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Valued

An award-winning tech-based accountancy firm, helping ambitious business owners reach their potential Never compromise your values.

Staying true to your business values is key to being successful and we’re here to play a part in helping you stay true to yours. We believe in putting you first, always, and we’ll build a long term relationship with you which will allow your business to flourish. We’ll provide you with experienced people, sound advice and the latest technology in a manner that is uncomplicated so you can concentrate on what you do best and grow your business. Xero Accounting Partner of the Year 2015

09/10/2026

We had two conversations recently that stuck with us.

Not because of anything clever we said, just people saying things like "why has no one explained this to me before?" or "I've learned more in the last half hour than I have in the last year."

It got us thinking. Not about us, about them, and how normal that feeling seems to be.

If you've ever sat in a meeting with your accountant and left with more questions than answers... if you've never really understood what your numbers are trying to tell you... if you've been quietly wondering whether you're getting the guidance you're actually paying for —

You're not alone, and you're not asking for too much.

Sometimes it's not about being told what's wrong. It's just someone taking the time to explain it properly.

If that's missing right now, it might be worth a conversation — no pressure, no pitch, just a chat.

08/10/2026

Around this time of year a lot of businesses are dealing with renewals: insurance, software, rent, suppliers. Most of those bills have crept up. Far fewer owners put their own prices through the same review.

It's worth doing the sum plainly. If what it costs you to deliver your work has gone up and your prices have stayed where they were, the difference comes out of your margin. In a small business, the margin is usually your wage.

That doesn't mean a big price rise, or one made without thought. Sometimes it's a small annual increase that customers already expect. Sometimes it's noticing that one service has quietly stopped paying its way.

The first step is just knowing the number. Once you know it, the decision is yours.

02/10/2026

This week Stephen was in London for the Accounting Excellence Awards 2026, as a guest of Sage.

It was an evening celebrating the people and firms shaping where accounting and bookkeeping go next, and a good chance to catch up with friends from across the profession.

What stays with you from a night like that is the people. Every firm recognised was a team that decided to do things a bit better for the people they look after. That's the part of the job we care about most too.

Congratulations to this year's finalists and winners. Thank you to Sage for having us, and to Accounting Excellence for bringing everyone together.

Photo courtesy of Sage.

01/10/2026

The first working day of the month is a good time to spend fifteen minutes with your numbers. Not a full review, just enough to know where you stand before the month gets going.

We've put the five steps we'd suggest into the slides. None of them need an accountant, and once your bank feed is up to date most take a couple of minutes each.

The one we'd single out is the last. Most people have one figure each month that doesn't quite make sense, and it tends to get left. Writing it down is usually the first step to understanding it.

Worth saving for the start of next month.

29/09/2026

Every autumn, someone tells us they started renting out a flat or picked up some freelance work last year, and assumed the tax paperwork could wait until January.

The return itself can. The 31 January deadline for the 2025/26 tax year hasn't moved. But there's an earlier step that's easy to miss. If you had new income that wasn't taxed at source between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, HMRC needs to know by 5 October that you'll be filing.

That usually means new sole traders, new landlords, and anyone with untaxed income for the first time. Registering gets you a Unique Taxpayer Reference, which can take around ten working days to arrive, so it's better done early than on the day.

If you're not sure whether your income needs a return at all, HMRC has a short checker on GOV.UK. It's also the kind of question we answer most weeks.

This year 5 October falls on a Monday, so this week is the week to do it.

25/09/2026

Nobody starts a business because they love invoicing.

They start because they were good at something, or because they wanted more say over their own time, or because staying where they were stopped making sense.

The admin arrives later, usually uninvited, and it can end up taking over the very thing it was meant to support.

The point was never the paperwork. It was the life you were trying to build.

24/09/2026

A full diary feels like proof that things are going well. It isn't always.

Busy can mean in demand. It can also mean underpriced, poorly organised, or saying yes to things that shouldn't take as long as they do.

Being in demand is about the work you could take if you wanted it. Busy is just what's currently filling the diary, for all kinds of reasons.

Does your diary feel full because you're in demand, or because you've said yes to a bit too much?

22/09/2026

The view from our office window today: the last of the summer sun, and the first proper signs of change.

Self Assessment season tends to arrive the same way. Feels miles off in September, and then somehow it's the third week of January.

Worth using the quiet stretch now, while it's still just a few orange leaves, rather than waiting for the whole tree to turn.

Where are you at with your return so far — filed, started, or still pretending January's a long way off?

17/09/2026

Why your busiest month isn't your most profitable one

The month everyone was rushed off their feet doesn't always turn out to be the best one on paper.

More work often means more costs alongside it, more materials, more subcontractors, more hours paid out before anything lands in the bank. Busy and profitable can move in completely different directions.

The only way to know for sure is to actually look, rather than assume the manic month was automatically the good one.

What was your busiest month this year, and was it actually your best one? Genuinely curious, tell us below.

15/09/2026

A lot of people assume PAYE means they're covered, and mostly it does.

But if you've picked up extra income this year, from renting a room, freelance work, dividends, or a side project that's actually made some money, that's often the bit that needs declaring separately.

It doesn't automatically mean a big tax bill. It just means HMRC wants to see the whole picture, not just the bit your employer already reports.

Worth checking before January, not during it.

What's the one thing about Self Assessment you're still not sure applies to you? Drop it in the comments and we'll help you work it out.

Address

19d Durham Workspace, Abbey Road
Durham
DH15JZ

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 4pm

Website

http://www.yourvalued.co.uk/

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