Is Bookkeeping Hard to Learn? The Honest Answer

JAFA Accountancy
May 20
3 min read

Is Bookkeeping Hard to Learn? For freelancers and small business owners, it’s a question that can save or cost you time and money. Here’s everything that you need to know!

Is Bookkeeping Really That Difficult?

Is bookkeeping hard to learn for beginners? Not really at a basic level. It mostly involves recording income and expenses accurately. But it gets difficult when you start dealing with tax rules, VAT, payroll, and financial reporting.

For freelancers and small businesses with simple finances, it’s manageable. It really comes down to how complex your finances are and how much time you’re willing to spend on it. If time is tight or tax rules feel overwhelming, expert help or the right tools can make all the difference.

What Makes Bookkeeping Challenging?

Bookkeeping gets challenging when it’s no longer just about tracking sales and expenses. It’s staying on top of tax rules like VAT, figuring out what counts as an allowable expense, and making sure you don’t miss important deadlines.

Add in the time it takes to keep everything updated, and it’s easy to fall behind. For most small business owners and freelancers, the real challenge is balancing accurate records with everything else on their plate without making costly mistakes.

Can I Teach Myself Bookkeeping or Do I Need to Hire Someone?

Is bookkeeping hard for beginners? If your business is simple with just one income source, limited expenses, and no VAT registration, it’s not hard to learn. You can teach yourself using free resources and simple tools. Here’s how to get started::

✅ Learn the Basics: Focus on tracking income and expenses, reconciling bank statements, and understanding simple financial reports like profit and loss.

✅ Use Free Resources: Explore tutorials from HMRC’s help pages, YouTube, or free online courses.

✅ Start Small: Try managing your books manually or with free tools like Google Sheets to build confidence.

But if any of the following apply, hiring help or using professional tools is a smarter choice:

You’re VAT registered or managing payroll.
You have multiple income streams or handle complex transactions.
You struggle to stay on top of tax rules and deadlines.

Pro Tip: Test it yourself! Manage your books for one month using a free trial of software like QuickBooks or Xero. If it feels overwhelming or too time-consuming, that’s your sign to outsource or switch to automated solutions like JAFA.

What We Think

Most small business owners and freelancers didn’t start their business to become bookkeeping experts, and honestly, they shouldn’t have to. While learning the basics is useful, the UK tax system adds rules and paperwork that make things harder than they need to be.

In our experience, many people try to handle it all themselves but end up stressed and worried about mistakes. The truth is, your time is better spent running and growing your business - not stuck in spreadsheets. That’s why we believe it’s helpful to understand the basics, but smarter to use the right tools or get help to keep things accurate and stress-free.

How JAFA Can Help

At JAFA, we make bookkeeping easy by combining smart AI technology and our expert professionals' help. The AI handles your daily bookkeeping tasks quickly, and our experts take care of the tricky parts like tax rules, VAT, and financial reports. This means everything stays accurate, and you don’t have to worry about mistakes or missing deadlines.

Whether you’re just starting out or running a growing business, JAFA helps you stay organised and saves you time, so you can focus on running your business instead of your books.

Contact our expert accountants based in Birmingham, UK, either by booking a FREE discovery call or calling us on +44 121 227 6277.