← Glossary Business glossary Bookkeeping for small business
What is Bookkeeping?
Keeping an accurate record of every pound in and out of the business.
Bookkeeping is the record; accounting is what you do with it. For most sole traders it means logging income, logging expenses with their category, and keeping the evidence.
Keep records for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline for that tax year. A photo of a receipt is fine, and often better than the paper, because thermal receipts fade to blank within a couple of years.
The reason to do it weekly rather than annually is not tidiness. It is that a year-old expense with no receipt and no memory attached is one you will not claim.
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