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Bookkeeping is the daily record of what a business earned, spent, owes and is owed. In the UK it has stopped being a shoebox job. VAT-registered businesses must keep their VAT records digitally in compatible software, and sole traders and landlords are being brought into Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in stages, with quarterly updates replacing one annual scramble. A bookkeeper who is behind cannot be caught up in a weekend any more.

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The work itself is unglamorous and load-bearing: coding bank transactions, matching purchase invoices, chasing missing receipts, reconciling the bank and the control accounts, and running the VAT return. Many bookkeepers also run payroll. Done properly it means the accountant starts from a trial balance that ties, rather than rebuilding the year from statements.

Bookkeeper is an open title like accountant, but there are licensing routes. AAT licenses bookkeepers and supervises most of its licensed members for anti-money laundering, and its own supervision is overseen by OPBAS. Any bookkeeper working for clients must be supervised by a professional body or registered with HMRC, whichever applies to them.

What UK bookkeeping covers week to week

  • Posting and coding bank transactions, usually from a feed rather than a statement.
  • Recording sales invoices and matching customer receipts against them.
  • Entering supplier bills, allocating payments and keeping the purchase ledger current.
  • Handling expense claims and the VAT treatment of each line, which is where errors cluster.
  • Preparing and filing the VAT return through Making Tax Digital compatible software.
  • Flagging anything that looks wrong early enough for someone to do something about it.

The records HMRC expects, and how long to keep them

A sole trader or partner must keep business records for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline for the relevant tax year. A limited company must keep its accounting records for six years from the end of the financial year they relate to, longer where a transaction spans more than one accounting period or an asset is expected to last beyond six years.

For a company the list is specific: all money received and spent, assets owned, debts owed and owed to it, stock held at the year end and the stocktakings behind that figure, and all goods bought and sold with details of who they were bought from and sold to. HMRC can fine a company £3,000 for failing to keep adequate accounting records, and a director can be disqualified for it.

Under Making Tax Digital for VAT the records must be digital within functional compatible software, covering designatory data, supplies made, supplies received and the summary totals behind the return.

Licences and supervision to ask a bookkeeper about

AAT issues licences to members who practise on their own account, and states that it supervises most of its licensed members for compliance with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017. It carries out practice assurance reviews, takes enforcement action against firms that are not complying, and is itself supervised by OPBAS, the regulator government set up to strengthen the UK's anti-money laundering supervisory regime.

AAT also requires licence holders to carry professional indemnity insurance covering the services they provide. Its public directory shows whether a listed member is AAT-supervised for anti-money laundering, which is a faster check than asking.

A bookkeeper supervised by nobody is not a cheaper option. They are outside a regime that HMRC enforces criminally, and they have no complaints route you can use.

What a bookkeeper files, and where the line usually sits

  • Most bookkeepers file VAT returns and run payroll submissions; many do not prepare statutory accounts or tax computations.
  • A bookkeeper still needs agent authorisation from you before dealing with HMRC on your behalf, and should never ask for your own sign in details.
  • Licensing bodies restrict members to the services listed on their licence, so ask what is actually on it.
  • Advice on tax planning, company structure or director remuneration usually sits with the accountant, not the bookkeeper.
  • Whoever files, you stay legally responsible for the figures.

Ways bookkeeping gets delivered

  • On-site for a day or two a week, which suits businesses with paper coming through the door.
  • Remote on cloud software with a bank feed, which is now the common arrangement.
  • A catch-up or rescue engagement to rebuild neglected books before a deadline, priced and scoped separately.
  • Bookkeeping bundled into an accountancy firm's monthly package, so one team owns the whole chain.
  • An in-house finance assistant supervised by an external bookkeeper who reviews rather than posts.

Reconciliations that keep the books trustworthy

  • Bank reconciliation every month, not every quarter, so errors surface while the detail is still remembered.
  • VAT control account agreed to the returns actually submitted.
  • PAYE control account agreed to what was reported and what was paid.
  • Debtors and creditors listings reviewed for balances that have stopped moving.
  • Director loan account kept current, because it drives tax consequences if it goes overdrawn.
  • Stock and work in progress recorded at the year end rather than reconstructed afterwards.

Bookkeeping failures that only surface a year later

  • VAT reclaimed on entertaining or on invoices that were never valid VAT invoices.
  • Personal spending coded to the business, which changes the director's tax position as well as the accounts.
  • Cut and paste between spreadsheets breaking the digital link chain that Making Tax Digital requires.
  • Duplicated supplier bills inflating creditors and understating profit.
  • Receipts never collected, so a deduction is claimed with nothing to support it in an enquiry.
  • A handover with no software access, leaving the next bookkeeper to start from the bank statements.

Bookkeepers: frequently asked questions

Do I need a bookkeeper if I already have an accountant?

It depends who does the posting. An accountant who only sees your records once a year will rebuild them from scratch, which is slow and expensive. A bookkeeper keeping things current through the year usually reduces that work, and gives you numbers you can act on before the year has ended.

When does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax affect me?

It is phased by qualifying income. Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year should have started from 6 April 2026; over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026 from 6 April 2027; and over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 from 6 April 2028, with legislation confirming that last stage. Check your own position on the HMRC eligibility page rather than assuming.

Can I keep my VAT records in a spreadsheet?

Yes, if the spreadsheet is part of functional compatible software and the data moves on by digital link, for example linked cells, CSV import and export, or an API transfer. HMRC explicitly does not accept cut and paste or copy and paste as a digital link.

How long do I have to keep receipts?

As a sole trader or partner, at least five years after the 31 January deadline for that tax year. As a company, six years from the end of the financial year concerned, and longer in several situations including an open HMRC compliance check.

Is a bookkeeper allowed to give me tax advice?

Anyone acting professionally on someone else's tax affairs is covered by HMRC's standard for agents, which expects them to keep their knowledge current and to keep records of what they advised and when. That does not mean every bookkeeper is equipped to advise on tax, and licensing bodies limit members to the services on their licence. Ask what their licence covers.

Sources

  1. GOV.UK — Business records if you're self-employed: how long to keep your records
  2. GOV.UK — Running a limited company: company and accounting records
  3. HMRC — VAT Notice 700/22: Making Tax Digital for VAT
  4. HMRC — Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
  5. AAT — Anti-money laundering supervision
  6. AAT — Find an accountant or bookkeeper
  7. HMRC — The standard for agents

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How we write and check our guides

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What affects the fees bookkeepers charge

Fees depend on the work involved and how the professional bills. We only publish fee ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch data or reliable sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the fee:

  • Scope and complexity of the work
  • How the professional bills: hourly, flat fee or retainer
  • Experience and seniority of the person doing the work
  • Deadlines and how urgent the work is
  • Third-party costs such as filing, registration or government fees

How to compare bookkeepers before you hire

  • Check that they are licensed or registered for this work where you live, on the regulator’s public register.
  • Look for experience with matters like yours, and ask who will actually handle your file.
  • Ask how they charge before any work starts, and get the terms in writing.
  • Compare two or three professionals before you decide.
  • Be wary of anyone who guarantees a particular outcome.

Questions to ask bookkeepers before you hire

  • Are you licensed or registered for this work, and with which body?
  • Have you handled matters like mine before?
  • Who will do the work, and who will I deal with day to day?
  • How do you charge: hourly, a flat fee or a retainer?
  • What is included in your fee, and what costs extra?
  • Will you confirm the scope and fees in a written engagement letter?
  • Do you carry professional liability insurance?

Licences and registration

This kind of work is often limited to licensed or registered professionals, and the rules depend on where you are. Ask which body they’re registered with, and check their status on that body’s public register before you hire.

Guides about bookkeeping

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