Home About Contact
← Back to Self-Employed Guides

Self-Employed Finance Guide: Tax, Expenses & Invoicing

9 min read • Updated 2026
📊 Free Business Tools: Use our Profit & Loss Tracker and Business Calculators to manage your finances.

Being self-employed gives you freedom, but it also means managing your own finances. This guide shows you how to handle tax, expenses, invoicing, and pricing like a pro.

Registering as Self-Employed

You need to register with HMRC if you earn more than £1,000 in a tax year from self-employment.

💡 Keep records from day one: Use spreadsheets or tools like FreeAgent, QuickBooks, or our Profit & Loss Tracker.

Tracking Income and Expenses

Good records save you time and money at tax time:

📌 Rule of thumb: Set aside 25-30% of every payment for tax. This avoids nasty surprises at year-end.

Claimable Expenses

You can claim expenses for business costs. Here's what most sole traders claim:

⚠️ Not all expenses are deductible: Personal expenses, fines, and penalties cannot be claimed. Keep business and personal accounts separate.

Pricing Your Services

Pricing is one of the hardest parts of being self-employed. Here's how to do it right:

Example Pricing: Tradesperson

💡 Pricing tip: Use our Discount Calculator to work out markups and margins on materials.

Invoicing for Sole Traders

A professional invoice gets you paid faster:

📌 Invoice tip: Use invoicing software to automate reminders and track payments. FreeAgent or Wave are good free options.

Managing Irregular Income

Most self-employed people have ups and downs. Here's how to manage:

📌 Your next 30 days: Set up our Profit & Loss Tracker → Start tracking every expense → Create an invoice template → Set aside 25% of all earnings for tax.