Is Bookkeeping software recommended?

I am often asked by prospects and customers how they should keep their financial books, whether they should invest in bookkeeping software and if so which package would I recommend. 

Using a spreadsheet or paper records is definitely better than nothing and certainly preferable to a ‘supermarket bag of receipts’! 

These may be cheap solutions (unless you need to buy a MS Excel licence) and – on the surface at least - easy to use, but they do have their limitations particularly as the business grows.

I recommend using an online bookkeeping software package as early as possible when starting out in business because:

• these packages can be relatively inexpensive with monthly pricing.
• Systematically recording your business’ transactions in a bookkeeping package is a good habit to get into earlier rather than later.  When you start up you have more time to set it up plus you are building up invaluable business data from day one.
• Online (or cloud) bookkeeping software means your information is automatically backed up to a secure data centre.  It can be expensive, time consuming and painful to retrieve or recreate data from an unbacked-up system.
• Using an online bookkeeping package also means you don’t need to download any special software, you just need an internet browser plus the software provider will ensure you are always on the latest version.
• As long as you have an internet connection, you can access your bookkeeping software 24/7 and anywhere in the world.
• You usually get support and help over the internet and telephone from the software provider.
• You can more effectively monitor which customers have paid you and those which haven’t.  This is essential if your customers don’t pay you upfront.
• It is simple to keep track of which suppliers you have paid and which cheques haven’t cleared the bank.
• Some packages offer the facility to link directly to your bank account saving you time by not having to re-key data.
• Ready to use reporting tools with drill down functionality help you manage your business and understand how it is performing. 
• VAT returns may be filed at the click of a button.

Often packages are scalable with extra bolt on features such as stock control, payroll, multicurrency, multi-user or document scanning, accept credit/debit card payments.

Which accounting software package should you use?

There are a number of bookkeeping software packages currently on the market and at TaxAssist Accountants in Windsor and Maidenhead, we are experienced in using most of them including QuickBooks, Sage, Kashflow, Freeagent and Xero.

Special Quickbooks Online Offers

Call us to find out what special offers we are running on Quickbooks at the moment or look at The Best of Windsor's Offers Page!