You have set up your business, you’ve got yourself a separate bank account (hopefully!), registered with HMRC and got yourself some customers. Now money is coming in and going out, and you start thinking about how best to keep track of your income and expenses. So which is the best software for you to sign up to?
It can be confusing when you first start googling which bookkeeping software to use – there are lots of different options out there, but which is best for you and your business?
First up, most of the software providers offer a free 30 day trial, so you can try a few, have a play around, watch some videos and see which you like the look of. Then you need to think about what you will be using it for – do you need to raise and send invoices to clients, are you VAT registered and will need to submit your VAT return, do you need software that will submit your self assessment tax return?
Here is a little run down of some of the software available to you:
Xero – this is top of my list, and one I use for myself and most of my clients. It is very user friendly, has different priced packages depending on what you need, and you can get Hubdoc for free, which enables you to take photos on your phone through the Hubdoc app of any receipts or invoices and these can then get pushed through to Xero.
If you aren’t going through a Xero Partner (who can get other different packages) then the cheapest package with Xero starts at £10 a month + VAT, which is perfect for you if you don’t receive a lot of purchase invoices a month, and if you raise under 20 sales invoice.
The next package up is £24 per month + VAT, which has unlimited sales invoices and purchase invoices. With both packages you can submit VAT returns, link and reconcile your bank account, and produce automatic CIS calculations.
There are lots of videos on their website and you can do online training so you really learn to use it to it’s full potential.
Quickbooks – this is another cloud based software which has many of the same features as Xero, it can be accessed from anywhere and you can have the app on your phone so you can check things on the go. Quickbooks also offer different packages – a bonus of their packages are they are different for small companies and sole traders. For a sole trader they offer a £12 per month + VAT plan, which enables you to link and reconcile your bank account, send invoices, process purchase invoices, submit VAT returns and prepare your self assessment. For businesses the most popular plan is £20 per month + VAT which connects to your bank, creates estimates and sales invoices, manage purchase invoices, and also includes cash flow forecasting. Quickbooks also offer a 30 day free trial so you can take a proper look and see if it suits you.
Freeagent – this is a great cloud based software for small businesses and especially freelancers. If you have a bank account with Natwest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank or Mettle then you can use Freeagent for free – even better! You can sync with your bank account, submit VAT returns, file your self assessment tax return, track cashflow, send invoices and record mileage whilst on the go. Like Quickbooks, Freeagent offer different packages based on if you are a Sole Trader, Limited Company or a Partnership. The Sole Trader package with Freeagent is £19 per month + VAT, the partnership package is £24 per month + VAT and Ltd Company is £29 per month + VAT, a discount is offered on all of these packages if you pay annually. You can also try Freeagent for free for 30 days, they have videos and webinars on their website, and their customer service is great.
That is a quick run-down of just three software suppliers, of course there are more out there and it is definitely worth spending the time playing around with a few options to see which you prefer, and which suits your business best.
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