Many accountants tell you the tax bill. We tell you in time to change it.
Pension, salary and equipment decisions that could reduce your tax close at year end. We review every limited company in Month 9, with three months left to act.
Compliance in the background. Advice while there is still time to act.
Year end is too late.
Your year ends. Months later the accounts arrive with a tax figure higher than you hoped. You ask if anything can be done. By then, most options have gone.
That is a failure of timing, not arithmetic. Most of what could have reduced the bill had to happen before the year ended, and nobody raised it in time.
That is not accounting. That is bookkeeping with a covering letter.
We meet you in Month 9.
Nine months in, we know enough to forecast the rest of your year, and you still have a full quarter to act on what we find.
You get a written Advisory Report, with a deadline against each recommended action. Pension contributions, salary adjustments, capital purchases, research and development claims: whatever applies to you.
Then we do it again next year. It is how the relationship runs.
What the Month 9 report holds
- Year-end forecast
- Estimated corporation tax
- Cash flow forecast
- Working capital and debtor review
- Recommended actions, each with a deadline
- A date for next year's review, already in the diary
What we do for companies
Compliance, payroll, VAT and advisory, in one fixed monthly figure that only includes what you use. A director-only company and a team of fifty are both at home here.
Director Tax and Profit Extraction Review
The salary, dividend and pension question, answered with your actual numbers.
Company accounts and corporation tax
The statutory baseline, filed on time, with the numbers explained.
Self Assessment
The director's personal return, inseparable from the extraction conversation.
Confirmation statement
The annual Companies House filing.
Bookkeeping
The foundation. Good advice needs reliable numbers.
Payroll
Director-only through to teams of fifty and more. RTI and auto-enrolment handled.
VAT returns
Where it applies. The scheme choice matters, so we check it.
Management accounts
Monthly or quarterly, for those who need to see performance as it happens.
Ongoing advisory
The advisory rhythm, monthly or quarterly, for clients who want more than the annual review.
Tax planning review
Wider reliefs and allowances across the business and your personal position.
Business structure review
For those questioning whether a limited company is still the right wrapper.
How much are you taking home?
Many directors set a salary once and never revisit it. Meanwhile thresholds move, the business grows and a split that made sense three years ago stops working.
The right answer starts with a question that often goes unasked: how much do you need to live on? A director drawing £40,000 from a business making £200,000 has different options from one who needs the lot. We start there, then work out the most tax-efficient route.
Already have an accountant? Switching is less hassle than you think.
We write to your current accountant for professional clearance, request your records and handle the handover. You sign one thing and we do the rest. Most switches are done inside a fortnight.
Fifteen legal ways directors can reduce their tax bill
Legitimate ways to keep more of what your company earns. Written by us, checked against HMRC guidance, a checklist to bring to a conversation with us.
- Balance salary and dividends deliberately
- Use the dividend allowance
- Set salary at a National Insurance-smart level
- Split income with a spouse where genuine
- Make employer pension contributions
- Reclaim the cost of a home office
- Claim mileage at approved rates
- Put genuine business costs through the company
- Use the Annual Investment Allowance
- Check whether you qualify for R&D relief
- Claim the Employment Allowance
- Review trivial benefits and staff costs
- Time income and dividends across tax years
- Plan for corporation tax marginal relief
- Get a review before your year end, not after
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Questions directors ask us
Short answers here. Longer ones on a call, with your own numbers in front of us.
What is the right salary and dividend split for me?
There is no universal answer. It depends on your profit, your other income, whether you have a spouse who could hold shares and how much you need to live on. We model it in a Director Tax and Profit Extraction Review rather than applying a rule of thumb.
I already have an accountant. Is switching a hassle?
Less than you would think. We write to your current accountant for professional clearance, request your records and handle the handover. You sign one thing and we do the rest. Most switches are done inside a fortnight.
What is the Month 9 review, in practice?
A scheduled meeting nine months into your trading year, with a written report. We forecast your year-end position, estimate the corporation tax, review your cash flow and debtors, and give you a list of actions you can still take before the year closes. It goes in the diary at onboarding.
Can I put this through the company?
Often yes, sometimes no, and the difference matters. Equipment, training, some travel, pension contributions and certain benefits all have rules, some generous and some strict. We go through your specifics rather than hand you a list that half applies.
Do I need management accounts, or are year-end accounts enough?
If you make decisions that depend on knowing your margins, your cash position or whether you can afford to hire, year-end accounts are too slow. If you are steady and simple, they may be enough. We tell you which camp you are in.
What happens after I enquire?
Within one working day a named person gets back to you, by email or phone, whichever you gave us. If you asked for an instant estimate you already have the figure, and the call turns it into a proposal. Nothing is set up and nothing changes with your current accountant until you say yes. If it is urgent, ring 020 8087 3107.
Directors we work with
The timing is the proof this page needs, in the client's own words. Three placeholders in the shape the cards will take, filled once clients have agreed in writing.
"They told me in September, not the following June." Quote to follow with permission.
"Quote to follow with permission."
"Quote to follow with permission."
Come and say hello.
Bring last year's accounts and the question you wish someone had asked you in Month 9. We would rather hear from you while there is still a quarter left.
Advice while there is still time to act.