“Clients should never be allowed near their own bookkeeping!”

I disagree. If you run your own business, it should be your choice who does your bookkeeping.

Doing it yourself might be the right decision for you, it might not be. If the thought of doing your own bookkeeping appeals to you, here are some questions you can ask yourself.

1. Do you have the time?

Bookkeeping can be time-consuming. Even if you adopt the default “cash basis” that HMRC prefer, it isn’t just about keeping a list of money in and money out – it’s about checking that you’ve included everything, checking that you’ve not included anything you shouldn’t have, and making sure that you file the supporting documents in a way that you can easily find them again.

If your business is relatively small with low transaction levels, and you have the time to spare, there’s no reason you shouldn’t do your own bookkeeping.

2. Is it a good way for you to spend your time and energy?

Is doing admin, rather than generating revenue or spending time with your family, the best use of your time and energy? Ask yourself, what will you not be doing, in order to make time for your business bookkeeping?

To start with, DIY bookkeeping might be the best use of your time – but bear in mind that this could change if your business starts to increase in size or complexity.

3. Do the benefits and cost savings of doing your own bookkeeping outweigh the risks?

Doing your own bookkeeping helps you to keep a closer eye on your finances, and it can save you money, but it does carry an element of risk. You might make mistakes, miss tax deductions or claim tax relief on something you shouldn’t. And here’s where I have to be brutally honest – bookkeeping, done badly, can cost more to sort out than getting someone else to do it in the first place.

But it’s all about scale. The larger the figures, the higher the chance that an error could turn out to be significant. The greater the volume of transactions, the greater the chance that a simple mistake could be repeated multiple times over and take ages to correct.

4. How much do you need to know about your business finances?

Are you keeping records solely for tax compliance purposes or do other people depend on your business – employees for their wages, your landlord for the rent, your bank for loan repayments?

If you don’t know how to make sense of the reports your software generates, or how to check that those reports make sense, there is a risk that you could be making decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate numbers.

5. Is admin where your natural talents lie?

You don’t need to be a maths genius to do your bookkeeping, but you do need to be logical, organised and comfortable with figures.

If the thought of doing admin and working with figures doesn’t make you want to run a mile, doing your own bookkeeping could be right for you.

6. Do you have the skills?

Learning to do your own bookkeeping, even if it doesn’t save you any money in the first year or two, sets you up for the future.

HMRC’s guidance specifically lists learning to do your own business bookkeeping as an allowable expense for tax purposes. Bookkeeping, done well, could help to keep your future accountancy fees down.

7. What would give you greatest peace of mind?

If you’re someone who worries about getting things right, especially where the government is concerned, you might be scared or find it stressful to do your own bookkeeping. But there is a middle ground. You can do your own bookkeeping throughout the year, and still have an accountant check your bookkeeping over and send in your Tax Return at the end of the year.

As Self Assessment is gradually replaced by Making Tax Digital, more and more people will need to send their bookkeeping figures to HMRC every 3 months rather than once a year. HMRC expects bookkeeping records to be kept up-to-date, with all transactions (income and expenses) properly recorded in compatible software – but the four quarterly returns don’t have to be 100% accurate, as they’re designed to be in-year updates, not mini tax returns. 

So, what does peace of mind look like to you? Are you happier handing everything over to an accountant and letting them deal with it from beginning to end? Or would you like to learn how to do as much as you can yourself during the year, even if you still use an accountant to submit your Tax Return?

Of course, if your business and personal tax affairs are really straightforward, you might even feel confident enough to submit your own Tax Return.

Springreach Training & Coaching

The Springreach DIY Bookkeeping Community opens its doors for the first time on 6 April 2026. For £25 a month, you’ll get accountability and support to keep your bookkeeping up-to-date on a monthly basis, access to monthly online bookkeeping Q&A and accountability sessions, a quarterly Making Tax Digital Q&A session, a private Facebook group where you can post questions, and access to an ever-increasing library of practical software demos, training and resources – all hosted by a qualified accountant with 30+ years small business bookkeeping, accountancy and tax experience. No commitment – cancel any time.

If you’re not on Facebook, you can email your questions. Everyone will receive a monthly roundup email with session dates and resource links.

There is going to be a free taster session in March – date to be announced. Send us a message via social media or our website if you’d be interested in signing up.