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Being back-to-school ready can mean many things, but for business owners, it’s also the perfect time to learn how to do small business accounting.

You’re probably groaning at the thought, and we don’t blame you. Business accounting is never an easy task, but it’s something that you can’t ignore and staying on top of it can save you time, stress, and costly mistakes down the line.

However, it can be even harder when you’re a new entrepreneur or business, and don’t have a clue about how accounting works, or have the funds to gain a costly qualification.

Luckily, there are plenty of free online courses that can teach you the essentials and give you the practical skills you need to keep your finances on track — all without spending a penny.

To save you time, we’ve rounded up 10 of the best free accounting courses in the UK that you can start today.

1. Open University (OpenLearn): Introduction to bookkeeping and accounting

• Level: Beginner
• Specialism: Bookkeeping and accounting

If you’re totally new to accounting and have little to no experience in how it works, then the Open University’s introductory course is the perfect starting point. 

Offered by the university’s OpenLearn platform, this free online course walks you through the basics of accounting, including the essential numerical skills, how to keep track of financial records, and measuring profit and loss. 

Whether you’re interested in becoming an accountant or just need basic accounting skills for your small business, this course is a great way to pick up the essentials.

2. Oxford Home Study Centre (OHSC): AI for Financial Analysis Course

• Level: Beginner and professional
• Specialism: AI in accounting

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the game for business accounting, with the top free accounting software, including Sage and Xero, implementing AI features to make it easier than ever to handle bookkeeping and manage cash flow.

But understanding how to utilise these features can be a challenge. That’s why the Oxford Home Study Centre (OHSC) is offering a free course for both beginner and professional-level candidates to learn how AI can streamline financial operations, improve decision-making, and offer real-time insights.

The course covers three main modules: introduction to AI in financial analysis, using AI for data collection and pre-processing, and using AI for financial forecasting and trend analysis.

3. Activate Learning Adult Education: Computerised Payroll Level 1

• Level: Beginner
• Specialism: Payroll

Paying your employees properly is essential when running a business, yet 48% of SMEs have admitted to calculating wages incorrectly.

If payroll is something you’re new to, then Activate Learning’s free course on computerised payroll offers everything you need to learn about managing payroll. It includes entering employee details correctly, calculating gross pay, processing the first payroll, and running those all-important reports (e.g. payslips).

4. Alison: Accounting for Inventory

• Level: Intermediate
• Specialism: Inventory management

If you’re a retail business or starting an ecommerce store, then you should know that inventory management is a crucial part of your business operations.

Alison, a free online learning platform, offers multiple accounting courses for all levels (beginner to advanced) for free. This free online course teaches you the essentials of keeping your inventory in check.

In this course, you can expect to learn several areas of inventory accounting, including how to identify and analyse accounting transactions, how a company uses Last In, First Out (LIFO) or First In Last Out (FIFO) to calculate inventory cost, and how to use efficiency metrics to monitor inventory.

5. ACCA: Introduction to Bookkeeping

• Level: Beginner
• Specialism: Bookkeeping

Much like the Open University, ACCA’s free bookkeeping course is ideal for new businesses and entrepreneurs looking to get a solid grasp of bookkeeping, understand their finances, and set up reliable systems from the start.

This course covers several important topics, such as business transactions, double-entry bookkeeping, payroll and ledger accounts, and reconciliation. There are also no entry requirements, and you can start the course whenever you want. 

6. Oxford Home Study Centre (OHSC): Profit and Loss Accounts

• Level: Beginner
• Specialism: Profit and loss accounts

A significant part of accounting is calculating your profit and loss statements. These show exactly how much money is coming in and going out, and whether your business is actually making a profit.

As part of OHSC’s variety of free online accounting courses, this curriculum is all about teaching you everything you need to know about measuring your profits and losses.

Covering essential topics like measuring income, preparing profit/loss accounts, and foundational terminology, it’s designed to give you a clear understanding of how to manage your business finances.

7. Open University (OpenLearn): Fundamentals of accounting

• Level: Beginner
• Specialism: Accounting and bookkeeping

As the title suggests, OpenLearn’s four-week course is all about teaching you the essential concepts and skills of bookkeeping. Here’s a quick rundown of the topics the course will cover:

• Week 1: Introduction to the key differences between financial accounting and management accounting.
• Week 2: Essential skills for accounting, including manipulating equations, using percentages and ratios, and understanding rounding.
• Week 3: The concepts of double-entry accounting, including the accounting equation and the rules for recording transactions in ledger accounts.
• Week 4: How to prepare a trial balance and balance sheet, and how your income statement fits with the accounting equation.

8. Alison: Cash Flow Management Basics

• Level: Beginner
• Specialism: Cash flow management

Another fundamental aspect of managing your business accounts is your cash flow. Knowing how money moves in and out of your business helps you stay on top of bills, plan for growth, and avoid any nasty surprises when expenses pile up.

Alison’s Cash Flow Management Basics course helps you understand cash flow management, including liquidity, efficiency, profitability, and leverage ratios. It’ll also teach you the most important types of financial ratios (and how to apply them), and the relationship between the value of sales, costs, expenses, assets, liabilities and equity to get a better understanding of your financial position and your business’s performance in the future.

9. Alison: Understanding and Managing Tax in the UK

• Level: Advanced
• Specialism: Taxes

Income tax, corporation tax, value-added tax (VAT) — all of these terms can be a huge headache if you don’t understand what they are or how to calculate them.

This is where Alison’s free tax management course can come to the rescue. Designed to give you a better understanding of tax systems in the UK, this free course covers a range of fundamental areas, including how it impacts the economy, VAT rates, the different types of National Insurance Contributions (NICs), and important dates for reports.

10. KBM Training & Recruitment: Practical Self-Assessment Tax Return Training

• Level: Beginner
• Specialism: Self-Assessment Tax Return

KBM Training & Recruitment offers several government-funded short courses for those looking to learn or improve their accounting skills. And for sole traders and freelancers specifically, the course on Self-Assessment tax returns is useful if you’re new to self-employment.

In this 8-hour course, you can expect to cover a variety of core subjects. This includes the meaning of Self-Assessment tax returns, the different types of income (e.g. employment, self-employment, rental, investments), how to calculate income, deductions and allowances, and how to file and submit your first tax return.

The post 10 FREE accounting courses to sharpen your skills this September appeared first on Startups.co.uk.

In a case that all the tech world has watched intently since it was filed in 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has made its judgement that Google does not have to spin off its Chrome search engine.

It was the rise of AI technology that experts suggest swayed Judge Mehta towards a decision, which many argue is in Google’s favour.

The judge determined that while Google did have a monopoly in traditional search engines, AI companies have the financial and technological clout to fight Google’s dominance now as search becomes increasingly AI-powered.

However, the judgement leaves ecommerce businesses unsure of where they stand, as Google Zero – the company’s AI-powered search summary functionality – cannibalises their content and cuts their traffic.

What did the judge rule?

A revised judgement is due today, but the core result is that Google does not have to “divest” Chrome or the Android operating system, which is what the Department of Justice (DOJ) had been pushing for.

The judge determined: “Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divestiture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints.”

However, Judge Mehta rules that Google must not have exclusive contracts that condition payments or licensing. The DOJ had pushed for the company to be forced to stop what it called “compelled syndication” – or making its browsers the default choice for money.

Mehta ruled: “Google will not be barred from making payments or offering other consideration to distribution partners for preloading or placement of Google Search, Chrome, or its GenAI products.” However, these deals must not be exclusive.

Google has also been told to loosen its grip on its search data and the tech giant is already complaining.

What does this mean for Google Zero?

With Google compelled to share data – and with its exclusivity deals now not allowed – more players could potentially enter the AI-powered search field.

However, the truth is we don’t know how this is going to play out for ecommerce businesses yet as Google is dominant in this arena and will continue to be so.

This judgement might not be tough enough to stop what many businesses are already reporting – a significant drop in their website traffic as Google’s AI Mode summarises their content and keeps users on its pages.

Research from AccuRanker has revealed a significant decline in mobile click-through rates (CTR) for ecommerce. Any new players fighting for search dominance may do exactly the same, so it looks like zero-click searches are here to stay.

How can businesses protect themselves?

Businesses are facing an ‘adapt or die’ moment. Gone are the days in which businesses can rely on SEO optimisation (and over-optimised FAQs or keyword stuffing) and now, says Google, they must deliver content for “higher quality clicks”.

To keep website traffic from tanking, eCommerce businesses are being encouraged to:

• Optimise for Google’s AI Overviews
• Ensure product pages, reviews and resources deliver genuine value to shoppers
• Analyse how Google Zero is impacting the traffic to their website by tracking key visibility metrics, such as impressions and the appearance of AI features
• Look at other marketing opportunities beyond their website using diverse channels

While Google has definitely had a dressing down, the tech behemoth will still dominate, even as pretenders to its throne hustle in the AI space.

In the meantime, businesses must adapt to Google Zero – and any competitors that launch – as the technology is not going to disappear but will keep evolving.

The post What does the Google ruling mean for AI search? appeared first on Startups.co.uk.

Accountancy companies are facing the worst talent crisis in years, according to research that gauged views from businesses around the world.

The Accounting Talent Index 2025, produced by outsourcing specialists Advancetrack, has surveyed a number of key business leaders and professionals in the sector, revealing that as many as 74% are having to turn away work because they don’t have the staff to deliver it.

Companies shared that they were investing heavily in training and upskilling to try and fill the void; but had also resorted to outsourcing some of their work overseas to struggle on.

Mounting crisis

The Advancetrack report, which was based on global data, revealed that a staggering 94% of firms say recruitment issues are now holding back their growth.

Analysis also revealed that 61% of respondents say they have outsourced work overseas to expand capacity.

Companies are furiously working to find solutions. 42% share that they are investing heavily in staff training and development to try and upskill the budding accountants of tomorrow.

38% of businesses have also upgraded their technology, including their systems, in a bid to be more efficient and therefore meet demand.

Demand looming

In the UK, the Government has paused (not cancelled) its HMRC reforms, after being warned it would cause a red tape pile up for SMEs.

As we creep towards April 6, when MTD starts being implemented, research suggests that nearly half of sole traders don’t know about the changes; and nearly three quarters don’t understand what MTD will mean for them.

However, this report exposes that accountancy firms already do not have the staff to meet demand – and this is before Making Tax Digital (MTD) really bites in the UK.

Outsourcing to keep clients

The demand for accountancy experts in the UK is undoubtedly going to increase beyond the April deadline, but this report suggests that firms currently don’t have the staff to meet this need. Outsourcing is playing a role, the data reveals, but it’s not enough.

The hike in employer NICs and increases in overheads have already been pushing more UK ventures towards outsourcing options across all industries.

Virtual assistants – whether human or AI – are proving increasingly popular as they can deliver support but are paid on an hourly or day rate. This means businesses do not need to pay NICs contributions; benefits or a fixed salary. They can also request help as and when needed, delivering flexibility when budgets might be tight.

For those accountancy firms looking to fill the gaps while they find the right talent or upskill employees, outsourcing is a way of bridging the gap.

Technological solutions

But, says Advancetrack MD Vipul Sheth, outsourcing is a short-term solution. The profession can’t “hire its way out” of the problem. Instead, he is calling for a complete change of operating models if businesses want to grow. Technology is key in this.

In the UK, this is a pressing issue. As SMEs approach the deadline for HMRC’s digital demands, software is going to be key in helping them stay compliant.

Accounting software is a DIY approach for those who are understaffed; but requires investment both for the initial outlay and then for training.

However, with rapid advancements, especially using AI, software could be the quickest solution for businesses as they scramble to find staff and maintain growth.

With nearly half of respondents saying that the talent crisis is worsening, solo accountants and microbusinesses need to act now to ensure they keep their clients.

The post Nearly 3 in 4 accountants turning away work due to lack of staff appeared first on Startups.co.uk.

Pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants in the capital have braced themselves for a horrific week, as industrial action hits all Tube lines except the Elizabeth and Overground Line.

The four-day strike, which is being staged by the RMT membership, is over pay and conditions but centres upon a push for a 32-hour working week. It coincides with action on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which will also cause disruption.

It comes at a time when many hospitality businesses say that they are “surviving not thriving”; and is predicted will hit their takings hard.

Counting the cost

UKHospitality has claimed that the cost to businesses in the capital could be as much as £110m with both customers and staff unable to get into London.

Kate Nicholls, the organisation’s chair, told LBC that “this level of impact comes at a time when businesses can least afford it, having just been hit with £3.4 billion in additional annual cost”.

However, the Centre for Economics and Business Research says the figure is a massive under-estimation, writing that the cost could amount to as much as £230m.

This figure, it claims, “reflects the loss of roughly 700,000 working days across both TfL staff and the wider commuter base.”

It added: “These figures only capture the immediate disruption, but the true economic hit is likely to be significantly higher once the indirect effects are considered.”

Knock-on impact

In February 2023, the CEBR predicted a planned one-day of industrial action would cost £94m, “with a further estimated £100m hit to hospitality sectors as footfall vanishes”.

The organisation argues that there are direct impacts – namely staff struggling to get into work and lower customer footfall – but also indirect implications.

It explains that more traffic on the roads will mean that commuters take longer to get to work hence impacting productivity. It also suggests that the businesses around the commuter stations outside of London will see lower footfall as people opt to work from home.

However, despite headlines warning of huge ramifications then and now, The Times published an article in April 2023 saying that the impact on the UK economy had not been as bad as predicted.

More bad news

For hospitality business owners in the capital, though, this will come as little consolation. One business owner told BBC News that he was bracing for a loss of around £600-£700 a day.

The hospitality industry is already reeling from the impact of changes to employer National Insurance Contributions and the Skilled Worker Visa, which has made finding talent even tougher.

These issues, on top of a dip in consumer spending and produce price hikes, are making day-to-day life hard for hospitality business owners.

While the real economic impact won’t be gauged for several months – and even then there will be a debate on its accuracy – for hospitality business owners, this is just another kick when most are already far down.

The post Tube strikes could cost hospitality businesses £110m appeared first on Startups.co.uk.

The latest research from Pitchbook offers an optimistic view of Series A-B funding rounds; but also serves a warning that more established startups will find their later funding rounds far less lucrative. 

The data shows that Series A–B rounds remain robust, comprising 65.5% of total VC deal value in H1 2025 – up from 51.2% in 2024.

The boom has been driven by strong activity in pharma and biotech. However, the Pitchbook data shows that Series C–D funding has declined, capturing just 14.3% of deal value.

Early stage optimism

The Pitchbook report describes Series A-B funding as “resilient” despite “a weaker macroeconomic backdrop and increased market volatility”. There has been a slow down from the previous year, but the report acknowledges that 2024 was a “record” year. 

In H1, the capital raised reached £1.5bn. If this level continues for the rest of the year, private fundraising in the UK will have declined 59.6% year-on-year. 

Leading the pack for total investment are AI ventures and Big Data has entered the top ten sectors for the first time thanks to AI-linked applications. The report singles out life sciences as a “rare area of growth”, while pharma and biotech ventures enjoy “strong deal flow”. 

A shifting fund structure

The contrast with 2024 is not only one of capital raised. It appears the very nature of the fund structure has changed. The data reveals that most new funds raised are under £50m. In 2024, more than 15% of funds closing exceeded £250m. 

There have been some big hitters though no megafunds (£1bn-plus vehicles) to date. The report mentions the Adams Street European Venture Fund 2023, which raised £230.7m and was the fourth-largest close in H1 within all of Europe. 

This was followed by QuantumLight Capital Fund and 2150 Urban Tech Sustainability Fund II, which raised £188m and £166.8m, respectively. 

For capital raised, 69.6% of capital was in emerging firms in H1, compared with just 25.6% in 2024.

Quandary for more established startups

This report confirms what we have already seen in the market – that things are tough for rapidly-growing ventures or later stage startups looking at their third or fourth funding rounds. 

Warning bells were already sounding after the UK lost one of its most lauded startups – Deliveroo – in a buy-out by a US competitor. 

Other signs include the money transfer firm Wise’s decision to ditch its primary listing with the London Stock Exchange. Instead, it has gone for a dual listing but with the US as its primary base, despite the Chancellery pinning its hopes on a fintech boom. 

Despite this, there is confidence. This year’s funding may not hit the heady heights of 2024, but the Pitchbook report nods to the Mansion House Accord, an agreement signed in May 2025 by 17 major pension providers to allocate at least 10% of their defined contribution (DC) default funds. It estimates this “could unlock £50bn for private markets by 2030”.

Many UK tech companies are also reportedly mulling joining PISCES, the stock market for trading private company shares the government announced in May this year. It is hoped that PISCES will help to improve late-stage funding for private firms in the UK.

In the meanwhile, early-stage startups can be optimistic about securing their Series A-B funding. But it looks likely that the UK may lose more of our bigger and established startup ventures unless there is a dramatic change in the landscape. 

The post Early-stage funding booms in first half of 2025 appeared first on Startups.co.uk.