LEO Bookkeeping Services

DO YOUR TAX RETURN NOW! 📣

Yes, we know the deadline isn’t until January.

And yes, we really do mean NOW.

Because there are some very good reasons why getting your 2025/26 Self Assessment sorted sooner could save you money, stress and an unwelcome January headache.

There’s also an important LEO deadline at the end of October that you’ll want to know about. 👀

So before you think, “I’ve got ages yet…”, read this:

👉 https://www.leobs.co.uk/blog/why-you-should-do-your-tax-return-now-not-in-january/

Future you will thank you. 💜🧡

📍 Did you know you can actually come and see us?

We might work with businesses digitally, but LEO Bookkeeping has a real home too!

You’ll find me and the LEO team on a small commercial estate just on the outskirts of the beautiful Buckinghamshire market town of Olney.

And if you’re local, you’re always welcome to come and see us. 💜

Sometimes it’s just easier to sit down together, have a chat and talk through your bookkeeping face-to-face, whether you’re an existing client or a business owner thinking about getting some help with your accounts.

🚗 Even better, we have client parking, so there’s no need to battle for a space in the town centre.

You’ll find us at:

📍 LEO Bookkeeping Services
25 Osier Way
Olney
MK46 5FP

So if you’re based in Olney, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Bedford or the surrounding areas and would prefer a local bookkeeper you can actually sit down with, come and say hello.

The kettle’s never far away! ☕💜

You don’t need to know EVERY number in your business. But you should know these five. 👇

📌 1. Turnover
How much money your business is bringing in before expenses.

📌 2. Gross profit
What’s left from your sales after the direct costs of delivering your product or service.

📌 3. Net profit
What you’re actually left with after your business expenses.

📌 4. What you’re owed
Sales are great, but unpaid invoices don’t pay the bills. Know how much money is outstanding and how overdue it is.

📌 5. What you owe
Suppliers, VAT, PAYE, tax, loans... some of the money sitting in your bank account may already have somebody else’s name on it!

💜 Save this post and check these five numbers regularly.

You don't need to become an accountant. You just need to understand enough about your numbers to spot when something needs your attention.

And if you're looking at your accounts thinking “I haven't got a clue where to find any of those...” that's exactly the sort of thing I can help with.

Lucie
LEO Bookkeeping Services

Which number tells you how your business is really doing: your P&L, your Balance Sheet or your bank balance?

The answer? You need all three, because they tell you different things.

📊 Your Profit & Loss (P&L) tells you whether your business is making a profit over a period of time. It shows your income, your expenses and what's left after those expenses.

📋 Your Balance Sheet is a snapshot of your business's financial position at a particular point in time. It shows what the business owns, what it owes and what's left for the owners.

🏦 Your Bank Balance tells you how much cash you have available right now.

And here's where business owners can get caught out...

A healthy bank balance doesn't necessarily mean you're making a healthy profit. Some of that money might already be earmarked for VAT, tax, wages or suppliers.

Equally, you can have a profitable business but find yourself short of cash because customers haven't paid you yet.

That's why looking at just one of these numbers can give you a very misleading picture of how your business is actually performing.

You don't need to become an accountant to understand your finances. But you do need to know what your numbers are telling you.

💜 Not sure what you're looking at when you open your accounts? Ask me. I'll happily explain your P&L, Balance Sheet and cash position in plain English, so you can make better decisions for your business.

Want to understand your Balance Sheet better? Read my simple guide here: https://www.leobs.co.uk/blog/what-is-a-balance-sheet-and-why-should-you-care/

Which ostrich are you? 🐦

The first Making Tax Digital for Income Tax quarterly deadline has now been and gone.

If you were ready, kept your digital records up to date and submitted your first quarterly update by 7th August, you can be the happy ostrich on the left. 🙌

But if you've been burying your head in the sand and missed it, don't panic... but don't keep ignoring it either.

HMRC has confirmed that there will be no penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026/27 tax year, giving businesses and landlords some breathing space while everyone gets used to the new system.

That doesn't mean you can forget about it.

If you're required to use MTD for Income Tax, you still need to keep digital records and submit your quarterly updates. And your next quarterly update deadline is 7th November 2026.

So if 7th August passed you by, now is the time to get your head out of the sand and get everything sorted before the next deadline arrives!

💜 Not sure what you should have submitted, whether MTD applies to you, or how to get back on track? Speak to me, Lucie.

I can help you understand what you need to do and make sure you're properly set up for the deadlines ahead.

Employ staff? There are some important dates you need to have in your diary. 📅

Major changes to UK employment rights are being introduced in stages, and some are already in force.

From changes to Statutory Sick Pay and parental leave, to stronger responsibilities around workplace harassment and a major change to unfair dismissal rights, there's quite a lot for small employers to get to grips with.

And one of the biggest changes arrives on 1 January 2027, when the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection reduces from two years to just six months.

I've put together a straightforward guide covering:

✓ What's already changed
→ What's happening in October 2026
→ What's changing in January 2027
→ What else employers should expect during 2027

If you employ people, it's worth getting ahead of these changes now rather than discovering them when they affect your business.

👉 Read the full guide here: https://www.leobs.co.uk/blog/new-uk-employment-rights-what-small-business-owners-need-to-know/

And if you need help with the payroll and bookkeeping implications of employing staff, get in touch with me at LEO Bookkeeping. 💜

Travelling for work and grabbing lunch while you're out? 🍽️🚗
Can you put it through the business?

The answer is... sometimes.

Buying lunch while you’re working doesn’t automatically make it a business expense. After all, you need to eat whether you’re working or not!

But there are circumstances where food and drink can be an allowable business expense, particularly when you’re travelling as part of your work.

For example, if your work requires you to make an occasional business journey away from your normal pattern of working, reasonable food and drink costs incurred as part of that journey may be allowable.

The rules can be different depending on whether you’re self-employed or running a limited company, and things such as your normal place and pattern of work matter too.

So the fact is:

💜 Business travel doesn't automatically make your lunch tax deductible, but genuine business travel can mean some subsistence costs are allowable.

This is one of those areas where it's much better to ask than assume. Claim something you shouldn't and you could have a problem later. Don't claim something you're entitled to and you're potentially paying more tax than necessary.

Not sure whether that lunch receipt belongs in your bookkeeping? Ask me before you throw it away! 😊

Hi, I’m Lucie 👋 and I love helping business owners feel more in control of their finances.

I know bookkeeping probably isn't the reason you started your business.

You started it because you're great at what you do. But somewhere along the way came the invoices, receipts, VAT, payroll, deadlines and all those numbers you're somehow expected to understand too!

That's where I come in.

What I really enjoy about bookkeeping isn't simply keeping everything accurate and up to date. It's helping business owners understand what their numbers are actually telling them.

Sometimes that's taking away the stress of a job they've been putting off.

Sometimes it's spotting something they didn't realise was happening.

And sometimes it's simply being there to answer the question they thought they should already know the answer to.

There's no judgement and no unnecessary jargon. Just straightforward bookkeeping support and explanations in plain English.

Because when you understand your finances, you can make better decisions and spend more time concentrating on the business you actually set out to build.

💜 If your bookkeeping is taking up too much of your time, causing you stress, or you simply want someone in your corner who can make sense of the numbers, get in touch.

Director's Loan Accounts: who owes who?

If you're a director of a limited company, money can move between you and your company in both directions.

Perhaps you used £5,000 of your personal savings to help get the business started or cover a cash flow shortage. In that situation, the company may owe you money.

But it can work the other way too.

If you take money from your company that isn't salary, a dividend, repayment of money you've previously put in, or reimbursement of a legitimate business expense, it may be recorded on your Director's Loan Account as money you owe the company.

And that's where you need to be careful.

An overdrawn Director's Loan Account can have tax consequences, particularly depending on how much is outstanding and whether it is repaid within the relevant time limits.

That's why your Director's Loan Account needs to accurately record money moving between you and your company.

💜 The important thing to remember is that your limited company's money isn't automatically your personal money, even though you own the company.

Thinking about taking money from your company? Ask your bookkeeper or accountant BEFORE you do it, rather than trying to sort out the tax and accounting consequences afterwards.

If you're unsure whether your company owes you money, you owe the company money, or what your Director's Loan Account actually means, speak to me. I'll happily explain it in plain English.