Tax Accountant for Sole Traders
Your self-assessment and tax bill, handled properly.
Most sole traders only hear from their accountant once a year — usually just before the January deadline. At OD Accountants you get a chartered management accountant who monitors your tax position throughout the year, not just at crunch time. Fixed monthly fee, FCMA-qualified founder, same-day replies.
- Know your likely tax bill months before January, not days
- Allowable expenses identified and claimed — nothing left on the table
- Self-assessment filed accurately and on time, every year
- Cloud-based bookkeeping keeps your records clean and current year-round
No long-term contract. If it is not working after three months, you leave with clean books and nothing owed.
Get a free quote
Fixed pricing. Same-day reply.
What our clients say
★★★★★
Savings Cover the Fees Entirely
"His fees are very reasonable and the money he has saved me more than covers them."
★★★★★
Always on the End of the Phone
"They're always on the end of the phone to advise and assist and provide a top service for our accounting needs."
★★★★★
Above and Beyond, Competitive Prices
"Niall and his team go above and beyond the duties to provide accounting services but also general advices."
★★★★★
Welcoming and Always Available
"Niall at OD Accountants has been very welcoming and supportive. He is always available to meet the needs of our team."
Sound familiar?
Still guessing what your tax bill will be?
Sole traders are often left to piece together their own records, claim expenses they are not sure about, and then scramble to file a return before the January deadline. It is not that the process is impossible — it is just that doing it alongside running a business is a reliable way to either overpay tax or file late. Neither is a great outcome.
- No clear picture of your tax liability until the return is actually done
- Allowable expenses being missed because no one is actively tracking them
- Bookkeeping left for months, then a year-end scramble to get records in order
What a properly managed tax position looks like
A tax accountant who works with you throughout the year — not just in January — means your liability is visible well in advance, your expenses are claimed correctly, and your books are never more than a month behind.
- Your tax liability is tracked and visible throughout the year, not just at deadline
- Allowable expenses identified and recorded month by month — no guesswork at year-end
- Records kept current via cloud accounting — year-end becomes a check, not a crisis
- Fixed monthly fee — no invoice surprises, no one-off deadline charges
What sole traders say about working with us
Clients across a range of industries — consultants, traders, service providers — consistently describe the same experience: hands-on, available and genuinely useful.
My other-half introduced me to Niall at OD Accountants and I have to say my finances are so much the better for it. Unlike my previous Accountants, Niall is far more hands-on, available for advice and able to care for me as an individual, rather than a faceless client. His fees are very reasonable and the money he has saved me more than covers them. If you need an Accountant who cares, Niall and OD Chartered Management Accountants are the way to go.
I've been there for years and Niall and his team go above and beyond the duties to provide accounting services but also general advices. They are always available if you need anything while charging very competitive prices. I could not recommend them enough.
Everything a sole trader's tax position needs
From day-to-day bookkeeping through to self-assessment filing and ongoing tax planning — structured so your accountant is doing the work, not waiting for a year-end dump of receipts.
Self-Assessment Filing and Tax Planning
Your return is prepared from clean, current records — not reconstructed at the last minute. Tax planning runs alongside, so you know your likely bill with enough time to manage it. Allowances, reliefs and allowable expenses are reviewed as a matter of course, not an optional extra.
Included as standardCloud Bookkeeping, Done for You
Records are maintained throughout the year via cloud accounting software, not handed back to you as a spreadsheet to fill in. You have a clear view of income, expenditure and tax position at any point. Year-end becomes a review rather than a recovery exercise.
Month by monthOngoing Tax Advice When You Need It
Questions about expenses, VAT registration thresholds, taking on a member of staff, or structuring a larger contract do not wait for an annual meeting. You get answers the day you ask. For sole traders approaching the point where a limited company structure makes sense, that conversation happens before it becomes urgent.
Same-day repliesConsistent feedback across more than a decade
Verified Google reviews from sole traders, small businesses and consultants going back over ten years. The themes are consistent: responsive, hands-on and worth the fee.
Supportive, Clear and Always on the Phone
“Niall and his team are supportive, clear and directional accountants who have supported our small business staff up. They're always on the end of the phone to advise and assist and provide a top service for our accounting needs. Plus they're just nice people which helps too!!”
Welcoming and Supportive for a New Business
“As a new start up and having never dealt with an accountant, Niall at OD Accountants has been very welcoming and supportive. All our prior queries and issues have been resolved, and he is always available to meet the needs of our team.”
Brilliant Even for a Tricky Digital Nomad Client
“Been with OD Accountants for over a year now. Niall and the team are brilliant. They helped me set up a company and get everything I needed in place to run my business. I'm a tricky client due to my 'digital nomad' status, but their advice…”
What makes this different from a standard tax return service
Most accountants file your return. Fewer of them tell you what is coming, catch what you missed, or pick up the phone when you have a question in October.
Tax visibility throughout the year
Your tax position is not a surprise that arrives in January — it is tracked month by month as part of an ongoing engagement. If your income has moved materially, you know about it in time to do something. That is not how most sole-trader tax services work, and it is a meaningful practical difference.
Cloud bookkeeping, not year-end reconstruction
Records maintained in cloud accounting software throughout the year mean your books are always current. There is no annual upload of bank statements and receipts to sort through. The compliance work is faster and more accurate when the underlying data is clean and up to date — which is the point of doing it this way.
Chartered management accountants, not just a filing service
Founder Niall O'Driscoll is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA, CGMA), with 10+ years of freelance restructure and turnaround experience before founding OD Accountants. Sole traders get that depth of commercial and tax knowledge — not a junior working from a compliance checklist.
Up and running in four straightforward steps
The process is designed to be low-effort on your side. Most sole traders are set up within a week of their first call.
Book a discovery call
A short call to understand your current setup — what software you use (if any), what your records look like, and what you actually need from an accountant. No preparation required on your part. You will leave knowing exactly what the engagement would involve and what it costs.
Receive a fixed-fee proposal
A written proposal outlining what is included and the monthly fee — no variable billing, no unexpected invoice at year-end. If your books need catching up, that is costed separately and clearly before any work begins. Nothing starts until you are comfortable with the numbers.
Handover and setup
Access to your existing software is shared, your cloud accounting platform is configured, and your previous accountant is notified if applicable. You do not need to organise the transfer — that is handled. HMRC authorisation is set up so correspondence goes through the firm directly.
Books current, tax visible
From the first full month, your records are maintained and your tax position is tracked. Queries get answered the day they are asked. By the time January arrives, your self-assessment is a formality rather than a deadline. Which is, frankly, how it should always have worked.
“The service from OD has been excellent, as has their advice. It's great to have access to a financial team who can guide us with such confidence and seamlessly integrate with our internal team. We always feel well-informed and confident about our financial processes and data. Highly recommend.”
Things sole traders usually ask before starting
Do you handle self-assessment for all types of sole trader income?
Yes — income from consultancy, freelance work, trades, rental income alongside self-employment, side income alongside PAYE employment, and more complex mixed-income positions. If your tax return is straightforward, it is filed quickly and accurately. If it is more involved — multiple income sources, overseas income, capital gains — that is handled within the same engagement. You will not need to explain your situation twice.
What does it cost and what is included?
Sole trader engagements are priced on a fixed monthly fee based on the scope of work — bookkeeping, self-assessment, ongoing advice, or a combination. Clients consistently describe the fees as competitive, with tax savings that more than cover the cost. Indicative pricing is quoted on your discovery call so you have a clear number before committing. There are no variable charges for routine queries or calls.
My books are a bit behind — is that a problem?
It is common, and it is not a reason to delay. Catch-up bookkeeping is costed separately and clearly before any work begins, so you know what it will take to get to a clean starting point. Once the records are current, the ongoing monthly fee takes over. Most sole traders arrive with books in some state of disarray and leave the onboarding process with considerably less to worry about.
Is there a long-term contract?
No. There is no minimum term beyond a short initial period to make the onboarding work worthwhile. If the engagement is not working after a few months, you leave with clean books, your records transferred to you or your next accountant, and nothing further owed. The aim is to earn the relationship, not lock it in.
I am approaching the VAT registration threshold — do you monitor that?
Yes. Tracking your taxable turnover against the VAT registration threshold is part of ongoing bookkeeping. You will not approach the threshold without knowing it in advance. If registration becomes necessary — or if voluntary registration makes sense for your business — that conversation happens with enough lead time to plan the transition properly.
At what point should I think about switching to a limited company?
There is no universal threshold, but the question is worth revisiting as turnover grows and your personal tax rate increases. The calculation takes into account Corporation Tax rates, salary and dividend structures, National Insurance savings, and the additional compliance costs of running a company. For sole traders at or approaching higher-rate tax, the numbers often make a strong case — and getting the timing right matters. That analysis is part of the ongoing advisory relationship, not a separate engagement.
Related services for sole traders and freelancers
Less guessing about your tax bill. More running your business.
OD Accountants handles self-assessment, bookkeeping and ongoing tax planning for sole traders on a fixed monthly fee. Chartered management accountants. Same-day replies. No lock-in.