Field notes

Guides

Worked examples and real numbers — no filler. Written from first-hand experience building and automating with these exact tools.

Do you pay tax on side project income in the UK? The £1,000 rule, explained with real numbers

When template sales, bounty payouts and other side income become taxable, what the £1,000 trading allowance actually covers, the 5 October registration deadline, and the merchant-of-record wrinkle nobody writes about.

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A Polar + Next.js template for selling digital downloads (no database)

What it actually takes to build a digital-download storefront on Polar.sh with Next.js — the checkout route, file delivery, the parts everyone forgets — and a template that skips all of it.

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Gumroad vs Polar fees in 2026: the actual maths for developers

Both are merchants of record now, so the real difference is fees and workflow. Exact 2026 rates, worked examples at $5, $19 and $49 price points, and the payout fee nobody mentions.

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Selling digital products with Polar.sh and Next.js: the no-Gumroad setup

How to run your own digital product storefront with Polar.sh handling checkout, VAT, and file delivery — including why we picked it over Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy.

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How to set your freelance day rate in the UK (with actual maths)

Why dividing a salary by 260 days underprices you, and the four numbers that give you a defensible UK day rate.

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Running Claude Code on a schedule with Windows Task Scheduler

How to run headless Claude Code sessions automatically on Windows — permissions, skills, and the gotchas we hit setting up a twice-daily automation loop.

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