Rated 5.0 on Google One fixed monthly fee, agreed in writing FreeAgent or Xero included Brixton, by appointment Looking after South London businesses since 2015

About the people doing your accounts. They answer too.

About One Abacus begins with Ryan Morton FMAAT, who founded the Brixton practice in 2015. Ryan and Simon do the work and take the calls themselves. They look after small limited companies, freelancers, and contractors in South London and across the UK.

How the firm began

Ryan wanted a practice he could stand behind.

Before setting up the firm, Ryan sold tax-efficient payroll for an umbrella company. Over time, he stopped believing the product served the people buying it. Small business owners needed someone who would explain what HMRC expected, agree the cost first, and remain available once the forms were filed. So he left and built the kind of accountancy practice he could stand behind.

The first clients came through friends. The website followed, the phone began ringing, and the same rule has held since: say what the work covers before it starts. The monthly fee includes the software, advice, payroll, VAT returns, company accounts, corporation tax, the confirmation statement, and the director’s own return. Questions do not start a separate clock.

The practice now works mainly with South London creatives, architects, consultants, and contractors, alongside service businesses elsewhere in the UK. Ryan and Simon still handle the accounts and answer the phone. The aim is deliberately modest: keep every filing on time, explain what needs doing before it becomes urgent, and make the owner’s part of the job manageable.

How we handle the work

These are the rules Ryan and Simon use when the diary is full and a deadline is close.

  • Agree the whole price before work starts

    We set one monthly fee in writing before the work begins. It covers the agreed package, including conversations, so a question in spring does not become a separate invoice at year end.

  • The person doing the work answers

    Ryan and Simon handle the accounts and take the calls. When you ask a VAT, payroll, or company deadline question, you speak directly to someone who knows the work and can pick up the detail without a fresh briefing.

  • Explain the job in ordinary English

    Tax and company rules arrive with enough jargon of their own. We tell you what is due, when it is due, what we will handle, and what you still need to do. If something is uncertain, we say so.

  • Only sign work we have done

    We prepare and submit the accounts, returns, and filings we stand behind. If the work was done elsewhere, we check what is needed and take it forward properly. We will not add our name simply to make a form look finished.

Who you’ll work with

Ryan founded the practice and remains the person clients call with company questions.

NameRyan Morton
RoleFMAAT, Founder and Principal Accountant
BackgroundRyan Morton FMAAT (Fellow Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians) founded the practice after working in tax-efficient payroll for an umbrella company. He focuses on small limited companies, freelancers, and contractors, including creatives whose sales have outgrown sole trade and consultants setting up a company for a new contract. Born in Southampton, Ryan came to London for university and has lived in South London ever since. He runs the firm with Simon McDonagh, still answers the phone, and is happy to explain the same point twice when tax wording deserves it. You can start by telling him what the business does and what needs sorting.

The facts behind the firm

The useful details, without a trophy cabinet.

Years tradingSince 2015
Accountants doing the workRyan and Simon
Ryan’s qualificationFMAAT
Monthly pricingFixed

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Fixed monthly pricing · Ryan Morton FMAAT · FreeAgent or Xero included · The accountant answers