Offline, On-Demand, Self-Paced Course
Finance and Tax Essentials for New Consultants and Freelancers in UK Higher Education
Recently re-recorded
✓ NEW LESSON ON IR35
✓ EXPANDED GUIDANCE FOR LIVE MAKING TAX DIGITAL ✓ FULLY UPDATED FOR THE 2026/27 TAX YEAR
This course has been comprehensively re-recorded. It now includes a dedicated new lesson on IR35 for higher education consultants – covering how universities make status determinations, what HMRC’s CEST tool actually weights, and the pension implications of working on payroll. It also reflects Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in its live phase, recent changes to Class 2 National Insurance, and other updates to UK tax rules for sole traders and small companies.
A practical bolt-on course to help you get organised, stay compliant and develop financial confidence in your early consultancy, freelance or independent years in the UK higher education sector. Recently re-recorded to incorporate IR35, the live phase of Making Tax Digital, and the latest UK tax rules for sole traders and limited companies.
Is this course for me?
If you’re in the early stages of freelance or consultancy work in higher education, whether you’ve just started or have been trading for a little while, this course is designed to help you:
- Understand what’s expected of you, and when
- Set up systems that keep things manageable
- Make sense of IR35 and what it means in higher education
- Learn from someone who has worked through it all herself
- Avoid common mistakes and know when to call in support
It’s not formal accountancy training. Instead, it’s practical, plain-language guidance based on lived experience and created in collaboration with an experienced accountant and finance director.
What you’ll learn
This is a self-paced course, delivered via audio recordings and downloadable worksheets. You can work through the lessons at your own pace, no logins or online platform required.
You’ll explore:
NEW: Understanding IR35 in higher education – including who is responsible for determining your status, how HMRC’s CEST tool works, the genuine self-employment factors that the assessment tends to weigh, and the pension implications of accepting work on the payroll, including TPS and USS membership.
UPDATED: Making Tax Digital in its live phase – what changed in April 2026, who is affected and when, how to choose MTD-compatible software, and how to build quarterly digital submissions into your routine without losing your sense of humour.
The key questions to weigh when deciding between sole trader and limited company status, and what each really means in practice.
When and why to register, and how the timing of registration interacts with the tax year.
Setting up financial systems and a chart of accounts that meet HMRC’s digital record-keeping standards from the outset.
Admin routines that help you stay on top of things and remain MTD-compliant as a sole trader.
Invoice essentials, payment terms and what to do when clients pay slowly.
What I’ve learned about cash flow during quieter months in the consultancy cycle.
Reflections on salary, dividends and the discipline of setting aside for tax. Recent changes to Class 2 National Insurance and what they mean for sole traders.
The course also includes a dedicated bonus lesson on Making Tax Digital, with a quick checker to see if and when you are affected, a software evaluation tool and a preparation timeline working backwards from your start date.
What I wish I’d known before my first tax return, and what to expect from the process.
Common mistakes new consultants make, and how to avoid them.
Keeping Current with UK Tax Requirements
UK tax rules continue to evolve, with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax representing the most significant recent change for sole traders and small businesses. The first wave came into operation in April 2026, with further phases following in April 2027 and April 2028 as the income thresholds step down.
This course has been systematically re-recorded to ensure all content reflects:
- The live phase of Making Tax Digital and its phased rollout
- Digital record-keeping obligations and what they mean in practice
- MTD-compatible software and how to choose between options
- The quarterly submission cycle and how to build it into your routine
- IR35 as it applies in higher education, including pension implications
- Recent changes to Class 2 National Insurance for sole traders
- Updated tax thresholds and allowances for the 2026/27 tax year
You can be confident that you are learning from current, relevant guidance that reflects the reality of running a higher-education-focused consultancy or freelance practice in the UK today.
A note of reassurance
This course does not offer professional financial or tax advice. It draws on lived experience and has been developed in collaboration with an experienced accountant and finance director. The course content was comprehensively re-recorded in June 2026 to reflect Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment in its live phase, IR35 as it applies in higher education, and current UK tax rules – ensuring you are learning from up-to-date, practical guidance. You’ll also receive prompts to help you identify when to seek formal support, and what questions to ask when you do.
How to enrol & pricing
This course will reopen for enrolment in early autumn 2026.
Standard Course Fee: £99
This includes lifetime access to all course materials, including any future updates.
Join the waiting list and you’ll benefit from the Early Bird discount of £85.
Bundle this course with one of my other courses for a special reduced price: Click here for information.