All about Avona.

01Our heritage

A safe pair of hands for over 40 years.

I'm Stephen Burnside, and for over 40 years, I’ve operated as a Chartered Accountant, running Burnside Chartered Accountants in Bristol.

Throughout my career, my role has always been to act as a 'safe pair of hands' for my clients—hardworking tradespeople, freelance consultants, and landlords who are brilliant at what they do, but understandably hate administrative work.

02The mandate

A digital tax cliff edge.

When the government announced the Making Tax Digital (MTD) mandate, I knew my clients were heading toward a cliff edge. The annual tax return was stressful enough; now they were being asked to send quarterly updates too.

My immediate reaction was to find a software solution to protect them. I sat down and extensively tested every major accounting platform on the market. I desperately wanted to find a simple, honest tool I could confidently recommend to keep them compliant. But I couldn't find one.

03The search for a solution

The market failure.

What I found instead was what I call 'financial cockpits.' These incumbent platforms are incredibly powerful, but they are built by accountants, for accountants. When I logged in, I was bombarded with confusing jargon—journals, general ledgers, and nominal codes.

Worse, for my clients who were both sole traders and landlords, these platforms couldn't easily separate the two income streams without complex, frustrating workarounds. To add insult to injury, the monthly subscription prices for these overly complex tools just kept going up year after year.

04The epiphany

Small businesses need protection, not exploitation.

It felt dishonest. The software industry was exploiting a government mandate to force small business owners into bloated, expensive systems they didn't understand and didn't need. My clients didn't want to learn double-entry bookkeeping; they just wanted to record a van repair and get back to their lives.

I realised that if the market wasn't going to protect them, I would have to. They didn't need a financial cockpit; they needed an 'Anti-Spreadsheet.'

That’s why I built Avona.

05The Avona solution

Fill it in, clear the board, and be done.

We didn't enter this busy marketplace to be flashy 'disruptors.' We built Avona out of a professional duty to help. We created the 'Done-Board'—a platform that securely connects to your bank, removes the accounting jargon, and lets you drag and drop your expenses into plain-English buckets. It handles the complex regulatory mathematics entirely in the background, keeping you safe and compliant.

At Avona, our philosophy is simple: tax shouldn't be a stressful event. You should just be able to fill it in, clear your board, and be done.

06Am I real?

Am I real? Very. Just a little more colourful.

A real business. Real people. Occasionally illustrated hair. We love the fun, friendly feel of our illustrations — and there are actual humans behind them.

Avona is a real business, built by real people who care about making your tax admin simpler. Behind the illustrations is Stephen Burnside, a Chartered Accountant with over 40 years of experience, and the people bringing Avona to life.

We use illustrations because accounting already has enough grey in it. A splash of colour and a bit of personality make our corner of the internet feel more welcoming. We take the work seriously. We like our pictures to have a little fun.

So yes, you can talk to us. We exist outside the drawing, and we'd love to hear from you.