Small business accounting software (off topic)

Completely off topic, sorry, but it seems that there are number of members who are self employed or who are retired having been self employed.

My son's just starting his own business (sole trader, no employees) and I'm stuck with all the paperwork and finance having been a finance manager in the dim and distant past.

Just wondered if there were any recommendations for decent accounting software? Doesn't need to be anything too flashy, just easy to use, bug free and capable of basic profit and loss accounts, balance sheet and tax calculations, perhaps with bank reconcilliation and invoice linking. My only experience of stand alone software is Sage back in 1988 on a 086 PC with a 40mb hard drive.......

Thanks

As long as there's no Vat cash accounting then QuickBooks is pretty good
Have used it in the past, and we use the US version at work (along with Sage for UK).

HTH!
Matt

Thanks Matt

No VAT thank goodness, not yet anyway.

I'll take a look at Quickbooks. Sage seems o.k. but reviews are mixed.

I have used Visual accounts for the last 20 years. it does all my invoicing and receipts, plus it is OK with vat both standard and EEC.
contact http://www.jql.co.uk/

I have no relation ship with this co just a happy user.

Jim

I used to use Quickbooks.

To be fair, this is a photography forum and even though there are self-employed people on it their particular circumstances can be quite unlike your son's.

He really should get proper advice and also go on the HMRC course for newly or possible self-employed people.

I still use the old fashioned pen and paper sales,purchase and cash books,
Have a look at your local business link office they often run free courses on this type of thing.

I realise that, John. I'm not asking for business advice, though, and the business circumstances are irrelevant. I'm just interested in people's experience of software, nothing more. Judging by the responses I've had then there are at least some people on here with useful experience. We have the business aspects well covered already.

If it's not acceptable to post non-photography topics in general chat I apologise.

MILAMBER - have a look at this link, from HMRC:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/agents/online/started.htm

Thanks - I'll have a look at all the suggestions

For all that's good and Holy don't use that most dreadful of products QuickBooks. They seem to have little appreciation of accounting practices and from a software integration point of view it's an appalling mess. You can't have two version of QB on the same PC for development.

Having grappled with it with a client I can see no merit in it whatsoever.

Then again I suppose I might have been having a bad 6 months or take a look at the user forum.

Mike

Thanks Mike

I'd pretty much come to that conclusion having read the reviews.

Accounting software is supposed to make life easier, but I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that for a sole trader with no employees and not VAT registered who usually gets paid at the end of a job without any problems then I'd be better off doing it the old fashioned way.

Sage doesn't seem to get much better reviews either, at least the entry level packages.

Just need to dust off my old accounting books!

I am VAT registered but no employees and I just have a simple Excel sheet for recording time, income and expenditure. The one accounting program I did get on with was DACEASY but someone bought them out years ago. One thing to look into is a flat rate scheme for VAT as it makes your record keeping requirements much simpler.

Mike

It sounds very simple so I would do it on Excel, or even the old fashioned way in books.

There are free Excel Templates available that should help with simple accounting needs. Your son's accountant may already have one or more templates that he/she would prefer to be used. No point in reinventing the wheel when it's been done so many times before.

To keep track of cash I think you only need three ledgers to show sales, purchases, and bank account.

That said, Sage Instant Accounting is very good and preferred to Quickbooks by many accountants.