ACCA Registered
Xero Certified Adviser
FreeAgent Partner
ICO Registered
Where we work

Manchester. London. Wherever your agency is based.

Remote-firstUK-wide clientsIn-person when it matters
alto.

ACCA accountants for UK creative and marketing agencies. Specialists in agency cash flow, retainer math, and director tax planning.

Alto Accounting Ltd86–90 Paul Street
London EC2A 4NE
Company No. 15343741
Registered practice

Services

  • Bookkeeping
  • Tax Planning
  • Payroll
  • Outsourced FD
  • Xero Accounting
  • R&D Tax Credits
  • VAT Returns
  • Small Agencies

Free tools

  • Salary Calculator
  • R&D Tax Calculator
  • Profitability Calculator
  • Runway Calculator
  • IR35 Checker
  • VAT Calculator
  • Tax Deadlines Calendar

Agency types

  • PPC Agencies
  • SEO Agencies
  • Web Design Agencies
  • Digital Marketing
  • Video Production
  • Branding Agencies
  • PR & Comms
  • Social Media Agencies
  • Creative Studios
  • Advertising Agencies
  • Content Creators
  • Ecommerce Agencies
  • View All Services →

Popular guides

  • Director Salary 2026/27
  • Dubai Relocation Guide
  • Agency Profitability Guide
  • Creator Tax Checklist
  • UAE Expat Tax Checklist
  • View All Guides →

Comparisons

  • Specialist vs General
  • Best Agency Accountants
  • Best Cloud Software
  • In-House vs Outsourced FD
  • Accountant vs Bookkeeper
  • Accounting Costs Guide

Locations

  • London
  • Manchester
  • Birmingham
  • Leeds
  • Bristol
  • Edinburgh
  • Glasgow
  • Liverpool
  • Cambridge
  • Cardiff
  • Nottingham
  • Brighton
  • Newcastle
  • All locations →

Company

  • About Us
  • Pricing
  • Contact
  • Free Consultation
  • FAQ
  • Why Specialist?
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Agency tax brief

Practical finance for UK agency founders

Monthly. Deadlines, quick wins, nothing fluffy.

© 2026 Alto Accounting Ltd
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms
  • hello@alto-accounting.com
alto.
  • About
PricingBook a call
Run monthly
Monthly reportingCash flow forecastingOutsourced FDYear-end accounts
Tax & compliance
Tax planningPayrollR&D tax creditsVATXero accounting
Featured
£
The monthly close

How we close your books

A signed-off report by working day 10 — P&L, cash position, and what matters this month.

See how we close
By agency type
Creative studiosPaid-media agenciesDigital marketingBranding agenciesContent creatorsSee all agency types
By situation
Small agencies
Why specialist
£
Specialist vs generalist

Why a specialist?

Generalist accountants miss what matters for agencies: WIP, utilisation, retainer deferrals, and the rhythm of project work.

Read the case
Calculators
Salary & dividendAgency profitabilityAgency runwayIR35 status checkerR&D tax creditVAT registrationSRT day counterAll tools
Free guides
£
Most read

The agency cash-flow guide

A practical playbook for surviving a slow month: forecast, runway, retainer math, and where founders usually break.

Open the guide
Run a better agency
Agency profitabilityPricing strategyUtilisation rateRetainer pricingValuation & exit
Tax & compliance
Salary & dividend 2026/27IR35 for agenciesSole trader vs limitedMaking Tax DigitalSelf-assessment 2026All articles
Featured
£
Latest

Autumn Budget 2025

What Rachel Reeves' Budget changes mean for UK agency owners and small businesses — the items worth acting on.

Read the breakdown
  • Services
  • Who we help
  • Tools
  • Insights
  • About
  • Pricing
Book a 15-minute call
Replies in 24 hours, usually same dayhello@alto-accounting.com
Home/About
About Alto

Chartered accountants who only work with agencies.

Retainers, project billing, media passthrough, scope creep, 60-day terms, that client who always pays late. We understand it all. So when you explain your situation, we don't need the backstory.

Book a 15 min callSee pricing
ACCA registered practice
Plain English over jargon
UK agencies from £150k to £3m revenue
DocBearings & ledger · 26.04
FY · CARRYRETAINER£8,400PROJECT£12,650MEDIA£3,200WIP£5,840UTIL.71%CARRY£30,090NSWE£
FTSE-trained · Agency-native
01Why we're here

Why we only work with agencies.

Most accountants treat agencies the way they treat plumbers — same chart of accounts, same once-a-year filings. That's why retainer revenue gets booked wrong, project margins go unmeasured, and the founder finds out about the cash crunch in March.

We do the opposite. Year-end is the floor, not the ceiling. The work is in the months in between.

Why we're here
  • Most accountants don't understand agency finances. We do.
  • Year-end accounts filed in April don't help decisions in October.
  • “How much can I afford to pay myself?” shouldn't require a week of emails.
  • Someone should pick up the phone when you call. (We do.)
Operating principleDecisions before deadlines · Plain English over jargon
02Background

FTSE-level finance. Agency-sized.

Big companies get finance teams who challenge decisions, not just file paperwork. 15+ years, we were those people. FTSE 100 and 250. Boardrooms. Nine-figure budgets.

Most agencies get an accountant who turns up once a year.

We thought that was backwards. The businesses making real decisions (hiring, pricing, taking on debt) are the ones who need proper finance support. Not just compliance.

So that's what we do now.

03How we work

Four things we care about.

!

Plain English

If you don't understand it, we haven't explained it properly. That's our problem to fix.

01

Before, not after

Filing your tax return is the minimum. We'd rather help you make decisions before year-end, not explain what happened after.

02

Actually available

We answer emails. We pick up the phone. No ticket systems, no “3-5 business days.”

03

Agency-native

Retainers, utilisation, WIP, that client who pays 60 days late. We already know. You won't have to explain.

04
ACCA Registered PracticeChartered Certified

Let's talk about your agency.

15 minutes. No sales pitch. Just answers to your questions. We work with UK agencies from £150k to £3m revenue.

Book a Call