Digitisation vs Digitalisation: The Difference That Could Shape Your Business In 2027

Nobody tells you how much goes on behind a trade show stand until you've booked one. The furniture, the delivery slots, the insurance, even which door to turn up at! I've been to many a trade show as a visitor, but this year I'm exhibiting at one of the biggest in the UK... The Business Show Live at London ExCeL! From the other side of the stand, it turns out I'd only ever seen the finished version. I'm sharing what goes on before the doors open, and everything I've had to ask along the way. I'm sharing: What a shell scheme stand is, and what you actually get for your money. The scanners, badges and apps behind trade show lead capture, and what I learnt from watching demos. Why I bought my own furniture instead of hiring it, and the measuring mistake that followed. Why asking basic questions is part of every stage of running a business. How I'm preparing myself, from my talk and slides to updating my websites and resources. It doesn't matter how long you've been in business, you'll never feel completely ready for the big new thing. The people who get there are the ones who say yes first and ask the questions second.   Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Right Click Accounting The RCA Hub   Useful Links: AAT Connect 2026 The Business Show London Find Me At The Business Show Live My Business Show Seminar Details

Of course the latest Budget for UK business owners was going to come with both good and bad new, but most of the detail gets lost in the headlines. That's why I've picked out the changes that matter most so you don't have to wade through it all. I'm looking at what each one actually means for a small business, and why it's worth fact-checking anything you read online. I'm sharing: What the rise in the National Minimum Wage could mean for hours, jobs and prices. Small business rate relief, the trading allowance and mileage rates for business owners: What the Making Tax Digital "soft landing" means if you're being brought in from April 2027. Why the cut to Business Asset Disposal Relief worries me if you're building a business to sell. How to spot the difference between helpful Budget advice and content designed to get a reaction. We can't control what's in the Budget, but we can control how well we understand it and how to plan around it. If it all feels like a lot, talk to your accountant, your bookkeeper or even a trusted business friend and don't sit on a worry for longer than you need to.   Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Right Click Accounting The RCA Hub   Useful Links: GOV.UK 2026 Budget in Full Helping Yourself as a Business Owner – Podcast Episode Business Asset Disposal Relief Have Your Say – HMRC Budget Consultations

A membership you never use isn't a community. It's just a monthly payment. I've been part of memberships for years, and I think they can be brilliant for business owners. But only when you actually use them. Here's how I decide whether one earns its place, what worries me about paying for connection, and why I've created something of my own. I'm sharing: What a membership actually is, and the value exchange behind it: your money and your time. Why a membership you're not using is money quietly leaving your account every month. Why paying for friendship worries me, and what happens if you can no longer afford it. Why I created the Right Click Accounting Hub, and why you don't have to leave your accountant to use it. How I'm planning to use co-working and body doubling sessions to help business owners get the jobs they keep putting off done. A membership should earn its place in your business, whether through the knowledge, the network or the accountability. If you wouldn't miss it when the payment stops, it's worth asking what you were paying for.   Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Right Click Accounting The RCA Hub   Useful Links: Business Secret Club – The Clubhouse Membership Chris Downing – Sage E-Invoicing Podcast The Business Show London The CLEAR Framework

When software I use every day got hit with a wave of online criticism, my feed was full of it, and it would have been easy to get swept along with it. The posts were angry, the comments were piling up, and everyone had a take. But instead of reacting, I did some digging, and what I found changed how I read the headlines. Here's how I went about it, and how you can do the same for any brand, product or influencer in your own industry. I'm sharing: Why a wave of online criticism rarely tells the full story. How I looked past the headlines to form my own view. What three separate moments taught me about how brands handle public backlash. Why constant change and AI headlines are leaving business owners feeling more defensive. Why it's worth reviewing what you pay for, from software to memberships, and whether each one still earns its place. Forming your own opinion takes a little more effort than joining in. But it's the only way to make decisions that are genuinely right for your business.   Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Right Click Accounting The RCA Hub   Useful Links: A Note on Our Partnership with Amelia Sordell and Xero | Gen3 Marketing Response from Xero regarding Amelia Sordell Rachel Harris LinkedIn Brand Guidelines Post Xero Company Accounts and Tax Software Aaron Patrick Automated Reports Post Ask The Accountant Podcast

I went to the Digital Accountancy Show at ExCeL London, and two sessions from HMRC stood out as the ones most likely to affect UK business owners: their digital transformation plans, and how e-invoicing will work. This week I'm sharing: What HMRC told us about its digital transformation plans, and why it wants more software developers involved in Making Tax Digital. Why HMRC chose not to make a business bank account mandatory for the MTD roll-out Which VAT-registered businesses e-invoicing will affect, and which it won't. How "four corners" e-invoicing works, from your accounting software to your customer's. Why it's worth getting your processes ready 6 to 12 months before the deadline, and how to use AI safely while you do. Change can be overwhelming but there's plenty of time and the businesses that start preparing early are the ones that won't be scrambling when it becomes mandatory.   Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Right Click Accounting The RCA Hub   Useful Links: The Maple Project The Digital Accountancy Show Preparing for Mandatory E-Invoicing in the UK Peppol Interoperability Network for E-Invoicing

If running a business in the UK feels harder than it used to, you're not imagining it. Rising costs, tax changes and a general sense of stagnation are weighing on a lot of business owners right now, and it's worth saying out loud. I'm sharing how I'm thinking about it, why I don't think it means giving up, and a new resource I've built to help. I'm sharing: Why so many UK business owners are feeling the squeeze, and why that strain is valid. Why relocating or restructuring isn't as simple as it sounds, and why proper advice matters first. How to find local support and funding that might already be available to you. How to set goals for 2027 that go beyond turnover, starting with what your business actually gives you. Introducing the Right Click Hub: key tax dates, templates, resources and live co-working sessions. Growth might be slower right now, but that doesn't have to dampen the reasons you started. If your business still gives you freedom, purpose or something you love doing, that's worth protecting.   Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Right Click Accounting The RCA Hub   Useful Links: Accountex Recap Podcast (S2 EP5) The Financial Times The RCA Hub

There's a word doing the rounds in accounting circles that most business owners have never heard, and once you understand it, it could change how you plan for next year. DIGITisation and DIGITALisation sound almost identical, but they mean very different things for how your business runs. One is about moving an old process onto a screen. The other is about rethinking that process completely for the digital age, including e-invoicing, which is coming for VAT-registered businesses. I'm sharing: The actual difference between digitisation and digitalisation, and why it's more than just semantics. What e-invoicing is, who it'll affect, and why it's a genuine step change rather than just a new format. A real example from my own business of turning a paper checklist into something AI now helps manage. Why this isn't about replacing people with AI, but opening up what's actually possible. You don't need to overhaul everything overnight. But knowing the difference between fixing what you have and reimagining it completely could shape how your business grows next year.   Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Ways to work with me Right Click Accounting Blackline Academy   Useful Links: Preparing for Mandatory E-Invoicing in the UK (Blog) AccountingWeb podcast with Richard Sergeant

If your tax code changes, you'd assume HMRC tells you and your employer straight away. Right now, that's not always happening, and it affects both sides. I've seen the same issue crop up across multiple employers and employees recently, including within my own company: an employee's tax code changes, but the employer never receives the official notice to update it. It's even happening to me right now, on both sides of the payslip. So this week I'm sharing: What a tax code notice actually is, and what should happen when a tax code changes. The pattern I'm seeing where an employee's tax code changes, but their employer never receives the notice to update it. What to do as an employee if your payslip doesn't match the tax code HMRC has told you, rather than assuming it'll sort itself out. What employers can, and legally can't, do to help when this happens, and why staying on top of it protects your PAYE liability too. The genuinely baffling moment HMRC offered to resolve it by fax. Whether you're the one being taxed or the one running payroll, it's worth checking rather than assuming everything's correct. A five-minute look now could save an unexpected bill, a longer wait for a refund, or a payroll headache down the line.   Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Ways to work with me Right Click Accounting Blackline Academy   Useful Links: ACAS Government Gateway

Thinking about going to IdeasFest? Here's an honest, first-timer's take before you buy a ticket. I went for the first time this year, and it was a genuinely mixed experience: some of it brilliant, some of it overwhelming, and worth knowing about before you commit your time and money. I'm sharing: What it's really like as a first-timer, from the missing Wi-Fi to figuring out where the talks actually were. Why some of the content felt too surface-level for me, while still being exactly what someone else needed to hear. The real cost of attending, tickets, hotel, food and the time you lose to recovering afterwards. The two talks I ended up speaking at completely unplanned, and how that went. Why post-event burnout is real, and why I don't think you need to rush back online straight after. Not every event has to change your life to be worth going to. Sometimes it's enough to just show up, take it all in, and figure out afterwards what it actually meant for you.   Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Ways to work with me Right Click Accounting Blackline Academy   Useful Links: Ideas Fest Libby Walklett - The Ethical Bookkeeper Tara Askham - She Starts Smart Grace Hardy - Hardy Accounting

A stranger on LinkedIn decided a business owner's £90,000 turnover wasn't "healthy." Yet they had no context of what it actually took to get there. A comment thread about VAT registration turned into one accountant judging another accountant's client, and it struck a nerve with me. Turnover means nothing without the story behind it, and business owners deserve better than being judged by the people meant to support them. I'm sharing: The LinkedIn comment that questioned whether hitting the VAT threshold really counts as a "healthy turnover". Why the same number can mean completely different things depending on someone's circumstances. Why so many business owners feel too nervous to ask their accountant a "stupid" question. Why judgment from anyone you pay for advice should be a red flag, not something you just accept. Why now's the time to advocate for yourself if a service provider isn't giving you what you actually need. Nobody gets to decide what counts as success in your business except you. They weren't there for the late nights, the risk, or the reason you started in the first place. Let's Connect: Website LinkedIn Instagram TikTok   Be sure to check out: Ways to work with me Right Click Accounting Blackline Academy