The Accountant’s Best Friend

The Accountant’s Best Friend Book-keeping, accounts, tax returns, training, advice on software, all things accountancy!
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I’d love to ask a small favour.Nominations for this year’s Eastbourne Business Awards are now open and I would be incred...
02/06/2026

I’d love to ask a small favour.

Nominations for this year’s Eastbourne Business Awards are now open and I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider nominating The Accountant’s Best Friend in the Professional Services category.

You can nominate here:

https://www.eastbournebusinessawards.co.uk/login.php

Last year I was absolutely blown away to be recognised as Highly Commended in the Professional Services category at the Eastbourne Business Awards.

When I launched The Accountant’s Best Friend, I simply wanted to help business owners and fellow practitioners feel supported, understood and a little less overwhelmed by the world of finance and compliance.

To have that recognised by the local business community was something I never expected.

If I’ve helped you, supported your business, solved a problem, answered a panicked phone call, translated accountant-speak into plain English, or simply been there when you needed advice, I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider submitting a nomination.

Every nomination means a huge amount to a small business like mine.

Thank you to every client, colleague, referral partner and supporter who has been part of the journey so far. Your support means more than you know ❤️

Business Basics Nobody Taught You #1Your bank account can talk directly to your accounting software.Sounds obvious when...
01/06/2026

Business Basics Nobody Taught You #1

Your bank account can talk directly to your accounting software.

Sounds obvious when you think about it.

Yet I’m still surprised by how many business owners are manually typing transactions into spreadsheets, emailing bank statements backwards and forwards, or trying to remember what that £27.49 payment from three weeks ago was for.

A bank feed is simply a secure connection between your bank account and your accounting software.

Once connected, your transactions automatically flow into your bookkeeping records.

That means:

✅ Less manual data entry

✅ Fewer mistakes

✅ More up-to-date records

✅ Less paperwork

✅ Less time spent on admin

It doesn’t replace good bookkeeping.

It doesn’t replace your accountant or bookkeeper.

It simply removes a lot of the repetitive work so everyone can spend more time focusing on what actually matters.

If you’re still sending bank statements every month or manually entering transactions, it might be worth asking whether there’s a more efficient way.

Technology should make running your business easier, not create more work.

Do you know if your accounting software has a bank feed connected?

Waiting until year end to look at your numbers is a bit like driving with your eyes closed and hoping the sat nav sorts ...
22/05/2026

Waiting until year end to look at your numbers is a bit like driving with your eyes closed and hoping the sat nav sorts it out.

Bold strategy.

Not one I would recommend.

So many business owners only really look at their accounts when the tax return is due, the accounts need filing, or the accountant starts asking awkward questions like:

“Do you have the receipts for this?”

“Was this business or personal?”

“Can you explain this £437 payment from last June?”

The problem is, by the time you get to year end, the year has already happened.

If your prices were too low, the damage is done.

If your costs crept up, the money has already gone.

If a client stopped being profitable, you have already spent months working for less than you thought.

If cash flow was tight, you have probably already had the sleepless nights.

Your accounts should not just be a history lesson.

They should help you make decisions while there is still time to do something about it.

That might mean checking:

• what you have sold this month
• what profit you are actually making
• which costs have increased
• who still owes you money
• what tax you may need to put aside
• whether your bank balance matches the story your profit is telling
• whether the business is moving in the direction you want

You do not need to become obsessed with spreadsheets.

You do not need to spend every Friday night whispering sweet nothings to your profit and loss report.

Unless that is your thing. No judgement.

You just need to stop treating your numbers like something you only look at when there is a deadline.

Because your numbers are not there to make you feel bad.

They are there to give you information.

Information gives you choices.

Choices give you control.

So if you have not looked at your numbers properly for a while, this is your nudge.

Not at year end.

Not when HMRC asks.

Not when the bank balance starts sweating.

Now.

Profit does not always disappear in one big dramatic moment.It usually leaks out quietly.A subscription you forgot you w...
21/05/2026

Profit does not always disappear in one big dramatic moment.

It usually leaks out quietly.

A subscription you forgot you were paying for.

A job that took “just an extra half hour” five times over.

A client who was quoted for one thing but somehow ended up getting three.

Software you signed up for during a free trial and never cancelled.

Stock sitting on a shelf.

Materials not recharged.

Mileage not claimed.

Bank charges ignored.

Small expenses paid personally and never put through the business.

A price increase you meant to do six months ago but kept putting off because it felt awkward.

None of these things feel massive on their own.

That is the problem.

Because £10 here, £25 there, an extra hour here, a missed recharge there… suddenly your profit has quietly packed a suitcase and left without even saying goodbye.

Rude, frankly.

This is why it is worth reviewing your business regularly, not just when the tax return is due or when the bank balance starts looking a bit dramatic.

Look at what you are paying for.

Look at what you are giving away.

Look at what you are forgetting to charge.

Look at what is taking longer than expected.

Look at what is being absorbed by the business because “it is only small”.

Small leaks sink boats.

They also sink profits.

The good news is, you do not always need more sales to make more money.

Sometimes you just need to stop the money you already earned from quietly escaping out the back door.

Start there.

Being busy is not the same as being profitable.That one stings a bit, doesn’t it?Because being busy feels productive.A f...
20/05/2026

Being busy is not the same as being profitable.

That one stings a bit, doesn’t it?

Because being busy feels productive.

A full diary.
Messages coming in.
Jobs booked.
Clients waiting.
Invoices going out.

It can look like success from the outside.

The problem is, busy can also mean:

• low margin work
• too many tiny jobs
• clients who drain your time
• constant interruptions
• no breathing space
• no proper planning
• no time to improve the business
• lots of activity but not enough profit

You can be fully booked and still not earning enough.

You can be working evenings and weekends and still not building the life you wanted.

You can have loads of clients and still feel permanently skint.

That’s why the question should not just be:

“How do I get more work?”

Sometimes the better question is:

“Is the work I already have actually worth it?”

Because more work is not always the answer.

Sometimes the answer is better priced work.
Better clients.
Better boundaries.
Better systems.
Better profit.

A busy business can still be a broken business.

The goal is not to be run off your feet.

The goal is to build something that actually works.

Stop pricing based on what “sounds reasonable”.That is not a pricing strategy.It’s a fast track to resentment.So many bu...
12/05/2026

Stop pricing based on what “sounds reasonable”.

That is not a pricing strategy.

It’s a fast track to resentment.

So many business owners price a job by thinking:

“Would I pay that?”
“Will they think it’s too expensive?”
“What is everyone else charging?”
“That feels about right.”

The problem is, “feels about right” does not pay your bills.

Before you price a job, you need to know what that job actually needs to generate.

Not just the time doing the work.

Also:
• preparation time
• messages and emails
• travel
• materials
• software
• admin
• follow-up
• payment chasing
• your experience
• your profit

Because if a job takes 3 hours to do, but another hour to quote, half an hour to invoice, 20 minutes of messages and a bit of headspace you never charged for…

…it was never really a 3 hour job.

This is why some jobs look profitable on the surface but quietly drain the life out of you.

Pricing properly is not about being greedy.

It’s about making sure the job is actually worth taking on.

If the numbers do not work before you start, they usually feel even worse by the time you finish.

One of the biggest pricing mistakes in business?Assuming every hour you work is chargeable.It isn’t.Let’s say someone wa...
11/05/2026

One of the biggest pricing mistakes in business?

Assuming every hour you work is chargeable.

It isn’t.

Let’s say someone wants to earn £50,000 a year.

They divide it by a 40 hour week and think:
“Perfect. I only need to charge X per hour.”

Except business doesn’t work like that.

Because nobody is billing 40 hours a week consistently.

What about:
• quotes?
• emails?
• invoicing?
• bookkeeping?
• social media?
• networking?
• chasing clients?
• fixing problems?
• ordering materials?
• travelling?
• CPD and training?
• sick days?
• holidays?
• the random chaos every business owner deals with?

Suddenly those “40 billable hours” might actually become 20 to 25.

THAT is where many people accidentally underprice themselves.

They price based on total working hours…
instead of actual income generating hours.

Then wonder why they’re exhausted but still not earning what they hoped.

Your numbers have to work in the real world.
Not just on paper.

Have you accidentally created yourself a really stressful, low paid job?I see this all the time in business.Someone star...
07/05/2026

Have you accidentally created yourself a really stressful, low paid job?

I see this all the time in business.

Someone starts out because they’re brilliant at what they do.
A trade.
A skill.
A passion.
A service.

They want flexibility.
Freedom.
More time with family.
A better life.

Then somewhere along the way they become:
• overworked
• permanently stressed
• constantly available
• scared to put prices up
• working evenings and weekends

…only to realise at year end they’ve barely paid themselves properly.

Sometimes less than minimum wage.

The problem usually isn’t laziness.
Most business owners work incredibly hard.

The problem is that many people never reverse engineer the numbers before starting.

What does your business actually need to give you financially?

Not just to survive.
To properly LIVE.

Then work backwards:
• your income goal
• business costs
• tax
• software
• materials
• subcontractors
• advertising
• insurances
• unpaid admin
• holiday time
• sick days
• family commitments

Because once you work out how many hours you can realistically work and bill for, your pricing suddenly starts making a lot more sense.

Busy and profitable are not the same thing.

🚨 BUSINESS MYTH #10:“Cheap accounting saves me money”This one feels logical… but it often backfires.Saving a few pounds...
05/05/2026

🚨 BUSINESS MYTH #10:
“Cheap accounting saves me money”

This one feels logical… but it often backfires.

Saving a few pounds on fees can end up costing you far more in the long run.

Because cheap usually means:
• Limited support
• Reactive, not proactive
• Missed opportunities
• Little to no advice

And when something goes wrong?

You’re on your own… or paying someone else to fix it.

I’ve seen businesses:
• Overpay tax
• Miss reliefs
• Make avoidable mistakes

All to “save” a small monthly fee.

The clients who get real value?

They don’t just look at the price.
They look at what they’re getting in return.
They see it as an investment, not a cost.

Because good accounting doesn’t cost you money.

It helps you keep more of it.

🚨 BUSINESS MYTH #9:“I’ll worry about tax later”This is where panic starts.Tax isn’t something that suddenly appears at ...
01/05/2026

🚨 BUSINESS MYTH #9:
“I’ll worry about tax later”

This is where panic starts.

Tax isn’t something that suddenly appears at year end… it builds up as you earn.

Every sale you make is potentially creating:
• Income tax
• National Insurance
• Corporation tax
• VAT

Ignore it for long enough, and you end up with a bill you weren’t expecting… and can’t afford.

That’s when the stress kicks in.

The clients who stay in control?

They plan ahead.
They set money aside regularly.
They know roughly what’s coming before it lands.

Because tax isn’t the problem.

Not preparing for it is.

Address

Pevensey

Opening Hours

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

Telephone

+441323925001

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