How I made digital tax work for my microbusiness via Quickfile | Eddie Adams Nottingham business owner

When you run a microbusiness, change doesn’t feel like an abstract policy decision – it feels personal. Every new rule has a direct impact on your time, your workload and, most importantly, your bank balance.

That’s exactly how I felt when I realised that, from this tax year, all accounts would need to be submitted through recognised digital software or an accountant. For larger firms, this may be a minor adjustment. For me, running a very small business alongside it felt far more significant.

Here, Eddie Adams, Nottingham owner of The Mower The Merrier, talks about how he’s dealt with the demands of the upcoming Making Tax Digital for Income Tax rules, and how accounting software has been a game-changer for his business.

Like many people in my position, my profits are modest at The Mower The Merrier. The idea of adding another monthly cost, whether that meant accounting software or professional fees, genuinely made me question whether keeping the business going was financially sensible.

When compliance feels like a luxury

I’ve always believed in doing things properly. But there’s a difference between wanting to comply and being able to afford to.

At one point, I even wondered if this change would be the tipping point in the future. Not because I’d lost interest in my work, but because the numbers simply didn’t stack up anymore.

That’s not a comfortable place to be in when you’ve invested time, energy and identity into something you’ve built yourself.

In my day job, I spend much of my working life helping people adapt to new systems in education and training settings. I often tell students that change doesn’t have to mean disaster; it just means rethinking how you work. Eventually, I realised I needed to take my own advice.

Finding a solution that actually fits

The breakthrough came when I discovered that not all accounting software costs money. There are free platforms that are fully recognised by HMRC.

In my case, that solution was Quickfile, and the lessons I learnt from it.

It does exactly what I need it to do:

• Logs income
• Records expenses
• Prepares everything for digital submission

And crucially, it does all of that without draining money from a business that needs to stay lean to survive.

That one discovery changed everything. Digital tax stopped feeling like a financial threat and started to feel like a manageable shift in routine.

This is my first year submitting digitally, and years in education have made me cautious. So I don’t rely on software alone.

Alongside Quickfile, I keep a simple backup ledger, just in case. It’s not complicated, but it gives me confidence that whatever happens, I have a clear record of my finances.

For someone balancing life as an ethics educator and microbusiness owner, that peace of mind really matters.

The habit that made all the difference

The biggest improvement didn’t come from technology. It came from changing how I manage my time.

Now, whenever an expense or receipt comes in, I log it the same day, in both Quickfile and my backup ledger. No build-up of paperwork. No end-of-month panic. No last-minute scramble before a deadline like the good old university days.

It takes a few minutes, but it saves hours of stress later on, and finding good tech to help tackle tax shouldn’t be dismissed in 2026.

In many ways, it mirrors what I’ve always believed about good teaching. Progress doesn’t come from dramatic gestures but rather comes from small, consistent habits that quietly make life easier.

Running a microbusiness turns out to be exactly the same; that’s just the nature of it, and I’ve noticed that making small steps

A different way of seeing digital tax and the close relationship between tech use and helping grow your small business

I won’t pretend that I ever welcomed the move to digital reporting. But the evidence, the proof in the pudding, of using Quickfile really helped. Like many microbusiness owners, I approached it with scepticism and more than a little anxiety.

But having gone through the process, my perspective and I guess, my business philosophy has changed, even in running a small repairs business for my tax. I’m far less sceptical about the technical aspects now, thanks to the guidance Quickfile gave me.

With the right tools, which don’t have to cost anything, digital tax can actually simplify how you run your business. It encourages better organisation, clearer records and fewer unpleasant surprises when deadlines arrive for your small business tax claims.

Most importantly, it hasn’t forced me to walk away from something I care about. I’m still trading, and it’s par the course of being a small independent business owner.

And I’m still finding ways to navigate as an independent small business, using tech to get me through tax and other administrative concerns.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, as a small business owner in Nottingham, it’s this: even the smallest businesses deserve systems that work for them and their independent-focused behaviour as an operator, not against them.

I’m determined to find other tools alongside Quickfile to help me tackle the admin, and I hope this contribution was helpful.

About Eddie Adams and The Mower The Merrier

Eddie Adams, Nottingham founder of The Mower The Merrier, is an experienced small business owner who combines small engine servicing with some hardy entrepreneurship.

The Mower The Merrier Ltd is a Nottingham-based small business specialising in the servicing and repair of lawn mowers and other garden machinery.

If you are based in Nottingham, and need some help in relation to garden equipment or other small engine repairs, please consider giving The Mower The Merrier (Eddie Adams Nottingham) a call.

Find out more about MTD for Income Tax from April 2026 here.