01Move
DNA dimensions
Active client count, retainer MRR vs return-only revenue, average planning fee, HMRC enquiry win-rate, deadline-miss rate (zero target) and review velocity on Google + Legal500.
All playbooksServices
Tax advisor playbook.
A CTA / ATT-qualified London tax advisor serving owner-managed businesses, contractors and HNW individuals. The win is moving from one-off return work into proactive year-round tax planning retainers with documented HMRC-ready evidence.
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Overview
A London tax advisor running solo typically holds 60–110 clients at an average £2,400–£5,800 per year (£140k–£640k revenue). The single biggest economic lever is moving from reactive return-only work (low margin, high seasonality) into year-round planning retainers — average client value lifts 2.4x and February stops being a bottleneck. The second lever is specialism: R&D, EIS/SEIS, EMI, IR35-status and non-dom planning each command 60–120% premium fees. This playbook covers operationalising a London CTA/ATT tax advisory — qualifications, AML, software, planning calendar and HMRC-evidence pipeline.
£1,400–£6,200
Avg planning fee
£280–£1,400
Retainer MRR / client
0% target
Deadline miss rate
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Workstation + secure comms
Laptop + docking + dual 27" monitors
£1,800–£2,800
4K webcam + headset for HNW calls
£260–£540
Secure document portal (Suralink / FuseDocs)
£40–£140 / user / month
Locked AML-compliant filing cabinet
£180–£420
02
Core tax + practice software
TaxCalc / IRIS / AlphaTax (multi-client)
£480–£3,200 / yr
Xero / QuickBooks / FreeAgent integrations
Pass-through
Karbon / Senta practice management
£59–£99 / user / month
Companies House + HMRC filing tools
Included in TaxCalc/IRIS
Research (Tolley / Croner-i / LexisNexis)
£800–£3,400 / yr
AML KYC software (SmartSearch / Veriphy)
£35–£90 / month
03
Compliance + insurance
CIOT / ATT membership + practising licence
£420–£780 / yr
AML supervision (CIOT / ATT / HMRC)
£280–£540 / yr
Professional indemnity £1m–£5m
£540–£2,400 / yr
Cyber insurance + secure backup
£280–£640 / yr
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
OMB + HNW client density
10k+ £1m+ turnover SMEs within 5 miles
Owner-managed businesses + founders drive planning fees; London's OMB density is the highest in the UK.
Accountant + solicitor referral network
20+ partner firms within 3 miles
60–70% of tax-planning pipeline comes from accountant + solicitor referrals; proximity matters for in-person reviews.
Discretion + secure access
Private meeting room availability
HNW + non-dom clients expect bookable, private rooms; co-working hot-desks alone aren't enough.
Specialism cluster
Tech (EC2/E1), creative (W1), finance (EC2/E14)
R&D + EMI + EIS work clusters in tech; non-dom + family-office work in W1/SW1/SW3.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
Mayfair / St James (SW1, W1)
£1,800–£4,800 serviced office
HNW + non-dom premium; signals private-client positioning.
City / Shoreditch (EC1, EC2, E1)
£900–£2,400 co-working with private room
Best for OMB + tech-founder client base; close to accountant partners.
Suburban high street + home office
£0–£900
Viable for compliance-led book; lower planning attach rate.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCIOT / ATT membership + practising certificate
CIOT / ATT
£420–£780 / yr
2–4 weeks
ReqAML supervision (CIOT / ATT / HMRC)
Supervisor body
£280–£540 / yr
2–6 weeks
ReqICO data-protection registration
ICO
£40–£60 / yr
1 day
ReqProfessional indemnity £1m–£5m
PolicyBee / Hiscox
£540–£2,400 / yr
1 day
ReqHMRC Agent Services Account + MTD ITSA / VAT
HMRC
£0
1–2 weeks
ReqMoney Laundering Regulations 2017 documented procedures
Internal + supervisor audit
£280–£900 setup
2–4 weeks
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Weeks 1–4 · Authorisation
1–4- Confirm CIOT/ATT practising certificate eligibility + apply
- Secure AML supervision + ICO + PII + HMRC Agent Services
- Document MLR 2017 procedures + client risk-assessment matrix
- Set up TaxCalc/IRIS + Karbon + secure document portal
02
Weeks 5–10 · Pricing + tiers
5–10- Productise 3 retainer tiers + R&D/EIS/EMI specialism add-ons
- Build engagement-letter library covering each service line
- Stand up 12-month planning calendar template per client persona
- Sign 3 accountant + 2 solicitor referral partners with revenue-share
03
Weeks 11–20 · First 15 clients
11–20- Target 15 retainer + planning clients (£8k–£24k MRR)
- Ship first R&D claim + first EIS application end-to-end
- Stand up quarterly client-review cadence + HMRC enquiry-ready evidence pack
- Launch monthly tax-tip email to referrer network
04
Months 6–12 · Scale + specialism
21–52- Hire ATT-qualified assistant (FT or fractional @ £35–£60/hr)
- Grow retainer book to 40–70 clients (£20k–£60k MRR)
- Add IR35 contractor review subscription + non-dom planning if applicable
- Quarterly pricing review + at-risk client save plan
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Workstation + dual monitors + secure cabinet
£2,200 → £3,800
TaxCalc/IRIS + Tolley + Karbon setup (yr 1)
£1,800 → £5,400
CIOT/ATT licence + AML + PII + ICO (yr 1)
£1,280 → £3,420
MLR procedures + engagement letter library
£480 → £1,400
Branding + site + thought-leadership launch
£900 → £3,800
Marketing launch (Google + AccountingWEB + LinkedIn)
£800 → £2,800
Typical total
£7,460 – £20,620
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Practice management + secure portal
£120 → £260
Tax research + library (Tolley / Croner-i)
£70 → £280
Insurance + AML (amortised)
£70 → £250
Google Ads + LinkedIn + thought leadership
£300 → £1,400
AML KYC checks (SmartSearch usage)
£35 → £140
Sub-contract assistant (per active month)
£0 → £4,400
Typical total
£595 – £6,730
Numbers that compound
How a tax advisor actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 0
Apply for CIOT/ATT practising certificate + AML supervision
02Day 14
PII + ICO + HMRC Agent Services live
03Day 28
TaxCalc/IRIS + Karbon + secure portal configured
04Day 45
First 3 referral-partner agreements signed
05Day 70
First 5 retainer clients onboarded with planning calendar
06Day 100
First R&D + EIS claim shipped; MRR £2,800–£6,400
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a tax advisor.
02Move
Suggested route
Productise three retainer tiers (compliance / planning / family-office), standardise on TaxCalc + AlphaTax, build a 12-month planning calendar per client, then layer R&D + EIS/SEIS + EMI specialisms for SME founders.
03Move
Automations
HMRC deadline calendar per client, document-request portal, year-end tax-planning checklist, quarterly contractor IR35 status review and review-request post-filing.
04Move
Integrations
TaxCalc / IRIS / AlphaTax, Xero + QuickBooks, HMRC Agent Services + MTD gateways, Karbon / Senta practice management, DocuSign, GoCardless.
05Move
Benchmarks
MRR per partner, planning attach rate and HMRC enquiry win-rate vs UK CTA practices in the same client-size band, refreshed quarterly.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors who have built and sold London tax practices, plus NAVIZIX AI for deadline + capacity projection across the client book.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
Owners of a tax advisor often run — or cross-sell with — these adjacent operations.
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