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 […]
Tax Accountant Near Me for Hassle-Free Returns
Here’s something nobody tells you about tax returns: the difference between doing them yourself and having a proper tax accountant near me handle them isn’t just convenience. It’s the gap between overpaying HMRC by £2,000 and actually keeping that money in your pocket. I remember chatting with a mate who’d been filing his own returns […]
Chartered Professional Accountant vs Regular Accountant: What It Really Means in the UK
Here’s something nobody tells you when you’re desperately Googling “find accountant near me” at 11 PM before your tax deadline: the person who eventually saves your financial bacon might be called exactly the same thing as someone who can’t legally audit your books. Confusing? Absolutely. But that’s the reality of hiring a chartered professional accountant […]
IHT400 Form HMRC: The Truth About Processing Times in 2025
Here’s something they don’t tell you in those neat government guidance notes: submitting an IHT400 form isn’t just paperwork—it’s the bureaucratic equivalent of launching a message in a bottle across the English Channel. You send it off. You wait. Sometimes you wait more. And the question burning in your mind? When on earth will HMRC […]
Avoid Costly HMRC Tax Investigation Mistakes
Here’s something they don’t tell you at dinner parties: HMRC opened over 31,000 tax investigations last year. That’s roughly 85 people waking up every single day to a brown envelope that makes their stomach drop. And here’s the kicker—most of them made the same handful of mistakes that turned a routine enquiry into a financial […]
