The Winchester Bookkeeping Company

Bookkeeping, accounts and tax support for sole traders in Hampshire

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Making Tax Digital – what you need to know

September 7, 2017 By Karen Upcraft

Making Tax Digital - what you need to know

Digitalising the tax system has been a hot topic on the government’s agenda for several years now. My earlier blog “I’m a sole trader – will I need to submit 4 tax returns a year?” outlined the government’s initial proposals on Making Tax Digital (MTD). The last year has seen a huge response from the […]

Filed Under: Accounting software, Bookkeeping and accounting, online accounting software, Personal taxation, Record keeping, Self assessment, Self employment, VAT Tagged With: Making Tax Digital, Online accounting software, Self-employment, sole trader bookkeeping, sole trader self assessment, Tax returns, Xero

Are you guilty of sabotaging self-employment?

May 21, 2017 By Karen Upcraft

Are you guilty of sabotaging self-employment?

It’s taken commitment, guts and talent to create something out of nothing. And that’s something to celebrate! But the self-employment path is littered with challenges. Things like market conditions, competition, and supply and demand remain outside our control. But often it’s the things we can actually control that we’re guilty of unintentionally sabotaging. Maybe it’s […]

Filed Under: Accounting software, Bookkeeping and accounting, Pricing your product and services, Record keeping, Self assessment, Self employment, Starting Up, Working from home Tagged With: record keeping, self assessment, self assessment tax, Self-employment, sole trader bookkeeping, sole trader self assessment, solopreneurs, starting up a business, Tax returns, Using an accountant

Why is everyone talking about Xero?

February 21, 2017 By Karen Upcraft

Xero-online accounting software

  As an accountant, I regularly receive calls from software companies, inviting me to trial their product. So when I was first approached by Xero I have to admit that my initial reaction to the “salesy“ (although admittedly slick) marketing pitch was to run a mile. But actually, Xero proved to be anything but an […]

Filed Under: Accounting software, Bookkeeping and accounting, Budgeting for small business, Business planning, Excel, online accounting software, Record keeping Tagged With: accounting software, bookkeeping, cash-flow, Making Tax Digital, Online accounting software, sole trader bookkeeping, Xero

What is a tax enquiry and how can you avoid one?

June 28, 2016 By Karen Upcraft

Tax Enquiry and how to avoid one

Tax enquiry, Tax investigation, eek … all sounds a bit scary doesn’t it?  And, when it comes to your small business accounts and taxes, haven’t you spent enough sleepless nights worrying about whether you are doing everything legally and above board? Facing up to a Tax Enquiry can seem like a daunting prospect. And I’ll […]

Filed Under: Accounting software, Bookkeeping and accounting, Personal taxation, Record keeping, Self assessment, Self employment Tagged With: accounting software, bookkeeping, self assessment tax, Self-employment, sole trader account, Tax Enquiry, Tax returns, Using an accountant

I’m a sole trader – will I need to submit 4 tax returns a year?

April 24, 2016 By Karen Upcraft

You’re a sole trader running a small business. You’re feeling comfortable with the whole annual self-assessment tax process and you’ve mastered Excel spread-sheets. But, brace yourself. The government has planned a big digital overhaul of the tax system with a raft of new tax changes coming your way. The rationale behind the “Making Tax Digital” plan is HMRC’s […]

Filed Under: Accounting software, Bookkeeping and accounting, Business planning, Excel, online accounting software, Record keeping, Self assessment, Self employment, Tax planning Tagged With: bookkeeping, Digital tax accounts, Making Tax Digital, Online accounting software, personal taxation, self employed, sole trader

7 things you can do using online accounting software that you can’t do with Excel

October 15, 2015 By Karen Upcraft

You’re a small business owner managing your own bookkeeping using Excel. But recently, the complexity of the business has changed. You’re trying to muddle through with the same old processes and procedures but inside you’re crying out for some order, some structure (and a bit of a breather). Can you relate? When it’s OK to […]

Filed Under: Accounting software, Bookkeeping and accounting, Excel, online accounting software, Record keeping Tagged With: bookkeeping, Growing a business, Online accounting software, online invoicing, record keeping, Vat returns, Xero

You’re a sole trader – do you really need an Accountant?

September 4, 2015 By Karen Upcraft

Use an accountant

You’re a sole trader with a small business – do you really need an Accountant? You may be surprised to learn that there is no mandatory requirement for sole traders to use an Accountant and, there will be many occasions when you can confidently forge ahead on your own steam. But, can you dispense entirely of […]

Filed Under: Accounting software, Bookkeeping and accounting, Personal taxation, Pricing your product and services, Record keeping, Self assessment, Self employment, Starting Up, VAT Tagged With: Self-employment, sole trader bookkeeping, sole trader self assessment, Using an accountant

7 tips to getting customers to pay (quickly)

May 5, 2015 By Karen Upcraft

Getting paid by your customers

The idea for my blog “tips to getting customers to pay” came to me after reading narrative on a software site. The article stated “that asking customers for money and invoicing them accordingly was the best part of a small business owner’s job” Really? I was cast back to the early months of starting up […]

Filed Under: Accounting software, Bookkeeping and accounting, Record keeping, Self employment, Starting Up Tagged With: cash-flow, getting paid by your customers, Invoicing, online invoicing, sole trader

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Recent Posts

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The Winchester Bookkeeping Company Ltd. Registered office: The Elms, Itchen Abbas,SO21 1BN. Registered in England & Wales. No: 8942503.

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