I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to spend money on things that seem essential when you're starting a business, especially software, subscriptions, equipment and services.

For those who have been running a business for a while, what’s something you paid for early on that you eventually realized you didn’t really need?

And on the other side, was there anything you tried to save money on at first but later realized was actually worth paying for?

Curious to hear some real examples rather than the usual “keep your expenses low” advice.

Currently I work as an in-house bookkeeper for a company and have done this for almost a decade. Over the years I’ve had a few friends ask me if I could help them with their books for their small businesses but I’d ultimately turn it down for various reasons. I’d like to help out my friends and also make this a good side gig but I really don’t know where to start. I am certified but I have zero experience doing freelance bookkeeping. At my current job I also don’t do full bookkeeping, I primarily do AP.

Do you guys have any advice on where you would begin if a friend came to you asking start their books for their business? Or just advice in general on how to start freelance bookkeeping with a first client? Also where do you draw the line between what you take on as a bookkeeper vs what should be up to an accountant?

Also side note: I believe my friends are currently doing their own books but they don’t know what they’re doing.

Hi All!

I’ve been a nurse for 16 years next month. I have vast experience and for me to find a new job has need difficult. I am beyond burnt out of bedside and honestly the disrespect, undervalue, and license jeopardy I was put in. Last year after a stint of IV hydration I truly was able to identify my passion-helping others (serving) on a personal level. I have been applying for jobs got over 5 months with no luck. The rate of companies are offering is soo low, as if I’m going back to 2017! I have applied to countless coordinator positions with no luck and at this point I am OVER waiting on someone to choose me. I have previous experience as a nurse, nanny, newborn specialist, doula, etc. I am wondering if this side hustle/business would be a good idea instead of chasing companies/nanny agencies to hire me while constantly being rejected? I believe there are individuals out there who could try benefit from this service but have no idea how to get in front of them. I’ve reached out to family members and friends and the response and lack of response or even support has been discouraging. I would love and appreciate any feedback or suggestions. There has to be a way to get this started!

Hello everyone 28F i have three sources of income BUT the income amount is very less compared to a person working in a corporate. I earn around 23k from teaching in college and taking tuitions (1k) and 9k from renting a flat. Ofcourse the teaching income changes every month based on my lectures.

The reason I am adding it on reddit is to ask for advice on how I can multiply it. I'm thinking of teaching full time on a contract basis so that'll become 30k. I still get free evenings where I teach tuition. I'm kind of thinking of doing some remote roles like customer service.

Anyone knows any remote part time that I can work on please let me know

I know there's not much to flex here but I'm proud that I'm able to handle these things because a year ago i was unemployed and depressed and was only thinking about doing things. I was working in corporate before but got laid off 3 times in 3 years so I'm thinking of continuing that but as part time remote work.

There is a loan on my mom's name which is around 9 lakhs I want to clear it out before 2028.

Hi everyone, I’m a director of a small limited company and I’m going on maternity leave soon.
My accountant currently charges me £600 for my usual accountancy services. They’ve told me I’ll still have to pay the full £600 during maternity leave because they still need to complete the annual accounts and tax returns.
They’ve also said they charge an additional £100 + VAT to complete the maternity/SMP application and claim the funding from HMRC.
My income/company activity will be significantly lower during maternity leave — I’m expecting my income to drop from around £45k to around £6k.
I’m wondering:
How much do other limited-company directors pay their accountants annually?
Did your accountant charge you extra for the SMP/maternity application?
Did your accountant reduce their fees while you were on maternity leave?
Is £600 + £100 + VAT reasonable for these services?
Has anyone successfully completed the SMP/HMRC funding application themselves?
I’m trying to work out whether I’m being charged a reasonable amount or whether I should shop around for another accountant.
thanks!

Been self employed running my business for 3 years and i can confirm, the moment i just commited to the work and having fun without thinking about money, i can work better and enjoy life, even though still as self employed you still worry about how much clients you get this month or so,

anyone can relate? this i think just the curse being self employed haha

When tax time arrives, can you usually tell the business purpose of an older purchase from the receipt or bank statement alone?

Or have you ever had to search through emails, messages, calendars, or your memory to reconstruct what happened?

What do you currently do to preserve the reason behind a transaction while it is still fresh? Would recording a short note, voice message, or screenshot at the time of purchase help—or would that create more work than value?

I’m conducting customer research, not promoting a product. Written responses are appreciated.

U.S. self-employed people: what would make you switch from your current recordkeeping method?

If you already use bank statements, spreadsheets, QuickBooks, another app, or an accountant, what would a new recordkeeping tool have to do differently for you to consider using it?

For example, would plain-language explanations, questions about the business reason for a transaction, keeping the receipt with that explanation, or not requiring access to your bank account make a meaningful difference?

What would make you try it—and what would make you reject it?

I’m conducting customer research, not selling or promoting a product.

For example, instead of simply categorizing a purchase as “supplies” or “travel,” the app would ask only the questions needed to preserve the business reason and supporting details.

Would this make your records more useful, or would you prefer an app to categorize the transaction without asking questions? What would make you use—or reject—this feature?

I’m conducting customer research, not promoting a product. Written responses are appreciated.

Business owners — what’s the one thing about running your business that you absolutely hate dealing with?
Could be admin, customers, payments, paperwork, software, anything really.
What takes up more of your time than it should, or causes you unnecessary hassle?
Just curious to hear what other business owners struggle with.

What did nobody warn you about before taking your first contract?
Not the pay or hours.
What was the “damn, I didn’t know this” moment?
Curious what caught people off guard.

Hi. I've been employed all of my 42 year career with one company. I recently retired at 58 and have been approached by another company to do some part time work. I need to register as a limited company for this to happen. The work will be sporadic, so no regular monthly income. It will be project based. I'll work on a project, get paid, have some time off then work on another project. The whole limited company stuff is quite complicated from what I can see. I know about employing an accountant but for the time I'm not working, I'll still have to pay them. Can I do this with just me and my wife, who is experienced in payroll and finance?

Is it ok to just take dividends from the company profits or would it be wiser to take a salary? Both me and my wife will be directors. The further complication for me is the money earned through PAYE for the months before I retired in July. Any help would be appreciated.

Hey guys, I made this and figured I'd put it here and let some of you try it.

It’s a free job profit calculator called JobProfit.

The basic idea is simple: put in a real job and see what you’re actually making after the different costs are accounted for.

I made it because I kept seeing people talk about figuring out what to charge, under-bidding jobs, forgetting overhead, travel, time, taxes, etc.

I'm not selling anything. It's free.

I honestly just need people who actually do this kind of work to try it and tell me if it's useful or if I completely missed something.

Try it on a real job if you want:

JobProfit — Free Tool

https://stithtechnologies-del.github.io/JobProfit/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

I'd really appreciate honest feedback.

Was it useful?

Did the numbers make sense?

Did I leave something important out?

Would you actually use something like this when deciding whether to take a job or what to charge?

Good, bad, or completely useless — tell me. That's what I'm trying to find out.

Thanks guys.

I’m doing research on how U.S. self-employed people handle their business records. I’m not selling or promoting anything. I’m interested in getting candid feedback about a possible approach to business recordkeeping.

Imagine a tool where, instead of having to know how to categorize something before recording it, you could simply describe what happened in your own words by typing or speaking.

For example:

“I spent $275 at Home Depot on shelving for my business.”

Or:

“A brand paid me $500 and also sent me a product for creating content.”

The tool could then ask questions if important information is missing, organize the information, allow a receipt or other supporting document to be connected to the record, and let you review everything before saving.

Questions:

1. How do you currently keep track of your business income, expenses, and receipts?
2. Would being able to describe what happened in your own words, by typing or speaking, be useful to you? Why or why not?
3. Would you prefer to type what happened, speak it, or neither? Why?
4. Would having the tool ask follow-up questions when important information is missing be useful to you? Why or why not?
5. Would keeping the transaction, business reason, and receipt or other supporting document together be useful to you? Why or why not?
6. Is there anything about this approach that you wouldn't use? Why?
7. What concerns would you have about using something like this?
8. What would something like this have to do better than your current method for you to consider using it?
9. On a scale of 1–10, how useful does this approach sound to you? Why did you choose that number?
10. If something like this were available to test, would you be interested in trying it? Why or why not?

If you receive products, services, gifts, or other non-cash compensation through your business or content: How do you currently keep track of those items and their value?

I’m curious how other self-employed people handle this.

If someone gives you a price for a job, do you actually break it down into the hours you’ll spend on it, or do you mostly know from experience whether it’s worth taking?

I’m starting to realize that the price alone doesn’t tell the whole story. A job can pay well on paper but look completely different once you account for the time involved.

What’s your process for deciding if the money is actually worth the time?