A client has asked me to give them a comparison of different software offerings. I am doing Sage, Xero and VT Transaction. Are there any others that anyone can recommend?
Also, they have 2 trading names and operate both as if they are 2 totally separate businesses/ 2 bank accounts etc. They are a sole trader.
Will this mean they will need 2 Xero packages if they went with that? Same with Sage? I know VT can so as many companies as you want.
Also, they have 2 trading names and operate both as if they are 2 totally separate businesses/ 2 bank accounts etc. They are a sole trader.
Will this mean they will need 2 Xero packages if they went with that? Same with Sage? I know VT can so as many companies as you want.
It depends on what they want and need in terms of reporting, as well as what the software can do.
For example, consider the possibility of setting up a single 'company' in the software for the client themselves, and using a separate department for each trading name - since they are a sole trader with two trading names, that should work for a simple set up, but for bigger set ups (needing full sales ledger facilities and reporting, for example) it can be more of a pain.
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Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
Hi Matt
I did get it when it was on a bit of an offer, from Staples of all places. Worth a look around Amazon, might not be that price but way cheaper than sage.
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Last time I saw it on Amazon it was £82 but just checked now and it's £100, that's still not bad.
Also Matt, it may be worth looking at Adminsoft Accounts, as it allows departments. Not tried it myself but intend looking at it as I have a similar situation to yourself.
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John
Any advice given is for general guidance and professional advice should be sought applicable to your circumstances.
I fear that those comparisons give only a small selection of not necessarily the best offerings in the market.
Maybe a better place to look would be the Accountingweb software satisfaction survey (see here http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/article/small-business-accounting-software-guide/563234#desktop%20leaders)
In order of customer satisfaction (score attained in brackets)
I'm not going to pass comment on the figures except to say that it's nice to see VT exactly where it should be.
kind regards,
Shaun.
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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.
apparently it's due to two years of perceived falling support and functionality. Have a look at the link as it goes into more detail as to what the benefits and issues are. On value for money it still scored better than Sage 50 which is not surprising given the Sage client tax.
There are a lot of lesser known options that get a mention with some of the results being quite amusing reading.
Interesting to see that some cloud offerings such as Quickfile are free (or mostly free as they always have some paid for functionality).
One of my big bug bears about many cloud offerings is that you can't try before you buy (well, not without giving them your credit card details) where desktop offerings generally come with a trial period to see whether you like the software.
f course other issues are availability, security, pay per client, etc. So pretty safe to say that I'll be sticking with desktop solutions linked with dropbox.
All the best,
Shaun.
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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.
Dropbox might be an incredibly convenient solution when it comes to sharing data, and I do use it where a client likes it - but I have very severe reservations about it in general when it comes to sharing privileged/confidential data.
Data stored on Dropbox is not encrypted - it simply can't be, because one of its key features is the ease with which it allows you to share data with others. For that data to be encrypted - you would use a key with which the data is encrypted, and you would provide those with whom that data needs to be shared with the key required to decrypt it.
You do not do this. When you set up a Dropbox account, you create a bog standard log-in. When you share a folder with someone else, they use their own bog standard log-in. End to end encryption is not possible in that kind of set up: The best you get is encryption from you to Dropbox (assuming the Dropbox client uses https, which I can't be bothered to check now, but it probably does) and encryption from Dropbox to the other party (using the same assumption).
The data on Dropbox's servers must by the very nature of the service's selling points be unencrypted.
Sadly, I don't really have a better solution - especially if convenience is factored in. Personally, though, I'll try to stick to email where I can. It's no more secure (especially if not encrypted) but at least it's theoretically only sitting on a server in the intervening period between being sent, and being received - rather than sitting on a server and remaining there until you or the client decides to delete it.
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Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
