New Accounts Software - Advice please

~Mike~ · 30 Dec 2011 at 11:27

Looking for a new accounts software package. Currently still using Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2008 :eek:

Main requirements are;

Small Business - partnership
VAT Registered
Invoicing
Sales/Purchase Ledger
etc...

Considering Sage Instant Accounts 2011 @ £70 ex VAT

Have also looked at the web based accounts solutions but seem rather expensive @ £15 to £20 per month.

CaptainCrash · 30 Dec 2011 at 12:20

Best keep your life simple and go with the de facto standard for SMEs, which is Sage - in my experience, accountants tend to weep and throw things if they're presented with anything else.

Sp00n · 30 Dec 2011 at 12:27

Sage

Pho · 30 Dec 2011 at 15:14

Solar Accounts is excellent if you want something nice and simple (yet powerful), it can export to Sage 50 CSV if needed too. I found it after it was recommended on some tax/accountancy forums.

~Mike~ · 30 Dec 2011 at 23:03

Think I will go with Sage Instant Accounts.

I did look at Solar Accounts but its more expensive than Sage.

mattyg · 1 Jan 2012 at 13:39

Another +1 for Solar accounts.

Its not got everything that MSOA had but after a very short time I had forgotten all about that.

You can download a trial version that you can then turn into a full version.

And their backup is excellent. They have their own little forum.

~Mike~ · 1 Jan 2012 at 18:46

mattyg said:
Another +1 for Solar accounts.

Its not got everything that MSOA had but after a very short time I had forgotten all about that.

You can download a trial version that you can then turn into a full version.

And their backup is excellent. They have their own little forum.

Thanks. How easy do you find it to use?
I might just download the trial version to see what its like.

At the moment I think I will probably go with Sage Instant based on 1) Price & 2) Accountant preference

Mark M · 1 Jan 2012 at 20:04

CaptainCrash said:
Best keep your life simple and go with the de facto standard for SMEs, which is Sage - in my experience, accountants tend to weep and throw things if they're presented with anything else.

Not sure which accountants you have been speaking to but most hate it (myself included). If it isn't used properly, which most don't know how, then you might as well scrap everything and redo it from scratch.

Have a look at Quickbooks, much better software than Sage.

~Mike~ · 2 Jan 2012 at 12:13

Mark M said:
Have a look at Quickbooks, much better software than Sage.

Thanks for your input regarding QuickBooks.

Why is QuickBooks better than Sage? Is it easier to use?

I've had a look at the Intuit website and I would have to go for QuickBooks Pro as I need to do VAT returns and SimpleStart does not offer this function.

What are the differences between the 2010 & 2012 versions?

After a quick look I've found QuickBooks Pro 2012 for £169.99 inc VAT which is a lot more than Sage Instant Accounts 2011

PhillyDee · 2 Jan 2012 at 12:35

What do your accountants prefer?
I know mine recommend a certain package, and also sell it at a discounted rate.
Mine just supply me with spreadsheets, its nice and easy.

Participant · 2 Jan 2012 at 12:40

Mark M said:
most hate it

Source?

I find Sage 50 and 200 ridiculously easy to use, and I was just wondering if that comment was from independent research or just a subjective statement from your observations. That said, other packages I've used include AS400 and SAP so compared to them, Sage might seem like a walk in the park I suppose.

Also, I'd be interested to know what you mean by 'used properly'. What is the improper way to use Sage?

CaptainCrash · 2 Jan 2012 at 13:50

Robbie G said:
I have find Sage 50 and 200 ridiculously easy to use, and I was just wondering if that comment was from independent research or just a subjective statement from your observations. That said, other packages I've used include AS400 and SAP so compared to them, Sage might seem like a walk in the park I suppose.

If you honestly find Sage 50/200 "ridiculously" easy, I'd guess that at the very least you have a pretty good knowledge of formal double-entry bookkeeping - yes, knowing the basics will be helpful whichever package you use, but IME Sage does absolutely nothing to simplify the process for anyone coming to it cold.

I last used it (Line50 that is) a few years ago when I did my own books, and I found it a miserable chore at best, with a horrible, antiquated, unintuitive GUI which seemed to go out of its way to make everything as laborious and time-consuming as possible. It was also *extremely* unforgiving - if you made a mistake, usually the only way to correct the situation without ending up in a worse mess was to restore from the last backup and start again.

I suppose much of its inflexibility is deliberate, to establish a rock solid audit trail, but I'd prefer to feel that my accounts software was designed to make *my* life easier, not that of an HMRC inspector.

I haven't personally used the very latest versions though; maybe it's a bit friendlier these days.

Mark M said:
Not sure which accountants you have been speaking to but most hate it (myself included). If it isn't used properly, which most don't know how, then you might as well scrap everything and redo it from scratch.

I haven't spoken to that many, admittedly - my own accountant likes his clients to use it, and when I told him how much I hated it, you'd have thought I'd told him he had a particularly ugly wife (which he does, incidentally).

Mark M · 2 Jan 2012 at 14:25

Robbie G said:
Source?

Working in practice for 12 years mainly but also the various accountancy forums I sometimes visit and fellow professionals I speak to.

As for not using it properly, Im referring to clients not reconciling banks, sales and purchase ledgers, vat control accounts. Not using the payroll link properly and entering weekly journals for the wages

Not knowing how to adjust for discounts, under or over payments, CIS tax, retentions...I could go on but my experience is that 95% of the time its a pigs ear despite being told "I do everything on Sage"

If everything is entered properly and everything is reconciled then its great but when its a mess there is no way to fix it and Ive told clients that I can redo the whole job from scratch cheaper than it would take me to fix it on Sage.

Freakbro · 2 Jan 2012 at 14:34

I use Quickbooks at home for my self employed bookkeeping and Sage Instant Accounts at my part time job.

Both are as good as the person using them, as Mark points out

They both have a few quirks and foibles, though I find Sage more comprehensive, Quickbooks is amazing how it allows you to easily change transactions, without it being an audit trail nightmare.