What Bookkeeping Software do Rosemary use?
With all of the choices available how do Rosemary work with their clients?
With managing your bookkeeping and finances being so important to your business and so many Bookkeeping Software packages to choose from, how do you find the right one?
There are many differences between the software packages listed above, we suggest you review each software and choose the system that suits your business’ requirements.
In order to choose the right Bookkeeping Software, businesses need to consider the look and feel, customisability and scalability, record keeping, tasks and data access reports and subscription fees.
Why not take advantage of the free trials offered so you can really see the software capabilities and speak to you local Rosemary Bookkeeper about the software their clients are using and how it really works on a day to day business. Rosemary Bookkeeping can even supply some of the software applications for you with reduced subscription fees.
Below is an overview of many of the most popular Accountancy and Bookkeeping Software packages available.
Sage is very well know within accounting and bookkeeping circles, Sage has been around for a long time and it is available in a variety of formats, so there should be a version suitable for most companies.
Sage is our preferred bookkeeping software and the one the Rosemary system is modelled on.
Sage choices:
Sage 50c is a small business accounting package that has been primarily designed for desktop use. Sage 50c is a cloud-based software application and it is easy for businesses to share their financial data with their bookkeeper, accountant and other users by storing it on the web-based Sage Drive. Although Sage has adopted the cloud, it still lacks integrated browser-based remote access for transaction entry and data retrieval.
For small businesses looking for an accounting tool that will provide a solution with a strong feature set and exceptional customisability, especially in terms of inventory management, Sage 50c is a good option. The software is known to have the most thorough documentation and provides online and phone-based support, as well as professional advisers.
Pros
Businesses can easily view their financial reports from their laptop, tablet, or smartphone without having to go into Sage 50. Being cloud-based, the software comes with automated offsite back-ups. Businesses can also undo data entry errors by restoring data from the cloud as of a particular date.
Cons
Sage has only released an iOS version of its app and has not released any app specifically for Android users.
You find our more about Sage here: www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/accounting/
Intuit QuickBooks
QuickBooks is developed by Intuit who were one of the first accounting software providers. Like many of the other accounting applications, Quickbooks comes with an attractive dashboard which shows key data such as income, expenses and profit and loss in front of you as soon as you log in.
Quickbooks offers true double-entry accounting with plenty of reports and accounts charts, as well as customisable invoices, inventory capabilities, payroll support, multiple currencies, and over 400 integrations.
Pros
One of the best aspects about QuickBooks is that the software continues to be updated on a regular basis. One of the most recent updates the software received was the project management feature. The software also provides users with many features that other traditional locally installed software do not provide. These features include automatic sales receipts, split transactions, scheduled invoices, and location and class categories.
Cons
Quickbooks, which is generally a feature-rich, high-quality software, does have disadvantages as the software’s several customers have flagged that the software still does not compare to its desktop counterpart and can sometimes be complicated and hard to navigate over a period of time.
Find our more about Quickbooks here: www.quickbooks.co.uk/
Xero
Xero is another big accounting software provider. Xero is ideal for invoicing, inventory, payroll, and expense claims, it can also import your banking, credit card, and PayPal data, and there’s an app that works on both iPhone and Android.
Xero is based inNew Zealand and was Founded in 2006, it’s software is designed for small and growing businesses. Although Xero has not been around as long as Sage & Intuit, as of February 2018, Xero has a total of 253,000 users in the UK alone.
Pros
As a cloud-based solution, Xero can easily be accessed from all types of devices with an active internet connection. It is built on a double entry accounting framework and its robust accounting features enables small businesses to view their cash flow, transactions and account details from any location. Bank transactions are all automatically imported and coded.
Online bill payments help keep track of spending and stay on top of bills due, improving relationships with the suppliers that provide critical business services. It also allows businesses to manage personal expenses with a mobile review and approval process of each receipt. Xero offers unlimited user support and integration with over 600 systems through its add-on marketplace, including Curve, Receipt Bank, and Vend. It also updates its software on a regular basis.
Cons
In some areas, Xero’s accounting features are limited, for example it has only two tracking categories.
For this software, business users pay a subscription amount for the most basic version. In order to access functions such as expanded time tracking and inventory tracking, businesses need to purchase add-ons on top of the subscription. Importing data is free, but using payment services like Paypal or Stripe carries a cost.
Find out more about Xero here: www.xero.com/uk/
ClearBooks is the accounting software that was built with small businesses in mind. ClearBooks allows you to create customisable, professional invoices in seconds and let your customers pay you instantly. It has a simple facility that will prompt customers or chase late payments with automated emails.
ClearBooks also has a purchases and expenses features, it will let you create everything from basic reports, such as profit and loss or balance sheets, to more advanced reports, such as audit logs and trial balance reports. It will also allow you to submit MTD VAT returns to HMRC.
Pros
ClearBooks is fairly easy to use, it well priced and the provide good support. Easy to use reports & graphs invoicing VAT return generation. It has a great user interface with nice reports that are easy for accountant to use.
Cons
Some reports of poor customer services
Find our more about Kashflow here: www.kashflow.com
Kashflow was founded in 2005, and has won lots of awards including Best SME Accounting and Finance in 2011 and 2012 and Best Small Business Accounting Software in 2008 and 2009. There are currently 57,000 businesses using KashFlow in the UK.
Pros
KashFlow now has its own app called the KashFlow Go. The app is targeted towards traders and small business owners. It is available on both Android and iOS and has been designed to provide a financial overview of the business while on the go, create and send quotes and invoices.
A unique aspect about the KashFlow accounting software is that the software directly links to HMRC enabling users to access all data in a single place, easing compliance burdens. It also integrates with industry leading online payment processors like Worldpay and GoCardless.
Cons
Although the accounting software has addressed some user requests, it has still downgraded features in many aspects. The software has dropped the number of integrations on offer and has removed their customisable dashboard feature. KashFlow also faces issues with navigation on the website.
Find our more about Kashflow here: www.kashflow.com
SAP Business One is an accounting package that is in a wide variety of market sectors including manufacturing, retail, service, and distribution industries. SAP Business One features a remote support platform that can perform automatic system health checks, scheduled database maintenance operations, upgrade eligibility checks, and automatic fixes for detected issues. It is deployed on-site and runs on Windows operating systems. SAP Business One is suitable for between 1 and 30 users.
SAP Business One primarily provides access to applications for general ledger, journal entries, project cost accounting, budget management, financial reporting, multi-currency support, and other functions.
Pros
In terms of accounting software, SAP Business One is known for its extensive customisation. The software also comes with an underlying SAP HANA database that allows for complex business analytics. It is known for its multi-currency support and extensive documentation.
Cons
Installing and running SAP Business One is sometimes not as quick and easy as other cloud-based mid-range accounting software. Businesses need to plan for implementation, configuration and testing of the software, which could take several weeks, as compared to the quick installation of cloud-based software.
Find out more about SAP Business One here: www.sap.com/uk/
Oracle Netsuite, is yet another cloud-based software application, Netsuite enables real-time business management and financial consolidation. It was one of the of the first enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems designed and written exclusively for the cloud. NetSuite effectively enables companies with several subsidiaries, entities and business units to function using a single account, it can deal with different currencies, taxation and governance requirements.
The software provides real-time analytics free for all users.
Pros
Netsuite is often preferred by larger businesses as it features role-based dashboards and real-time metrics that help improve business performance, encourage and improve accountability and compliance through comprehensive, auditable accounting and speed up settlement of outstanding sales via automated billing management.
One of the best features about the application is that users will not need to wait and purchase different versions as they are released as there is only one codebase fully controlled by the vendor. The user will also not need to wait for updates and bug fixes to be built and tested, as they are automatically updated by NetSuite.
Cons
The one disadvantage that the software has is that businesses often find it difficult to configure the software for a specific role. Many businesses and users have also shared that the software’s help support can be confusing.
