Your expertise earns the fee. Does it also fund the business you want to build? COPA supports recruitment and professional service firms with accounts, tax and senior-team discussions about hiring, pricing and growth using your existing figures.
Is the fee worth the delivery time? Preparation, commissions and senior staff time can eat into a healthy-looking fee. More clients don't always mean more profit. Discuss client income and delivery costs with our senior team using the records you already keep. Client-level detail depends on those records.
What if a placement falls through? A delayed start or a fee rebate can change expected receipts while payroll continues. Bring placement terms, unpaid invoices and commission commitments. Discuss the effect of delays before relying on the next fee.
Are retainers covering more than we agreed? Small extra requests can become a regular part of delivery without changing the fee. Use existing agreements and time records to discuss renewal prices, service boundaries and the cost of taking on more work.
Does overseas work change our VAT position? The customer's location and the service supplied can change the treatment. Your usual invoice is not always the right template. Discuss the actual customer and transaction before invoicing. Overseas and recruitment-specific arrangements need scope checks.
Can the business grow without more of my time? Hiring or adding a partner changes costs, responsibilities and how owners get paid. Talk through existing figures and ownership plans with our senior team. Structure and specialist transaction advice are agreed separately.
Compliance, understood well before deadlines Keep accounts, relevant tax returns, VAT and payroll organised around your structure. Explain what is required and what to budget for well before deadlines.
Tax efficiency: pay no more than you need to Review allowable business costs, VAT recovery and owner remuneration. Minimise Corporation Tax where applicable and VAT within the rules, with advice tailored to how you invoice and deliver work.
Business strategy: scale and prepare to sell Discuss hiring, new services and a possible future sale with our senior team. Use existing accounts, client fees and delivery costs to consider growth beyond the owner's own time.
Systems & automation: connect your financials Connect invoices, expenses, bank feeds and suitable client-work systems to your accounts. Automate repeat financial admin and bring fees and delivery costs into the same view.
Start with how you earn fees. Tell us what triggers an invoice, how you deliver the work and which decision needs attention.
Look at your existing records. Discuss client terms, unpaid invoices, team costs and accounting tools. Identify gaps without asking you to prepare a new report.
Agree support and price. Confirm accounts, tax, systems and any specialist requirements. Agree responsibilities and scope before work starts.
Talk through the next decision. Use existing figures in discussions with our senior team. Owner pay depends on your structure; future fees and tax savings are not guaranteed.
Recruitment, HR, research and training firms earn fees in different ways. Choose the closest model to explore the records and decisions worth discussing.
Recruitment & executive search Placement fees, staged search fees and commission costs can move on different timetables. Team costs continue before the candidate starts or the client pays. Placement and search invoices, fee terms, aged debtors, commissions and payroll costs. Can another consultant be funded while placements and receipts build?
HR consultancies Retainers and one-off assignments compete for the same delivery capacity. Stable billing is only useful if the service commitment leaves a workable margin. Retainer agreements, project invoices, delivery time, staff costs and outstanding fees. Does this retainer support the team time it requires?
Research & training Preparation often happens before a milestone payment or course date. Cancellations, delivery changes and subcontracted specialists can change the cash requirement. Milestone schedules, bookings, specialist costs, preparation time and deposits. What happens to cash if delivery or the next payment is delayed?
Business support firms A growing client base can mean more people, software and ongoing service obligations. Compare those commitments with the fees being collected, not just signed. Recurring invoices, service commitments, payroll, software costs and bank receipts. Is the next client improving margin or stretching capacity?
Professional services here does not imply regulated solicitor accounting, client-money handling or sector-specific regulatory assurance. Tell us about specialist requirements so we can discuss whether they fit the proposed scope.
Recruitment and executive search are examples of professional services businesses COPA can discuss support with. Tell us how you earn fees, employ your own team and manage client payments so we can consider the accounting, reporting and tax support you need.
Examples include HR consultancies, research firms, training providers and business support services. The list is not exhaustive. Our focus is digitally enabled and knowledge-based owners who want proactive accounting; we discuss suitability and scope rather than claiming to cover every regulated profession.
No. Your industry does not establish your VAT position or whether you run PAYE payroll. We ask about your structure, activities and existing arrangements. The pricing calculator also lets you choose services yourself rather than automatically adding them based on your industry.
Our senior team can discuss client fees, delivery costs and overhead using your existing records. The detail depends on what you track. Strategy support does not include custom profitability reports or guarantee a margin.
We can discuss support for either structure. Company accounts and Corporation Tax returns are different from personal Self-Assessment. Tell us how you currently operate and whether you are considering a change, so the proposed services reflect your circumstances.
Use the pricing calculator to select services and quantities for an editable estimate, or book a discovery call to discuss your needs first. The estimate is not a commitment; we confirm the support and scope before you go ahead.