Bookfolio for sole traders
Self-employed books, sorted.
Run your own thing? Keep your books straight without the accountant jargon. Import a statement, sort the rest in a sitting, and keep business and personal cleanly apart. When the time comes, file Making Tax Digital quarterly updates, final declarations, and VAT, if you're registered, straight to HMRC.
Built in the UK
HMRC-recognised for MTD
You review, then file
Tax year 2025/26 · example
On track
Q1 update
records kept · ready
Ready to file
Business expenses
by category
£18,420
Final declaration
at year end
Not yet due
What you actually get
Three things, done well.
The day-to-day work of running the books for a one-person business, simplified so you can do it yourself.
↑
Import a statement
Drop in a CSV from your bank or card. We'll map the columns and flag duplicates before anything posts.
≡
Keep it apart
Sort business from personal line by line, so what you claim is only what's yours to claim.
↗
File straight to HMRC
Quarterly updates, final declarations, and VAT, if you're registered, are submitted from Bookfolio when you're ready.
Imports
One CSV is all it takes.
Drop in a statement from your bank or card. We'll map the columns, flag duplicates, and stage the rows for review before anything posts. Bring in a quarter at a time and you're caught up quickly. You stay in control.
HSBC, Wise, Starling, Monzo, Stripe and any CSV
Duplicate detection across imports
Column mapping that remembers your formats
card-statement.csv
92 rows imported
78 matched · 14 to review
14 left
hsbc-april.csv
184 rows · all sorted
Done
Reconcile · 14 left
Adobe Creative Cloud
-£24.00
Software
Tesco
-£62.40
Personal
Client invoice #204
+£1,500.00
Sales
Business vs personal
Yours, theirs, kept apart.
When one account does business and personal, January is a nightmare of working out which line was which. Bookfolio keeps them cleanly apart as you go — so the figures behind your return are only the business ones, and every change is on record if HMRC ever asks. We total things up; we don't tell you what to claim.
Split business from personal, line by line
Flag mixed-use costs for a second look
Every change kept on record — what you can show HMRC if asked
Allowable expenses
The expenses you can claim, totted up.
As you reconcile, Bookfolio breaks your spending down by category, so the totals your return needs are already worked out. You decide what's allowable; we keep the numbers tidy and the trail clear.
Expenses broken down by category, all year
Income and profit you can read without an accountant
The totals you or your accountant use to complete the self-employment (SA103) pages
Expenses 2025/26 · example
Software
£2,140
Travel
£1,310
Subcontractors
£8,900
Allowable total
£18,420
VAT Q1 2026 · due 7 Aug · example
Ready to file
Box 1 · VAT on sales
this quarter
£4,210.00
Box 4 · VAT reclaimed
this quarter
£525.80
Box 5 · Net to pay
to HMRC
£3,684.20
VAT, only if you're registered
VAT that's done before the deadline.
Most sole traders aren't VAT-registered — and Bookfolio doesn't make you think about it until you cross the threshold. If you are registered, the quarterly summary updates as you reconcile. Check the box-by-box breakdown, then file your VAT return straight to HMRC. You review every figure before it goes; nothing is submitted until you say so.
Standard, flat rate and cash schemes
Box-by-box breakdown matching the HMRC return
File your VAT return directly to HMRC — review first, file when you're ready
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Quarterly updates filed, year-end figures ready.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is HMRC's digital way for sole traders and landlords to report. Where it applies, you keep digital records, send HMRC quarterly updates, and confirm the year with a final declaration. Bookfolio keeps the records as you go, builds each update, and files quarterly updates straight to HMRC once you've reviewed them. When the year ends, you can review and send the final declaration from the same workspace. Whether and when MTD applies to you depends on HMRC's rules — HMRC has a free checker.
Keep the digital records MTD asks for, tidy all year
Send quarterly updates to HMRC — you review each one first
Review and send the final declaration when the year ends
MTD for Income Tax · 2025/26 · example
Q1 update
sent to HMRC
Filed
Q2 update
sent to HMRC
Filed
Final declaration
at year end
Not yet due
Built for the self-employed
Made for how you actually work.
One person, one account
Keep business and personal cleanly apart
HMRC-recognised
Keep digital records and file straight to HMRC for MTD
Audit trail
Every change to every transaction recorded, and exportable
Questions
Sole-trader books, answered plainly.
Can Bookfolio file to HMRC for me?
Yes for MTD Income Tax quarterly updates, final declarations, and VAT returns. Once your records are tidy, you review each filing and send it straight to HMRC from Bookfolio using HMRC-recognised software.
Do I have to be VAT-registered?
No. Most sole traders aren't. Bookfolio doesn't push VAT at you until you cross the registration threshold. If and when you do register, the VAT tools are there.
Does MTD for Income Tax apply to me?
Whether — and when — it applies depends on HMRC's rules and your circumstances. It's being introduced in phases from 2026 onward. HMRC has a free online checker that confirms whether and when you're in.
What about the old Self Assessment return?
If you're in MTD for Income Tax, the year-end job becomes the final declaration. Bookfolio brings your figures together so you can review and send it from the same workspace. If you're not yet in scope, your records and figures stay export-ready for your usual Self Assessment route.
Can you tell me what to claim, or give tax advice?
No. We're not an accountant and we don't give tax advice. We keep your records clean and total things up — you, or your accountant, decide what's allowable.
Do I need an accountant?
You don't need one to use Bookfolio. But if you have one, clean records and a tidy figures pack let them focus on advice rather than data entry.
Can I import straight from my bank?
Not in this version. You bring in a CSV from your bank or card and we map the columns for you. Automatic bank import is something we'll add carefully.
When is everything due?
The tax year runs 6 April to 5 April. For MTD for Income Tax, each quarterly update is due the month after the quarter, and the final declaration — or your Self Assessment, if you're not yet in MTD — is normally due online by 31 January, when you also pay what you owe. Bookfolio shows the dates that apply to you.
Your books, sorted.
Free for the first 30 days. No card required. Upload your last quarter and you're caught up quickly.