With any cloud service you should always check how you get your data from the system and try to keep a copy every so often somewhere. You also need to know how to look up your data. You may not be able to change it in that situation, but at least you have a copy.
HMRC have "Terms of Use" for MTD software providers which means they should do this. HMRC are not, however, as yet enforcing this although it would be interesting to see what happens if someone complains.
For example my cloud cash book backs up to an Excel file.
This is terms of use: https://developer.service.hmrc.gov.uk/api-documentation/docs/terms-of-use
"Accessing data You must give your users access to their data. We may also ask to access their data if we open an investigation.
If you withdraw a piece of software or a user stops using it, you must let them retrieve and export all their data so they can meet their obligations to us."
Hi Is it Jake or Jackie (your profile is a bit confusing)?
Firstly this is a site for bookkeepers and Accountants rather than business owners. That said happy to help with this one, which has been done to death on here and frankly Sage annoy me with their sales tactics.
Just dont fall for it. Do not go on to a subs basis. Your sage will continue to work on the same PC, your licence covers you on a perpetual basis. You wont have access to sage cover.
You are not on cloud so what John has advised is in this instance irrelevant (but would be relevant if you were using eg Sage One or any sage on subs basis.) Sage 50 cloud is not really a cloud based product anyway!!! Its basic Sage, with MS O365
Doesnt matter that sage say it wont be supported malarky. Its not supported if you dont pay for their cover anyway!
Only time you may have an issue with access is if for some reason Sage become corrupted (eg two users using the same login at same time) or eg you upgrade to a windows version that is not compatible with the sage version you are using (we dont know what version you are using).
I have clients on donkies years old sage. Works absolutely fine. Plus you dont need to upgrade to access their MTD module, nor buy their add on MTD module - just use bridging software if you are VAT reg)
Just run your backups on a regular basis (ie every time you come out of it, EVERY TIME), double back up to 2 separate media in case of corruption of backups and keep using it.
Dont answer the phone to sage!!!!!!!!!!!
Not advice. Just a suggestion.
-- Edited by Cheshire on Friday 18th of October 2019 02:25:34 PM
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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
This thread reminded me to do a bit more work on my google takeaway. They have a nice system now which will do a download of all data with google (and thats a lot of different things) that will be produced automatically every month for 6 months and then you can download that to your own systems and save it somewhere else (potentially in the cloud not with google).
It is worth doing this sort of thing. If you have an android phone google keep records of where you go (unless you switch this off). I find this quite useful, but it is deleted after about 3 years. An important point to note is that google normally back up photos from your phone (if it is android) and youtube also keeps copies of your videos on there. For me without the photos and videos the "takeaway" is about 100 Mb, but with just the photos it goes up to 14Gb.
Hence if you do this be careful not to keep lots of copies of your photos and/or videos.
It will be interesting to see what happens over time about the "Terms of Use" and cloud providers that switch off viewing.
If you have an android phone google keep records of where you go (unless you switch this off).
You mean there are people who DON'T switch this off?
I don't even keep location services activated on my phone unless I'm specifically using it (which I only do when I go for a walk, so I can record my trail - using OS software, not via Google). However, I've noticed lately that it's become very spotty, with seemingly random jumps to other locations I've been. I've seen it suggested the reason for this is recent updates to Android trying to provide a fix quicker, and falling back on a recent location if necessary. That would be fair enough if the recent one used is the *most* recent one, and not one from half a day's walking earlier - or sometimes a previous day altogether.
I find this quite useful, but it is deleted after about 3 years. An important point to note is that google normally back up photos from your phone (if it is android) and youtube also keeps copies of your videos on there.
Not mine they don't! (I don't record videos on the phone, but that's not the point!)
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Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
I don't know what proportion of people switch off the location services, but I find the Satnav on Android quite helpful and I also like to see the history of where I have been, Obviously google only know the speed of the traffic on any road from the tracking of mobile phones on those roads. The Department of Transport do track speeds of vehicles between particular points, but that is not how google work out their journey times.
