The Ledgers blog
Accounting, in plain English.
Straight answers to the money questions every UK founder runs into — and how to keep clean books without becoming a bookkeeper.
Accounting for non-accountants
Plain-English answers to the questions every UK founder eventually asks.
32 guidesRun your books
How to keep clean books — bank feeds, VAT, invoicing, payroll, year-end — without becoming a bookkeeper.
37 guidesManaging investors
Getting investor-ready, surviving the raise, and reporting like a pro afterwards.
21 guidesStart here
Latest
The types of VAT a UK startup actually meets (and how to record each one)
The types of VAT in the UK, explained for startups: standard, reduced, zero-rated, exempt, outside scope, reverse charge and no VAT — what each one does to your return, and how to record them without guessing.
9 min readJust got funded: setting upWhen should a startup set up accounting software — and why "when we're bigger" costs you
Most founders set up accounting software months too late. Here's the honest answer on when to start — the trigger events, why day one beats "when we're bigger", and what waiting actually costs a UK startup.
7 min readJust got funded: setting upAlign your bank account with your books from day one: the setup sequence
The order you set things up decides whether your first month reconciles cleanly or becomes a guess. Here's the exact sequence — bank, feed, opening balances, first reconciliation — for a newly funded UK startup.
8 min readJust got funded: setting upSet up your books to stay investor- and diligence-ready from day one
The books you keep from your first cheque are the books your next investor will inspect. Here's how to set up record-keeping so you stay diligence-ready without effort — SEIS/EIS, cap table, clean reconciled accounts.
8 min readSwitching / comparisonHow much should a pre-seed startup spend on finance tools and services?
A realistic look at what a UK pre-seed startup should spend on bookkeeping, accounting software and services — what's worth paying for, what's premature, and how the right setup saves more than it costs.
8 min readTax & deadlinesThe startup tax deadlines and reliefs first-time UK founders miss
The obvious tax dates are easy to find. These are the ones that catch first-time UK founders out — R&D tax relief, EMI option notifications, Section 431 elections, the confirmation statement — plus how to not miss them.
9 min read“Do I even need to…”Accountant vs bookkeeper: what's the difference, and do you need both?
A bookkeeper and an accountant do two different jobs — and every founder needs both done. Here's the plain-English difference, plus why the bookkeeping half is now better (and far cheaper) done by AI than by a human.
10 min read“Do I even need to…”Bookkeeping vs accounting vs a fractional CFO: what a pre-seed startup actually needs
Bookkeeping, accounting and a fractional CFO are three different jobs, and pre-seed founders often buy the wrong one. Here's what each actually does, and what a UK startup genuinely needs at this stage.
8 min readJust got funded: setting upOpening your startup's business bank account: UK process, documents, and how to choose
The business bank account is the foundation everything else sits on. Here's the UK process, the documents you need, how long it takes, and how to choose between neobanks and high-street banks for a newly funded startup.
8 min read