Accounting/Invoice Software

[Scott P]

Hi

Me and my Brother are Joint Directors of a Limited Company (that will begin trading Sep 1st, my brother has been running as a sole trader for 2 years nearly).
The business is mainly internet based, buying and selling on websites (not our own just yet) and on eBay. Most payments are made through PayPal, but we also have a fair few overseas paid directly into a Business Bank Account. A very small amount is Cash payments which are logged on a petty cash spreadsheet.
At the moment we manually produce Invoices/Packing slips, either from downloading the PayPal data to Excel or copying from emails. This takes up a lot of time, and is quite frankly boring!
Also, the Sole trader accounts are prepared for the accountant in Excel (with data downloaded from PayPal and HSBC through Excel) and are pretty simple as we are not VAT registered (The Limited Company will be from the start). I don’t think Excel would have the flexibility we need.

So basically, can anyone recommend a good Combined Accounting and Invoicing package, for either Free or Very cheap, that we can help us grow easily?
Key features would be:

Straight Forward Accounting for Limited Company (Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Director Loan Accounts etc)
Good Invoicing Facility
Stock List Facility (we have hundreds of individual items in stock at any 1 time)
And possibly the ability to import from the file types PayPal and HSBC use for their transaction downloads.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[mung]

i can suggest contraccounts.com, they have invoicing and an API where you can automate the bookkeeping process via integration (pretty easy too), however im sorry to say that it does not support the LTD company as it does not have payroll functions. you would have to open an account for your the LTD company, set the income tax levels to 28% (corporate tax rate) to work out how much corp tax to pay, then set up a separate account for each employee.

i would just find a payroll package that supports paypal import, quickbooks?

[china]

hi what's ur products, and where is your market
thanks!
Hi

Me and my Brother are Joint Directors of a Limited Company (that will begin trading Sep 1st, my brother has been running as a sole trader for 2 years nearly).
The business is mainly internet based, buying and selling on websites (not our own just yet) and on eBay. Most payments are made through PayPal, but we also have a fair few overseas paid directly into a Business Bank Account. A very small amount is Cash payments which are logged on a petty cash spreadsheet.
At the moment we manually produce Invoices/Packing slips, either from downloading the PayPal data to Excel or copying from emails. This takes up a lot of time, and is quite frankly boring!
Also, the Sole trader accounts are prepared for the accountant in Excel (with data downloaded from PayPal and HSBC through Excel) and are pretty simple as we are not VAT registered (The Limited Company will be from the start). I don’t think Excel would have the flexibility we need.

So basically, can anyone recommend a good Combined Accounting and Invoicing package, for either Free or Very cheap, that we can help us grow easily?
Key features would be:

Straight Forward Accounting for Limited Company (Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account, Director Loan Accounts etc)
Good Invoicing Facility
Stock List Facility (we have hundreds of individual items in stock at any 1 time)
And possibly the ability to import from the file types PayPal and HSBC use for their transaction downloads.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[David Griffiths]

So basically, can anyone recommend a good Combined Accounting and Invoicing package, for either Free or Very cheap, that we can help us grow easily?


Can you define what you mean by very cheap? That will save people making recommendations on something that you consider horrendously expensve, like the poster who thought a one off of £90 was way overpriced.

Does it have to be a single payment, or is a monthly subscription for an online service OK?

[Scott P]

Mung - Thanks for that, will have a look into it. Shame it does not really support LTD Accounts.

China - Why do you need to know that?

David Griffiths - Good questions, I suppose £100 one off payment would be the maximum really, but I suppose if the software is really good then it would be worth paying for.
Not sure about Online Accounting. Our account says he would not access it anyway so I suppose there isn't really any need.

What are the other benefits?

Thanks for your replies!

[china]

i want to know what you sell, and do you have market in china, i am thinking about looking for a job online as agent, currently, i am a sole agent, hope you dont mind me asking about it, i am just checking and see if i could get a chance, hehe

Mung - Thanks for that, will have a look into it. Shame it does not really support LTD Accounts.

China - Why do you need to know that?

David Griffiths - Good questions, I suppose £100 one off payment would be the maximum really, but I suppose if the software is really good then it would be worth paying for.
Not sure about Online Accounting. Our account says he would not access it anyway so I suppose there isn't really any need.

What are the other benefits?

Thanks for your replies!

[MyAccountantOnline]

Not sure about Online Accounting. Our account says he would not access it anyway so I suppose there isn't really any need.


Thats a shame because if you are doing your own bookkeeping, and want a package with the features you mention an online package would have probably been a really good option for you.

If your accountant is relunctant to use such a package you may be best to speak with him/her and use a package they are familiar with and will work with. This is fairness is best anyway for many reasons - they may also be able to offer you a discount on a package they use/recommend.

[Scott P]

china - I guessed as much! We do not currently have a market in China but are looking at it, what sort of agent work would you be doing?

Nicola J - I don't think he would have an issue with it, plus I suppose he doesn't have to look at it for it to be worthwhile. Can you recommend any that has all the features?
I am going in to the accountants today, mine is on holiday but we have a contact to speak to while he is away.

Thanks

[china]

sell fashion things online, my boss and i are thinking about what products could be popular in european market, could you give me some suggestions? i have to ask my business friends in china for help too, i need to find out what foreign products sell well in china
haha
china - I guessed as much! We do not currently have a market in China but are looking at it, what sort of agent work would you be doing?

Nicola J - I don't think he would have an issue with it, plus I suppose he doesn't have to look at it for it to be worthwhile. Can you recommend any that has all the features?
I am going in to the accountants today, mine is on holiday but we have a contact to speak to while he is away.

Thanks

[David Griffiths]

No simple bookkeeping package, as yet, will produce company accounts in a format that can be filed at Companies House. The disclosure requirements are just too complex, and even then users need to know what they are doing to make sure that expenses are entered to the right places to produce correct accounts. It doesn't mean that a simple package can't be used for the bookkeeping however.

I asked about online accounts because they seem to be stronger on importing details. Most of them will import data downloaded from your online banking, so that you don't have to key data in manually. They will also import PayPal transactions. All you do is review the imported transactions and allocate to the correct accounts code, but the systems can also be set up with rules that do this automatically on recurring items.

It doesn't really matter if your accountant accesses it or not, although if he does it gives him information which could help give you tax projections as you go through the year. Bit of a strange attitude, these days.

The main benefit will be in the time savings that you achieve through this. There are other arguments both for and against hosted solutions.

Both AccountsPortal (£8 per month) and Xero (£12.95 per month up to 4000 annual transactions) will hold stock list items, and allow import of files from online banking. Xero can be set up so that feeds from HSBC are automatically imported to your accounts on a daily basis, as can feeds from PayPal. There is a small monthly fee for this. KashFlow is another popular package.

On standalone software, I'm not sure that there is anything at your price point, which is bargain basement end of the market. As far as I can see Solar Accounts doesn't have the stock lists.

Amazon are offering Quickbooks Pro for £175 - Simplestart won't be any use to you because it is very restricted.

[MyAccountantOnline]

Nicola J - I don't think he would have an issue with it, plus I suppose he doesn't have to look at it for it to be worthwhile. Can you recommend any that has all the features?


One of my favourite online packages is Accounts Portal http://www.accountsportal.com/ but you need to check with them about your stock reporting requirements.

[David Griffiths]

I'll just clarify on the stock list features in the two packages that I mentioned.

There is no stock control as such - that's where the system records purchases and sale of each individual item, so that you can see what is on hand at any given time. That takes a lot of settting up, and might not justify the time where the items are a load of one offs

By stock lists, I mean that you can allocate a code, description and price for stock items, and recall these when doing your sales invoices. For examply code ABC01 might refer to a super widget mark 5, at £10. When invoicing, enter code ABC01, and 5 units and the invoice is populated with description and prices (prices can be overwritten)

It won't tell you that you have 246 super widgets in stock. There are packages that do that, but £100 is nowhere near enough. Online, E-comonic has a module for stock

[johndon68]

Depending on your definition of cheap, this may not fit your criteria but Sage Instant Accounts Plus along with Tradebox Finance Manager www.tradebox.uk.com (http://www.tradebox.uk.com) covers your requirements for accounts/invoicing, stock control and integration with eBay.

John

[Accountsportal]

Thank you Nicola and David for the mention.

David is 100% correct - we offer price list items for you to add items to invoices quickly and easily. We dont yet offer full blown stock control, and you will not be able to track your stock levels at the moment. But I can confirm that tracking stock levels is in development and we hope to have something out pretty soon.

[Scott P]

Right,

I have had a quick look at those programs/facilities. They all seem pretty good.
I have decided that I will pay a bit more (£200-£250) if I can get all the facilities.

Something I have seen through QuickBooks is the VAT return, eFile I think they call it, would this save a lot of time? I have not had to do a VAT return yet so I am unsure how much work is involved.

The stock list facility would be very good. we have quite a few individual one off items, but are starting to get large volumes of the same item, so it will come in handy.

Online or not will work. I would like to be able to email invoices with details on how to pay (PayPal/Bank Transfer) One of the programs allowed email of invoice with payement by PayPal or Credit card (through paypals merchant services)

Thanks and sorry for all the questions!

[David Griffiths]

Something I have seen through QuickBooks is the VAT return, eFile I think they call it, would this save a lot of time? I have not had to do a VAT return yet so I am unsure how much work is involved.

All of the programs will produce a VAT return for you. It's then a question of logging on to the HMRC site and entering the numbers - about 7 boxes have to be completed.

Efiling for VAT will save you a small amount of time, but doesn't importing bank statements and PayPal will save you a whole lot more time, and I'm not sure that Quickbooks has that facility. (We're still waiting for our copy of 2010)



Online or not will work. I would like to be able to email invoices with details on how to pay (PayPal/Bank Transfer) One of the programs allowed email of invoice with payement by PayPal or Credit card (through paypals merchant services)

Thanks and sorry for all the questions!

Quickbooks, and the online versions that I've mentioned, will email invoices. However Xero will put a link on the invoices so that immediate payment can be made online to your PayPal account. Not sure about AccountsPortal in that respect - I'm looking at it currently.

[Accountsportal]

Not sure about AccountsPortal in that respect - I'm looking at it currently.
You cant put a link on our PDF invoices at the moment, but thats something that we can build in very quickly.

[billie1]

I think Quickbooks will be very suited to your needs. It's user friendly, you don't need any accounting knowledge to understand it. It also has multicurrrency features.

[Williams lester]

I think Quickbooks will be very suited to your needs. It's user friendly, you don't need any accounting knowledge to understand it. It also has multicurrrency features.

But it doesn't have an automatic bank statement import...unless you know otherwise!

[mit74]

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=163792

[Scott P]

David Griffiths - Right, like you say then, the importing of statements from PayPal and will be more important than the VAT return.

Accountsportal - How soon can you have this implemented? This would definately sell it to me. Also, is there any chance to include a part of the invoice for Bank Transfer instructions?
In terms of the stock list, so I could have a list stating how many items I have, so for example. 50 Item A and 20 Item B, but when I produce and invoice for 30 Item A and 10 Item, these will not be deducted from my stock list, so I would have to manually update it?
If that is the case, I don't think it would be too much of a problem, as long as we keep it updated ourselves.

I am very interested in Accounts Portal. Are there no limits to the amount of invoices etc? And Can I import PayPal as well as my HSBC accounts. Paypal downloads to a csv file just like HSBC.
Ideally I want to be able to do this daily, first thing on a morning so that I can then produce my Invoices and get things shipped out. What details would the software import from PayPal?

Thanks and sorry for all the questions!

[Scott P]

Oh and another thing, will it work well with the LTD company accounts, for directors loans, pay roll etc

Thanks

[Accountsportal]

Hi Scott,

A couple of answers for you:



Also, is there any chance to include a part of the invoice for Bank Transfer instructions? Yes, you can have customised text on a per invoice basis, and/or on a global basis. You can put any text that you want in either area.



In terms of the stock list, so I could have a list stating how many items I have, so for example. 50 Item A and 20 Item B, but when I produce and invoice for 30 Item A and 10 Item, these will not be deducted from my stock list, so I would have to manually update it? We'd like to take this a few steps further - any times purchased via a purchase invoice will automatically increment the stock, and any items sold via a sales invoice will automatically decrease the stock. i.e. No manual updating will be necessary. We will also have a stock list so that you can check the stock levels at any time, and view the change in stock over any period. We dont typically like to release time frames for features, but we hope to have this out in a few (2-4) weeks.



Are there no limits to the amount of invoices etc? There are no limits on anything in AccountsPortal, whether it be invoices, customers, users, etc.



And Can I import PayPal as well as my HSBC accounts. Paypal downloads to a csv file just like HSBC. Ideally I want to be able to do this daily, first thing on a morning so that I can then produce my Invoices and get things shipped out. What details would the software import from PayPal? You can import your bank statements from any CSV file, up to a maximum of 6 columns and 1000 rows of information at a time. The importer learns over time, and automatically creates import rules - this means that future statements can be processed much quicker. Note, however, that at you can only import to bank statements, and not directly to your sales invoices.




Oh and another thing, will it work well with the LTD company accounts, for directors loans, pay roll etc Yep, we are specifically set up for UK LTD companies, so it would be fine in this regard. You have full access to a chart of accounts, so you can set up multiple directors loan accounts if you wish. Payroll is not integrated, and would have to be done via manual journal entries.


There is a free 30 day trial, so feel free to have a play around in the meantime.

One last item - we dont provide accounting/bookkeeping advice per se, but there are very good accountants on these forums, whose services you may be interested in. Some of them may even be able to arrange for a discounted price on AccountsPortal for you. ;)

[Scott P]

Accountsportal - thanks for that. My first question has not been addressed, but I don't think it was clear, when do you think you will have the link to PayPal direct payments? This would be very good for me.

Thanks!

PS if any of the accounts want to PM me, that's no problem.

[Batra Ventures UK Limited]

Try Quickbooks Premier, its available from TPB at hugely discounted prices :p

[Accountsportal]

Accountsportal - thanks for that. My first question has not been addressed, but I don't think it was clear, when do you think you will have the link to PayPal direct payments? This would be very good for me.

Thanks!

PS if any of the accounts want to PM me, that's no problem.

Whoops, I thought you were referring to the time frame for implementing stock control.

We can get a link on PDF invoices to PayPal accounts up by the end of this week.

[Williams lester]

Try Quickbooks Premier, its available from TPB at hugely discounted prices :p

Who or what is TPB?

[Scott P]

AccountsPortal - I am 99% sold, I just have 1 pretty big issue. How soon could you implement Invoices from PayPal data? the CSV file that is downloaded contains all the information needed.
This is very important for me as around 70% of my items are sold through PayPal (and around 50% of the PayPal are from eBay), so I do not really want the extra work of having to manually put the data into your program to produce an invoice.
If you can sort that for me in the next few weeks I will be signing up today!

Thanks

[Accountsportal]

Hi Scott, sent you a PM.

Regards,
Jon

[Scott P]

Just thought I would let you guys know, I have gone with AccountsPortal as their service is fantastic and they are willing to listen to customers about new features that will make your accounting and invoice process much smoother and quicker.

I suggest you give them a try!

Thanks to everyone else who helped out along the way as well!

[Williams lester]

Just thought I would let you guys know, I have gone with AccountsPortal as their service is fantastic and they are willing to listen to customers about new features that will make your accounting and invoice process much smoother and quicker.

I suggest you give them a try!

Thanks to everyone else who helped out along the way as well!

Have to agree with the above, it is a fantastic product at an incredibly low price for the functionality it has. We recommend it to all our clients.

[online invoice]

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