Chartered Tax Adviser · CTA · ACA · Ex-PwC
You move a fortune in client ad spend, and the fee you actually keep is the part that gets lost in the numbers.
SRJ International is a firm of specialist accountants and Chartered Tax Advisers for UK digital marketing agencies: PPC, paid media, SEO, and performance shops. Led by Simon Jacobs, a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA · ACA) and ex-PwC, we handle ad-spend VAT, profit extraction, and exit planning around how digital agencies actually run.
A general accountant will file your accounts and keep you compliant. That is the floor, not the ceiling. Digital agencies carry quirks a generalist rarely sees: client ad spend that dwarfs your own fee, VAT that turns on whether you buy media as principal or agent, a deep stack of software subscriptions, and teams that flex with freelancers and offshore contractors.
Because we only work with agencies, we see those patterns constantly, and because our founder, Simon Jacobs, is a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA · ACA) who trained at PwC, the planning goes well beyond high-street box-ticking. The advice is specific to how a performance business earns, not generic small-company admin.
What actually moves the numbers
In a PPC or paid-media shop the media you buy for clients can dwarf your own fee. We make sure that spend is never counted as profit, so your numbers show the fee you actually keep rather than a headline figure that flatters the business.
VAT for agencies →Whether you buy media as principal or arrange it as the client's agent changes your VAT position and your turnover. We look at how your contracts and invoices work, then set the treatment that reflects what is really happening.
Agency VAT explained →Digital income mixes monthly retainers with performance and project fees, which lands unevenly. We plan corporation tax and VAT around that real cashflow so the bill is visible early, never a year-end ambush.
Reduce your corporation tax →Ad platforms, analytics, reporting, and the wider SaaS stack are a real cost of running a digital agency. We make sure the tools you genuinely use for the business are captured and treated correctly against your profit.
What you can claim →Performance teams flex with specialists, freelancers, and offshore contractors. That raises employment-status and off-payroll questions. We help you engage people cleanly so the flexibility never turns into a compliance problem.
Contractors & IR35 →Salary, dividends, and pension decide how much of the profit you keep, and a clean, well-structured set of books raises what the agency is worth when you sell. We plan both around your numbers, quietly in the background.
Plan tax around your exit →Agency founders, and business owners who came to Simon for the same reason: the tax was being filed, not planned.
“Simon helped me save thousands on my tax bill and prevented me from losing my Personal Allowance. He also gave me very good insights and advice into cryptocurrency, which will save me thousands of pounds in the future.”
“Simon helped me reclaim money I did not even realise I was entitled to, saved me a significant amount in tax through proper structuring, and ensured everything is compliant and future-proof.
What really separates him is how proactive and responsive he is. He advises, explains, and genuinely fights your corner with HMRC. You feel protected, informed, and strategically guided at all times.”
“Simon has always given the best he can for the customer. Understanding my situation has allowed him to advise and guide me in the right direction and be more tax efficient where possible.”
We also work with marketing agencies, creative agencies, and advertising agencies. See client results or read the agency tax notes.
Digital agency FAQ
It helps a lot. Performance and PPC shops move large amounts of client ad spend, bill on monthly retainers plus performance fees, and carry a stack of software subscriptions. A specialist keeps ad spend out of your profit figure, gets the VAT treatment right, and plans tax around how the model actually runs.
The ad spend is the difference. Paid media bought on a client's behalf can dwarf your own fee income, so gross revenue looks huge while real margin is thin. Digital-agency accounts are most useful when they separate media that is only passing through from the fee you actually keep.
It depends on whether you buy the media as principal or arrange it as the client's agent, and how you invoice it. That distinction changes both your VAT position and what counts as your turnover. We look at how your contracts and invoices are structured, then set the treatment that reflects reality.
Yes. Paid-media and performance teams flex with freelancers, specialists, and offshore contractors, which raises employment status and off-payroll questions. We help you engage people in a way that is clean and defensible, so flexing capacity does not turn into a compliance problem later.
Yes, and the earlier the better. Buyers look hard at recurring retainer revenue, client concentration, and how clean the numbers are. Well-structured books built 12 to 24 months before an offer make the real profit legible to a buyer and the sale far more tax-efficient.
Yes. We advise UK digital agencies serving clients worldwide, where the VAT position depends on where the business client belongs (place of supply), and founders who live or operate abroad. We look at both the UK and the overseas side rather than only one.
General information, not personal tax advice. Rules and thresholds change; we advise on your specific position on a call.
Book a short discovery call and we will look at where your profit is going.