Accounting package, but which one?

[An Oasis]

Hi

We are looking to transfer our accounts from Excel to another package. The wish list is

• Automatic VAT calcs
• Info on purchases value/worth, e.g. write down (I think that’s the phrase)
• Ability to view stats by subject, e.g. advertising spend, vehicle costs… By month, week…

We ideally want to be able to montor what we do easily. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[kayemdesign]

I believe Sage Line 50 v12 will do all this (and more)

 

[Joyous]

Sage will do this but the Line 50 version is probably overkill for your needs. Sage Instant or Instant plus will do the job just as well.

Also don't forget Kashflow, there are links to it all over this site. You get a free trial with it so that you can try before you buy.

Regards

Joy

 

[mtw]

I'd definitely recommend you take a look at Kashflow (www.kashflow.co.uk). It's the one I went to from spreadsheets and it makes my life so much easier. There's nothing to lose with the free trial and it's packed with easy to run reports on all aspects of the business. I'm a numbers duffer, so I needed something simple and this was the only package I tried that suited me. Just completed my VAT return using Kashflow reports and it took seconds!

HTH
Mark

 

[An Oasis]

Brilliant, thanks very much folks! I'll give KashFlow a test first.

 

[Bean Accounting]

Have a look at Bean Accounting. It is easy to use and has the added benefit of having your accounts and tax returns prepared automatically

 

Have a look at Bean Accounting. It is easy to use and has the added benefit of having your accounts and tax returns prepared automatically

Yes so you have told us in every post.

 

[Bean Accounting]

Yes so you have told us in every post.

I was only trying to help!

 

[KM-Tiger]

........ and has the added benefit of having your accounts and tax returns prepared automatically

Whose tax return? You mean it can do Ltd Co. accounts and personal tax returns for instance? Or do you mean a Corporation Tax return?

Is there a website link we can look at?

 

[Bean Accounting]

The software produces accounts for sole traders, parterships and limited companies. It also produces Corporation Tax Returns, Partnership Tax Returns and Self Assessment Income Tax returns, all of which can be filed online with HM Revenue and Customs.

 

[DuaneJackson]

The site is http://www.beanaccounting.co.uk/

And according to their FAQ:

I already have an accountant; can I still use the system?
With the Bean Accounting system there is no need for an accountant. The system will give you all you need to meet the statutory filing requirements for companies and the necessary tax returns.

Hmm. No matter which software I was using, I wouldn't want to run a business without an accountant.

 

[Bean Accounting]

Bean Accounting has the back up of a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants for all of your accounting and business issues and a Firm of Chartered Tax Advisors for all of your tax questions. Both of these are available to support all of a business needs at very reasonable monthly fixed costs.

 

[DuaneJackson]

Just my opinion - and perhaps a biased one considering I own KashFlow - but you might be better off seperating the accounting business from the software business. It's a little disingenuous to tell people they no longer need an accountant if they use your software when what you really mean is that they should use your own firm.

There's already a lack of transparency in this industry and being totally upfront about these things would, I believe, go in your favour.

 

[Bean Accounting]

Yes your opinion is a bit biased and a bit restrictive.

Bean Accounting gives people the option to do without having an accountant if they so chose.

Bean Accounting was not only set up with the purpose of offering a one stop shop for someone who does not want to pay for seperate accounting software and accountants fees, it was also set up for businesses that need the flexiblity of being able to enter and view their accounting information online.

The system is an integrated solution to provide a bookkeeping system, accounts and tax returns. Clients have the option to speak to Qualified accountants should the need arise.

There is nothing hidden in our total solution to businesses it has been set up as a solution for businesses that cannot afford to puchase expensive accounting software and pay an accountant.

I am sorry if I have offended you in any way!

 

[DuaneJackson]

No offence taken - I was just giving my opinion. Best of luck with it.

 

[Lisette]

Hi Mark

I had a look at your site - hopefully these comments will be helpful. First off, whilst I am not a copywriter, I did think that your first sentence on your home page was a bit wonky. Strange comma and does not read well. This seems a shame since the site was nicely presented etc. Second, I became quite confused about the offering. On the one hand, your comments here seem to imply that accountants have been replaced by software, but on the other hand your 'request a quote' section talks about needing to prepare accounts - which sounds like a human does it not a software programme. I sometimes find that a 'here's how it work's' section which talks in normal conversational language can be helpful when positioning a complex or unique offering. As it happens I am not on the look out for an accounting package and I have an accountant so may not be your target reader but on the otherhand, I thought since it sounds like you are fairly newly launched you might find the feedback helpful.

 

[SuffolkDesigns]

Hmm. No matter which software I was using, I wouldn't want to run a business without an accountant.

I agree, using software to help manage accounts could save you alot of money on accountancy bills as it makes their job easier, and also gives you a better oversight into how the company is doing financially, as well as a number of other benefits that vary from package to package.

Please note I use none of the above, I use a package designed by a local bank here in Estonia, and I also still use an accountant.

 

[KM-Tiger]

With the Bean Accounting system there is no need for an accountant. The system will give you all you need to meet the statutory filing requirements for companies and the necessary tax returns.

IMHO this is a very foolish notion.

The reason for a business to have an accountant is not to file returns - this is a simple mechanical process an accountant will delegate to a clerk anyway - but for the benefit of their knowledge/experience/expertise, particularly in the area of tax avoidance. I don't see how an online system can provide that.

In my own case, my accountant's expertise in an obscure area of tax allowances has saved me and my business thousands and thousands in taxation.

 

[Bean Accounting]

IMHO this is a very foolish notion.

The reason for a business to have an accountant is not to file returns - this is a simple mechanical process an accountant will delegate to a clerk anyway - but for the benefit of their knowledge/experience/expertise, particularly in the area of tax avoidance. I don't see how an online system can provide that.

In my own case, my accountant's expertise in an obscure area of tax allowances has saved me and my business thousands and thousands in taxation.

Bean Accounting is operated by qualifed accountants that can offer all of the services any other Accountant can offer as well as the online accounting package.

 

[KM-Tiger]

Bean Accounting is operated by qualifed accountants that can offer all of the services any other Accountant can offer as well as the online accounting package.

Well that's reassuring to know, though I will stick with my local accountant who is just down the road in the event of a crisis.

Looking at the tour on your website, what I am seeing, unless I am badly mistaken, is a UK-adapted implementation of SQL-Ledger. This is interesting to me, as I have been watching SQL-Ledger for a while now to see if a UK version would become available.

How far has your adaptation gone, can you cope with multiple VAT rates in a single transaction, for instance?

Do you have any plans to licence this to others? Right now I wouldn't use an on-line service, but running it on my own server would be of interest.

 

[Richie N]

Yeh I've just signed up to Kashflow, looks good!!

 

[DuaneJackson]

Good to hear, Richie.

If you have any questions or any suggestions for improvements, do let us know.

 

[garyk]

Yes and bean accounting is £25 a month? So for an SME they are looking at an anuual cost of £300! You could buy Sage instant for £99 and thats it!

 

[Bean Accounting]

Yes and bean accounting is £25 a month? So for an SME they are looking at an anuual cost of £300! You could buy Sage instant for £99 and thats it!

Firstly Bean Accounting can do a lot more than Sage Instant and there are free updates whereas Sage will have you purchasing updates regularly.

Secondly you have failed to take into account what it will cost to have accounts and tax returns prepared which are included in the Bean Accounting service.

 

[garyk]

Apologies Bean, I hadnt taken that into account. Feature wise it *may* do more than Instant but then at your price point certainly over a few years you are well into the Sage Line 50 and even some modular systems price wise. It is basically a rebranded SQL ledger which I think whilst mature isnt that feature rich compared to a 'proper' ERP system (which SQL ledger now touts itself as) such as Sage Line 500 or SAP.

Nice idea to bundle it as one stop solution though!

Gary

 

[Richie N]

Will do Duane, cheers.

I have sage instant and from what I have seen so far of Kashflow, it is more easy friendly than sage.

 

[DuaneJackson]

Secondly you have failed to take into account what it will cost to have accounts and tax returns prepared which are included in the Bean Accounting service.

What concerns me is that you need to fill in a form for a quote. IF it's a simple £25 a month, and this includes everything, then why do people need to request aquote. Why can't it just say on the site how much it is and what you get for your money?

I see it says "From £25". So what does the lowest level package at £25 include?

 

[garyk]

Duane,

Having never seen Kashflow I thought I would take a look. Personally I dont like web based accounting systems unless they are using a feature rich GUI using say Java or Citrix to deliver the functionality. I think productivity suffers immensely as you cant for instance quickly enter multi-line invoices because you dont have a grid for example and everything is click-type-click where on traditional GUIs you can obviously use the keyboard for everything (provided it has been deisgned properly!). So having a quick 15 min play I found:

First of all on registration during sign-up I entered something incorrectly but when the form re-posted it had filled in the 'format in US' checkbox when I hadnt checked it.

Found a slight bug, if you go to suppliers, put in a code to search in the supplier search field, you then see a button labelled 'Add New Customer' obviously not right.

Can I turn off the confirmation message prompts? I want for example to be able to freely invoice a customer that doesnt exist and create one on the fly without the additional windows.

There is no stock ledger (even basic) to do product invoicing in the product, surely you are limiting your target audience by not having this?

I also get a 'Too many fields error' importing transactions into Sage V11 but works ok in Sage V12, perhaps this is by design but there are alot of businesses out there still running versions 7-11.


I guess I have been entrenched in standard ledger accounting for too long ,not as an accountant just as a developer/reseller/consultant for accounting systems since when they used to run on a commodore pet and find the whole kashflow concept difficult. That said for someone who is not accounts savvy I can see some logic in your approach.


Wish you luck with it!

Gary

 

[DuaneJackson]

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the feeedbacck.

I'll look into and get fixed the two bugs you mentioned.

To answer your questions:

You can't invoice a customer that doesn't exist.
For products, you can list them, along with their prices and they'll be pre-filled for you if you select them when creating an invoice. There is nothing there to manage stock levels though.

Not sure whatthe answer is to importing into v7-11. I'll look into it.

Your final sentence hits the nail on the head. Our main target market is those who are not accounts savvy or trained at all. And these people love it. It's usually only people that are more accustomed to journals, ledgers, etc that would change a few things here and there.

Regards

Duane

 

[simonr]

If you're not stuck in windoze, consider GnuCash. Absolutely free and does shedloads of stuff. I don't use it 'cos I'm happy with some natty spreadsheets which do all the stuff you've asked for, but I know a lot of people who swear by it.

S