I'm thinking of going self-employed but worried about the book-keeping and paperwork?

I'm facing redundancy and thinking of going self-employed. I'll obviously have to get myself an accountant, but i really don't know where to start with all the things that i'll need to do. I've asked my friend who has been self-employed for years and she said there's not much to it, but she's good with numbers and i'm not. Is it a total headache?