Small business owners, what accounting package do you recommend ?

[Lopéz]

Xero, I also work with a lot of other SMEs that use Xero.

 

[Smokey Deza]

I used SAP in my old job. Barely needed to use the mouse at all it was a breeze to use.

Now I use Sage and it's just shoddy in comparison. If I were starting a new business I would roll the dice and try something new.

 

[MassiveJim]

So far thats
Xero - 7
Sage - 2
Quickbooks - 4
Kashflow - 1

Having done SME accounts for 30yrs using various packages I'm quite a fan of QuickBooks and think it's easy to use.

The thing I find with non accounting people using accounting software is you still need to know the rudiments of accounting, else you end up with the classic GiGo scenario.

That is a bit of an issue for me, I understand figures/money at least which is a start but having spoken to an accountant and had double-entry accounting explained to me I definitely don't "get" accountancy yet. What can I do to make mine and the accountants lives easier ?
I am currently still using my spreadsheet and will probably run it alongside whichever package I use for a short while until I get my head around it all.
At least with my spreadsheet I can see the exact state of the business.

 

[Jambo]

So far thats
Xero - 7
Sage - 2
Quickbooks - 4
Kashflow - 1



That is a bit of an issue for me, I understand figures/money at least which is a start but having spoken to an accountant and had double-entry accounting explained to me I definitely don't "get" accountancy yet. What can I do to make mine and the accountants lives easier ?
I am currently still using my spreadsheet and will probably run it alongside whichever package I use for a short while until I get my head around it all.
At least with my spreadsheet I can see the exact state of the business.

I would recommend Kashflow in that case. Very easy! I've used it for about 15 years. Go and have a look at the free trial.

 

[Russinating]

So far thats
Xero - 7
Sage - 2
Quickbooks - 4
Kashflow - 1



That is a bit of an issue for me, I understand figures/money at least which is a start but having spoken to an accountant and had double-entry accounting explained to me I definitely don't "get" accountancy yet. What can I do to make mine and the accountants lives easier ?
I am currently still using my spreadsheet and will probably run it alongside whichever package I use for a short while until I get my head around it all.
At least with my spreadsheet I can see the exact state of the business.

Xero is honestly really easy, it'll put your spreadsheet to shame. There's a 30 day free trial I believe so just give it a go.

 

[randomshenans]

Xero is honestly really easy, it'll put your spreadsheet to shame. There's a 30 day free trial I believe so just give it a go.

If you are looking at XERO I just signed up and got 50% off the monthly bill so it was 6quid a month instead of 12.

NBXERO21

 

[~Mike~]

What is FreeAgent like?

The NatWest business account giving you free access to the full version seems a great deal plus I have worked out I'd also save on bank charges as well! Would also save £24/pm for Xero standard.

 

[Pudney]

I'll answer this from an accountant's view rather than a user.

All the listed examples do a job with varying degrees of complexity. Personally I think Quickbooks is at the bottom of the list. Kashflow and Xero get good feedback generally from what I've heard.

In terms of accountant's recommending a particular piece of software, the likelihood is that they're not doing this because of kickbacks, it's because if they specialise in a certain software then the providers of the software can provide a bigger group discount to our clients and we can specialise in learning that particular software in greater depth. Ultimately accountants want their clients to have good records, and quite frankly using any of the mentioned software is better record keeping than spreadsheets!

As for double entry, it's actually quite intuitive as long as you bear in mind it's core principle is that every action has an opposite reaction that balances each side out.