Phil Bessant Limited

What Phil Bessant Limited does

Phil Bessant Limited is a privately-held UK accountancy firm headquartered in Newport, South Wales, providing traditional accounting and business advisory services to self-employed individuals, small and medium enterprises, larger organisations, start-ups, and property owners across the South Wales region. The firm employs approximately six to seven personnel, led by Managing Director Phil Bessant and Director Karen Bessant, combining CIMA and ACCA qualifications with over 50 years of collective professional experience. Its service portfolio centres on statutory accounts preparation (with a 30-day turnaround guarantee), management accounts, proactive tax planning covering VAT, corporation tax and self-assessment, business benchmarking, and tax investigation fee protection, delivered alongside advisory work on Newport-specific business grants.

The firm's technology stack is built around certified partnerships with the three major UK cloud accounting platforms — Xero (certified partner), Sage, and QuickBooks — supplemented by Nomi software partnership and a 'catch-all' service for legacy spreadsheet and manual bookkeeping clients migrating toward Making Tax Digital compliance. Internally, the firm uses Zoho for CRM, Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) for automated receipt and invoice data extraction, GoCardless for direct debit collection, and has adopted voice AI agents from AgentFlow AI, Voiceflow and Retell AI for client intake and communications. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer: a free 30-minute initial consultation serves as the funnel entry, with engagement via the Newport office, telephone, email, website contact forms, and remote video channels (MS Teams, Zoom, Facebook Messenger).

Revenue is generated through professional service fees for compliance and advisory work plus a recurring component from cloud accounting software support, training and mentoring across Xero, Sage and QuickBooks. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is set per engagement; the firm is ACCA Approved Employer at Platinum level and holds Xero certified partner and Nomi software partner accreditations, with regional brand recognition via the Pride of Gwent Award and a 2020 feature in The Parliamentary Review. The firm operates with no institutional investment, no disclosed subsidiaries, and no public ownership commentary beyond a privacy-policy reference to DNS Accountants Ltd as a network-level head office.

Name

Phil Bessant Limited

Legal name

Phil Bessant Ltd

Website

https://philbessantltd.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Phil Bessant Limited is a privately-held, family-run accountancy firm in Newport, South Wales, providing accounting, tax, and business advisory services to self-employed individuals, SMEs, larger organisations, start-ups, and property owners across South Wales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Accounting Services: Fees charged for accounting, bookkeeping, tax planning, and advisory services to businesses and individuals. Services include statutory accounts preparation, management accounts, benchmarking, and tax investigation cover.
2. Cloud Accounting Software Support and Training: Support and mentoring services for clients using Xero, Sage, QuickBooks and other accounting packages, including training courses and discounted software.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Phil Bessant Limited is a chartered accountancy practice offering year-end statutory accounts preparation, monthly/quarterly management accounts, proactive tax planning (VAT, Corporation Tax, Self-Assessment), competitor benchmarking reports, and tax investigation fee protection insurance. The firm is also a certified partner/specialist in Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, and Nomi cloud accounting platforms, providing implementation, training, and ongoing support, with additional advisory on Newport business grants and founder/start-up company formation.

Product overview

Phil Bessant Limited is an accountancy firm in Newport, South Wales offering a comprehensive suite of professional accounting and business advisory services. The firm operates as a combination of core advisory services and supported accounting software platforms. The core advisory services include Statutory Accounts Preparation, Management Accounts, Tax Planning, Benchmarking, Tax Investigations Cover, Webinars, and Newport Business Grants Advisory. In addition to these service lines, the firm provides integration and support for four accounting software platforms — Xero (certified partner), Sage, QuickBooks, and Nomi (software partner) — as well as a catch-all 'Other Accountancy Packages' service for spreadsheet and pen-and-paper-based accounting. This dual architecture combines traditional accountancy expertise (CIMA and ACCA qualified personnel with over 50 years of combined experience) with supported digital tools to help clients stay compliant with Making Tax Digital requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Statutory Accounts Preparation Year-end statutory accounts preparation for incorporated UK businesses, ensuring Companies Act compliance and providing clients with a clear understanding of profit, income, expenditure and taxation. The firm guarantees a 30-day turnaround for statutory accounts, or the client decides how much to pay if the deadline is missed.
• Management Accounts Production of monthly or quarterly management accounts on a computerised basis, including profit and loss statements, ledger reports, debtors' and creditors' reports and balance sheets to help business owners monitor key ratios such as debtor days, stock turnover and cash management.
• Tax Planning Proactive tax planning designed to legally minimise tax burden for businesses (VAT and Corporation Tax) and individuals (Self-Assessment), including identification of significant savings, advice on tax risks and potential gains, and monthly/quarterly VAT Return preparation and submission to HMRC.
• Benchmarking Business performance benchmarking that compares a client's business and processes against competitors operating in the same trade, providing detailed reports and professional advice on competitor technology adoption, customer service, image and branding, pricing and quality.
• Tax Investigations Cover Fee protection insurance covering professional fees incurred when representing clients during HMRC investigations, PAYE/NIC disputes, VAT disputes and IR35 disputes, designed to minimise financial and emotional stress during prolonged HMRC enquiries.
• Newport Business Grants Advisory Advisory service guiding Newport-based businesses on available local grants, including city centre rate relief (up to £5,000), match-funded grants for equipment, the Net Zero Newport Decarbonisation Programme (up to £30,000), and the Business Support Programme with the 5-9 Club and 9-noon Club entrepreneurship training.
• Xero Cloud Accounting Support Specialist Xero cloud accounting support delivered by Phil Bessant Limited as a Xero certified partner, including data entry management, access to Xero-based records for quarterly and end-of-year tax computations, training and ongoing mentoring for client finance teams.
• Sage Cloud Accounting Support Specialist Sage accounting software support, with the firm recommending Sage to clients over many years and providing training courses, discounted software licences, flexible on-site training, and ongoing support to help businesses produce credit control reports and monthly profit and loss accounts.
• QuickBooks Cloud Accounting Support Comprehensive QuickBooks support and mentoring for small and medium-sized businesses using the platform, including data entry management, access to QuickBooks-based records for tax computations, and assistance using the software to accept payments, manage bills, run payroll and record expenses.
• Nomi Cloud Accounting Support Specialist assistance with the Nomi accounting software platform delivered under PBL's Nomi Software Partner status, as part of the firm's supported accountancy package offering for clients.
• Other Accountancy Packages Support Specialist assistance with a wide range of accountancy packages beyond Xero, Sage, QuickBooks and Nomi, including spreadsheet-based and traditional pen-and-paper accounting, and support for clients transitioning to Making Tax Digital-compliant cloud accounting systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £100,000 raised for St David's Hospice, demonstrating community commitment and client engagement.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• XerocoreTechnology or IntegrationXero certified partner. Phil Bessant Limited provides comprehensive Xero support, training, and mentoring services to clients. The firm is a certified partner enabling them to offer specialist Xero implementation and ongoing support.
• SagecoreTechnology or IntegrationSage accounting software specialist partner. PBL has been recommending Sage to clients for many years and provides training courses, discounted software, and flexible on-site training and support.
• QuickBookscoreTechnology or IntegrationQuickBooks specialist partner providing comprehensive support and mentoring for businesses using QuickBooks for accounting, payment processing, and tax management.
• Trustpilot LtdminorGTM or Marketing PartnerClient review platform used to collect and display customer feedback to build social proof and trust.
• Feefo Holdings LimitedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerClient review platform used to collect customer testimonials and feedback for marketing purposes.
• Shire Credit Controllers LtdminorOthersDebt recovery agents used to assist clients with collecting outstanding debts.
• DNS Accountants LtdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as head office / parent company relationship within the DNS Accountants network.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PKF Francis Clark: Mid-tier regional UK accountancy firm serving SMEs, property owners and owner-managed businesses across the South of England and Wales, with comparable cloud-accounting advisory and tax planning services.
• DNS Accountants Ltd: UK accountancy network identified in Phil Bessant Limited's own privacy documentation as a head-office/parent relationship. Operates a similar SMB-focused accounting, tax and bookkeeping model, making it the closest comparable for benchmarking affiliate/network economics.
• Bishop Fleming: UK Top 40 accountancy firm with a strong South West and Wales presence, offering accounting, tax, audit and advisory services to SMEs and owner-managed businesses — the same core client profile Phil Bessant Limited serves.
• Moore Kingston Smith: London-based mid-tier accountancy and advisory firm with a comparable SME, property-owner and not-for-profit client base and similar service-line breadth spanning compliance, advisory and cloud software support.
• MHA MacIntyre Hudson: UK Top 15 accountancy network with strong regional SME and owner-managed-business coverage, offering a comparable mix of statutory accounts, tax, payroll and cloud-accounting advisory.
• Kreston Reeves: South East-based mid-tier UK accountancy and advisory firm with SME and owner-managed-business specialism, comparable service mix including cloud accounting, tax planning and business advisory.

Broad incumbents

• Crowe UK: Top 10 UK accountancy firm with a strong regional and SME client base; provides overlapping audit, tax, advisory and outsourced accounting services relevant to owner-managed businesses.
• Mazars UK: International audit, tax and advisory firm with a substantial UK SME and mid-market practice offering comparable accounting, tax compliance and business advisory services.
• RSM UK: Mid-tier-to-large UK accounting network serving SMEs, mid-market and owner-managed businesses. Its SME advisory and tax services overlap materially with Phil Bessant Limited's proposition.
• BDO UK: Top-tier UK accounting and advisory network offering audit, tax and advisory across the full SME-to-mid-market spectrum. A broad incumbent whose SME practice overlaps Phil Bessant Limited's service lines at a larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/PhilBessantLtd
• Facebookfacebook.com/philbessantltd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/phil-bessant-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Phil Bessant Limited