Accounting

[TheGreenRabbit]

I have been working for my self and managing my Accounts on a spread sheet, starting to thing about upping my game to use propper accounting system, What can you recomend ? I dont wan't to spend big money, but am drawn to sage but not sage prices.

 

[EarlofBarnet]

The systems I use (and have used) have all been big money, but have been worth it for the size of the organisations I've worked in.

A well designed series of spreadsheets will do everything you need to be honest if you're working on a small scale. Excel is a huge programme that most people only use a small percentage of its functionality, there's a lot of potential in there. I've seen people build systems with Excel running the functions in the back ground.

What sort of scale of transactions you working with (volume rather than turnover)?

 

[TheGreenRabbit]

3-4 invoices a week max and a half a dozen in coming recipts.

 

[EarlofBarnet]

I'd stick with the spreadsheets if it was me. I could help you knock something together off you want? Could have something pretty helpful put together relatively quickly.

 

[coomber]

Excel will be fine.

If you want to go to a set of specialist software, Quickbooks is your best bet. Easy to use. Around £100. Try getting a 2006 version as that was the best, later ones added complexity with no real benefit.

But assuming you are not going to rapidly increase activity, excel is fine. As always its what you put in which is the thing that matters. Ie having the software and putting rubbish into it makes it take 10 times longer then a simple spreadsheet on excel or a cashbook.

 

[ajm]

The bookkeepers whose IT I've dealt with all use Quickbooks, and most of the small (and some not so small) businesses use Quickbooks too.

The only people I've ever heard say good things about Sage are accountants, or those who have never tried anything else (which usually applies to accountants too.) My own experiences dealing with Sage on other people's behalf have been uniformly bad - their expensive "support" would be laughable if there wasn't so much at stake, and their software is obtuse and can be picky about odd things like printers.

For myself, I use the open source GNUCash and have done for the past 7 years or so; it's far from perfect but for a small business generating tens of invoices per week it's fine; free, and possible to modify if necessary. Certainly vastly better than the version of Sage I paid for and started out using - I persevered for about a week with that before realising that I was wasting my time and had already wasted my money...

 

[coomber]

As an accountant Sage is great if you know what you are doing and you are large enough to warrant using it (Ltd companies mainly of some size too).

 

[SwanHouseNappa]

I put everything into the top drawer of the filing cabinet, ignore it until this time of year, then spend this week wishing I hadn't.
May not be the most efficient system, but it works for me.

 

[Dr S]

My system is stick all unopened letters in a big sack and then a week before my tax return is due, panic.

 

[MikeD]

Spreadsheet works for me. Looked at "proper" accounting packages, couldn't see what they'd really add, didn't bother