Too many accountants give bad advice.
I have come across so many that I now believe that they just can't be bothered to give the right advice because it means they have to do some work to help their client,
The commonest example is that "unless you have a receipt you can't claim it as an expense". I've always said this is utter rubbish but up until recently have never been able to quote someone who agrees with me.
Thank goodness for TaxCafe
Their article, Top Ten Forgotten or Missed Deductions, states
"Lost the paperwork or never had it? Don’t give up – tell your accountant about it. Just because you’re missing a receipt doesn’t mean the expense can’t be claimed. There are other ways to prove the expenditure took place and HMRC will not usually refuse reasonable claims."
Thank you TaxCafe for confirming my views but more importantly for saving self employed taxpayers £000s in tax.