Accounting software

[petery27]

i run a small business and my accountant wants to move over to a new accounting software to make things easier for vat returns and keeping track of accounts from the traditional method of invoice created on excel and receipts kepts etc.

I have no employees, no paye etc. so nothing too major in what we are doing, 20+ invoices a month at peak times. i've seen xero and quikbooks.

Any advice/What do people recommend?

[Dg504]

If that’s really all you’ll use it for then they’re both more than up to the job.

I spend all day on Xero so would recommend it but have used QB and it’s fine too.

Go with whichever is cheapest or your accountant has a referral code for

[Mr Pointy]

I'd ask your accountant how much he's going to cut his charges by if you have to start spending money on Xero. With such a low number of invoices Excel is more than adequate.

I'd also ask how you get backups of your Xero data in case you want to move elsewhere or Xero goes offline.

[Eric Mc]

I'm with Mr Pointy on this. Who is looking for the advantage here - you or your accountant.

He needs to sell the idea to you based on how a proper book-keeping system benefits you - not how it benefits him/her.

[deggles]

I'm a big fan of FreeAgent, been using it for >10 years. You can use my referral code http://fre.ag/2tkwrfti for 10% off.

It does make everything so much easier than spreadsheets. VAT returns etc. are literally one click if you have everything set up properly, so it should in theory reduce your accountant's effort and therefore fees. In theory!

[WinstonWolf]

We use Quickbooks, it does what the name suggests. Saved about four hours a month on fairly simple accounts.

[sgrimshaw]

I've use Quickbooks for the past 13 years for a partnership, very easy to use.

Shouldn't be much for the accountant to do, future fees should reflect that.

[Mr Pointy]

petery27 said:

i run a small business and my accountant wants to move over to a new accounting software to make things easier for vat returns and keeping track of accounts from the traditional method of invoice created on excel and receipts kepts etc.

I have no employees, no paye etc. so nothing too major in what we are doing, 20+ invoices a month at peak times. i've seen xero and quikbooks.

Any advice/What do people recommend?

Is there a reason you aren't doing your own VAT returns? It doesn't sound as if you have a lot of transactions to keep track of & you might even look at the Flat Rate Scheme to see if it's appropriate.

[CzechItOut]

I use Xero. It costs £16 a month, but I have saved many multiples of that by doing my own VAT (flat-rate) and PAYE.

Do you not pay (salary wise) yourself anything at all from your company?

[Mr Pointy]

CzechItOut said:

I use Xero. It costs £16 a month, but I have saved many multiples of that by doing my own VAT (flat-rate) and PAYE.

Do you not pay (salary wise) yourself anything at all from your company?

He might operate as a Sole Trader.

[petery27]

Mr Pointy said:

Is there a reason you aren't doing your own VAT returns? It doesn't sound as if you have a lot of transactions to keep track of & you might even look at the Flat Rate Scheme to see if it's appropriate.

its a bit more complected and a flat rate certainly wouldn't work, we have a lot of purchases and different vat things plus reclaims when we buy equipment etc. equally for what i get charged it only takes me a couple of hours of work to cover the costs but i feel more confident that its all done correctly. HMRC are not someone i really want to mess around with

[petery27]

i went with quickbooks in the end as it seemed to offer what i wanted and got a 6 month introduction deal

[petery27]

CzechItOut said:

I use Xero. It costs £16 a month, but I have saved many multiples of that by doing my own VAT (flat-rate) and PAYE.

Do you not pay (salary wise) yourself anything at all from your company?

No i have another income from elsewhere for the time being so i don't take anything from the company at the moment