Running a business as a neurodiverse founder can be a wild mix of brilliance and burnout, especially when it comes to making (and then reporting) the money you’ve earned.

For those of us with ADHD or dyslexia, business finances can feel like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle without the picture on the box.

I wanted to know whether I was the only founder still scrambling in August to figure out expenses due at the end of August (right before a holiday, naturally). So I found myself Googling, “how to get some bloody help with year-end expense reporting as a neurodiverse founder”

If you’ve done the same, then hello 👋 you’re my people.

That’s exactly how I found Double Digit Bookkeeping, the team who finally broke my annual loop of “panic, recover, repeat” — the one where I’d cram a whole year’s worth of accounts into one panic-fuelled week, vow to stay on top of it next time, and still find myself next August, knee-deep in receipts wondering how we got here again.

I read one line on their site, “We recognise that managing finances can be overwhelming, so we focus on creating a supportive environment” and thought:

…finally, someone gets it.

I then looked into the most common financial stressors for neurodiverse founders — and spoiler: I am very much not alone.

I thought it might be helpful to pen the top five things that trip up ADHD and dyslexic business owners…and how working with Double Digit helped me get my financial footing back.

1. Time awareness on overdrive: when you know exactly how long you’ve got — and still leave it till the last minute

ADHD and dyslexia can both play funny games with time.

For some, it’s slippery and hard to track, but for others (especially women and those diagnosed later in life), there’s a flip side: hyper-awareness.

I can sense when three minutes have passed, wake up seconds before my alarm, and still somehow end up doing my year-end expenses at the eleventh hour.

It’s not because I don’t know the deadline — I feel it looming for weeks beforehand.

I just can’t make myself start something that feels so utterly joyless. So I hit snooze on my todo, hit snooze, hit snooze, until my snowball of receipts resembles Mount Everest.

Every August, while everyone on my Instagram is seemingly sipping rosé in the sun, I’m sprinting through spreadsheets before I can take my holiday (…and then spending the holiday recovering from spreadsheet fatigue, my annual tax-season trauma)

What helped:
When I had a virtual coffee with Sophie from Double Digit, she didn’t treat my timing quirks like a flaw to fix. She just smiled and said, “You’re further ahead than you think.”

That one sentence released a year’s worth of shame. Together, we built a realistic plan that works with how my brain actually functions.

Small, doable steps that keep things moving without the August panic.

2. The “fun-task” bias

If it’s not fun, my brain files it under “later.” That’s how expense tracking ends up somewhere between “descale the kettle” and “rewrite my LinkedIn bio” on my to-do list.

It’s not that I’m unaware of time, I’m painfully aware. I can tell when three minutes have passed without looking at the clock. But when a task doesn’t give me any dopamine, it just…doesn’t get started.

What helped:
Sophie and her team got it instantly. No judgment, no “you should be more disciplined.” Just solutions that made sense for how my brain works — like simplifying tools, breaking tasks into micro-goals, and taking away the admin guilt I’d been carrying for years.

3. Executive function vs. admin avalanche

As a dyslexic and ADHD founder, I’m brilliant at ideas and allergic to repetition. My brain thrives on variety over verifying receipts.

So the receipts pile up.

My folders looked more like a collage project than bookkeeping.

What helped:
Double Digit helped me get unstuck. They introduced me to WellyBox (game-changer), which automatically pulls receipts from emails and files them for you. Then the lovely Justine went through and matched them to my bank transactions.

Watching that backlog “magically” disappear felt like someone finally lifted a two-ton weight off my shoulders. Thank you Justine.

4. Financial overwhelm and decision fatigue

Between fluctuating income, tax deadlines, and trying to understand “what counts as an expense,” the mental load can pile up fast. Sometimes spreadsheets feel like they’re shouting at you in a language you never learned.

What helped:
Double Digit took away the mental noise. Their transparency, regular check-ins, and non-judgemental tone meant I could finally breathe. It wasn’t just bookkeeping — it was wellbeing support disguised as numbers.

5. The dyslexic dread: reading contracts, proposals, or fine print

If you’ve ever skimmed a contract and immediately needed a nap, you’ll understand this one. As a dyslexic founder, I’ve signed things I’ve felt I read thoroughly, only to realise later that I’d missed the sneaky small print in font size five.

What helped:
Double Digit’s proposal was clear, human, and free from jargon. I didn’t have to decode it like a riddle, they even talked me through it over Zoom.

Sophie walked me through what was included and what wasn’t, and for the first time, I felt safe signing something financial.

6. Forgetfulness and short-term memory fog

When your brain’s juggling five tabs of ideas at once, the simple stuff can vanish. You tell yourself you’ll remember that invoice, that password, that thing your accountant said — and ten minutes later, it’s gone.

For neurodiverse founders, that forgetfulness isn’t carelessness; it’s how our brains protect themselves from overload. The details just slip through the cracks.

What helped:
Double Digit never made me feel flaky, they simply gave me a friendly nudge to check-in or see if I needed a helping hand getting something over the line.

They’re also totally fine with me recording calls so I can replay key details later. That kind of understanding makes a huge difference. It turns a potentially stressful conversation into one I can actually absorb, at my own pace.

Why I chose to invest in support (and why it’s the best business decision I’ve made)

This year, in addition to my neurospicy brain feeling overwhelmed, I went through major surgery for endometriosis. Physically and mentally, I just didn’t have the bandwidth to face a year’s worth of receipts over the summer.

So, I did something different. I decided to invest in my wellbeing instead of punishing myself for being “bad with numbers.”

That decision, to ask for help, meant I could focus on recovery and creativity while someone I trusted handled the financial structure behind my business.

Working with Double Digit has been the most judgment-free experience I’ve had as a founder. They’re like bookkeepers that also feel like a mate — the kind that helps you stay on top of things instead of watching you drown in them.

If you’re a neurodiverse founder who finds bookkeeping overwhelming, please know this: you’re not disorganised, lazy, or incapable. Your brain just works differently. And there are people, like Sophie and her team, who actually understand that.

About the author

Sam Drew-Jones is a storyteller and brand voice crafter helping purpose-driven businesses craft websites and emails that sound and feel more like themselves.

Come have a cuppa at The Copy Salon and have your messaging turning heads on the virtual street.

Say hi on LinkedIn →


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