Business software advice

[asm88]

It is one year after I set up my business and it has a pretty successful start, considering how some new businesses are fairing in this economic climate, So I am wondering if I should be considering investing in some business software for accounts and contact management, what are people's thoughts?

One piece of software I have been considering is Sage 50 Accounts because DIY accounting can quite a meticulous task, what do peole think?

any software suggestions will be appreciated? allowing my to get an ideas of the business software scope

[trevorwood]

Accounting software: A few things to look at

1. Talk to your accountant and see what works for them. My accountant is happy to use a number of different software packages but some will force you down a specific route.
2. See if you can get a trial of the software to make sure it does what you want it to do. I use Quickboks Pro because when I started out it did everything I needed and it was cheaper than Sage. A friend of mine wished he'd gone the same route because he couldn't email invoices and sales receipts directly from his software.

CRM. Have a look at SugarCRM. The basic package is free. The downside is that it has to be run on a web server (you can set it up on your PC - talk to your IT person).

Other alternatives are ones that are hosted online and you pay a monthly fee for. There are gotcha's with these too.

1. Check where your data is hosted. If it's outside the EU (e.g. USA) you may be breaking the data protection act.
2. Don't host anything in the cloud that you're not prepared to lose - what happens if your provider disappears or gets hacked?

Anyway a few quick thoughts that'll cause dome heated discussion - people tend to be protective of whatever software they use

[leemason]

Sage seems to be one of those packages that accountants seem to love. I tried it and did not like it. It's not good for non-accountants in my view. Have a look at either Quickbooks or if you fancy using an online package have a look at Kashflow.

[Ray Stewart]

I have never recommended Sage. It is horrible for users and accountants both. There are many bookkeeeping packages around both to buy and online which have been discussed at length a few times on here. You should be able to find them with a quick search.

All the online services are clever, integrated with banks and CRM to help you. Everyone who trys them finds different ones suit their circumstances so me banging on about Xero will not help or suit everyone.

I am afraid you will just have to try, test and overcome frustrations with various ones until you find one you can live with yourself - as everyone else here has done. All accountants these days work with most of the packages so don't let that point alone decide you.

[hlsbs]

I use Xero for accounts and Capsule for my CRM as they are online and integrate with each other. Have used Sage in the past both for accounts and CRM and hated it.

Think it says something that the majority of my clients now use the Xero/Capsule partnershi as well.

[AdamW]

I use Clearbooks for the accounts and manage the rest myself. Definitely not a fan of Sage and I couldn't get on with Capsule (I did try after I read something Helen wrote about it a while ago).

[amac]

I'd still outsource my accounting in this situation. Xero and the other SAAS accounting services are getting easier to use but still, a professional accountancy that may even use these themselves will still do the job faster and better than you I'd expect. It also means you can focus on running your business.

[paultgreen]

I use an accountant - he saves me his annual fees, and is specialist to the security industry, so knows all the allowances we can use effectively - he provides a spreadsheet, I do a bit of copying and pasting once a month.

For invoices, I use BambooInvoice (self hosted and free), for CRM, I'm trying SugarCRM (self hosted and free), and for payroll I use ::: Payroo.com - Free Online UK Payroll Software ::: (hosted and charged per staff member, up to 10 is free). My accountant is happy with the setup, and it allows me to work pretty efficiently.

As I can see, everyone has a different solution that works for them, so it's going to be time to plug and play.

[thelegalstop]

Hi, I have heard good things about quickbooks, but unfortunately i have not tried it and I cannot recommend any.

[drwedge]

I have never had a particular affinity with accountancy, but have a good accountant who talks to me in language I understand. I have been using Quickbooks for a number of years and have found it fairly intuitive and easy to use.

[leemason]

I've used Quickbooks for many years including the payroll option and for a non-accountant it's great. I had a look at Sage a whie back but for someone who doesn't spend their life immersed in accounts it's just too unfriendly.

[davidcraigwhite]

I would personally recommend an accountant to save time as well as the hair on your head.

Most importantly you MUST have a CRM system to manage your customer data. I have worked with companies in the past who have witnessed extreme growth only to be jolted by having started with a poor CRM set-up or no CRM at all. I have used Salesforce CRM for donkeys years and although there is a ton of cheaper alternatives I have never had the need to look around because it is plenty of value for money and can grow with your business.

[bertles86]

Look at reducing costs and using cloud solutions. Increasing numbers of clients are using Xero Online Accounting, and Zoho CRM.

[Neil_CamisOnline]

I'd say a lot depends on what sort of business you've got such as manufacturing or providing services.

We found that many businesses are quite unique and all require different things such as stock control, crm, managing documents, recording time or managing loans. I'd begin by making a list of the areas of the business where you think you need more control or accountability. Also consider who might need to access your data such as colleagues or suppliers and where they might need to get access.

I know cloud/hosted solutions have some disadvantages, but I think the benefits of hosted stuff far outweigh these - scalability, no requirements for on-site servers etc (and that's not just because I sell it lol).

[TST1]

For CRM we live by Salesforce.com - it may be pricey in consideration to the free options (obviously) but what you can do and achieve with it is incredible.

Also one thing to remember is that without setting these things up properly there will seem to be little to no value and it's all so complicated.

For accounts I'm not too sure of the best package but I've heard really good things about Kashflow which is a cloud based SaaS pay monthly accounts package. Relatively cheap and from what I've seen people that use it adore it.

[Beacon4business]

Hi all,

I'm new here so apologies this isn't a sales pitch but I think very serious consideration has to go into the use of the system ERP accounts or CRM.


As the biggest issue we come across for growing business's is when they install a system without taking all users or total use into mind or give where they may be heading some forethought.


All of the above systems are very good I think it is very much a question of taste. We have had experience with


Sage
Iris
Quick books
Kashflow
Xero
Exchequer
Brightpearl
Mamut


And many more as accounts ERP traing specialists we would say do plenty of research and ask for real life testimonials actually speak to clients it's a service we always offer

[Edge]

We've been using Free Agent for a year now and its excellent for bookeeping, invoicing (including recurring) and timesheets. I let the accountant do all the returns though.

[rephrase]

With respect to an accounting system, has anyone used quickfile.co.uk? It's free and looks pretty good for small business needs.

I've worked in a company that used Xero and that's also a great product.

With respect to CRM, I would recommend evaluating Salesforce. For the record, I am a Salesforce specialist so I would say that of course

Frazer