After I finally got started on the client’s books – one bank statement at a time – something became clearer. The problem had never really been the accounts. It was the friction around the work. Not the kind of friction you can easily point to. Nothing dramatic or obvious. Just a set of subtle forces … Read more
I had everything I needed. All the bank statements from 20XX through to the client’s merger. Every transaction extracted and checked. Receipts and invoices grouped by year. A clean chart of accounts. A structured reference system for every piece of evidence. On paper, I was ready. And yet… I couldn’t start. Not properly. I would … Read more
In my last post, I shared the story of Luca Pacioli, the Renaissance mathematician who gave the world double-entry bookkeeping. Back then, there were no tax authorities breathing down anyone’s neck. No deadlines. No penalties. Just merchants who wanted to know where they stood. Fast forward to today, and most business owners still face that … Read more
When you think of bookkeeping, you probably think of receipts, tax returns, and filing deadlines. But the truth is, bookkeeping began centuries before any of those obligations existed – and for a much more practical reason. In 1494, an Italian mathematician and Franciscan friar named Luca Pacioli published a book called Summa de Arithmetica. Tucked … Read more
Running a business can feel like spinning plates. Between serving your customers, finding new ones, and trying to keep the numbers in order, it’s easy to feel like the financial side is always playing catch-up. Over the years, I’ve found nearly every business owner I meet is ultimately thinking about what I call The Big 3: … Read more
If you’ve ever felt embarrassed about the state of your books, you’re definitely not alone. Nearly every business owner I meet says the same thing: “I’m sorry – it’s probably worse than anything you’ve seen.” Spoiler alert: it almost never is. I’ve been there myself. When I started my own limited company over 30 years … Read more
I’ll be honest – there was a time when I thought bookkeeping sounded about as exciting as watching paint dry. Then, not too long ago, I decided to join an AAT Level 1 course at Petroc. Just one evening a week – mainly to keep my brain busy alongside other courses like British Sign Language … Read more