Farming software - help needed to bring us in to this century!

[lizzieS]

It comes down to what you want to achieve? Do you want insights you can act on or just records for records sake? There is always a danger you end up working for the software rather than the software working for you, and paying for the privilege. I use Pandle for farm accounts and MTD vat returns (like xero but free), paper books for medicines and movements records and some spreadsheets or a note in the diary for everything else. It is far from a perfect systems but I can record what I want, the way I want, when I want.

I like the sound of the like Xero but free part! Where can I find that?! I've tried typing it into Google but it just comes up with every MTD software ever created

 

[Boysground]

Xero is not free. There is an option of a more stripped down version which is cheaper but I don’t know much about it. I am sure there are some users on TFF. Some accountants who use Xero are able to supply it to customers at reduced rates.

Personally I really like Xero and it has made a big improvement here so I am happy with the cost.

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[Timbo]

Hi!
We are looking into farm software and would like to hear some reviews from people actually using it please! Pretty much everything we do at the moment is still on paper. We need to get some kind of software asap to comply with MTD but also looking into crop and sheep software too. Any recommendations?!

I have been looking at the FarmIT 3000 Gold package today and it seems a reasonable price and pretty straightforward to use. Does anyone have any experience with it?

Thanks in advance!
Lizzie

I use FarmIT for cattle management and find it very good, we probably only utilise 50% of what it can do with regards rationing, costing, management groups, grazing, fert, seed, sheep, medicines etc and we use XERO for accounts, again excellent for our needs and both have brought a huge amount of usefulness for running the business smarter and quicker.

Probably should have tried FarmIT gold for the accounts given its better value for money than running two packages, but our accountant is already familiar with Xero.

If you are anywhere near Welshpool, go see Martin (be prepared for several hours though !) he is very very good and not pushy to sell.

With any new thing, it will take more time than you think to get it upto speed, and you will need to adjust your brain from how a paper system works, but once you have, it is SOOOO much easier.

-Start with everything you need to hand, and someone who knows the package - it needs to be set up in a particular order (esp accounts) and using the right item codes to make it easy for your accountant - if not your accountants bill will go up not down ! Be prepared for the system to find mistakes you have made in the past, and BEGIN with inputting last yrs accounts, and balancing that first before even thinking about syncing it to your bank and going forwards 'today' onwards.

Also don't start on some poxy small screen laptop thats already 5yrs old & had 2 gallons of coffee spilt into it without a sound backup strategy. Xero and many of the others are cloud based, so backups are less important, FarmIT stores locally but has the option to save off site when you close it down.

Hope that helps abit

 

[lizzieS]

Xero is not free. There is an option of a more stripped down version which is cheaper but I don’t know much about it. I am sure there are some users on TFF. Some accountants who use Xero are able to supply it to customers at reduced rates.

Personally I really like Xero and it has made a big improvement here so I am happy with the cost.

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Yes I realise Xero isn't free but the poster above you said he used one that was similar but free so thought it might be worth looking in to!

 

[Boysground]

Yes I realise Xero isn't free but the poster above you said he used one that was similar but free so thought it might be worth looking in to!

My mistake. Pandle, I dont know anything about that.

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[Boysground]

Here we go

https://www.pandle.com/uk/

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[lizzieS]

Thanks @Timbo that's really helpful! And thanks @Boysground I'll have a look at Pandle

 

[farmerm]

I like the sound of the like Xero but free part! Where can I find that?! I've tried typing it into Google but it just comes up with every MTD software ever created

BG beat me too it. I like the free part too there are some paid for upgrade but the free version meets my MTD vat compliance which is the main reason we moved from paper!

 

[Boysground]

BG beat me too it. I like the free part too there are some paid for upgrade but the free version meets my MTD vat compliance which is the main reason we moved from paper!

Too wet to plough today so catching up in the office. Obviously I am concentrating on Xero and not TFF

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[farmerm]

Too wet to plough today so catching up in the office. Obviously I am concentrating on Xero and not TFF

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ditto except I am not concentrating on the accounts...

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

I would always aim to keep these things “modular” - that is separate.

All in one sounds attractive at first, but the reality is that no one software vendor does EVERYTHING brilliantly (or even well actually!). Therefore it’s best to cherry pick best of breed in each “discipline”.

If something better comes along (like Xero did for many of us years ago) then you don’t have to start EVERYTHING from scratch, just the part you need.

 

[farmerm]

I like the sound of the like Xero but free part! Where can I find that?! I've tried typing it into Google but it just comes up with every MTD software ever created

Free Accounting Software For Small Businesses | Pandle

 

[Bloders]

We use FarmIT. Have used it for a while for stock management and now use it for accountign activities since going MTD.
I prefer to use one package for all if they are anywhere near reasonable (whatever that is) as I only use it once a month and forget stuff very easily now!

 

[TGM]

we supply the Kingswood Farm Accounts package. A number of options avaiable: simple VAT only, full accounts with bank reconciliation, full accounts with bank reconcilition and Enterprise analysis (benchmarking), contractors version with app for drivers to record work done to customer job cards.