Led by a PwC-Trained Chartered Accountant
Varun Gupta brings over 17 years of experience across complex tax structures and specialist advisory. Senior-level expertise from day one — not a junior processing returns from a generic template.
Specialist Hospitality Accountants — Restaurants, Hotels, Pubs, Bars & Leisure
The UK hospitality sector is operating under the most sustained financial pressure in a generation. Employer National Insurance up to 15 per cent, the National Living Wage at £12.21 per hour, complex VAT rules across different revenue streams, new tips legislation, Making Tax Digital compliance, and rising energy costs — all arriving simultaneously, on margins that were already tight.
Consultax are specialist hospitality accountants who understand exactly how these pressures interact with your finances and who provide the proactive, expert accounting and tax support that hospitality businesses need to protect their profitability and plan for growth.
Accountants Committed To Your Success
Reliable, proactive, and results-driven, we apply the same level of dedication to your success that you bring to your business every day.
Insightful Advice That Moves You Forward
We go beyond the numbers to offer guidance that’s tailored, and built for growth.
Personalised Service That Feels Like Partnership
Your goals matter, so we deliver attentive, custom support designed to guide you towards lasting success.
Financial Clarity You Can Fully Trust
We prioritise clear communication, accounting support you can understand and rely on.
Specialist Accounting for Every Type of Hospitality and Leisure Business
Consultax works with independent operators, growing groups, and established hospitality businesses across the UK. Whether you run a single site or multiple venues, our accounting and tax services are structured around the specific financial complexity of your business — not adapted from a generic template.
As dedicated accountants and specialist accounting services for hospitality businesses, we work with:
Restaurants & Dining Venues
From neighbourhood independents to multi-site restaurant groups, we handle VAT across food and beverage revenue streams, tips and service charge allocation, payroll, kitchen equipment capital allowances, and year-end accounts — with a clear understanding of how restaurants earn, spend, and are taxed.
Hotels & Serviced Accommodation
As experienced hotel accountants, we manage room revenue, food and beverage income, function and events revenue, and the VAT treatment across each — plus capital allowances for refurbishments and SDLT on property acquisitions.
Pubs & Bars
Pub operators face alcohol duty, VAT complexity on food versus drinks, tips and tronc arrangements, licensing compliance costs, and high-volume, low-margin trading. We understand this and plan accordingly.
Cafes, Coffee Shops & Quick-Service Venues
The VAT distinction between eat-in and takeaway, hot and cold food, and standard-rated versus zero-rated beverages creates genuine compliance complexity. We ensure every supply is rated correctly before HMRC raises a question.
Catering & Events Businesses
We manage income across multiple engagements, handle the tax treatment of staff and freelance costs, and prepare accounts that reflect how event and catering income actually flows.
Leisure & Spa Businesses
As leisure accountants, we serve gyms, spas, leisure centres, and wellness businesses — handling membership income, VAT on activities, class instructor payroll, and capital investment in equipment and facilities.
Holiday Lets & Short-Term Rentals
Following the abolition of the Furnished Holiday Lets regime in April 2025, operators face a materially different tax position. We advise on income tax, capital allowances, VAT where applicable, and restructuring options.
Food & Drink Producers, Breweries & Distilleries
We provide dedicated accounting for food and drink manufacturers and producers — covering production cost accounting, excise duty, R&D tax credits for product innovation, and financial reporting for growing craft businesses.
Our Services
Comprehensive Accounting & Tax Services for the Hospitality Sector
Every service we provide is designed around how hospitality businesses actually operate — multiple revenue streams, large variable cost bases, complex VAT positions, and the need for timely, accurate management information throughout the year.
Year-End Accounts & Corporation Tax
We prepare your annual statutory accounts and Corporation Tax return with a thorough review of every income stream, allowable expense, and relief. Capital allowances on kitchen equipment, fixtures, and technology are claimed correctly. Lease accounting under FRS 102 is applied correctly. Your accounts present an accurate picture to HMRC, lenders, and investors.
Best for: All limited company hospitality businesses, from single-site independents to multi-venue operators and hospitality group holding structures.
VAT for Hospitality Businesses
We provide full VAT support — registration, scheme selection, quarterly returns, and correct classification of eat-in versus takeaway, hot and cold food, service charges, events, accommodation, membership fees, and leisure activities. We ensure your POS and accounting records align with your VAT returns.
Best for: All VAT-registered hospitality and leisure businesses, those approaching the £90,000 VAT threshold, and operators who have not had their VAT position reviewed by a specialist.
Hospitality Payroll Services
We provide fully managed payroll for hospitality — covering shift-based teams, zero-hours contracts, tronc arrangements, National Living Wage changes, employer NIC, and Employment Allowance. We also advise on tip payment methods following the October 2024 tips legislation.
Best for: Restaurants, hotels, pubs, bars, and leisure businesses with employed staff — particularly those managing shift-based teams, seasonal payroll, or tronc arrangements.
Management Accounts & Financial Reporting
We prepare monthly or quarterly management accounts structured around the metrics that matter: gross margin, labour percentage, covers or RevPAR, EBITDA, and cash position. We also prepare financial forecasts for lenders, investors, and expansion planning.
Best for: Growing hospitality businesses, those seeking finance or investment, multi-site operators, and any business needing clearer, faster financial information.
Hospitality Tax Planning
We review your structure, income extraction, pensions, capital investment, and ownership objectives to identify legitimate savings — including the Annual Investment Allowance (currently £1 million), salary versus dividend planning, R&D tax credits, and succession or exit planning. See our tax planning services.
Best for: Owner-managed restaurants, hotels, pub groups, and leisure businesses where tax planning has been reactive rather than proactive.
Hospitality Book-keeping Services
Our book-keeping covers daily income reconciliation across POS systems, supplier invoices, bank reconciliation, stock accounting, and clean records for VAT, payroll, and management accounts — across Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and FreeAgent, integrated with hospitality POS systems.
Best for: Hospitality businesses of all sizes that want day-to-day records maintained accurately throughout the year, rather than compiled at year-end.
Making Tax Digital Compliance for Hospitality
MTD for VAT is already mandatory. MTD for Income Tax arrives for qualifying sole traders in April 2026. We assess your compliance position, configure software correctly, establish digital record-keeping that fits your operation, and manage quarterly submissions on your behalf.
Best for: All VAT-registered hospitality businesses, sole trader operators with income above £50,000 approaching April 2026, and any operator whose record-keeping is not fully MTD-compliant.
Business Rates Advice & Review
The April 2026 business rates revaluation has changed the rates position for many hospitality businesses. We review your liability, advise on whether your rateable value is correct, support appeals where appropriate, and ensure Small Business Rate Relief and RHL relief are claimed in full.
Best for: Multi-site hospitality operators, businesses with significant rate increases following the April 2026 revaluation, and operators who have not had their rates position reviewed recently.
Why Consultax
Why Hospitality Businesses Choose Consultax
Specialist hospitality accountants who understand VAT complexity, margin dynamics, and cost pressures
We are not a general accounting practice that handles the occasional restaurant's year-end accounts. Consultax are specialist hospitality accountants who understand the financial structures, cost pressures, VAT complexity, and margin dynamics of the UK hospitality and leisure sector — backed by ICAEW accreditation and 17 years of senior financial advisory experience.
Hospitality Sector Expertise
We understand multi-rate VAT, tips and tronc, labour percentages, POS reconciliation, and the margin pressures that define hospitality trading — so you do not need to educate your accountant.
ICAEW Accredited
Fully accredited Chartered Accountants regulated by the ICAEW. Every recommendation is backed by genuine professional qualification and accountability.
Proactive, Year-Round Support
We deliver timely management information, flag VAT and payroll risks early, and plan tax throughout the year — not only at year-end.
Transparent, Fixed-Fee Pricing
You will always know what you are paying before we begin. No hidden costs, no hourly surprises — clear, agreed pricing from the first conversation.
5-Star Rated on Feefo
Our clients rate us 5 stars on Feefo. We work hard to earn that record with every engagement.
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Quick & affordable, avoid errors and penalties, keep your finances organised with our expert accounting services & bespoke packages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hospitality businesses have a combination of financial characteristics — multiple VAT rates across different revenue streams, large variable payrolls, tips and tronc arrangements, capital-intensive equipment, leased premises with complex accounting treatment, and tight operating margins — that a general accountant will not handle with the precision your business requires. A specialist hospitality accountant understands these characteristics and builds your compliance and planning around them from the outset.
Hospitality businesses apply multiple VAT rates to different supplies — standard-rated hot food and drinks, zero-rated cold food to go, standard-rated accommodation and events, and potentially exempt leisure memberships. The correct application of these rates across your entire operation is a legal requirement, and HMRC compliance checks in the hospitality sector focus specifically on whether standard-rated and zero-rated supplies are correctly distinguished. We review your complete VAT position and ensure every revenue type is correctly classified and reported.
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, which came into force in October 2024, requires all hospitality employers to pass 100 per cent of tips to workers without deduction, maintain a written tips policy, and keep records of tip allocation. The National Insurance treatment of tips also depends on how they are paid — through a tronc, directly from the employer, or via card payment. We advise on compliant tronc arrangements, tips policies, and the NIC implications of each payment method.
From April 2026, permanently lower business rates multipliers apply to retail, hospitality, and leisure properties. The small business RHL multiplier is 38.2p; the standard multiplier for properties below £500,000 rateable value is 43p. However, the April 2026 revaluation has also increased rateable values for many hospitality properties, so the net impact varies considerably by location and property type. We review your specific rates position and advise on relief eligibility and any grounds for appeal.
Yes. We work with multi-site hospitality operators, providing consolidated management accounts across all venues, site-by-site performance reporting, payroll management across multiple locations, and the overall group tax position. We structure our reporting to give you the visibility you need across your entire operation, not just a single entity.
Ready to Work With Hospitality Accountants Who Understand Your Business?
The financial pressures facing UK hospitality businesses are real, significant, and ongoing. The employers and operators who navigate them most successfully are those with specialist financial support — an accountant who understands their sector, anticipates the issues before they arrive, and provides the proactive guidance that makes a practical difference to profitability and compliance.
Consultax provides specialist hospitality accounting services for restaurants, hotels, pubs, bars, cafes, leisure businesses, and food and drink producers across the UK — covering everything from VAT and payroll through to management accounts, tax planning, MTD compliance, and year-end accounts.
Your goals. Our focus. Accounting with purpose.
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