“Never again”: For everyone who struggled with Self Assessment this year

Did 31 January come and go in a blur of panic, missing receipts and late‑night guessing at numbers?

If you’re reading this thinking, “That was me,” please know you are not alone. Every year thousands of self‑employed people and small business owners promise themselves, “Next year I’ll be more organised,” and then life happens. The work, the family, the unexpected dramas – and the bookkeeping slides to the bottom of the list until January.

This blog is for you if:

·        You missed the Self Assessment deadline this year, or

·        You submitted it, but it felt stressful, rushed, and messy, or

·        You’re already dreading next January.

Let’s draw a line under that experience and set you up for something different.

Why it felt so hard this time

Most people don’t struggle because they’re “bad with money” or “not good with numbers.” They struggle because:

·  There’s no simple, regular system in place – everything lives in bank statements, email, and memory.

·        Bookkeeping feels intimidating, so it gets avoided until the pressure is unbearable.

·        No one has ever sat down and shown them, in plain English, exactly what records they need to keep and how.

So when January arrives, they are:

·        Digging through old emails and bags for receipts.

·        Trying to remember what that bank transaction in May was for.

·        Guessing some figures because they ran out of time.

If that sounds familiar, you are not lazy or hopeless. You simply don’t yet have a system that works for you.

What HMRC really wants from you

The good news is that HMRC is not asking for perfection – they want:

·        A complete record of your income.

·        Reasonable evidence of your business expenses.

·        Records that are accurate, consistent, and kept for the right number of years.

You can do this with:

·        A simple spreadsheet.

·        A basic notebook and organised envelopes/folders.

·        Accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks, set up properly.

The key isn’t the tool – it’s having a routine and a structure that you can actually stick to, week after week.

A simple picture of an “easy” tax year

Imagine next year looking like this:

·        Each month you take 30–45 minutes to update your records.

·        Your income and expenses are up to date, and your receipts are stored neatly (paper or digital).

·        By October, you already know roughly what your tax bill will be.

·        In January, you submit your Self Assessment calmly, with no all‑nighters and no panic.

This is absolutely possible, even if you feel all over the place right now.

You deserve a calmer relationship with your business finances. Let’s make this the last year Self Assessment feels like a crisis.

How I can help you get there

I’ve created a focused 90‑minute 1‑to‑1 session called:

“Self Assessment Rescue & Simple Bookkeeping Setup”

It’s designed especially for people who:

·        Struggled to get everything together this year, or

·        Don’t want to repeat the same stressful experience next January.

In our Zoom session we will:

·        Gently review what went wrong this year (no judgement, just honesty).

·        Decide exactly what records you need to keep for your type of business.

·        Set up a simple bookkeeping system that suits you – spreadsheet, notebook, or software like Xero/QuickBooks.

·        Create a monthly checklist so you know exactly what to do each month to stay on track.

You’ll leave with:

·        Clarity about what to keep and what to ignore.

·        A simple, personalised bookkeeping system.

·        A step‑by‑step routine so you’re never starting from zero again in January.

Call to action: take one small step today

If you don’t want another last‑minute Self Assessment next year, now is the best time to change things – while the pain is still fresh and you’re motivated to do it differently.

Here’s how to take the next step:

·        If you’d like details about my Self Assessment Rescue & Simple Bookkeeping Setup 1‑to‑1 sessions via zoom or in person , send me an email with the subject line “SELF ASSESSMENT HELP” or message me on social media.

·        I’ll reply with:

o   What we’ll cover in the session,

o   My available dates and times, and

o   How to book and pay.

You deserve a calmer relationship with your business finances. Let’s make this the last year Self Assessment feels like a crisis.

Woohoo! Cheers Genny Jones Training for helping us get our bookkeeping systems up to date.