Recommend accounts software for web designer?
ws
Apologies if this is not the best place to ask such a question.
I am looking for a Windows based accounts/bookkeeping package to help
run a small web design business in the UK. The business consists of a
non-VAT registered sole trader (with little accounting knowledge)
working from home, looking to mainly keep tabs on bookkeeping for
annual self-assessment and client accounts
(invoicing/paid/outstanding). There is no requirement for payroll or
stock control.
The packages that I've looked at so far are the ones that have been
mentioned to me; Sage Instant Accounts 8 and Intuit Quickbooks 2003.
Unfortunately, I've not been able to determine much to distinguish
them.
Could you suggest what might be a suitable package based upon this
amount of information?
Much appreciated.
WS
Atholl Tomlinson
10 years and swear by it.
Atholl Tomlinson
leaveforms.techcharge.com
Doug Ramage
"ws" <ws_u...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:11833bf1.0306...@posting.google.com...
Have a look at the MoneySoft website. They may allow you a time limited
demo.
http://www.moneysoft.co.uk/
--
Doug Ramage
Martin
Approx how many transactions / month (purchases, invoices)? I suspect not
that many, in which case you would find a spread-sheet (or even pen and
paper - shudder) all you need, unless I misunderstand the nature of your
planned business.
--
Martin
[remove barrier to reply]
Slartibartfast
news:bc2l98$epq30$1...@ID-34015.news.dfncis.de...
> Have a look at the MoneySoft website. They may allow you a time limited
> demo.
>
> http://www.moneysoft.co.uk/
> --
Spookily, I phoned them about half an hour ago (before I read this thread)
to ask them about this, and they told me in a very off-hand manner that they
don't do it. Which is odd, because they DO it for their Payroll program,
and it was because of this that I bought it a couple of weeks ago.
Although Money Manager isn't expensive (less than £100), I can't help
thinking they are losing business by not granting a temporary license.
--
Slartibartfast
To reply by email, remove the FJORDS from my address
ws
>
> Approx how many transactions / month (purchases, invoices)? I suspect not
> that many, in which case you would find a spread-sheet (or even pen and
> paper - shudder) all you need, unless I misunderstand the nature of your
> planned business.
I'd estimate at less than 10 transactions per month once the business
is more established and a lot of the one-off purchases have been made.
However, this number will vary depending on the payment schedules of
the clients which could range from monthly to quarterly to annually.
I also need to keep track of hosting packages and domain name renewals
as well as producing invoices for additional work.
I've started using a spreadsheet, but am not really comfortable with
how I'm doing it. It's mainly down to a lack of knowledge, but also a
wanting to find a more coherent solution for managing clients and
resources. Hence my wanting to look for a package to act as a guide
as well as anything else.
Thanks for your input.
Doug Ramage
"Slartibartfast" <sla...@celynnen.FJORDSdemon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bc44di$rvn$1$830f...@news.demon.co.uk...
I agree. It was after your recent post, IIRC, about allowing you a demo for
the Payroll program that they would do the same for their other programs.
--
Doug Ramage
Dave
@hotmail.com says...
> Greetings,
>
> Apologies if this is not the best place to ask such a question.
Granted ;)
> I am looking for a Windows based accounts/bookkeeping package to help
> run a small web design business in the UK.
Why don't you ask the guys / gals on alt.www.webmaster for their
recommendations, after all they are the ones doing your job and
presumably keeping records.
<snipped>
>
> Much appreciated.
>
> WS
>
Welcome
Dave
--
----- + ----- + -----
The internet is too big to fit in your recycle bin
Do you REALLY want to delete it?
----- + ----- + -----
Martin
Fair comment. I happen to be a fan of Excel (prob the only one ;-) ) but
doubtless you could earn enough in x-hours setting it up, to buy someone
else's "wheel".
Alan Terry
<ws_u...@hotmail.com> writes
>
>I've started using a spreadsheet, but am not really comfortable with
>how I'm doing it. It's mainly down to a lack of knowledge, but also a
>wanting to find a more coherent solution for managing clients and
>resources. Hence my wanting to look for a package to act as a guide
>as well as anything else.
>
>Thanks for your input.
Why not avoid all the time and hassle and use a book-keeper?
--
Alan ............
Tony Bryer
> Have a look at Pastel Accounting www.pastel.com . I have
> been using it for 10 years and swear by it.
I used it for a year c.1995 and dropped it, mainly because it had a
problem with VAT rounding which I guess they sorted ages ago - the
VAT return proforma it produced would be ten pence or so adrift from
the ledger balance. I switched to QuickBooks and could not ever
imagine adopting anything else.
--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
ws
wrote:
>In article <3ee4d10d$0$2...@hades.is.co.za>, Atholl Tomlinson wrote:
>> Have a look at Pastel Accounting www.pastel.com . I have
>> been using it for 10 years and swear by it.
>
>I used it for a year c.1995 and dropped it, mainly because it had a
>problem with VAT rounding which I guess they sorted ages ago - the
>VAT return proforma it produced would be ten pence or so adrift from
>the ledger balance. I switched to QuickBooks and could not ever
>imagine adopting anything else.
I'd had a look at some of the packages mentioned in this thread and am
not entirely convinced that I should 'stray' from one of the big two
i.e. Sage Instant Accounts and QuickBooks, mainly because I'm not
overly familiar with this type of software and these are the ones that
seem to receive the most (positive) press. Most recommendations for
either of these two have been quite constructive and descriptive.
Most of the recommendations for the other packages don't seem to carry
as much weight. What makes it even more difficult is the lack of
trial versions and the relatively similar pricing.
Okay, so Pastel Accounting is good. Why?
Similarly, QuickBooks is good. Why?
ws
You mean employ a book-keeper person to do it?
I'd like to take the software route because I'd like to learn more
about the financial side of business, maintain a greater degree of
control, save money in the long run. Basically, I want to take the
responsibility.
I'm hoping time and hassle now will become less so as I become more
proficient with the package and will ultimately lead to reduced costs.
Atholl Tomlinson
> not entirely convinced that I should 'stray' from one of the big two
> i.e. Sage Instant Accounts and QuickBooks, mainly because I'm not
> overly familiar with this type of software and these are the ones that
> seem to receive the most (positive) press. Most recommendations for
> either of these two have been quite constructive and descriptive.
> Most of the recommendations for the other packages don't seem to carry
> as much weight. What makes it even more difficult is the lack of
> trial versions and the relatively similar pricing.
>
> Okay, so Pastel Accounting is good. Why?
>
people go with Sage in the UK. Pastel have about a 70% market share in the
SME market here in South Africa.
I used to be a Pastel VAR now I am just a user so things might have changed.
But as far as I know they do offer a demo that is limited to a certain
number of transactions (it used to be about 800). As a small business you
could test the software and actually run your business on it for a few
months before you reach the transaction limit and have to pay for it.
Atholl
http://leaveforms.techcharge.com
Doug Ramage
Like a lot (most?) people I started with Sage over 10 years ago, but changed
to TAS Books and MYOB for a while before settling on QuickBooks.
--
Doug Ramage
Alan Terry
<ws_u...@NOEMAILhotmail.com> writes
>On Tue, 10 Jun 2003 18:28:30 +0100, Alan Terry
><al...@successful.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>In article <11833bf1.03061...@posting.google.com>, ws
>><ws_u...@hotmail.com> writes
>>>
>>>I've started using a spreadsheet, but am not really comfortable with
>>>how I'm doing it. It's mainly down to a lack of knowledge, but also a
>>>wanting to find a more coherent solution for managing clients and
>>>resources. Hence my wanting to look for a package to act as a guide
>>>as well as anything else.
>>>
>>>Thanks for your input.
>>
>>Why not avoid all the time and hassle and use a book-keeper?
>
>You mean employ a book-keeper person to do it?
No, I mean pass the work out to a book-keeper (as you will pass your
accounting to an accountant).
You can still get all the info/data you want to keep control of your
business and spend your time on developing your business instead of
'doing the books'.
I always think if someone believes it's a good use of their time _doing_
book-keeping they might as well become a book-keeper!
--
Alan ............
Tony Bryer
wrote:
> Similarly, QuickBooks is good. Why?
I guess that for me it is because it works the way I work. The
ability to go back and change things rather than having to post
correcting journals is something that makes some accountants
nervous: mine said, very pragmatically, that if I (being at the
time a one person business) was on the fiddle the cash in hand
(or whatever) transactions would almost certainly not be anywhere
in the formal accounts anyway.
There are a lot of nice touches in QB (quite possibly also found
in the others) like short date entry 1006 is expanded
automatically to 10/06/2003 and using the grey + and - keys to
change dates.
ws
>
> No, I mean pass the work out to a book-keeper (as you will pass your
> accounting to an accountant).
>
> You can still get all the info/data you want to keep control of your
> business and spend your time on developing your business instead of
> 'doing the books'.
>
> I always think if someone believes it's a good use of their time _doing_
> book-keeping they might as well become a book-keeper!
I'm hoping to save money by doing the books and self-assessment
myself. I know that time is money and that the time I spend doing the
books and self-assessment will be time away from developing the
business, but I think it's time well spent in becoming more
self-sufficient and proficient in a wider range of business matters.
I don't want to become a book-keeper (as far as I'm aware), but don't
mind doing *some* book-keeping. I don't want to become a cleaner or a
chef either does that mean I should get someone to clean and cook for
me? ;)
Teach a man to fish and all that :)
ws
wrote:
>In article <qnhcevoe03euvp6t9...@4ax.com>, Ws
I'm quite surprised to read so many negative reviews and comments
towards QB. Especially on amazon.com. Yet still the package sells so
well and gets reviewed well too. Granted a lot of the comments seem
to stem from existing users complaining about being forced to upgrade,
payroll functionality and support. Hopefully, I won't be encroaching
on those areas being a sole trader without any employess.
QB Pro seems to offer a lot of features I'd like to use...
Doug Ramage
"ws" <ws_u...@NOEMAILhotmail.com> wrote in message
news:19teevor23v98rvt7...@4ax.com...
I tried QB's Payroll, but did not like it. Moved to Freeway (now Iris)
instead.
--
Doug Ramage
ws
go.
ws
Tony Bryer
> Thanks for everyone's responses. I've decided to give
> QB 2003 Pro a go.
The key thing with any accounting package is to get your account
heads and opening balances right. QB has some great reporting
options but it cannot report on things that are unreportable. e.g.
you need to decide whether one heading of Computer Expenses is
adequate or whether it would be give this sub accounts of Software,
Maintenance, Consumables etc.