This year the evolution of the bookkeeping profession continues apace as we reorganise ahead of MTD's forthcoming changes to self assessment in 2026. Ami Copeland looks ahead at the key trends for 2025
I believe the government's plan to make digital bookkeeping mandatory for all businesses (starting with certain sole traders and landlords next year) will empower you to select clients and employers who truly value your expertise and unique approach. If you're in practice and have been filing self-assessment returns, I hope you've had a busy and satisfying month. Perhaps you have even managed to confidently resist the urge to help every last-minute laggard who comes to your door. I see this as nothing short of an 'emancipation of bookkeepers' as you leverage these regulatory shifts and increased demand to move out of the shadows and embrace opportunities that recognise your steady hand and the stability you can bring in uncertain times.
Here are the four trends I'm predicting to see more of this year:
- Elevation of the Bookkeeper's Role
Nobody leverages tech like a bookkeeper, and the tech keeps getting better. As the routine tasks get more streamlined and automated, bookkeepers are shifting into strategic roles - harnessing the data they know so well to provide advisory and strategic services to the business owners they know so well. Businesses are now looking to work with bookkeepers who are good at systemising, analysing and communicating, and who can offer meaningful insights and guidance on growth.
- The Power to Choose
Bookkeepers have long since been empowered to shape their careers around their life - you can subcontract to, or be employed by, an ICB practice, start your own practice, work in an accountants firm, or work in industry; every business needs the bookkeeping done. Now that digital bookkeeping is gradually becoming a legal requirement for businesses, bookkeepers are gaining even more power to be selective about the businesses they provide bookkeeping to. Instead of working with businesses who don't think about the bookkeeping until it's too late, bookkeepers can align themselves with clients and employers who truly value their expertise and whom they love picking up the phone to.
- Stronger Client Relationships
Bookkeeping isn't transactional, it's relational. Investing in strong client relationships is a defining activity that sets good bookkeepers apart. By freeing up time through automation and using it to focus on client management, bookkeepers can deepen their understanding of clients' financial challenges and goals, and offer strategic guidance that really makes a difference.
- Bookkeepers at the Forefront
Business owners often panic at changes brought about by budget updates and new filing requirements, or even things that stay stubbornly the same like stagflation. If you can stay ahead of real, evolving challenges and support businesses to understand them, you will continue to be invaluable. Bookkeepers have proven to be particularly good at helping businesses embrace technology like receipt-scanning and e-signing. I know you will continue to bring businesses (in some cases kicking and screaming) along with you on the digitalisation journey and that your efforts will be key to the success of HMRC's ambitions to modernise tax administration.
2025 and beyond
Demand is growing and the opportunities are many. You don't need to know everything but you will need to be open to learning, embracing tech, and continuing to be the steady hand business owners need.
2025 is the year of bookkeepers’ emancipation — time to own it.
