Consultants
More than a tax return
Independent consulting gives you freedom — but the financial side carries decisions most accountants never really help you with:
- Choosing the right structure — sole trader or limited company is the biggest tax decision you'll make, and the right answer shifts as you grow.
- IR35 and off-payroll — your status is decided by how you actually work, not what your contract says, and getting it wrong is expensive.
- Drawing profit tax-efficiently — the salary-and-dividend balance, pension planning, and what to do with profit you don't need yet.
- Irregular income — retainers, day rates and gaps between engagements make cash flow and tax bills harder to predict.
- Two sets of obligations — running a company means company filings and your own self-assessment, with more deadlines to miss.
- Making Tax Digital — from April 2026, sole traders earning over £50,000 will need to keep digital records and file quarterly.
My job is to take all of that off your plate — and, just as importantly, to help you make the right calls before the deadlines, not after. If you've been let down by an accountant who only surfaces once a year, or who treats IR35 as a tick-box, that's exactly who I built ESXR for.
Why not book a meeting with me today?
Questions consultants always ask...
Any accountant can file your return. The value is in the decisions you make before then — how you're structured, your IR35 position on each engagement, how you draw money from the business, and planning across the whole year rather than scrambling every January. That's where I focus, and it's usually worth far more than the fee.
IR35 is the single biggest tax risk most consultants carry, and it's decided by the reality of your engagement — control, substitution, mutuality of obligation — not the words in your contract. As a Chartered Tax Adviser I go deeper than a CEST result: I review your actual working practices on each engagement and help you keep the evidence that protects you if HMRC ever asks. And with the off-payroll rules changing from April 2026, more of that responsibility is shifting back onto you — so getting it right matters more than ever.
It's the most important tax decision you'll make as a consultant, and the honest answer is "it depends" — on your profit level, your IR35 position, and what you want to draw from the business. Rather than give you a one-size answer, I'll model both for your situation, and revisit it as things change.
Although I promise to respond within 48 hours, it's usually within 24 — if not the same day. All human responses, no AI chatbots.
My preferred methods are email for correspondence and Microsoft Teams for meetings and calls (Zoom and Google are fine too). WhatsApp and SMS work for short or urgent requests, and I use a telephone answering service for any call-back requests.
I operate a fixed-fee policy. I never discount, and I use the same pricing menu for every client — I think that's the fairest way, and it means every client gets the same commitment and respect. I'll work with you to get the right balance of services for your budget, and you'll never pay for a service you don't need.
All I ask is 30 days' notice, so I can finish any work in progress and hand over to your new accountant properly. I'll never present you with an extra bill on the way out.
You can either book a meeting with me to talk through your business and how I can help, or get a quote online.
Don't just take my word for it

Don't just take my word for it

Don't just take my word for it

Don't just take my word for it

