When your records aren’t in order, expenses get missed, which means you pay more tax than you need to. Invoices get forgotten, which means income doesn’t get chased and cash flow suffers. And when the self-assessment deadline looms, everything becomes urgent at once, which is stressful, time-consuming, and surprisingly expensive.

If you run your own business as a sole trader, there is a good chance that at some point you have stared at a receipt and thought: “Can I claim this?” You are not alone. It is one of the most common questions bookkeepers hear, and the answer is not always obvious.

Cast your eye over your bank statement this month. Go on, really look at it. Chances are there’s a handful of recurring payments quietly going out that you barely notice anymore. Software here, a membership there, maybe a trade publication you’ve subscribed to for years. Now ask yourself: how many of those are you actually claiming as a business expense? If the answer is “not all of them” you might be leaving money on the table.

You figured out your trade, found your clients, and got on with it. But somewhere along the way, you probably realised that running a business demands a whole different set of skills on top of the actual work you do. And keeping those skills sharp? That costs money.

If you pay for software to run your business, there’s a good chance it counts as an allowable business expense. The key is simple: it must be wholly and exclusively for business use (or you can only claim the business-use portion).

A laptop is typically treated as equipment for the business. Rather than being a day-to-day running cost, it often falls under capital allowances (because it’s an asset you’ll use over time).

If you use part of your home for business (admin, client work, bookkeeping, calls, planning, etc.), you can usually claim a portion of your household costs as a business expense.