Accounting software any recommendations?

[marshbarn]

Thinking of buying a software package for accounting , are they difficult to use? are they expensive?
we farm in a partnership so no employees, doing Vat would be necessary and preparing accounts for self assessment,
Thinking of still using an accountant but i would like to be more in a position to understand how accounts are reconciled.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

There will be lots that will say Xero. That persuaded me to try it and so far (a few days) I'm very impressed.

 

[farmerm]

In a similar boat. Going to look at using xero as already have access to that though my other interests..

 

[Jerry]

Xero is all you need to look at but have a word with your accountant as well.

 

[Phil P]

We uses Sage, not the easiest of programs to use but once you get the basics sorted it’s not to bad. Our account use the same software so they can help over the phone or just take the full accounts in a usb and let them sort it.
We like it cos we can separate different parts of the business (farming, contracting, engineering and caravan storage) and see how much each part of the business making or losing!
Also use it for invoices and payroll.

 

[Jerry]

We uses Sage, not the easiest of programs to use but once you get the basics sorted it’s not to bad. Our account use the same software so they can help over the phone or just take the full accounts in a usb and let them sort it.
We like it cos we can separate different parts of the business (farming, contracting, engineering and caravan storage) and see how much each part of the business making or losing!
Also use it for invoices and payroll.

You can do all that and more with xero and even better you can do queries live with your accountant as it’s cloud based.

I just pick up the phone and call them, they log in as well as we sort the question there and then.

It literally took us about 6 hours to set it all up first time round and that’s with a diverse business like yours.

 

[marshbarn]

There will be lots that will say Xero. That persuaded me to try it and so far (a few days) I'm very impressed.

What is the cost ,is it a one off or a subscription?

 

[Boysground]

Xero here. If you search on here there are quite a few threads about it, I have probably posted on all of them saying what an improvement it was over my old software.

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[Robert]

I have probably posted on all of them saying what an improvement it was over my old software.

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Which was?

 

[Phil P]

You can do all that and more with xero and even better you can do queries live with your accountant as it’s cloud based.

I just pick up the phone and call them, they log in as well as we sort the question there and then.

It literally took us about 6 hours to set it all up first time round and that’s with a diverse business like yours.

To be honest we started on sage a number of years ago as that was what my secretary (Mum) was use to using and our accountant was also using it.
I only use it occasionally as the secretary is full time, so only have to do the odd invoice or quote. I’m not that computer literate but mange to find my way round it no problem and never had any issues so if it isn’t broken I’m not going to try and fix it.
I think you can do online meets with the latest version now but I’d have to check.

 

[Jerry]

To be honest we started on sage a number of years ago as that was what my secretary (Mum) was use to using and our accountant was also using it.
I only use it occasionally as the secretary is full time, so only have to do the odd invoice or quote. I’m not that computer literate but mange to find my way round it no problem and never had any issues so if it isn’t broken I’m not going to try and fix it.
I think you can do online meets with the latest version now but I’d have to check.

Sage did a lot of work early on and were rightly market leaders for a long time but they have been left behind by xero to some extent.

Xero is gaining a big following across all small businesses, not just farms.

Recent VAT inspection, inspector was relieved when I said we were on Xero. Took about 5 mins to ping by email all the audit trail for couple years.

 

[Boysground]

Which was?

Farmplan, used it for over 20 years had it because it was the thing to use at the time. I have now found out that accounts software does not have to be farming specific. Xero has made my accounting much easier I spent a couple of hours at my accountants learning the very basics the rest is self taught using the massive online help pages.

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[Suffolk Serf]

What is the cost ,is it a one off or a subscription?

I can't remember the exact cost but it is monthly iirc. Varies with if you want payroll etc. Readily available on their website.

 

[neilo]

Quickbooks or Xero are very similar, both far more intuitive than most accounts packages and much cheaper than most.
I’ve been on Quickbooks since starting up on my own nearly 6 years ago, as I really don’t want to pay a monthly subscription and rely on the cloud. I understand QB tries very hard to push new users to their subscription service now too, but I paid less than £100 for the desktop program when I upgraded to the ‘pro’ version last year.

I would suggest that your first call is to your accountant though, to see what system they can use (be aware that most get a commission on selling you Sage). If they can’t access files from your accounts program, you won’t be saving much in fees.

 

[linga]

We use Iris Kashflow mainly because the Accountant uses Iris software but I suspect Xero might be better although I dont know that for certain.
Kashflow is easy enough to use though and does a job

 

[Pheasant Surprise]

Thinking of buying a software package for accounting , are they difficult to use? are they expensive?
we farm in a partnership so no employees, doing Vat would be necessary and preparing accounts for self assessment,
Thinking of still using an accountant but i would like to be more in a position to understand how accounts are reconciled.

I would say if you're fresh to accounting software then Xero should definitely be on your first choice list to check out. It is very simple to use, there are loads of ordinary people and accountants that have years of experience using it now, so there are plenty of outlets offering support and help.

In its basic package its not that expensive. As everything is stored (and backed up) centrally you can access accounts from any computer, tablet or phone with an internet connection. That in itself is very powerful. You can run payroll and inventory from it. It does multi-curency and all the basics, including all you standard reports, VAT returns are a click away. Its very, very good.

If you get into the habit of entering invoices as they come in (you can email it PDFs and other attachments directly) then you save yourself masses of time later on.

 

[Boysground]

I like being able to access it on my phone. It's a bit fiddly it's chrome on a 5 inch display. I am often andering around the farm and the how much did that cost question comes up and I can search it before I forget.

As @Pheasant Surprise says entering invoices as they arrive is good as you can set the pay by date and you know ho much is outstanding at any time.

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[Dairyfarmerswife]

Another one for Xero here too. Used sage years ago and found it very fiddly, went to excel for a few years but missed the deeper reporting, so switched to Xero four years ago. Love the fact that it can be almost completely paperless. Didn't need to take anything to the accountants this year as all invoices are scanned into the program and bank feeds are automated.

A family business I am involved in uses QuickBooks online. I don't actually use it but have a login. It doesn't seem anywhere near as intuitive as Xero and the interface is much more cluttered.

As @Pheasant Surprise says entering invoices as they arrive is good as you can set the pay by date and you know ho much is outstanding at any time.

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Yes this makes cashflow management a lot less stressful - knowing what bills are due rather than writing the cheques and then working out if they will go through! By about the 18th of the month I will have processed all the invoices and claimed the vat so it's usually in the bank before I've paid the bills!

 

[Boysground]

Another one for Xero here too. Used sage years ago and found it very fiddly, went to excel for a few years but missed the deeper reporting, so switched to Xero four years ago. Love the fact that it can be almost completely paperless. Didn't need to take anything to the accountants this year as all invoices are scanned into the program and bank feeds are automated.

A family business I am involved in uses QuickBooks online. I don't actually use it but have a login. It doesn't seem anywhere near as intuitive as Xero and the interface is much more cluttered.



Yes this makes cashflow management a lot less stressful - knowing what bills are due rather than writing the cheques and then working out if they will go through! By about the 18th of the month I will have processed all the invoices and claimed the vat so it's usually in the bank before I've paid the bills!

I would love to be as efficient as that, will have to just keep trying.

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[Robert]

Farmplan, used it for over 20 years had it because it was the thing to use at the time. I have now found out that accounts software does not have to be farming specific. Xero has made my accounting much easier I spent a couple of hours at my accountants learning the very basics the rest is self taught using the massive online help pages.

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Thanks. we are on Farmplan but desire something simpler and cheaper. Hoping it can accommodate and report on various diversified income streams, handle asset register and a lot of invoicing. Need to find out if that is all integral or whether it involves a lot of "add ons" and how seamless they are.