In this case I think it is the client who has decided that they need a better system but using the word Sage for system. I understand they may already have a copy. My worry is that finding a starting point is not going to be easy. I am assuming the client thinks they can just transfer their invoices for sales and purchases to Sage - job done! I will know more on Wednesday but I am trying to prepare myself.
Thank you for your thoughts.
Sylvia
Im pretty sure you can set up a csv and import directly to sage for that.
If you use the table below to ensure you have the correct things in the correct places and the correct terms, don't use headers. You need to click File> Import> Audit trail transactions, browse for the csv, click open and it will import and tell you it was successful, unles there were any input errors. I'm pretty sure this then posts to all the relevant ledgers, your subsiduary, debtors control and sales and vat if there is any.
In fairness it can be time consuming, if the original spreadsheet is adaptable then fine, but it may be a case of being quicker and easier just to input the invoices both purchase and sales yourself.
I have my first client meeting next week, exciting but scary! This is a partnership in a small rural manufacturing business and at present the accounts are on excel. I am told that they are good at keeping up to date, invoicing, checking the bank, chasing unpaid invoices but the business is growing. The words were we have promised our accountant to put the accounts on Sage, starting in April. I am concerned that they are starting from an Income and Expenditure system (I am assuming) to double entry without the previous years accounts being drawn up.
Does the client actually want sage or is this another case of accountants running ruff shod over what the client wants and needs in order to fit in with the software that their firm uses... And resells?
If you absolutely have to move to sage then the best approach may be to go back to the last set of accounts that were prepared for opening balances and then enter all tranactions into the system from then going forwards.
If there have never been any accounts prepared for this client then it's re-entering everything into the accouts package that the client chooses.
If the accountant has genuinely convinced the client that they have to have Sage for their business then there's definitely going to be a quite a bit of data input work for you.
There are actually options to import from Excel to sage but this can be very hit and miss and in my experience one seems to spend as much time checking that everything is where it should be than if one had just typed the data straight into Sage.
The strap line from the film the usual suspects was "The greatest trick that the devil ever pulled was to convince the world that he didn't exist". In a similar way Sage seem to have pulled a similar feat with convincing business that they need it when to be quite honest they don't as there are a lot better and cheaper options out there that are a lot more forgiving of the mistakes that clients invariably make.
Forgive my anti sage stance which is nothing to do with your immediate cunnundrum but I think that their licencing stinks. If you buy software it should be down to you, not Sage to decide how many clients you use that software for. Sage on the other hand regard their software as a client tax.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
lol... Actually a very apt analogy from the little experience that I've had of trying it.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Do Accountants tend to push (sell) the software of their choice upon clients?
BTW Shaun i seem to have hit Guru Status without anyone throwing a surprise party, i must also add how disappointed i was at not receiving Court Jester status lol.
Congrats on the new status Neil and it's well deserved. You've given a lot of help to a lot of people and had fun in the process.
Nice one matey.
Oh, and in answer to the first part of that. Yes, some accountants do as they make money out of making their life easier.
In the case of this scenario I can see some very unhappy clients when they realise what they've signed up for as up until now they've had software that does what they want and now they're moving to software where they have to do what it wants.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
In this case I think it is the client who has decided that they need a better system but using the word Sage for system. I understand they may already have a copy. My worry is that finding a starting point is not going to be easy. I am assuming the client thinks they can just transfer their invoices for sales and purchases to Sage - job done! I will know more on Wednesday but I am trying to prepare myself.
When is their financial year end ? Easiest option is to start entering data from 1st day of new financial year into new accounts package. Get the accountants to do the year end accounts ASAP and enter their closing TB. You'll get a fairly accurate P&L straight away, a messy balance sheet until the year end is done but then it will all sort itself out as soon as the opening tb is entered - and no messing about with excel imports or re entering work that's already been done
I have several spreadsheet templates I use to import into sage, they make it reasonably quick, obviously depending on the format the data is currently in. Entering the opening balances from the TB when the previous years accounts are completed is clearly a good way to go, then you can import supplier/customer invoices and payments etc. pretty quickly from Excel.
