advisoryInstitute of Financial Accountants (IFA)

Business & Tax Advisory Services in Glasgow

Business advisory goes beyond filing returns. We help Glasgow owners understand what their numbers mean, plan the tax consequences of a decision before they make it, and structure the business for growth or sale — including R&D tax relief, management accounts, restructuring and valuations.

Compliance tells you what happened last year. Advisory changes what happens next year. The decisions that genuinely move the needle — whether to incorporate, when to buy the equipment, how to structure a sale, whether your development work qualifies for R&D relief — all have to be made before the event, not explained after it. That is the work we do here.

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business advisory services Glasgow — Specialist Business & Tax Advisory from QA FinTax, Glasgow

What Our Specialist Business & Tax Advisory Service Includes

  • Management accounts and virtual CFO support
  • R&D tax relief claims under the merged RDEC and ERIS schemes
  • Group restructuring, mergers, acquisitions and demergers
  • EIS and SEIS advance assurance and tax clearance
  • Business valuation and exit-readiness planning
  • HMRC pre-clearance applications for complex transactions

What Does Business Advisory Actually Cover?

  • Management accounts, so you can see profitability and cash position monthly rather than annually
  • Financial forecasting and scenario modelling before you commit to a decision
  • Pricing and profitability analysis — which work is actually making you money
  • Cash flow planning, the thing that kills profitable businesses
  • Restructuring advice: groups, holding companies, property SPVs
  • Exit and succession planning, ideally started years before you sell
  • Raising finance: preparing the numbers a bank or investor will ask for

Could You Claim R&D Tax Credits?

If your business invests in resolving genuine scientific or technological uncertainty — which happens in manufacturing, engineering, food production and software far more than owners realise — you may be able to claim R&D tax relief under the merged RDEC or ERIS schemes. We run the eligibility assessment and prepare the claim; see our dedicated R&D tax credits page for the schemes, rates and process.

Do You Need Management Accounts?

Statutory accounts tell you where the business was, up to a year ago; management accounts tell you where it is now. If you are hiring, borrowing, pricing or expanding, annual figures arrive far too late to help. We produce monthly or quarterly management accounts with plain-English commentary — see our management accounts page for what is included and how they are delivered.

What About Capital Gains Tax When You Sell?

When you sell the business you may pay capital gains tax on the profit — 18% or 24% for 2026/27 depending on your income, or 18% under Business Asset Disposal Relief on a qualifying sale, up to a £1,000,000 lifetime limit. BADR generally needs the qualifying conditions met for at least two years, so it shapes when you should start planning. See our capital gains tax page for the full detail.

Planning a Sale, Purchase or Fundraise?

The big one-off transactions — selling the business, buying another, a management buyout, or raising equity through SEIS/EIS — need their own expertise. Start earlier than feels necessary: reliefs like Business Asset Disposal Relief require conditions met for at least two years, and a buyer's due diligence exposes weaknesses that take time to fix. Our corporate finance page covers valuations, the sale process and fundraising in full.

Specialist Business & Tax Advisory in Glasgow — Frequently Asked Questions

They help you make decisions before you make them. That means giving you monthly numbers you can act on, modelling the tax and cash consequences of a choice, spotting reliefs you qualify for, and telling you honestly when an idea will not work. It is the opposite of an annual compliance service.
Possibly, even if you are not a tech company. The test is whether you were trying to resolve genuine scientific or technological uncertainty that a competent professional could not simply have looked up. Successful claims come from manufacturing, engineering, food production and construction, not just software.
Under the merged RDEC scheme it is a 20% above-the-line credit, worth roughly 15% to 16.2% of qualifying spend once corporation tax is applied. A loss-making, R&D-intensive SME claiming under ERIS can get up to around 27p per £1 spent. Ignore older sources quoting 33p — that ended in April 2023.
For 2026/27, 18% if you are a basic rate taxpayer and 24% if you are a higher or additional rate taxpayer. A qualifying disposal under Business Asset Disposal Relief is taxed at 18% up to a £1 million lifetime limit. The first £3,000 of gains is exempt.
Monthly if you are growing, borrowing, or your cash position is tight. Quarterly is usually enough for a stable, established business. The point is that the figures arrive while you can still do something about them, rather than nine months after the year ended.
Most owner-managed businesses are valued on a multiple of adjusted EBITDA, with the multiple driven by sector, growth and how dependent the business is on the owner. Asset-based and discounted cash flow methods are used in particular cases. Reducing your personal indispensability is usually the fastest way to raise the number.
At least two to three years out. Business Asset Disposal Relief generally requires you to have met the qualifying conditions for two years before the sale, and a buyer's due diligence will surface issues that take time to put right. Planning late usually costs more than it saves.

Official sources

Rates and thresholds are stated for the 2026/27 UK tax year and are for general guidance only. They are not a substitute for advice on your own circumstances.

Ready to get started with specialist business & tax advisory?

Book a free 15-minute review with a Glasgow adviser. We will tell you exactly what you need and what it will cost — before you commit to anything.

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