First Five Years Self-Employed (Associate Dentists)

First Five Years Self-Employed (Associate Dentists) Decorative border line

Course Schedule

Course Schedule

Every week
Fee & Finance Option

Fee & Finance Option

No finance option, Payment required in full.
Study Option

Study Option

Payment Option

Study Option

Course Code: 0203

Course Price: £300

here Text

Description

Stop losing tens of thousands of pounds to mistakes nobody taught you in dental school. First Five Years Self-Employed is the structured money management course built specifically for UK associate dentists in their first five years of self-employed practice, the period when financial decisions made under time pressure compound for decades. This is not a generic personal finance course. It is the dentistry-specific education that nothing else on the UK market provides at this depth, and the gap costs the average associate £15,000-£25,000 in their first profitable year alone.

You qualified to be a clinician. You did not sign up to be your own accountant, your own pension trustee, your own mortgage broker, and your own HR department. But the day you finished Foundation Training and signed your first associate contract, you became all of those things. Most associates work this out the hard way, over breakfast on the morning of 31 January, when their first proper Self Assessment bill clears £25,000 and lands the same day as a payment on account doubling it. Or three years in, when a mortgage application reveals their accountant's expense claims have just halved their borrowing power. Or when they incorporate because someone said it was clever and lose their NHS Pension contributions in the process.

Across three structured modules, this course closes the gap between clinical training and the real financial mechanics of UK self-employment. You will leave with a working tax-pot percentage tied to your actual numbers, a deliberate position on sole trader versus limited company structure (with the squat-practice deep-dive nothing else on the market provides), a complete personal protection audit, and a written five-year plan covering associate progression, mortgage readiness, and practice ownership. By the end you will not be hoping you have got it right. You will know.

Topics that will be covered:

  • Foundations & Business Structures: sole trader vs limited company in depth, with the squat-practice scenario nothing else on the market addresses, capital allowances, director's loan accounts, the NHS Pension Scheme limitation that drives most performer-listed founders to a hybrid structure
  • The UK Tax System for Associates: Self-Assessment cycle, the £25,000+ first-year tax surprise, payments on account, the £100,000 personal allowance taper that creates a 60% effective marginal rate band, and how to plan around it
  • Limited Company Taxation
  • Allowable Expenses for Clinicians
  • NHS Pension Scheme for Performers
  • The Clinician Protection Portfolio
  • ISAs, LISAs and SIPPs
  • Self-Employed Mortgages
  • Practice Ownership and Squat Practice Setup
  • Self-Employed Life Events

How long is the course:

The course is self-paced but is expected to be completed within 6 months. Three structured modules with practical activities producing real outputs you keep using, tax pot calibrated to your actual numbers, expense tracker, protection audit, written five-year plan.

Delivery Methods:

Online

Entry Requirements:

Designed for self-employed UK associate dentists in their first five years of practice. Open to Foundation Dentists planning their move into self-employment, associates at any stage of their first five years, locum dentists, and speciality trainees balancing self-employed clinical work with training. No prior financial knowledge required.

Contact Us

Train your whole dental team from one place. One academy. One invoice. One quality standard. Whether you're a trainee booking your first course or a principal coordinating training for twelve people, talk to admissions, and we'll build the right pathway with you.

Get the Spade Dental Briefing — twice a month

Practical updates on NEBDN, CQC, GDC, and NHS dentistry — sent straight to your inbox. Plus first access to new courses and Spade events. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

Includes: NEBDN 2026 Quick Guide