10 Essential Finance Tips for Your Children’s Activity Business

Turning Fun into Financial Success. Running a children’s activity business is one of the most rewarding careers out there – but let’s be honest, it can also be one of the most demanding.

You’re not just delivering brilliant experiences for children and families. You’re marketing your classes, managing venues, juggling staff, handling bookings, responding to parents, and somewhere in amongst all that… trying to stay on top of the finances.

For many providers I speak to, the numbers are the part that causes the most stress – not because they’re bad at business, but because no one ever taught them how to feel confident with the financial side of it.

You may have decided that you want to deal with the financial side of the business yourself, either because initially you can’t afford to pay someone to do it for you, or it may be because you want to get to know and understand the financials but have no idea where to start? Then I’m here to help with 10 things you should know when running your business and dealing with your own finances.

Top 10 Financial Tips for Running a Children’s Activity Business

1. What is Bookkeeping?
2. Do Your Bookkeeping Regularly
3. Keep Business and Personal Finances Separate
4. Organise Your Receipts and Invoices
5. Consider Using Accounting Software
6. Get to Know Your Numbers
7. Prepare and Review Cashflow Regularly
8. Know Your Deadlines and Filing Dates
9. File Your Tax Return Early
10. Plan Ahead for Tax Payments

1 – Let’s start with ‘what is bookkeeping?’

Bookkeeping is like keeping a diary for the money in your business. It’s how we record all the financial transactions in your business, for example sales (money coming into the business), purchases/expenses (money going out of the business). By recording all these transactions, we can understand how much money is coming in and going out of the business, which will help you make informed decisions for your business.

2 – Do your bookkeeping regularly

If doing your bookkeeping isn’t something that you are confident with or that you enjoy, there is a temptation to put it off. In putting it off, you are only making it harder for yourself! If this is you, then doing little and often is the best way to deal with it. I would suggest at a minimum doing it monthly, but you could set aside a little time each week to do the previous week – this way it won’t seem as daunting. By doing regular bookkeeping you will ensure that your business financials are as accurate and up to date as possible, allowing you to set goals and make informed decisions.

3 – Have separate business and personal bank accounts

Depending on the setup of your business, for example if you are a Limited Company, then you may be required to have a separate business account. Although Sole Traders aren’t required to have a separate business bank account, I would always advise you to do so – it will make your life so much easier in the long run.

4 – Ensure that you have a good process for filing your receipts and invoices

It’s important to have a good process for filing all receipts and invoices from the very start. This will not only help with organisation but also make it easier for you if you need to go back and look for anything in the future. This can be either physical or digital copies of receipts and invoices, and these need to be kept for up to six years depending on the setup of your business. If you are a Sole trader or partnership you need to keep them for five years after 31 January submission deadline. So, your 25/26 tax return is due on 31st January 2027, you must therefore keep the receipts and invoices until at least 31st January 2032. If you are a Limited Company, you need to keep them for six years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to. So, if your year end is 31st December 2026, you must keep them until 31st December 2032.

5 – Consider using accounting software

Although there is nothing wrong with using excel, bookkeeping software can be a useful tool within your business, but it can also be a daunting prospect if you have never used it before. We now live in a time where cloud-based accounting software allows you, as a business owner, to access your financial information whenever needed. There are a number of different software providers, so you can trial a few to see what you like best and what works best for your business.

6 – Get to know the numbers in your business

For me this is a big one! How can you run a successful business if you don’t know the numbers in your business? It’s all too easy to do your bookkeeping month-on-month and then not actually look at it to understand where your business is financially. At the end of each month, you should take some time to look at your profit and loss account and begin to get to know the main numbers in your business. Setting financial goals for your business will be so much easier if you get to know the numbers in your business first. Knowing your numbers, also allows you to make informed business decisions.

7- Prepare regular cashflows

So many businesses owners prepare a cashflow as part of their initial business plan and then never look at it again, but preparing and updating your cashflow regularly is important for a number of reasons:

• 1) It allows you to anticipate the cash needs of your business and where there may be a potential short fall in cash.
• 2) It will assist you with budgeting and planning.
• 3) It will provide valuable insights for strategic decision making and allows you to model different scenarios.
• 4) It allows you to identify and investigate trends in your cashflow.

8 – Know your deadlines and filing dates

Knowing deadlines and filing dates within your business is not only crucial to avoid penalties, but also to build trust with stakeholders and help with planning. Within your business you will have a number of different filing dates and deadlines – you should be aware of all the deadlines and filing dates that are relevant to your business and plan how you are going to meet these. Being organised is key to avoid last-minute rushes and the stress associated with scrambling to meet deadlines and filing requirements.

9 – File your tax return early

Your self-assessment tax return is due for filing by 31st January following the tax year end, so your tax return for 25/26 is due by 31st January 2027. It’s tempting to leave it for a few months, thinking that you have ages to complete it. However, there is a huge benefit in getting it done early. It gets it out of the way; the information will still be fresh in your head from the tax year just ended; it allows you to plan for tax payments due (or receive a refund sooner if this is applicable) and avoids any penalties for late filing.

10 – Plan for tax payments

No one likes paying tax, but why not look at it as a positive? If you weren’t paying tax, then you wouldn’t be making any money! So, you really want to be paying more tax, because this means that you are making more money. Tax payments shouldn’t come as a surprise to you as a business owner and you should ensure that you are saving throughout the year to ensure you can meet any tax liabilities due. This is another reason to file your tax return early; it will allow you to know how much tax is due and when and you can build this into your cashflow.

A final thought………

You don’t need to become an accountant to run a successful children’s activity business. You just need the right support, the right information, and the confidence to use it.

Because when you feel in control of your finances, you give yourself permission to dream bigger – and to enjoy the journey along the way.

Karen
Founder, Pink Lily Accounting Solutions
Sponsor, Franchisee of the Year – Club Hub Awards 2026