How to keep records when you're self-employed in the UK

Most self-employed people don't lose money on tax. They lose it on a shoebox. Receipts in a bag, invoices in three apps, payments buried in a bank statement. Then January arrives. Here's how to keep records in the UK so that day is boring.

What HMRC says you must keep

The rules sit on GOV.UK, in its self-employed records guidance. Sole traders and partners must keep records of business income and expenses for their Self Assessment return.

The What records to keep page lists:

• all sales and income
• all business expenses
• VAT records, if you're registered for VAT
• PAYE records, if you employ people
• records about your personal income

It also says your records must be accurate, and you must be able to identify business transactions. That second part matters. If your business and personal spending share one account, every line becomes a question.

For proof, the same page accepts receipts for goods and stock, sales invoices, till rolls, bank slips, bank statements and chequebook stubs. So a bank statement counts as evidence. A receipt is still better, because it says what you bought.

How long to keep records

GOV.UK's How long to keep your records page says you must keep them "for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year."

Its example: for a 2022 to 2023 return sent by 31 January 2024, keep the records until at least the end of January 2029. Nearly six years, in practice.

If you lose records and can't replace them, the page says to make your best attempt at the figures. Tell HMRC when you file that you used estimated or provisional figures. Replace provisional ones with actual figures once you have them.

The page adds that HMRC may check your records to confirm you're paying the right tax. You won't hear about it for years, and then you'll need the paperwork fast.

Pick one method and stick to it

GOV.UK says that if you don't prepare accounts, you record income and expenses for each tax year, 6 April to 5 April. Under the cash basis, which is the default from 2024 to 2025, you record income when you receive it and expenses when you pay them. Under traditional accounting, you record them by invoice or bill date.

For most one-person businesses, the cash basis is easier to keep. You look at what hit your account and what left it. Check which method fits you before you start. Small earners should also read about the trading allowance.

A ten-minute weekly routine

Say you're a dog walker with 12 regular clients. This is an example, not a rule. Here's a routine that fits:

1. Open a separate account. Run all business money through it. Our piece on whether you need a business bank account gives my take. A clean account is your best record.
2. Photograph receipts the day you get them. Put the photo in one folder named for the tax year. Paper fades. Photos don't.
3. Once a week, match payments to invoices. Who paid? Who didn't? Write it in one sheet: date, customer, amount, paid or not.
4. Log expenses in the same sheet. Date, what it was, amount, and whether it was for the business.
5. Tag anything unclear. If you can't say why you spent it, mark it and decide later. Don't guess at year end.
6. Set aside tax as you go. Our guide on how to save for tax shows a simple percentage method.

That's ten minutes on a Sunday. Compare it with a weekend in January, scrolling twelve months of statements.

Keep it digital from the start

Keep your records in a form you can search. A folder of photos and one sheet beats a drawer of paper. The Making Tax Digital rules are also changing how sole traders report, and we explain the dates in Making Tax Digital for sole traders explained. If you already keep a tidy sheet by date, you're most of the way there.

Name files so you can find them in five years. A date and a supplier, like "2026-10-18-printer-ink", is enough. Future you will be grateful.

What I'd do differently if I started again

I'd treat records as part of getting paid, not as tax admin. When a customer pays, the payment is the record. Date, amount and name, all in one place. It's why we built Vcents to ask for money through WhatsApp: each request and each payment leaves a trail you don't have to rebuild later.

You don't need a perfect system. You need one that you'll use in week 40 as well as week 1. Start this Sunday.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Self-employed records, fetched 18 October 2026
• GOV.UK, What records to keep, fetched 18 October 2026
• GOV.UK, How long to keep your records, fetched 18 October 2026