our management accounts, where the numbers are already current.
The two review products go deeper on the two commonest problems. The pricing and margin review at £299 analyses sales by product, service or customer against the true cost of delivery, including the overheads that are usually spread evenly and therefore ignored, to show where the margin is actually made and lost; the report recommends price changes, discount policy and which lines to grow or stop, with the profit effect of each quantified. Businesses that are busy but not profitable almost always find the explanation here. The growth readiness review at £399 looks at what the business would need to operate at the next size, in people, funding, systems, controls, pricing and the owner's own role, identifies what will break first and sets out the fixes in order with costs. It is frequently commissioned before a fundraise or a major hire.
The advice is the accountant's view: what the numbers say and what they mean for the decision. Hiring is modelled at full cost, including employer National Insurance at 15% above the £5,000 threshold, pension, equipment and management time, against the revenue or capacity released, month by month in cash terms. Funding is matched to the need, since debt, invoice finance, asset finance, grants and equity suit different problems, and we prepare the figures lenders or investors want and introduce you to those we know, taking no commission. Preparing for a sale means cleaning the accounts, documenting what a buyer will ask for, understanding how value is calculated and planning the tax position on exit. Where a question needs a solicitor, a corporate finance adviser or a regulated financial adviser, we say so and tell you what to ask them.
What makes a session useful is specificity. The best questions are concrete: should I take this contract at this price, can I afford this hire by March, which of my three services should I stop, is this the right time to incorporate. We ask for the question and the figures when you book, so that the 90 minutes are spent on the decision rather than on orientation. Advisory is available on its own, without our compliance services, and works from management figures or accounts prepared elsewhere. Everything is delivered online, at fixed fees agreed before the session, with the written summary as the record you can act on.
Process
From first message to filed
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.
Agree the price
The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.
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.
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.
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
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.
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.
The trading and property allowances
The first £1,000 of trading income and, separately, the first £1,000 of property income each year is tax free under the trading and property allowances. Below those figures no return is needed for that income. Above them you can deduct the £1,000 allowance instead of actual expenses if that is better, which suits side businesses and single-room lets with few costs.
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.
Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment
Every employer must assess its workers for automatic enrolment from the first employee's start date. Those aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £10,000 a year must be enrolled into a qualifying pension with minimum contributions of 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from the employer, and a declaration of compliance made to the Pensions Regulator within five months.
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.
Allowable expenses
An expense is allowable against trading profit if it is incurred wholly and exclusively for the business. Materials, business travel other than ordinary commuting, a proportion of home running costs, software, insurance, professional fees, bank charges and protective clothing qualify. Client entertainment, ordinary clothing, fines and the private share of mixed-use costs do not.
Questions
Business Advisory: your questions answered
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.
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 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.
Is this consultancy or accounting?
It is advice from accountants who read your numbers, which is different from both generic business coaching and from pure compliance. We focus on the decisions the figures inform: pricing, hiring, funding, cost structure, cash. We do not advise on marketing strategy or operations beyond their financial effect.
Can you help me decide whether to hire?
Yes, and it is one of the most common session topics. We model the full cost of the hire including employer National Insurance at 15%, pension, equipment and management time, against the revenue or capacity it releases, and the cash impact month by month. The answer is often yes but later, or yes but part-time first.
Can you help with funding?
We help you decide what kind of funding suits the need, debt, invoice finance, asset finance, grant or equity, and prepare the figures lenders or investors want to see. Our cash-flow forecasting service produces the forecast pack. We introduce you to lenders and grant bodies we know but we are not brokers and take no commission.
My business is busy but there is never any money. Can you tell me why?
Usually, yes, and usually within a session. The common causes are margin erosion through discounting or cost creep, slow-paying customers tying up cash, stock or work in progress absorbing it, overheads that grew with turnover, or the owner's drawings exceeding profit. The pricing and margin review goes deeper where margin is the cause.
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.
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 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.
Where
Business Advisory across the UK
This service has a local page for the 1,680 larger towns and cities we cover, and is delivered nationally everywhere else. A selection:
- Archway
- Arnos Grove
- Beddington South
- Brimsdown
- Burnt Oak, Barnet
- Caledonian Road
- Carshalton South and Clockhouse
- Chapel End, Waltham Forest
- Chesterfield
- Dartmouth Park
- East Putney
- Edgware
- Edmonton Green
- Finsbury Park
- Forest, Waltham Forest
- Fulham Reach
- Gospel Oak, Camden
- High Street, Waltham Forest
- Hoe Street
- King's Cross
- Lesnes Abbey
- Mansfield
- Markhouse
- Mill Hill, Barnet
- Nonsuch
- Pentonville
- Primrose Hill, Camden
- Somers Town
- South Chingford
- Stroud Green, Haringey
- Sutton South
- Sutton West
- Swiss Cottage
- Thamesmead Moorings
- Totteridge, Barnet
- Town
- Wandle Valley
- Whetstone
- Whipps Cross
- Wood Street, Waltham Forest
England: Central London · East London · East Midlands · East of England · M25 Fringe · North East · North East London · North London · North West · North West London · South East · South East London · South London · South West · South West London · West London · West Midlands · Yorkshire
Scotland: Scotland
Wales: Wales
Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland
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Get business advisory for a fixed fee
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.