Accounting Software

[Njmorrisy2k]

Hi all,

1) I am a new small business owner, (close company) and I am looking for a basic accounting package that will allow me to do all the accounting myself. I will not be VAT registered. I have seen a lot of recommendations for VTCashbook as good free software and wanted to ask someone who has experience of using it if it will cover the basics for a small company with not too much turnover yet.

2) I will want to be able to use it to produce accounts to allow me submit a tax return to HMRC or should I just try and use HMRC's software, which I hear is available but I cannot actually find.

3) I presume though that HMRC's software does not really help with actual accounting entries like profit, loss, creditors, debtors, etc.?

As you can probably tell, I'm ever so slightly confused!

Thanks for any help

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Hi there,

not in reply to your question, but you need to confirm your account from the welcome email that was sent, as until you do none of your posts will go live until manually approved (as I did with this one)

 

[Njmorrisy2k]

Many thanks,

I have now activated my account

 

[Moneyman]

Two criteria:
1) does my accountant have software that is compatable. (otherwise a fortune spent on re-entering info.
2) Is there an easy way to import the internet bank transactions for reconsiliation.

 

[David Griffiths]

1) does my accountant have software that is compatable. (otherwise a fortune spent on re-entering info.

Sorry, but that's simply not the case. If you can export a trial balance from the accounting software the accountant can import it in a few minutes. To say that it costs a fortune is simply not true

 

[Scalloway]

2) I will want to be able to use it to produce accounts to allow me submit a tax return to HMRC or should I just try and use HMRC's software, which I hear is available but I cannot actually find.

3) I presume though that HMRC's software does not really help with actual accounting entries like profit, loss, creditors, debtors, etc.?

To access the HMRC software you need to register for Corporation Tax (I take it you have a limited company). The link is here

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ct/index.htm

This software only allows you to enter the totals from the Profit and Loss Account and the Balance Sheet. It is quite complex for a non-accountant to deal with.

 

[Scott Heron]

Hi

I use FreeAgenthttp://fre.ag/416y0guq for this kind of thing, never looked back.

Cheers

Scott

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

1) I am a new small business owner, (close company) and I am looking for a basic accounting package that will allow me to do all the accounting myself. I will not be VAT registered. I have seen a lot of recommendations for VTCashbook as good free software and wanted to ask someone who has experience of using it if it will cover the basics for a small company with not too much turnover yet.

Yes it will - it's very good. I've used it personally for years and my firm has many clients who use it and find it very easy to use.

2) I will want to be able to use it to produce accounts to allow me submit a tax return to HMRC or should I just try and use HMRC's software, which I hear is available but I cannot actually find.

VT cashbook is great but it wont produce statutory accounts.

Like most accountants my firm pays for specialist software to produce financial accounts so I cant comment on how good/easy it is to use HMRC's version.

You may just find with the time and hassle of trying to do your own year end financial accounts and the possibility of missing tax savings that it pays to use an accountant (sorry that is a bias opinion)

3) I presume though that HMRC's software does not really help with actual accounting entries like profit, loss, creditors, debtors, etc.?

I cant confirm that by I'd be VERY surprised if it did.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Two criteria:
1) does my accountant have software that is compatable. (otherwise a fortune spent on re-entering info.
2) Is there an easy way to import the internet bank transactions for reconsiliation.

1. That really shouldnt be an issue now, may have been 20 years ago.

2. That depends - if you have a small number of transactions inputing data into VT cashbook probably isnt any slower than importing data.

 

[Yorkshire&Online]

Another thumbs up for VT Cash Book here. I have lots of clients who use it and although it is not as modern as the new online accounting software it is great as a free program and I actively recommend it to clients who want something for nothing.

If you want an online program, I can offer AccountsPortal for only £8 per month instead of the standard £10 per month if you buy it direct. You can also have a free 30 day trial. Have a look on our website for more details. Free bookkeeping help is provided by me too!

As Nicola says, a good accountant will bring much more to your business than just an additional cost!

 

[Andrew Baker]

I highly recommend you try out FreeAgenthttp://fre.ag/41py259t

It's a UK based accounting packaged (they're actually based in Edinburgh like myself so I am slightly biased).

It has many integrations, they are always developing new features... the latest is automated bank feeds, that is every night it automatically pulls in your bank account data into FreeAgent. On a daily basis we know our corporate tax, VAT, operating profit, retained profit, self assessment, etc. It handles capital assets, depreciation, automatic invoicing, reminders... you can also set accountant access if you use one... I could go on and on...

I've been using it for our Ltd company and previous to that as a sole-trader for nearly 18 months now. It's probably the best SAAS we use as a business, certainly in terms of value... the support is also first class.

They also offer a referral scheme where you get discounted subscription based on referrals. The link above is our referral link, if you click it and then sign-up you will get 10% off your monthly subscription... and so will we.

Scott's FreeAgent link above is also a referral link.

I should also mention another excellent Edinburgh based SAAS > FloatApp that has been developed by the awesome gang at The Float Yard to integrate into FreeAgent - it's a handy cashflow tool that syncs up with your FreeAgent account. Worth checking out.

 

[Tech4Homes]

I can't reccomend Kash Flow enough <<Link removed>>its £19.99 a month but worth every penny if you want hassle free accounts. Main reason I chose it over cheaper alternatives is the ability to send purchase orders etc, most systems seemed to forget this!?!

Well worth the money <<Link removed>>

It integrates with Paypal and many other platforms as well so certain things (like invoices!) are automatic.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

People seem to have forgotten along the way that the OP said -

''I am looking for a basic accounting package that will allow me to do all the accounting myself. I will not be VAT registered''

Whilst many of the pay monthly online offerings are great packages they aren't really going to be cost effective or of any great benefit.

 

[Danex]

Btw, I tried FreeAgent

 

[Andrew Baker]

Btw, I tried FreeAgent

They've also this morning just announced their mobile version, looks great > http://www.freeagent.com/central/is-that-freeagent-in-your-pocket

 

[ILilja]

I totally understand that you want to keep costs down now that you're just starting up your business. So if your needs are actually covered by a free system (although from the comments above I understand that VT Cashbook doesn't do that entirely?), there's no reason why you should invest in advanced accounting software at this stage.

However, you should make sure that the solution you pick allows you to export your data so that you can continue to work on them in a different system, if or when your business grows along with your requirements for an accounting system.

It's usually a good idea to invest some time in trying out different solutions (most paid solutions offer free trials) to find the one that suits your business.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

..... you should make sure that the solution you pick allows you to export your data so that you can continue to work on them in a different system, if or when your business grows along with your requirements for an accounting system.

I dont agree.

I see no reason why you'd need to export historic data.

 

[Scalloway]

I would disagree about not needing historic data. It can be very handy being able to go back a few years to answer a query, eg a VAT visit.

If you upgrade your PC or stop subscribing to a service the original accounting system may unavailable. When this has happened where I worked I always made sure a download of historic data was available for future use.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

I would disagree about not needing historic data. It can be very handy being able to go back a few years to answer a query, eg a VAT visit.

If you upgrade your PC or stop subscribing to a service the original accounting system may unavailable. When this has happened where I worked I always made sure a download of historic data was available for future use.

I quite agree. It is essential that you can access your historic data

What I said was their is no need to be able to export historic data.

A very different thing

 

[MikeH]

There are probably many free options but the online offerings are just a few punds per month. If a better online system saves you just 1 hour accounting time each month would the £10-20 per month be good value? (just a thought, not advice)

KashFlow and Xero get great reviews. That said we do not use either as they do not suit our business model which is a frustration.

Good luck and listen to the accountants on here as most are very helpful.