Do I need bookkeeping software? Is a question I get asked a fair bit. Below is a flow chart which should explain whether you need software or not.

Do I need software?

You can create a similar system without the help of software, but the software just makes it all easier to manage, review and makes it quicker to check if it is correct.

So what type of software best suits you and your business?

You really have a choice of two types Cloud or desk top, in saying that the latter is now becoming a hybrid. Every bookkeeper or accountant has their favorites and I’m no different. I chose to back Sage products for the desk top, due to it really being the market leader and most popular SME bookkeeping software and for cloud I have decided to back Xero, as I think the company is extremely innovative with a multitude of plugins already available for this software (currently in the region of 430). They also have a great array of reports you can create, better than most software, ideal for people who want to review their monthly profit and loss account compared with the previous 12 months, or even compared with the same period as last year, the list is almost endless.
I will warn you that there is a massive amount of software out there in the market, some that are good and some that are poor, some that are cheap and some that are expensive, because of this glut it is best that we specialise in a few rather than spread our-self too thin and not be able to keep up with the changes in the software.

Most decisions comes down to costs which vary depending on what you want.

Desk top hybrids
Sage starts at £10 + vat per month.

Cloud
Xero starts at £9 + vat per month. Being a Certified Adviser I get access to other cheaper versions of the software. See why we love Xero on this page

Both software houses have an array of subscriptions to best suit your needs, why not check out the variants and then speak to me to see what would best suit your business. Also check out my blog posting on this subject.

Other cloud software which saves time and effort.

Bookkeeping has changed considerably over the last few years. It is a change we have taken very seriously here. That is why we are a Xero certified advisor. The move to cloud solutions has accelerated over this period with no signs of slowing down.

There is some really great business software out there just now, all of which will help you spend less time shuffling bits of paper. The great things about cloud software is that they bolt seamlessly into the likes of Xero and transfer the data straight into the software. Below is a small list of some of my favorite cloud solutions.

Receipt bank. Scan your receipts into the software, the software processes the receipts for you to check and then on your command sends it to Xero, also comes with a mobile app to help you catch those cash expenses that you always loose.

Datamolino. Similar to Receipt bank but also can add the first line of the invoice to the the scan, which is a serious time saver. This also bolts straight into Xero seamlessly. 

Tripcatcher. Takes your mileage and converts it at the correct rates, not only does it do this but it calculates the vat due on your claim and advise you how much in fuel receipts you need to validate your claim for vat. It also bolts into Xero.

Harvest. Again a great bit of software if you are in a service industry. It has a clock to time your chargeable/non chargeable time so you can see how long you are spending on each client, then converts that time on the clock to an invoice, which in turn can be sent directly to Xero. You can set budgets with it and when you get near to the end of the budget it will email you to tell you.

These are just a taste of what the cloud can do for your business. There are so many great bits of software sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith to see if it works for you.

Please get in touch if you have any questions about the software mentioned here. We will be more than happy to speak to you about them.