The £6,000 Clawback That Almost Crashed His Practice

Until We Rebuilt the Books
NHS-Led
Sole Trader
£650K Revenue
1 Site
“I thought my books were fine. My accountant never warned me. I didn’t realise I was heading into a wall.”

Meet Dr. Sharma — A Hardworking NHS Dentist on the Brink

£650K

Annual Revenue

1

Principal Dentist

1

Practice Site

NHS

Primary Focus

Dr. Sharma is a sole trader running a high-volume NHS-led practice. With one site, no practice manager, and £650K in annual revenue, he carried the full weight of the clinical and business responsibilities himself.

Never Late on Filings

Not Careless with Money

Wasn't Looking for Help

Until a £6,000 NHS clawback landed with zero warning

Triggering a cash flow panic just weeks before his January tax deadline

The Hidden Problem Behind the Panic

Dr. Sharma’s previous accountant filed his Self Assessment and annual accounts like clockwork. But behind those filings were three silent threats:
 Silent Threat #1: Income Timing

Problem: NHS income was recorded as received, not earned
Impact: Revenue looked inflated in some months — and profit looked stronger than it really was

Silent Threat #2: No Clawback Provisions

Problem: No accruals for clawback
Impact: A £6,000 repayment landed with no warning, hitting cash reserves hard

Silent Threat #3: Unplanned Drawings

Problem: Drawings taken without tax planning
Impact: Personal income was disconnected from profit — putting January and July tax payments at risk

  • "I wasn't being reckless. I just didn't know what I didn't know. I assumed my accountant was watching out for things like that."

The Reality Check

  • 18 months of unreconciled bookkeeping
  • A P&L that told the wrong story
  • £7,000 Self Assessment bill on the horizo
  • No funds set aside for tax

He didn’t have an accountant. He had a tax historian.

The DentLedger Intervention — 3 Weeks to Full Clarity

When Dr. Sharma came to us, he wasn’t looking for “year-end accounts.” He wanted the truth about what was happening inside his business — and a system to stop financial surprises.
  • Schedule Now — in 30 minutes, you'll finally know where your margins are going.
3 Weeks to Complete Transformation

1. Rebuilt and Reconciled 24 Months of Books

  • NHS payments mapped to earned UDA periods
  • £53,720 reclassified from private to NHS income
  • Expenses allocated correctly across clinical, operational, and personal categories
  • Associate pay and drawings reconciled against treatment delivery

Outcome: For the first time, Dr. Sharma saw what was truly earned — not just received.

2. Created Clawback + Tax Exposure Accruals

  • Flagged £6,013 in upcoming clawback
  • Calculated true tax exposure for both January and July
  • Built in monthly tax savings plan aligned to cashflow
  • Updated balance sheet to reflect real-time liabilities
Outcome: No panic. No scramble. Tax and clawbacks now show up before they hit the account.

3. Moved from Historical to Real-Time Accounting

  • Monthly Xero reconciliation
  • NHS and private income tracking system
  • Real-time P&L dashboard
  • Personal drawings mapped to actual retained profit
Outcome: “I used to wait a year to find out how I did. Now I know by the end of the month.”

Before & After Snapshot

Area Before DentLedger After 3 Weeks
Bookkeeping
Annual, reactive
Monthly, real-time
Clawback Risk
Hidden
Flagged & forecasted
NHS Income
Misclassified
Mapped to performance
Personal Tax
Paid reactively
Forecasted and planned
Financial Confidence
Low
Total visibility

Financial Impact Visualization

Financial Impact Visualization

"It wasn't just about money. I stopped waking up at 3am wondering what I could draw, or if another clawback would blindside me. DentLedger didn't just fix my books — they gave me back control."
"I've had the same accountant for 6 years. Nice guy. But I now realise he was just recording the past. DentLedger showed me how to run the business with foresight."

Strategic Decisions Enabled by the Clean-Up

Once Dr. Sharma had full clarity, he could make informed strategic decisions:

Paused Associate Hiring

Of interest, penalties, and surprise tax bills

Fixed Drawing Schedule

Shifted to weekly fixed drawings based on retained earnings

Tax Planning

Began setting aside 12% of revenue monthly for tax + clawback

Incorporation Planning

Started preparing to incorporate into a limited company

These were decisions he could never have made using only year-end accounts.

What Happened Next?

With DentLedger managing the books, Dr. Sharma was ready for something bigger: Strategy, forecasting, and wealth-building.

DentPulse Integration

We introduced him to our sister platform — DentPulse — a complete financial operating system for dentists.
Read Part 2 of Dr. Sharma's Journey
From Tax Panic to Total Clarity — Without Changing a Single Patient

Worried It's Too Much Hassle to Switch?

Common Concern

"They already know my practice"

Time Worry

"I don't have time to change over"

Cost Concern

"It'll cost more to clean up my books"

Here's the truth:

We Handle Everything

We manage the full transition for you

Time Worry

"I don't have time to change over"

Cost Concern

"It'll cost more to clean up my books"

Get the Dental Accounting You Deserve

If your accountant files your tax return — but can't explain:

  • How much clawback you owe
  • What you've really earned
  • What you can safely draw

…it’s time to upgrade.

Book a Free Accounts Health Review

You’ll walk away with a diagnostic — and peace of mind.
Start Your Free Health Check

Starting with a deep dive into your dental practice’s finances, we uncover cash flow leaks, optimize profits, and build a roadmap for lasting financial success—all with DentPulse’s proven system- Dentledger version of this

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