Accounting Software

fearlessmike

I've just set up on my own and I'm trying to decide on good accounting software to use. Can anyone help?

For the moment it will be very small, maybe one or two invoices per month. I don't want to spend hundreds on software.

From a look on Google the Irish providers I can find are; Sage, Accounts IQ, Big Red Book and Yendo. What's the difference?

kilburn

No need for software yet just keep excel spreadsheets and do up a good invoice template on word there are 000's of free templates out there

treza88

Try adverts.ie

Herbalist

Using a software package has advantages over excel in that you do not need to create formulas to get results plus you get more information out than you put in - any basic package will create live reports such as aged debtors, aged creditors, balance sheet and profit and loss at the click of a button.

You could use the accounting package to record the invoices onto accounts for you or you could use the package to actually create the invoices for you allowing you to print and post or email them to customers and to create a statement afterwards.

There are a number of basic packages on the market I'd recommend trialling one or two of them to see what suits you best and what look and feel you work best with.

Sage's entry level package would be Sage Instant Accounts and it would do everything described above.

I am connected to the company.

EamonOSullivan

Fearless Mike, follow Kilburns advice and use the free software you have on your computer already, Excel and Word will suffice for you for the moment.

fearlessmike

The thing about Excel is that it's stuck on your PC.
I've gone for Yendo basically because it's free and I can get at it on the move.

Thanks for the advice

EamonOSullivan

Maybe google docs is what you need if you want to use excel / word. Googledocs has an online spreadsheet and word processor which are primitive but effective. Any number of users can access it once they have access to broadband. Oh, and its free.

FYG

I use SortMyBooks at the moment and have no problems with it. It costs ~30 euro a month for the basic package.

Bagel

I use TAS Basics for the same sort thing. I'm an accountant but have just started a training business, it is free , easy to use and you can migrate the info into TAS books.

EamonOSullivan

I didnt realise TAS Basic was available free - is there a catch?

Bagel

No catch that I've found! The only problem would be if you found it too limited for what you wanted. I downloaded it and had a look see , found it met my needs so started using it. I haven't done a year end yet so will let you know how I get on. You could always ring their sales team with a list of questions and see what they say - I'd focus on making sure you can migrate smoothly to TAS Books if your business grows.