Easy accounting software for a shop

[Tackled]

Hello all,

Hoping someone can help :)

I have had a shop (my first ever business :D) now for over a year and to get my head around daily bookeeping my accountant provided me with a really easy to use spreadsheet to keep record of my daily accounts - takings, purchases etc.
This has been really good up until now - But it really is very basic and doesn't do the real number crunching at the end of each month/VAT quarter that I need it to do.
This may sound awfully lazy but with the running of the actual & online shop, there is the after hours prep work we have to do
(we are a fishing tackle & bait shop) and baits are like pets believe it or not (they need a lot of attention!), 12 hrs 7 days a week, and bringing up and entertaining a 2yr old! - anything that would make the paperwork less time consuming would be a great help

At this time I am trying to do the usual quarterly VAT return and after 3 days of figures I'm back on here looking for an easier solution!

I have read on the forums here and tried suggested accounting software but they seem to be aimed at businesses that produce invoices before payment - whereas I have a shop where people obviously come in, choose and buy (Oh and I also have an online shop which works more or less the same ) - simple! But I can't find anything that works for shops.

So in brief I need something which allows me to:
Enter daily takings (Cash and cards, online payments - some VAT exempts)
Enter normal outgoings (utilities, payments, drawings etc)
Enter purchases (I have about 50 suppliers)
Enter Banking (to watch my spending!)
Works out VAT returns etc
And any other all singing & dancing magic tricks to make my life easier!

Is there such software that can do this?

Looking at current products - I really do not want to be spending more than around £50 for this as it doesn't need to be anything fancy - other than the brain work!

So far I have tried - KASHFLOW & INSTANT ADMIN. - both far too complex and aimed at businesses that need to generate invoices.

I need simple/inputting for dummies & needs to do the points above

Many thanks for reading this lengthy thread & here's hoping!

Tackled

[MyAccountantOnline]

You really ought to go back to your accountant with this one - they should be helping you.

I do appreciate entirely what you say, especially about time - we all only have so much in a day and bookkeeping for many people comes at the bottom of the list:) Also many packages, as you say, give so many features which you just dont need.

Have you ever looked at VT cashbook? If not do have a look. It is very quick and easy to use, and will satisfy all of your requirements. It's free as well.

http://www.vtsoftware.co.uk/cashbook/index.htm

I recommend most of my clients to look at it and have a lot of them that use it now because it is so simple to use and just does the job of crunching the numbers and running the VAT return each quarter. I like it too as an accountant because it makes my job easier!

[Tackled]

Thank you Nicola,

I saw in an earlier thread you posted the vtsoftware link.

I am having a go with it now - believe me it is easier for me to find (and cheaper!) something to sort out my daily accounting.

Do you know much about the vtsoftware?

I have read all the notes and as I understand it you use the "bank account" pages as your daily spreadsheets, yes?

I named a bank account sheet "February 2010" and entered all my outgoings (suppliers, expenses, wages etc) although the VAT element does not show for the whole sheet when you close but does if you open each transaction individually? - this may be something I need to "activate" to show? - oh, I'll keep playing!

not entered the sales/takings part yet as these are split into the following

Standard rate sales
VAT exempt
Gift Vouchers Sales (which I do not normal VAT include)
Gift Vouchers In (I include these now for VAT)

Then I have online transactions which are Standard Rate.

And then finally the physical money/cheques I bank
And the Card & Paypal Transaction

And I'm not sure how I can input all of that too?!

Any further advice would be much appreciated but other than that Nicola thanks for the link as it is of more use to me than a lot of the other accounting software than is out there - and the "free" element is a brucey bonus :D

Thanks again

Tackled

[MyAccountantOnline]

VT cashbook simply records payments and receipts as you make them - often the easiest way to post transactions is from your bank statements. When you enter the payments and receipts you record the VAT payable/that which you are claiming, and you can run a VAT return at any time to see what VAT is due/repayable.

The VT userguide is really good - its worth having a read before going too far. Theirs a link to it on the same page as where you download the software.

[alexandrajames(uk)ltd]

Alternatively you may wish to send your spreadsheets to your accountant who may be able to give you meaningfull information.

Are you trading as a LTD co or sole trader?

The other option is to ascertain after monthly stock take what was the value of VATable stock sold and account for VAT payable, as you would already have VAT purchases availiable

[Duke Fame]

Are you worried about keeping your stock records?

[Accountsportal]

Hi Tackled,

AccountsPortal (http://www.accountsportal.com) is an online accounting solution that aims to be really simple and easy to use. No need to enter invoices (unless you want to of course) - everything can be entered directly into your bank account/s. And your quarterly VAT will be calculated for you.

It costs £8 per month, which is somewhat above your budget, but we trust that the functionality provides good value for money.

You get a free 30 day trial, so you can have a good look at the system before making any commitments.

[MyAccountantOnline]

Hi Tackled,

AccountsPortal (http://www.accountsportal.com) is an online accounting solution that aims to be really simple and easy to use. No need to enter invoices (unless you want to of course) - everything can be entered directly into your bank account/s. And your quarterly VAT will be calculated for you.

It costs £8 per month, which is somewhat above your budget, but we trust that the functionality provides good value for money.

You get a free 30 day trial, so you can have a good look at the system before making any commitments.


Hi Jon

What would your software offer Tackled that VT cashbook doesnt give him?

I really struggle to see why someone such as Tackled would want to pay a monthly fee for software when they can get something which fulfils their requirements for nothing?

Thanks

Nicola

[MyAccountantOnline]

Hi Jon

What would your software offer Tackled that VT cashbook doesnt give him?

Thanks

Nicola


I guess nothing??

[Accountsportal]

Thanks so much for the question Nicola. Sorry I couldnt answer quite as fast as you wanted.

As Tacked asked he is looking for, inter alia, "And any other all singing & dancing magic tricks to make my life easier!"

Far be it for me to suggest what those all singing and dancing magic tricks may be, but yeah, we have some pretty cool features that may make his life easier.

I'm sure if Tackled was interested, then he would take a quick look at our website and decide whether those extra features (automatic backup, access from anywhere, bank statement import, multiple simultaneous users, etc, etc) would make his life easier or not, and whether thats worth the extra money or not.

If VT does indeed meet all his requirements, then great. But at least he knows that there are options out there.

[MyAccountantOnline]

Thanks Jon

As an accountant in practice I see many people like Tackled who want something that simply records payments and receipts, and enables them to prepare a VAT return with minimal fuss and hassle, and very often they dont want to pay a monthly software fee. This is why I very often recommend VT cashbook as quite simply it does that, and is free.

I truly am not against using online packages at all, but for someone such as this I truly dont see any advantage to paying for a monthly online package.

Their are of course many software packages (not only online) on the market that will provide many additional features.

[Tackled]

Dear Nicola & Jon,

May I firstly correct you both and that "he" is infact a "She"! lol - I know you weren't to know!

OK then, I have downloaded the VT cashbook - and so far so good - as Nicola quite rightly points out - I am merely a shop - I don't need any fancy accounting package and upto now VT really does seem to be what I was after.

As for "all singing & dancing bonuses" I meant that if there was something that could do just the bits I actually needed and then I found it was able to do something that would be of benefit (for example I take PayPal payments and I have found some can incorporate these payments at the click of a button) then this would be a bonus - but is NOT important as I would just like something to make daily bookkeeping a little easier.

I would have probably been happy to pay for the software if I'd have needed to but as Nicola quite rightly says VT is free and is more than sufficient for my bookkeeping needs.

Next - for those that replied to say talk to my accountant - Although I am very happy with the work they do and have worked exceptionally well for me during my first year in business, but I do find visiting them quite intimidating - I know this may sound a little strange as I'm constantly reminded that I am their "customer" but I do find myself listening and being bamboozled and not being confident in knowing what to ask. I know I'm not alone - I've spoken to friends in business and they say that you can be made to feel that you should know what they are talking about!

I have also visited my accountant today and they are on holiday - so I explained to the receptionist who said I have an accountant manager too (news to me!) and they would give me a call - I actually got an email from there "NEW" IT department who advised against VT cashbook as it's too basic and recommended I bought some SAGE package from them at blah cost - I replied to ask them to explain how this would benefit me more than VT cashbook which is free and is more than ample at handling my day to day bookkeeping? ( I have more confidence emailing questions obviously!)

I have yet to receive a reply!

I must say I actually understood Nicola's first reply immediately as she wrote in simple text - I am not sure whether this was intentionally done so that I would understand or if she is always clear with her explanations!

When my Husband and I bought this business we moved over 150 miles from our home and so we had no experience of business, local help, recommendations etc - but in the last few months I have been fortunate (through mother & baby groups) to meet not 1 but 2 accountants! I have asked one round tomorrow and she is coming to help with a few things - I may even ask her to be my accountant as I feel more comfortable talking to her!

So thanks to you all - especially Nicola ;)

I'm sure I will have another query soon - of which I'm sure you will be of great help again!

Regards

Tackled

[MyAccountantOnline]

Thank you very much.

I do hope all goes well with your new accountant.

Sadly some members of my profession still dont know how to talk to clients in plain English, and still try to sell Sage at ever oppurtunity:( We're not all the same though.

Good luck and thanks again:)

[Accountsportal]

Oops, apologies for the gender error :redface:

Its great that VT does everything that you need - in that case nothing can beat free!

As you quite correctly point out - having a good accountant that talks with you (and not at you) is critically important too.

Best of luck with everything.

[Jassythedog]

I also run a small shop which is also our first venture into business, I purchased Solar Accounts at £99 which does everything I need including calculating my VAT returns. You can download and get a 60 day free trial.

I can not paste the URL here but search for Solar Accounts in Google

I hope this helps

Tony

[Smarter Webdesign]

Hi Tackled,

AccountsPortal (http://www.accountsportal.com) is an online accounting solution that aims to be really simple and easy to use. No need to enter invoices (unless you want to of course) - everything can be entered directly into your bank account/s. And your quarterly VAT will be calculated for you.

It costs £8 per month, which is somewhat above your budget, but we trust that the functionality provides good value for money.

You get a free 30 day trial, so you can have a good look at the system before making any commitments.

I have been using this. It does the job and is straight forward :)

[Arithmo]

Hi Tackled

You may also like to consider www.arithmo.co.uk our online system is designed for the smaller business and has what we consider to be an easy to use interface. There is a no obligation 14 day trial with an annual cost of ony £45 including all support.

Thanks

Mike