Buzz started in Greater Manchester and has an office in Salford. Tax works the same here as anywhere in England; what is local is which of the ten borough councils bills your business rates and what relief it runs.
The rules are the same across England. In Greater Manchester, one of the ten borough councils sends the bill and runs its own discretionary relief. Enter your rateable value to see an estimate.
An estimate on the published England multipliers and Small Business Rates Relief. Your bill also depends on reliefs your council runs and on the rateable value being correct.
Buzz started as an idea of Andy Jackson’s, in Manchester. Greater Manchester was one of the three places the firm worked from on day one, alongside Hertford and London.
The office is at 33 Modwen Road, Salford, M5 3EZ.
Clients get a named accountant, unlimited questions with no hourly charge and FreeAgent included, with most of the work done by phone, video call and WhatsApp. You can also meet us at the Salford office.
Your tax return is the same in every borough. These four things depend on where your business is.
Your borough council sends the bill and collects it. The multipliers and Small Business Rates Relief are set nationally and are identical across all ten, so the rate you pay is the same. The council handles queries and runs any hardship or discretionary relief on top.
Each borough runs its own discretionary relief and, from time to time, its own grant schemes. They are smaller than the national reliefs, and you usually have to apply to the council for them.
Change of use, licences, signage and late licences are decided by the borough council, each with its own timescale, and any of them can delay a plan.
Greater Manchester is the only English region outside London with franchised buses, which means routes and fares are set publicly rather than by operators. That affects where you put premises and who can commute to a shift.
For many Greater Manchester businesses, business rates are the third biggest fixed cost after wages and rent. The bill stays the same until the next revaluation unless you challenge it.
You can check the calculation yourself. Your rateable value is multiplied by a national multiplier — 0.432 where the rateable value is £51,000 or less, 0.48 above it. Then Small Business Rates Relief comes off: 100% relief below a £12,000 rateable value, tapering to nothing at £15,000. A small unit at £11,000 pays nothing.
Above £15,000 there is no small business relief, so check the rateable value itself. It is set by the Valuation Office Agency, and it can be wrong: the property has been altered, the floor area is overstated, something outside has changed. You can challenge it through the Check, Challenge, Appeal process, and any reduction applies every year until the next revaluation.
Use the estimate at the top of this page for where you stand, or the full business rates calculator if you want to compare properties or regions.
The ten boroughs range from city-centre professional services to warehousing off the M60, with trades working across all of them.
Consultancies, agencies, recruiters and legal and finance firms in and around Manchester city centre. Costs are low and margins high, so the tax position depends mostly on how the owners take money out.
Studios, production companies and software firms, a lot of them clustered around MediaCity in Salford. We track project revenue, freelance costs and margin on each project as well as in the monthly accounts.
The older industrial base across Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale and Wigan, where stock, work in progress and capital allowances on plant are the numbers that decide the year.
Warehousing and distribution off the M60 and M62 corridors. Margins are thin and vehicle costs heavy, so cash depends on keeping debtor days down.
Working across every borough, with CIS deductions coming off at source, the VAT domestic reverse charge on the invoice and retentions sitting with a main contractor for months.
High streets across the ten boroughs, plus the food and drink trade in the city centre. We handle business rates, till VAT and weekly payroll.
An annual budget, a rolling 12-month cashflow forecast, regular management accounts and an advisory meeting every month or quarter. We compare actual results against the plan, explain what has changed, and help you decide what to do next.
You can start with the accounts and add advisory or coaching later.
Bookkeeping, accounts, VAT and payroll handled for you, software included.
See packagesProactive planning and HMRC support, with an office in Salford.
Explore taxManagement accounts, forecasting and cashflow support for better decisions.
Explore advisory1-to-1 business coaching on running and growing the business.
Explore coachingGreater Manchester follows the same tax rules as the rest of England. These guides cover the questions we see most across the ten boroughs.
The guide works out what an employee costs once National Insurance, pension and cover are included, and what the business has to bill to carry one.
The guide explains the £90,000 rolling test and the thirty-day rule, and what it costs if you cross the threshold without registering.
The guide shows the level of profit at which a company usually saves tax, and when a company still does not suit.
The guide explains how a cashflow forecast shows a cash shortfall before it happens.
The guide explains digital records and quarterly updates from April 2026, which year applies at your income level, and what to do first.
The guide lists the five figures to check every month and what each one shows.
Yes, in Salford, at 33 Modwen Road, M5 3EZ. Buzz started in Greater Manchester as an idea of Andy Jackson's, and you can visit the Salford office. Most clients work with us by phone, video call and WhatsApp, and you can meet us at the office if you prefer.
No. Greater Manchester has the same income tax bands, corporation tax rates, VAT threshold, business rates multipliers and Making Tax Digital timetable as the rest of England. What is local is which of the ten councils bills your business rates, what discretionary relief that council runs, and the support available through the region's own growth programmes.
It matters for three things: who sends your business rates bill, what local relief and grants you can apply for, and who handles planning and licensing. It does not affect your tax return. If you are on a boundary, the council is decided by where the property is, whatever your postal town says.
You can challenge it. Rateable values are set by the Valuation Office Agency rather than your council, and they can be challenged through the Check, Challenge, Appeal process if the property has changed, the valuation is wrong, or something outside has affected it. Check it before you accept a bill you will pay every year until the next revaluation.
We work with clients across Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside and beyond, as well as in the ten boroughs. The offices are in Salford and Leigh.
You pay the same fees as every other Buzz client. Theinstant quote puts a monthly figure on the screen in four questions and sends the full proposal to your inbox, so you can see the price before you speak to anyone.
FreeAgent Partner, ICPA registered, GAP coaching certified, with practical experience across industries.
Fixed fees for sole traders and startups, bespoke proposals for limited companies.
Compliance, forecasting and leadership coaching as the business grows.
Call us and speak to someone who can answer the question.
Tell us which borough you are in and what you need. You get a reply from a named person within one working day, and you can come into the Salford office if you would rather.
