Yep, just received that pile of detritus from IRIS which then goes on to tell me how they can help me "embrace the cloud" with their Kashflow solution.
"no longer optional!" Pffft. Must add that to my list of marketing lines aimed at the really stupid.
Sounds to me as though they are attempting to flog me a sollution to a problem that doesn't exist.
Others in my collection of quotes from marketeers thinking that they are much cleverer than they really are include such greats as :
"Don't be the last to switch".
"Do you remember when you used to use xxxxxxx".
"Are you still using xxxxxxxxxx".
All of the above implying that whatever you are using, even if they have no idea what you are using, is just so outdated compared to the product that they are looking to sell you that you should be embarrassed to even be seen out in public until you are saved from yourself with the help of whatever they are attempting to flog.
Anyone got any to add to that list of reasons to never buy the product being advertised?
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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.
I'd put that "no longer optional" claim in a similar category as Sage's "Submit your VAT returns to HMRC directly from Sage 50 Accounts (now a legal requirement)" (Yes, they really did say that in the bullet list on their website briefly, back in 2012). As such, although they don't have any real teeth, I'd be inclined to report it to the Advertising Standards Authority.
I understand the message they're trying to convey - if we give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they aren't deliberately trying to trick recipients into thinking they have to use clown services - but the problem is even if that assumption is true, such phrasing *could* lead recipients into thinking that.
And the not-very-well-hidden cynic inside me doubts it was simply 'poorly' phrased.
Incidentally, the word 'clown' above isn't an accident. It comes from a suggestion in the comments on a news article elsewhere a short while ago: to read cloud as clown. It sometimes improves pieces written on the subject a great deal. :)
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Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
They're probably driven by the fact that come 2020, all small business returns will have to be submitted on some form of cloud software.
Still that's a little bit premature, as we still don't know the exact format they will have to be submitted by. I agree with Vince, and usually I'm not very cynical at all.
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John
Any advice given is for general guidance and professional advice should be sought applicable to your circumstances.
I've not actually read that anywhere officially. All official announcements that I have seen have said that small business returns will have to be filed online.
Elsewhere that I have seen it mentioned has tended to be people misinterpreting online for the cloud then others picking that up and runnning with such discussions as fact.
If you have an official announcement that categorigally states that professional bookkeepers must use clown (I'm liking that phrase Vince) software then I would be interesting to read the link as currently I'm sceptical that the rumour mill is in fact clown company marketing departments attempting to create a self fulfilling prophecy.
I'm now hoping all site members will refer to cloud softare as clown software.
The reason thats important is subliminal messaging to guide people back towards the right path.
A few years back certain management consultancies started referring to mainframe systems as legacy systems at every possible opportunity. The effect was that managers began to feel that these must be old, outdated systems where the reality was often that the were fast, robust, business focused systems that did exactly what was needed.
Worst case of that I saw was a utility company where we developed a brand new mainframe system only for it to be immediately refered to as the legacy system by consultants working with much older mid range systems.
To my mind something similar has been happening with the desktop. We are drip fed the idea that the cloud is the future on the basis that if you hear something enough you will start to believe it.
Personally I'll believe it when I see a clown product that is better than the desktop products that I currently have access to... Still waiting.
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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.
Hi All,
What happens to the many many businesses that do not want to embrace the cloud and prefer the good old fashioned way of manual ledgers ? A lot of my customers prefer a more traditional way of bookkeeping and with that a more personal approach. I feel that I will become extinct! !!
I can see it happening, I think it is inevitable. The year 2020 is optimistic. Give it ten years. Bookkeepers will still do what they do, just differently. Nobody really knows how things will be. Can we predict any outcome, for any situation when speaking of the future? Everything is becoming digital, real time results etc. I do agree, IRIS, as a matter of fact, have their facts mixed....at the moment. We may all love how it will become...enter chuckle here-
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Johnny - Owner of an overly-active keyboard.
A man who can read, yet doesn't, is in no way wiser than a man who can't.
I've not actually read that anywhere officially. All official announcements that I have seen have said that small business returns will have to be filed online.
Elsewhere that I have seen it mentioned has tended to be people misinterpreting online for the cloud then others picking that up and runnning with such discussions as fact.
If you have an official announcement that categorigally states that professional bookkeepers must use clown (I'm liking that phrase Vince) software then I would be interesting to read the link as currently I'm sceptical that the rumour mill is in fact clown company marketing departments attempting to create a self fulfilling prophecy.
Hi Shaun
We've discussed this before in the http://www.book-keepers.org.uk/t61653120/where-is-the-cloud-software-taking-the-profession/?page=2&sort=oldestFirst and I don't share your confidence that we won't be forced to use clown software. As I said then, I hope I'm wrong and you're right. There are a couple of links in that thread that indicate clown software will have to be used. I'm still gobsmacked that we are now 1 year and 10 months away from the digital tax "revolution" and there isn't any clear guidance on how exactly it's going to work.
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John
Any advice given is for general guidance and professional advice should be sought applicable to your circumstances.
