Accounting Software Tuesday 10 th September 2013 Presentation by Peter Brassington
Computerised Accounting Systems Advantages:- Speed Accuracy of operation Real-time state of the financial position. Never seen a business that has upgraded to a computer, then returned to manual records.
OPTIONS
Software Options Desktop Cloud
THE DESKTOP OPTIONS
DESKTOP Advantages Not reliant on internet connection Buy package once and it s yours Better security, less likely of being hacked as not online
Released in last couple of months New features
Submit VAT with confidence Ensure your VAT return contains all the required transactions with the VAT verifier. Meet VAT legislation Show me how gives you the confidence you are entering and processing transactions correctly.
Calculate stock values Opening and closing stock wizard lets you calculate stock values with ease. Keep stock up to date Remove products you no longer sell from your stock list, giving you an accurate idea of items stocked.
Access data on the move Sage 50 Accounts Mobile gives you the ability to access important data on the move. Manage multiple currencies Foreign Trader is now available as an add-on for Sage 50 Accounts to manage your multiple currencies.
CLOUD BASED OPTIONS
THE CLOUD Advantages No big upfront cost, paid monthly Very little hardware required Good Back-ups Updates automatic Access anywhere with internet
Freeagent, Kashflow or Xero Widely accepted used to be either Sage or QuickBooks. Challenged by new generation of webbased software. Lack of high end features no longer an issue (Sage One & Sage 50 Web-Based)
Freeagent Ideal if you re a contractor or freelancer Price 15-25 per month Teamed up with Iris Simple with plenty of tricks, time tracking and project management tools make it good for contractors
Ideal for stock-based businesses, with unique stock management features Price 18 per month Has stock control and integration with payment card processors.
Supports automatic bank feeds, an integrated payroll module and multiple users with different permissions Price 12-24 per month Hailing from New Zealand, seamless transition to these shores, with support for UK VAT, tax and now even UK payroll facilities.
Imports downloaded bank statements Bank reconciliation feature does an impressive job of matching invoices you have created against entries in the bank Create rules that automatically allocate entries to accounts based on conditions such as payee, description or amount.
Automatic import data directly from your bank. (Currently, only HSBC is a direct partner) Yodlee, a third-party solution. Automatically connects to banking site and transfers statements securely to your Xero account daily.
Integrated payroll module with a batch payment function. Multiple users with separate permissions levels, so access to payroll functions can be limited to Payroll Admin users while still allowing others to generate invoices.
DASHBOARD Gives you an overview of each of the core sections Allows you to quickly add new transactions Interactive Graphs to show money in & out
Add a sales invoice From the Dashboard click Add Sales Invoice. Enter invoice details. Perhaps choose an inventory item or long description. Click Approve.
Email yourself the newly created invoice Locate the invoice by clicking on the Awaiting Payment panel in Open the invoice and using the Email button enter your details. Click Send.
Add your own bank account Go to Banking. Add Bank Account button to add a bank account, credit card or PayPal account. Complete the fields, then Save. Use the Manage Account button on your bank account to add a Spend or Receive Money transaction.
Reconcile the bank In your bank account click the Reconcile [n] items to see the imported statement lines you need to reconcile. Click OK to reconcile any matched items if you entered transaction details into the Xero bank account above. Or select the Create tab to enter a cash transaction or Find & Match to select an alternative transaction.
Review Aged Receivables From the Reports drop-down menu select Aged Receivables. Click on amounts or customers for more details. You should see the invoice you added in the step above if you entered a due date in the past and the invoice is now overdue.
Print a statement for a customer Click Money Coming In from the Dashboard. Select Send Statements. Pick customers using the check boxes and click Print.
View the Profit and Loss report From the Reports tab select Profit and Loss. Pick a date and period for comparison or use the Show Date Range tab to select a period.
Export any report to Excel/PDF/Google Docs Generate any report and scroll to the bottom of the page and click Export. Select your preferred format.
Add an account from the Chart of Accounts to the Dashboard Watchlist Go to Chart of Accounts. Click on the name of an account that you want to display. Check the option Show on Dashboard Watchlist from the Edit Account Details box that pops up, then Save. Return to the Dashboard to see that account now listed.
Xero Partners Edition My Xero (Home Page) Staff access control for all staff Reporting Tab (Client Reports) Resources (Training)
Conclusion Today, online business accounting solutions have been replacing desktop accounting software for a number of reasons. Online accounting solutions work best for small business owners and home offices, they have both advantages as well as disadvantages.