If you run the practice on your own, every January, every holiday and every sick day lands on one person. EarthOne gives sole practitioners qualified CA capacity by the hour, with no minimum, inside your own software.
In short: a sole practitioner can hand preparation work such as bookkeeping, VAT returns, draft accounts and Self Assessment computations to EarthOne at £12.50 to £16.50 an hour, with no minimum and no onboarding fee, and keep every client conversation and sign-off.
A sole practitioner’s capacity is fixed at one. That works most of the year. It stops working when three things land at once: the January Self Assessment deadline, a client’s year-end, and a week you cannot work. There is nobody to pass a file to.
Hiring rarely fixes it. A permanent junior is a year-round salary for a seasonal peak, plus 15% employer National Insurance above £5,000 a year, and the time it takes to train and supervise them. Most sole practitioners end up absorbing the peak themselves.
The pressure is also rising. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 from April 2026 and over £30,000 from April 2027. Each of those clients now has quarterly updates as well as a year-end return.
| Hand over | Keep |
|---|---|
| Bookkeeping and bank reconciliations | Client conversations and advice |
| VAT return preparation | Reviewing and signing off every return |
| Self Assessment computations to draft | Tax planning and judgement calls |
| MTD quarterly update preparation | Engagement letters, fees and the relationship |
| Draft year-end accounts and CT600 computations | Anything you would rather do yourself |
The work comes back to you prepared and reviewed by a second qualified CA. You check it and file it, or we submit on your instruction. Your clients deal only with you.
Most sole practitioners use ad hoc hours, because the need is seasonal. You pay for the hours used, invoiced monthly, with weekly timesheets that show who did what.
| Example | Rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 20 hours of bookkeeping catch-up before a VAT quarter | £12.50 an hour | £250 |
| 40 hours of Self Assessment preparation in January | £16.50 an hour | £660 |
| A steady 80 hours of bookkeeping every month | Dedicated part-time bookkeeper | £750 a month |
There is no minimum on ad hoc hours and no 12-month contract. If the work becomes steady, a dedicated part-time professional (80 hours a month) is usually cheaper than the same hours ad hoc. The cost calculator shows where the line falls for your numbers.
Start small. Hand over one or two clients with complete records, see the work, and decide from there. A UK GDPR Data Processing Agreement is signed before any file moves.
Tell us the first work you would hand over or compare costs with hiringBefore choosing any provider, read the ten questions to ask before you sign. For the January peak specifically, see Self Assessment by 31 January: adding capacity without hiring.
Your volumes, software and deadlines. Ketul replies within one business day with the model that fits and the cost.
Send an enquiry See published pricing