Online accountants for media & creative
Struggling to balance artistic brilliance with financial paperwork?
Certified with the tools you already run on
A generalist keeps you compliant. A specialist keeps you ahead.
We already know where media & creative win and lose money, so the planning happens before the deadline, not after.
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Creative-sector expenditure credits are real cash
Film, high-end TV and video games qualify for the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) and Video Games Expenditure Credit at a 34% credit rate (39% for animation and children's TV), with an extra uplift for UK visual effects. After the notional 25% corporation tax taken off, that is roughly 25.5% of qualifying spend back, payable as cash even if you are loss-making. Miss the claim window and that money is simply gone.
Stage, orchestra and exhibition work has its own reliefs
Theatre Tax Relief, Orchestra Tax Relief and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief are permanently set at 40% for non-touring and 45% for touring productions (and all orchestral work). A loss-making production can surrender losses for a cash credit. A generalist accountant rarely knows these exist, let alone how to evidence the core-expenditure split that HMRC wants.
IR35 errors can wipe out a production's margin
Media production runs on freelancers and loan-out companies, and getting a status determination wrong exposes the engager to back PAYE and National Insurance. From April 2026 the 'small company' thresholds rise, shifting the determination duty back to many contractors. We help you document defensible 'outside IR35' positions rather than defaulting to HMRC's CEST tool, which leans towards 'inside'.
Royalties, licensing and gifted products trip people up
Royalties and licensing income, place-of-supply VAT on cross-border digital and recorded work, and the taxable value of brand-gifted products and barter deals for influencers are exactly the areas generalists get wrong. We classify each income stream correctly so you neither overpay nor leave yourself exposed to an enquiry.
What working with us actually covers
Each line is somewhere a generalist usually leaves money behind. For us it is standard, never an add-on.
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AVEC and Video Games Expenditure Credit claims
If you run a film, high-end TV, animation, children's TV or video games company, the legacy reliefs close to new productions and AVEC/VGEC now apply. We handle the BFI/cultural certification interaction, the qualifying-expenditure schedule, the 34%/39% credit rates and the UK VFX uplift, and we book the credit correctly so the corporation tax computation and the payable element both stand up to HMRC review.
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Theatre, orchestra and exhibition reliefs
For producing theatres, touring companies, orchestras and exhibition organisers, we calculate Theatre, Orchestra and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief at the permanent 40%/45% rates, evidence the core-expenditure and EEA spend tests, and decide whether to reduce your corporation tax bill or surrender losses for a cash credit when a production runs at a loss.
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IR35 and freelancer status for production companies
We review your engagements, draft defensible status determination statements, and structure loan-out and personal service company arrangements properly. With the April 2026 small-company threshold changes moving the determination burden around, we make sure both engagers and freelancers know who carries the IR35 risk and price it in before the shoot, not after an HMRC letter.
- 04
VAT on royalties, licensing and cross-border supplies
Royalties and licensing fees can carry VAT, and the place-of-supply rules mean recorded performances, digital downloads and services sold to overseas customers often fall outside UK VAT. We get registration timing right against the £90,000 threshold, handle reverse-charge and OSS where it applies, and stop you charging or reclaiming VAT incorrectly on international creative income.
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Content creators, influencers and gifted-product income
Brand gifts, PR seeding and barter deals with strings attached are taxable income at fair value, and AdSense, sponsorship and affiliate streams all need recording. We set you up to capture this cleanly, apply the £1,000 trading allowance where it genuinely helps, and claim equipment, software and home-studio costs against your creator income without inviting an enquiry.
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Equipment, software and day-to-day bookkeeping
Cameras, instruments, edit suites and production kit are capital-heavy, so we apply the Annual Investment Allowance (up to £1,000,000) and full expensing on qualifying new plant to accelerate relief. On software we connect Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Sage, keep you MTD-ready, and reconcile the project-based, lumpy cash flow that creative work generates.
From first call to filed
Four steps, one named accountant, no jargon. Most media & creative are fully set up inside a week.
- 01
Discovery
Understanding your business needs.
- 02
Solution Design
Crafting your custom accounting strategy.
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Onboarding
Quick and easy integration.
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Regular Rhythm
Consistent monitoring and reporting.
Guides for media & creative
Plain-English explainers, kept current with the latest HMRC rules.
Questions media & creative ask us
Yes. We prepare claims under the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (film, high-end TV, animation, children's TV) and the Video Games Expenditure Credit, including the qualifying-expenditure schedule, the certification interaction and the corporation tax treatment of the payable credit. Film, high-end TV and video games attract a 34% credit rate, animation and children's TV 39%, with a further uplift for UK visual effects spend.
Generally yes. Sponsorship, affiliate income and AdSense are trading income, and gifted products or barter deals where the brand expects content or promotion in return are taxable at the fair market value of what you received. We help you record it properly, use the £1,000 trading allowance where it actually benefits you, and claim legitimate equipment and home-studio costs against it.
We review each engagement against the real status tests rather than relying on HMRC's CEST tool, draft status determination statements, and structure your loan-out or personal service company correctly. From April 2026 the small-company thresholds change who must make the determination, so we make sure the IR35 risk is identified and priced before work starts.
You must register once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 on a rolling 12-month basis. For royalties, licensing and recorded or digital work sold to clients outside the UK, the place-of-supply rules often mean no UK VAT applies, and the reverse charge or One Stop Shop may be relevant instead. We get the registration timing and cross-border treatment right so you neither over- nor under-charge.
Yes. Qualifying equipment and production kit normally get relief through the Annual Investment Allowance, which covers up to £1,000,000 of qualifying spend in a year, and new main-rate plant can qualify for full expensing. We make sure big-ticket purchases are timed and categorised to bring relief forward rather than spreading it out unnecessarily.
Fixed monthly pricing at £99, £199 or £499 depending on the complexity of your work, on a rolling monthly basis with no long lock-in. Every client gets a named, qualified accountant, replies within 72 hours, and a 30-day money-back guarantee if we are not the right fit.
Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage. We will work with whatever you already use, or recommend the best fit for project-based creative cash flow, and keep you compliant as Making Tax Digital for Income Tax phases in from April 2026 for those over £50,000.
Stop overpaying tax. Start filing in 5 days.
Thirty minutes with an ACCA-qualified accountant. Most owners uncover £1,000-£3,000 in annual savings on the first call. If we are not the right fit, you walk away with a free tax review on the house.
