Accountants who can tell you which clients actually make you money.
Client-by-client profitability, freelancer and IR35 handled, a rolling 13-week cash flow in front of you, and director pay planned — not improvised.
Speak to a real accountant who understands retainers, project margins and agency cash flow.
Who this is for
Built for service businesses that bill time and talent.
Owner-managed agencies, studios and consultancies between £250k and £5m in fees. London, Essex, UK-wide.
Run an interior design studio? See our dedicated accountants for interior designers page.
Sound familiar?
The problems we solve every week.
No idea which clients make money
Big-name logos that drain hours; small retainers quietly carrying the business.
Time, freelancers and pass-throughs in the wrong place
Recharges missed, freelancer costs not allocated, gross margin a guess.
Lumpy retainers vs steady outgoings
Client pauses a retainer; freelancer rates and PAYE don't pause with them.
Surprise corporation tax bills
A profitable year sneaks up. No one set aside the cash or planned dividends.
Director pay & dividends done by guesswork
Salary, dividends, pension — taken when there's cash, not when it's optimal.
IR35 and contractor risk ignored
Working assumptions that wouldn't survive an HMRC review.
What we do
A finance function built around agencies.
Client & project profitability reporting
Gross margin per client, per retainer, per project. The numbers founders actually want.
Bookkeeping on Xero with project tracking
Tracking categories, recharges, multi-currency where needed. Reconciled monthly.
VAT for service businesses
Cross-border, reverse charge for digital services, MOSS / OSS where relevant. Quarterly returns filed.
Payroll, freelancers & contractors
PAYE, pensions, self-billed invoices, CIS where applicable. IR35 risk flagged before it matters.
Year-end accounts & corporation tax
Prepared, reviewed and filed ahead of the deadline — with reminders well before anything is due.
13-week rolling cash flow
Retainers in, freelancers out, VAT and CT lined up. Hire and pitch with the cash story in front of you.
Director profit extraction planning
Salary, dividends, pension and EV salary sacrifice modelled quarterly against actual profit.
Virtual FD & growth planning
Quarterly strategy sessions on pricing, hiring, exits and funding rounds.
Why clients choose us
Specialist advice, not a quarterly tax return and silence.
ACCA-qualified
ACCA-qualified accountants — not an unqualified bookkeeping shop.
Fixed monthly fees
One agreed monthly fee. No hourly billing and no surprise invoices.
Xero & FreeAgent
Xero Silver Partner and FreeAgent partner — your books stay current.
How we work
Easy to onboard. Proactive once you're in.
Discovery call
20 minutes. We learn the agency model — retainers, projects, freelancer mix, where the pain is.
Fixed monthly fee
Scoped to headcount, turnover and complexity. No hourly billing, no surprises.
Systems set up properly
Xero with tracking categories, payroll, contractor payments, dashboards.
Monthly numbers + quarterly strategy
Short management pack each month, deeper review every quarter to plan the next move.
Common Questions
Can you tell me which clients and retainers are actually profitable?
Yes. We track time, freelancer cost and pass-through expenses against each client and project, so you get a clean margin per client and per retainer — not just an agency-wide profit number.
Do you handle freelancers, contractors and IR35?
Yes. We help structure freelancer agreements correctly, run contractor payments through CIS or self-billed invoices where appropriate, and flag IR35 risk before HMRC does.
We bill in advance and pay out in arrears — can you help with cash flow?
That's exactly the rhythm we build forecasts around. A rolling 13-week cash flow showing retainer income, freelancer outflow, VAT and corporation tax so you can hire, pitch and pay yourself with confidence.
How do you handle director pay and dividends tax-efficiently?
Quarterly profit extraction reviews — salary, dividends, pension contributions, EV salary sacrifice — modelled against your real numbers, not a generic rule of thumb.
We want to bring on a finance person eventually — does that work with you?
Yes. Plenty of our agency clients start with us as their finance function, then bring in a part-time finance manager once they hit £1.5m+ turnover. We hand over cleanly and stay in an advisory role.
Are you based in Essex? Can you work with London agencies?
We're in Brentwood, Essex, and look after agencies and consultancies across London, Essex and the rest of the UK. Everything's cloud — we can meet in person, on Teams, or just stay out of your way.
Know which clients pay you. Plan the next quarter with numbers.
Modern reporting where it saves time, personal advice when the numbers need a decision.