About The difference Services & Pricing Is this for you? Get in touch

The neurodivergent
accountant
for neurodivergent
sole traders.

Hi, I'm James Nicholson ACA.

Stress less over filing deadlines and all things HMRC, including their quarterly digital tax reporting system, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT)...

For £499 a month, after a one-off review and setup (quoted individually), I'll do all the thinking for you.
See full pricing below.

James - The AuDHD Accountant

As a toddler, I answered unrelated questions in numbers.
Your AuDHD Accountant since the age of 1, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, I just calculate with numbers, like the rest of us (thank you, early years speech therapy).

This, and other examples of hypernumeracy and hyperlexia, led to a special educational needs (SEND) referral... Nothing came of it, as this was the mid-1990s, and children like me back then were just "bright" or "gifted".

By 18, I was juggling full-time work at KPMG and studying (if every word I read instantly falling out of my mind like a conveyor belt counts as studying) for both my Chartered Accountancy exams and a Durham University Accounting & Finance degree... Hello, burnout!

Now, I want to apply my Chartered qualification (years of Big Four training and experience, 15 professional exams, and ICAEW-approved professional development) to, well, this 👇🏻

I love the idea of an ND economy, applying our respective skills to each other's benefit. Just meeting each other where we're at in ways like extra processing time, which can be hard to find elsewhere.

I want to be the go-to accountant for neurodivergent sole traders wanting a level of support that isn't otherwise catered for. The accountant you can safely send your "messy taxes" to, free of any fear of judgement, because I have ADHD too. The accountant you can show your completely unconventional way of uploading receipts and expenses to, that makes sense to you and only you, because I have autism too. The accountant who can't pretend there are no stupid questions - but wants you to ask them anyway!

As a solo accountant, you're always communicating with the same voice (or same pair of hands typing an email reply), minimising the change and uncertainty many of us already struggle with.

Let's get started →
ICAEW Chartered Accountant
Institute of Chartered Accountants
in England and Wales
Verify on ICAEW →
BA Accounting & Finance
Durham University
Regulated, insured & supervised
Professional indemnity.
Anti-money laundering.

A different practice for different people, free to...

...join, however neurodivergent you are.
If it resonates, it counts. There are no tests here.
...present yourself however you like.
I have Autism, ADHD and OCD myself so no masking required. No explanations needed.
...communicate comfortably.
I know what it's like to have communication challenges and preferences, so we'll find a communication method that works for both of us.
...accommodate each other.
Just shout with any preferences and I'll do my best to accommodate them.
The same goes for me too - I'm still the 'AuDHD' as well as the 'Accountant'.
...live in or out of the UK.
Sure, I only handle UK accounting and tax, but that doesn't need to determine where you (or I) live. Fully remote means fully remote.

Everything handled.
Transparently.

Think of this like your favourite TV series:

Initial review and setup

The Pilot Episode

This is where we refine your starting point, whatever that looks like, into initial accounts I can work with moving forward, much like a pilot lays the groundwork for the main series.

  • Before the retainer begins, we'll look at what's working, what isn't, and how we'll handle everything moving forward.
  • We'll go back as far as we need to. Gaps, errors, or missing years don't get left to surface later - they get dealt with before the retainer starts.
  • MTD IT is mandatory for sole traders above the income threshold, with more businesses coming into scope over time. Before the retainer begins, I'll confirm exactly where you stand - whether you're already in scope, when you will be, and what that means practically for you.
  • Everything configured before the retainer begins, including setting up Xero, connecting the bank feeds, and authorising HMRC access.
  • I crave certainty as much as the next autistic person, and if I could give you a fixed fee or range for an initial review and setup, I absolutely would.

    Here's the problem: People understandably come to me with all kinds of different situations, and therefore the time and effort needed to arrive at a stable enough point to justify the uniform monthly retainer will naturally differ in every case. Putting a fixed price or range on that upfront risks one of two bad outcomes: boxing myself into a price that doesn't reflect the work, or disappointing you if it ends up costing more.

    What I can offer instead is total clarity on the process itself:

    1. You submit the enquiry form.
    2. I reply, say hi, and ask a few more questions, sometimes to fill in gaps the form didn't cover, sometimes to dig a little deeper on what you did share.
    3. Sometimes situations turn out more layered than they first appear, so I might need to come back with a couple more questions to quote you confidently and accurately.
    4. I'll give you a fixed quote, and I'm always happy to talk it through or answer questions.
    5. If you're happy to go ahead, we move to getting you all set up, the necessary checks, and getting the review and setup booked in and underway.
Monthly retainer

The Series

£499 / month

Each set of accounts, like episodes throughout a series (ideally), feels more familiar and seamless than the last.

  • Your income and expenses tracked and categorised throughout the year. Bank feeds connected, everything in line, no deadline scrambles.
  • Quarterly submissions to HMRC under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, handled in full. If you're not yet in scope, I'll manage the transition when the time comes. Either way, you won't need to touch the software.
  • Your annual accounts prepared and filed. No scramble at year-end - because the books have been kept up throughout the year.
  • Those letters sitting unopened on the kitchen table? I'll handle them before they become a problem. You don't need to deal with HMRC directly.
  • Every filing deadline, every submission window - in my calendar, not yours.
  • Your Xero subscription is covered. No separate software cost to manage.
  • You'll notice I don't tier by turnover. That's intentional. A £80k sole trader with clean records can be simpler to look after than a £25k sole trader with unreconciled transactions, unreliable delivery of information, and a side income stream. Turnover tells me what you earn, not how much work is involved.

    My aim with the initial review and setup is to iron out many of the creases that make up your individual setup, leaving an increasingly streamlined monthly process, and therefore lending itself more to a simple monthly fee structure. This is especially important for us NDers, since a pricing matrix with many variables and thresholds is just more potential overwhelm we could do without.

  • There are already enough other accountants providing a standard set of services without offering that additional assistance when it's most needed, and price accordingly. This isn't a knock on that existing industry - it serves many people just fine.

    However, the needs of neurodivergent people, a population often managing disproportionately difficult relationships with money and finding this area especially daunting, are underserved in the accounting industry. I want to be that accountant who not only handles the required services, but is also a dependable sole point of contact positioned to take any and all accounting worries for those who want and need that additional help.

    That feels to me to be the most effective way to help other neurodivergent people the most, rather than "efficiently" taking on a high volume of clients while being unable to actually dedicate any time to each of their individual situations or give any queries they might have the time they deserve (or any time at all).

    Realistically, that may mean I'm not the cheapest option out there. For an ND community where many have felt deprioritised, passed around, or like a low-value account by neurotypical services generally (not just accounting practices), that's the call I'm making.

VAT add-on

The Bonus Scenes

+£99 / month

Not needed to enjoy the main series, but essential to some - you know who you are...

If you're VAT registered, I'll handle your quarterly VAT returns and keep HMRC happy.

I'll always need some low-effort input from you (scanning and uploading invoices and receipts - easier than ever with Xero), but the high-thinking, stress-inducing parts are mine to own. If something needs explaining, it'll be without judgement, and, where possible, without jargon.

I'm trying to operate on common sense rather than convention. If you think I've defaulted to standard practice where something better exists, I'm genuinely interested to hear your ideas - drop it in the anything else box in the contact form.

A note on scope and transparency

If your situation falls outside standard sole trader operations, or you need more contact than normal monthly scope covers, we'll agree any additional pricing before proceeding - no surprises.

Current pricing reflects my best thinking and may evolve as the practice grows. I'll always be upfront if experience tells me something needs revisiting.

All sound good? →

Let's be honest about fit

A good fit if you...
  • are a sole trader filing in the UK (or about to be), even if you're based outside the UK.
  • are neurodivergent - diagnosed, self-identifying, or just nodding along reading this.
  • are tired of paperwork piling up while you do the work you're actually good at.
  • are facing Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) and don't want to handle the quarterly submissions and software migration yourself.
  • are after real-time bookkeeping and year-round support.
Probably not if you...
  • are employed or run a limited company
    - I'm sole-trader only.
  • want in-person meetings
    - I'm fully remote.
  • want a one-off fix
    - Sorry, no standalone service.
  • want only once-a-year support
    - Not MTD IT-compatible. ND-friendly ongoing support exists to avoid exactly this: a self-imposed, executive function-draining bottleneck.

Still here?
Good. Let's do this.

No pressure, no commitment, no cost - just a conversation to see if we're a good fit.
Give me the essentials and I'll come back to you.

First, a quick check

All done - thanks!

I'll look over everything you've provided, have a think about your situation, and we'll take it from there by email.

Skip to form →