Auto Enrolment Smart Pension Compliance Guide
Here’s something nobody tells you when you start hiring: that first employee isn’t just about payroll and employment contracts. They’re your trigger for a pension minefield that can rack up £10,000 daily fines if you mess it up. Yes, daily. I’ve watched business owners treat auto enrolment like it’s some optional HR tick-box exercise. Then […]
How VAT Accounting Works in the UK
Here’s something nobody tells you when you first start thinking about VAT: the £90,000 threshold isn’t a finish line you’re racing toward. It’s more like a trapdoor that opens beneath you when you least expect it. I’ve watched countless business owners celebrate their first £90k in turnover, only to realise – usually around 3am on […]
Ecommerce Accounts: What Makes It Different?
Here’s something most online sellers don’t realise until it’s too late: running an ecommerce business means your accounting needs are fundamentally different from a traditional shop on the high street. Not just slightly different. Completely different. I’ve watched countless sellers make the mistake of treating their Amazon or Shopify business like any other retail operation. […]
How Outsource Accounting Works (Step-by-Step)
Last updated: December 2025 Here’s something nobody tells you about running a business: your accounting books are probably messier than you think. I’ve seen it countless times. A business owner thinks everything’s fine — until tax season arrives like an unwelcome relative. Or worse, they miss a crucial VAT deadline because their spreadsheet system (the one […]
Why Cloud Accounting Is the Future of Finance
Here’s something nobody tells you about running a business: you’ll spend more time wrestling with spreadsheets than actually building your empire. I recently spoke with a cafe owner in Wimbledon who’d been using the same desktop accounting software since 2011. She stored everything on one battered laptop. When that laptop died during the summer heatwave […]
Accountant for Self Employed: What an Accountant Can Do for You
Here’s something nobody tells you when you first go self-employed: you’ll spend roughly 14% of your working week thinking about money you don’t have yet, money HMRC wants from you, or receipts you’ve definitely lost. That’s not an official statistic (I made it up), but ask any freelancer and they’ll nod knowingly. The romance of […]
Inheritance Tax in England: Latest Rules
Here’s something nobody tells you at dinner parties: inheritance tax in England has undergone the most dramatic transformation in decades, and if you’re still operating under the old domicile rules, you’re planning with yesterday’s map. I’ve spent the better part of twenty years explaining tax to people who’d rather discuss root canals. But this? This is different. […]
Auto Enrolment Guide for Small Employers
Here’s something nobody tells you when you’re starting out: hiring your first employee transforms you from a business owner into a pension provider overnight. Quite the promotion, isn’t it? I remember chatting with a café owner in Wimbledon last year—brilliant baker, made these ridiculous cinnamon buns that had queues out the door—who’d just taken on […]
Accounting and Bookkeeping for Busy Owners
Here’s the thing nobody tells you when you start a business: accounting and bookkeeping will haunt you at 2 AM. Not in some dramatic, existential way. More like that niggling sensation that you’ve forgotten something crucial whilst lying in bed—except what you’ve forgotten is three months of receipts shoved into a carrier bag under your […]
