The Accountant’s Best Friend

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The Accountant’s Best Friend Book-keeping, accounts, tax returns, training, advice on software, all things accountancy!
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SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Give yourself an early Christmas present!I know, I know. It’s only October and I’m already mentionin...
15/10/2026

SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Give yourself an early Christmas present!

I know, I know. It’s only October and I’m already mentioning Christmas.

But hear me out…

There are just over three months until the Self Assessment tax return deadline on 31 January 2027.

And between now and then we’ve got Christmas shopping, school plays, festive parties, family gatherings and approximately 47 other things competing for our attention!

So here’s a question…

Have you sorted your tax return yet? 👀

If not, why not?

Your 2025/26 tax year ended over SIX months ago.

The information isn’t going to magically become more exciting in January.

And here’s something that surprises quite a few people…

You can submit your tax return NOW without paying your tax bill until January!

That’s right.

Getting your return done early means:

✅ You know exactly how much tax you owe.

✅ You’ve got time to budget for the payment.

✅ You can avoid the last-minute January panic.

✅ You’ve got time to find any missing paperwork.

✅ You can actually enjoy Christmas without that little voice reminding you about your tax return.

And if the tax bill is bigger than you expected?

At least you’ve got some time to work out how you’re going to pay it.

Knowing what you owe doesn’t make the bill bigger. Ignoring it doesn’t make it smaller.

So here’s my challenge for this week.

If your tax return is still sitting on your to-do list, move it a little closer to the top.

Future you, sitting on the sofa with a mince pie in December, will be very grateful.

And if you need a hand getting it sorted, you know where I am!

(FYI I do not have my Christmas tree up - it’s a photo from last year!!)

SMALL BUSINESS QUESTION: Would you buy your own business?Bit of an odd question…But imagine your business belonged to so...
06/10/2026

SMALL BUSINESS QUESTION: Would you buy your own business?

Bit of an odd question…

But imagine your business belonged to somebody else and they offered to sell it to you tomorrow.

Would you want it?

Take away the emotion for a minute.

Forget how hard you’ve worked to build it.

Forget how much you love what you do.

Look at it purely as a business.

Would you buy something where:

The owner isn’t earning enough?

Everything depends on one person?

Certain customers take up far more time than they’re worth?

Prices haven’t increased for years despite costs going up?

The business grinds to a halt if the owner takes two weeks off?

Everything important lives inside the owner’s head?

If you looked at THAT business as a potential buyer, you’d probably start asking some fairly uncomfortable questions.

But when it’s our own business, we tolerate things we’d spot immediately in somebody else’s.

“That customer has always been like that.”

“It’s just quicker if I do it myself.”

“I’ll sort my pricing eventually.”

“I can’t really take time off at the moment.”

Sound familiar?

So here’s a little challenge.

Pretend you’re considering buying your own business.

What would impress you?

And more importantly…

What would you insist was fixed before you handed over your money?

Because those answers might tell you exactly what you need to work on next.

You don’t have to be planning to sell your business to build one that somebody would actually want to buy.

And even if the only person who ever benefits from making it better is YOU…

I’d say that’s a pretty decent return.

A little reminder for anyone running a business today…You might already be living a life that a previous version of you ...
29/09/2026

A little reminder for anyone running a business today…

You might already be living a life that a previous version of you desperately wanted.

And you’ve completely forgotten to notice.

That first client you were desperate to win?

Now you’re worrying about having enough time to look after all of them.

That amount of money you once dreamed of turning over?

You hit it… and immediately set another target.

The freedom you wanted?

Maybe you can now do the school run, take a random Tuesday afternoon off or decide that actually, you’re NOT working this weekend.

Yet somehow, the goalposts keep moving.

More clients.

More money.

Bigger business.

Next target.

Next milestone.

Next thing to achieve.

Ambition is brilliant.

It’s what keeps us moving forward.

But if we’re not careful, we spend so much time looking at how far we’ve still got to go that we completely forget to look behind us.

So today, take five minutes and think about where you were when you started.

The things you worried about.

The things you hoped would happen.

The things you weren’t even sure you were capable of.

And then look at where you are now.

You might not be where you want to be yet.

There might still be a great mountain to climb.

But I bet you’re a lot further up it than you give yourself credit for.

Keep pushing. Keep building. Keep wanting more.

Just remember to occasionally turn around and admire the view. ❤️

CONTROVERSIAL QUESTION OF THE DAY…Do you think AI will replace your accountant?When ChatGPT took off, there was plenty o...
24/09/2026

CONTROVERSIAL QUESTION OF THE DAY…

Do you think AI will replace your accountant?

When ChatGPT took off, there was plenty of talk about accountants being doomed.

Why pay an accountant when you can ask AI:

“How much tax will I pay?”

…and get an answer in seconds?

Now, I LOVE AI. I use it all the time and I think it’s going to completely change how we work.

BUT…

There’s one rather large elephant in the room.

AI can be incredibly confident while being completely wrong.

I’ve actually had clients send me calculations they’ve got from ChatGPT.

And sometimes I’ll look at them and think:

“Yep, the maths is right… but that’s not how I’d treat YOUR situation.”

So I’ll ask another question.

Something the client didn’t know was relevant, so understandably never mentioned it in their original prompt.

We give AI that extra piece of information and suddenly…

the answer changes.

And ChatGPT cheerfully responds:

“You’re absolutely right. Good catch!”

Well, yes.

But that’s the bit I find fascinating.

What if you don’t know enough to catch it?

AI can know the tax rates. It can do the calculations. It can explain the rules.

But it doesn’t always know what you haven’t told it.

A good accountant isn’t just there to know a tax rate.

We ask questions, understand the wider picture and sometimes realise that the question you’re asking isn’t actually the question you need answered.

So I’m genuinely interested…

Would you trust AI to prepare your accounts or tax return without an accountant checking it?

And do you think we’ll eventually reach the point where you would?

I’d love to know what you think.

💡 SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Would you be better paid if you got a job?Slightly uncomfortable question for a Wednesday… When wa...
23/09/2026

💡 SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Would you be better paid if you got a job?

Slightly uncomfortable question for a Wednesday…

When was the last time you looked at what somebody would PAY you to do what you currently do in your own business?

Seriously.

Have a look at the job boards.

If you went and did your job for somebody else, what salary could you earn?

£30k?

£40k?

£60k?

More?

Now compare that with what your business is actually giving YOU.

And be fair with the comparison.

Because an employee potentially gets:

🏖️ Paid holiday
🤒 Sick pay
💷 Employer pension contributions
📅 Regular working hours
🛡️ Employment rights and protections
😴 Weekends where they can actually switch off

Meanwhile, you might be working evenings, weekends, answering messages on holiday and lying awake at 2am wondering whether Dave is ever going to pay his invoice.

I’m absolutely NOT saying shut your business and get a job.

There are plenty of reasons why running your own business can be worth far more than a salary.

Maybe you only want to work three days a week.

Maybe you want to do the school run.

Maybe you want control over who you work with.

Maybe the freedom your business gives you is worth an enormous amount.

But your business should be giving you SOMETHING in return for the risk you’re taking.

If you could earn £45,000 working five days for somebody else…

…but you’re currently working six or seven days in your own business and taking £25,000…

That’s worth thinking about.

Not quitting over.

Thinking about.

What needs to change?

Do your prices need to increase?

Do you need more profitable customers?

Are your costs too high?

Are you spending too much time on work that doesn’t make money?

Could better systems allow you to do the same work in fewer hours?

Because starting a business was probably never about creating yourself a really poorly paid job with no holiday allowance.

Your business needs to support the life you want.

Whether that’s more money, more freedom, fewer hours or hopefully a decent combination of all three.

So here’s today’s challenge:

Look up your job.

See what you’re worth to somebody else.

Then ask yourself whether your business is rewarding you enough for everything you put into it.

And if the answer is no…

what are you going to change to move the needle?

FRIDAY SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Give yourself a CEO hour.Here’s a little challenge for the weekend.Find yourself an hour.Grab...
18/09/2026

FRIDAY SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Give yourself a CEO hour.

Here’s a little challenge for the weekend.

Find yourself an hour.

Grab a coffee.

Sit somewhere away from your usual workspace.

And spend an hour thinking about your business without actually doing any work for it.

No emails.

No invoicing.

No customer jobs.

No “I’ll just quickly…”

Instead, ask yourself:

What’s working really well right now?

What’s annoying me EVERY single week?

What am I doing that makes good money?

What takes loads of my time but gives me very little back?

What am I still doing simply because “that’s how I’ve always done it”?

Is there anything I could automate, delegate or stop doing completely?

What ONE thing would make the biggest difference to my business over the next three months?

Then write down your answers.

Running a small business has a horrible habit of turning you into its busiest employee.

You spend all week doing the work and very little time actually thinking about whether the way you’re doing it still makes sense.

And sometimes the best ideas don’t arrive while you’re staring at your laptop.

They arrive on a walk.

In the garden.

Driving somewhere.

Or approximately 14 seconds after you’ve got into bed and absolutely cannot be bothered to write them down.

So this weekend, give yourself permission to think.

One hour. No doing. Just thinking.

You might be surprised what you come up with.

Have a brilliant weekend!

SMALL BUSINESS TIP: When did you last check what you’re actually paying for?£9.99 a month.£14.99 a month.£27 a month.Not...
15/09/2026

SMALL BUSINESS TIP: When did you last check what you’re actually paying for?

£9.99 a month.

£14.99 a month.

£27 a month.

Nothing terrifying there.

Until you realise you’ve got 17 of them.

Software.

Apps.

Memberships.

Cloud storage.

Website add-ons.

That thing you signed up for because you were DEFINITELY going to use it every week…

…and haven’t logged into since February.

Small monthly costs are incredibly easy to ignore because individually they don’t feel significant.

But £50 a month is £600 a year.

£100 a month is £1,200.

And suddenly those forgotten subscriptions are eating a decent chunk of your profit.

So here’s a very simple job for this week:

Go through the last 3 months of your business bank and card transactions.

Look for every recurring payment and ask:

Do I still use this?

Is it still worth what I’m paying?

Am I paying for two things that basically do the same job?

Has the price crept up without me noticing?

Could I cancel it today and genuinely not miss it?

I’m absolutely NOT saying cut every cost you can find.

Good software, good advice and good services should make your business better.

But there’s a big difference between investing in your business and simply forgetting to cancel something.

Ten minutes with your bank statement could save you hundreds of pounds a year.

Not bad for ten minutes’ work.

SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Watch the ‘little extras’.“It’ll only take five minutes.”Possibly the most expensive sentence in sma...
10/09/2026

SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Watch the ‘little extras’.

“It’ll only take five minutes.”

Possibly the most expensive sentence in small business.

A quick email.

A tiny change.

Can you just add this?

While you’re there, could you also…?

Individually, they’re nothing.

But if you give every customer an extra 10 minutes a week and you have 30 customers…

That’s 5 HOURS of your week.

Given away.

For free.

And the problem isn’t being helpful.

I’m a HUGE believer in giving great service and sometimes going above and beyond.

The problem is when above and beyond quietly becomes the standard service.

That’s when you need to ask:

How much extra time am I actually spending?

Is my pricing still right for the service I’m providing?

Has the job grown since I originally priced it?

Am I doing things the customer could be doing themselves?

Am I choosing to add value, or am I just rubbish at saying no?

That last one might sting a bit.

You don’t need to start charging someone £7.50 every time they send you an email.

But you DO need to know where your time is going.

Because those innocent little five-minute jobs have a habit of multiplying.

Your time is one of the biggest costs in your business.

Even if nobody ever sends you an invoice for it.

💷 Got a tax bill that’s made you feel a little bit sick?I’ve been talking to a client today who has earned considerably ...
08/09/2026

💷 Got a tax bill that’s made you feel a little bit sick?

I’ve been talking to a client today who has earned considerably more than last year, which is great news…

Except they hadn’t been keeping an eye on their numbers, so they were expecting their tax bill to look something like last year’s.

It doesn’t.

If you find yourself in this position, PLEASE don’t bury your head in the sand. A scary number is still easier to deal with when you have a plan.

A few things you can do:

👉 Work out what you can realistically save before the deadline.
You might not be able to find the whole amount, but £3,000 saved towards a £5,000 bill is considerably better than finding £0.

👉 Do a personal budget.
What do you actually NEED each month? Not what you normally spend, but what you genuinely need while you get yourself back on track.

👉 Then check what you really spent last month.
This bit can be eye-opening! A coffee here, Amazon there, subscriptions, takeaways, contactless payments… individually they’re nothing. Together they can be hundreds.

👉 Put the tax money somewhere else.
If it’s sitting in your normal bank account looking available, it’s very easy to accidentally spend it.

👉 Speak to HMRC if you can’t pay in full.
Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to arrange a Time to Pay plan. Ignoring the bill won’t make it disappear and usually makes matters worse.

👉 And most importantly, don’t let it happen again.

If you’re using bookkeeping software, review your profit and loss report.

You don’t need to understand every accounting report. But you should have a rough idea of how much profit you’re making and what that could mean for your tax bill.

Making more money should be something to celebrate.

Finding out you’ve made more money because HMRC wants a bigger chunk of it is a slightly less enjoyable way to discover it.

Know your numbers. Plan for the tax. Then there are far fewer nasty surprises.

💡 SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Do you know your ‘keep the lights on’ number?Not your sales target.Not the number you’d LOVE to ma...
04/09/2026

💡 SMALL BUSINESS TIP: Do you know your ‘keep the lights on’ number?

Not your sales target.

Not the number you’d LOVE to make.

The amount your business needs to bring in just to cover its costs.

Your break-even point.

Because before you’ve made a single penny of actual profit, your business might already need to pay for:

💻 Software
🏢 Rent
📱 Phones
🚐 Vehicles
🛡️ Insurance
👩‍💼 Staff
📣 Marketing
🧾 Accountancy
…and all those £9.99 subscriptions you forgot you signed up for in 2022. 😂

Let’s say your regular business costs are £4,000 a month.

If you make £4,000, you haven’t made £4,000.

You’ve basically reached zero.

Everything above that is where things start getting interesting.

And if you sell products or have other costs that increase with every sale, you’ll need even MORE revenue before you actually break even.

Knowing that number can completely change how you look at your business.

Instead of:

“I’d like to make £10k this month.”

You can start thinking:

“I need £X to cover the business, £X to pay myself what I need, and £X on top to make the profit I want.”

Now you’ve got an actual target.

Not a number plucked out of thin air because it sounded nice. 😆

Your numbers shouldn’t just tell you what happened last month.

They should help you decide what needs to happen next.

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Pevensey

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