Tax advisory vs administrative agency: what your company really needs

Grupo Asegi explains the technical difference between an administrative agency, a tax advisory firm and a full-service advisory firm. An administrative agency processes documents but does not advise strategically. A tax advisory firm advises and plans in the tax field. A full-service advisory firm (such as Grupo Asegi) covers the four professional areas under one roof: tax, accounting, employment and legal.

The difference almost nobody explains to you

In everyday Spanish, “gestoría” and “asesoría” are used as synonyms. Technically they are not.

The difference between having an administrative agency, a tax advisory firm or a full-service advisory firm can be worth thousands of euros a year in deductions never claimed, tax errors and operational problems.

What an administrative agency does

An administrative agency deals essentially with processing documents before the public authorities:

• Registration and deregistration of self-employed workers.
• Filings before the DGT.
• Immigration filings.
• Administrative permits.
• Applications for certificates.
• Filing simple tax forms.

Administrative agents are registered with the Colegio Oficial de Gestores Administrativos.

What a tax advisory firm does

A tax advisory firm goes much further. Its main function is to advise on and plan the client’s tax position:

• Analysis of the optimal tax structure.
• Identifying and applying the deductions available.
• Tax planning in the short, medium and long term.
• Strategic advice before important decisions are taken.
• Defence in inspections.
• Appeals against tax assessments.
• Business succession.
• Corporate restructuring.

What a full-service advisory firm does (tax + accounting + employment + legal)

A full-service advisory firm covers four professional areas under one roof:

• Tax: everything set out above.
• Accounting: monthly accounting, year-end close, annual accounts.
• Employment: payroll, contracts, dismissals, full employment management.
• Legal: commercial, tax litigation, employment and civil matters for companies.

The advantage is that information flows between the four areas. The company has a single point of contact who orchestrates every discipline.

When an administrative agency is enough for you

If you are a self-employed worker under the módulos regime, with a very simple activity, no employees and no complex deductions, an administrative agency that simply files your returns each quarter may be all you need.

When you need an advisory firm

You need a tax advisory firm, and not just an administrative agency, when:

• You are a self-employed worker with significant turnover (€40,000 a year).
• You have a company (of any size).
• You have employees.
• You operate under the Basque foral regime.
• You have investments, potential deductions or R&D&i activities.
• You are considering structural changes.
• You have received, or may receive, information requests or inspections.

When you need a full-service advisory firm (a real case)

A full-service advisory firm makes the difference when your company passes 10 employees, has complex operations or is planning extraordinary transactions.

Anonymised real case: a Basque industrial company with 35 employees, two founding partners approaching retirement, a proposal to bring a son onto the board and the possible entry of a minority investor.

With three separate firms (an administrative agency, an external lawyer and an employment adviser) the process kept stalling: each professional asked for the same information, decisions were taken without coordination and costs were duplicated.

With a full-service advisory firm, a single initial meeting captures the whole case. The result: a six-month process instead of two years, at a lower total cost.

What Grupo Asegi offers: the 4 areas under one roof

• Advisory: foral tax, accounting, employment.
• Auditors: statutory audit, voluntary audit, grants, expert reports, valuation.
• Consultants: strategic consulting, compliance, holding structures, succession, grants, outsourced CFO.
• Lawyers: commercial, tax, employment and civil matters for companies.