I'm Ben. I spent over two decades as a self-employed consultant — and for most of those years, the end of each tax year was the part I dreaded most.
For more than 20 years, I ran my own consultancy business. I loved the work. I loved the freedom. What I did not love — not even slightly — was what happened every time the tax year ended.
Every January, the same panic. Where were the receipts? What had I actually earned? What could I claim? I'd hand a box of loosely organised records to my accountant and wait — sometimes weeks — for draft accounts I couldn't fully understand. Numbers that arrived as a final figure, with little explanation of how we got there or what had been deducted and why.
And when the accounts did arrive, the question that haunted me was always the same: am I paying more tax than I have to? Because nobody was really helping me understand what I was legitimately entitled to claim. I was simply trusting the process — and hoping for the best.
The turning point came when my accountant — more than once — missed the filing deadline. The result? HMRC fines. Late filing penalties. Added stress on top of an already stressful process. And the hardest part: I couldn't even be sure those fines were avoidable if I'd had better visibility of my own finances throughout the year.
That's when I realised the real problem wasn't my accountant. The real problem was that I had no system. No way of tracking income and expenses in HMRC's own categories, in real time, throughout the year. I was reactive when I needed to be organised. Dependent when I needed to be in control.
I built Solofold because I wanted what I wish I'd had during those 20 years: a clear, honest, HMRC-aligned tool that let me track my finances throughout the year — not scramble at the end of it. Something that organised my records the way HMRC actually expects them, auto-calculated what I owed, and showed me clearly what I could claim.
No fuzzy logic. No black box final figures. Just clear, transparent numbers I could understand and stand behind. Tools that made me a better-informed client for my accountant — and saved me money in the process.
Every product in the Solofold range is built from that lived experience. If it doesn't solve a problem I genuinely faced as a self-employed person, it doesn't ship.
"I spent 20 years not knowing if I was overpaying tax. Solofold exists so no UK sole trader has to feel that way again."
— Ben, Founder of Solofold
Your financial tools should give you answers, not more questions. Every Solofold product is designed so you can open it, enter your numbers, and know exactly where you stand — without an accounting degree.
We don't adapt American templates for UK users. Every category, formula, and tax calculation is built specifically for UK self-employed people, using the exact structure HMRC expects. SA103S aligned. MTD ready.
You should be able to see exactly how your tax liability is calculated. Every Solofold tool shows its working — so you understand your numbers, not just accept them.
We're not here to hustle you. We're here to help you sleep better in January. Organised all year round. Ready for your accountant. In control of what you owe.
Ben
Founder, Solofold & Zankex
With over 20 years of experience running his own self-employed consultancy in the UK, Ben built Solofold after spending two decades navigating the very frustrations his tools now solve — missed filing deadlines, opaque tax calculations, and the persistent uncertainty of not knowing what you're legitimately entitled to claim. He writes about UK self-employed taxation, bookkeeping, and financial confidence from lived experience, not theory.
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