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As you may already know, the current tax year (2024/25) wraps up in less than a month, making this the perfect time to tidy up your accounting records and get everything in order! In this newsletter, I’ll walk you through my top recommendations for getting your finances up to date - plus, you’ll earn some serious brownie points with your accountant!
Gather your receipts/purchase invoices
Did you know that HMRC requires everybody to keep receipts & invoices for 5 years after the tax return submission deadline? Sounds like overkill, right?
To avoid needing to upsize your home to keep hold of all these receipts, we recommend storing them electronically. You can use software like Dext or Hubdoc for this, or even something as simple as a Google Drive or folder on your laptop.
This keeps your receipts nicely under one roof and means you can dispose of any physical paper work too - win win!
Digitalise your accounting records
Not only does digitalising your accounting records help you save time, improve accuracy, and provide real-time reporting, but HMRC is also pushing for all businesses to use accounting software.
This initiative is called ‘Making Tax Digital’ ('MTD') and essentially requires accounting records and submissions to be done online. It is already mandatory for VAT-registered businesses, and will soon to apply to all self-employed individuals and small businesses.
By moving your accounting records online, you'll be ahead of the MTD curve and will also be able to take advantage of the above benefits.
Request your payslips/P60
If you earned employment income between April 2024 to April 2025, this will need to be included on your 2024/25 tax return.
For this reason, we recommend keeping hold of all your payslips and P60 when you receive it (this should be some time in April or May).
If you left your job throughout the year, set your P45 aside in a safe place
Download copies of your bank statements
Your accountant won't be able to prepare your tax return without knowing the income received and expenses incurred throughout the year!
Most of this information will be taken from your bank statement, so make sure to save a full year's worth of these (pssst - your accountant will typically prefer to have these in CSV/Excel format rather than PDF!).
Final thoughts
We hope these tips help you to get to get your records neat and tidy ready to hand over to your accountant. Need support? You can contact us here for a free consultation.