As my small firm looks to be doing yet more unpaid work for HMG wef 1/4/2019 (April Fool,anyone?), I am fairly confident others will be in the same boat but maybe more savvy than me as regards candidates to choose as a software application to comply with HMRC and submit online VAT returns.
On a brief online trawl,I suspect Clearbooks and Xero may be worth a trial but does anyone have any views ,whether positive or negative,about this type of software?
The way things have been managed,I suspect there has been some hasty development and the more established players,rather than any new kids on the block,are more likely to be preferred.
Any thoughts,anyone?
No idea as thankfully not affected but you might find something useful here:
https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-...software-video
https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-...liant-software
https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-...ckbooks-anyone
https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-...-new-mtd-rules
I use ‘wave apps’ for my accounting.
Found it great, it’s free & most importantly their customer service with any questions is usually same day.
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I hear there’s a good chance that date will move to the right as small businesses (generalisation) simply aren’t ready for it.
Originally Posted by TaketheCannoli
From what I have read, it's badly thought through and the timetable is far too tight.
The House of Lords Committee here say "The Government has failed to listen to the warnings in our previous report" which, I recall, said there was no benefit to either taxpayers or HMRC/Treasury!
https://www.parliament.uk/business/c...igital-report/
Do they trade under a different name because they aren't on HMRC's list of companies that support making tax digital?
I use Xero and Sage 50c
Both are ready for MTD. Both are monthly subscription about £20-25+vat
I think Xero would be most user friendly for someone with no prior experience of accounting software, but my main business has been using Sage Line 50 for years so I find Sage easy to navigate.
Kashflow is another free or cheap option but I found it a little clunky.
It’s worth phoning them before subscribing and tell them you’re trialling other software, in order to negotiate a small discount. They’re all very keen to get people signed up, as I imagine people rarely migrate.
As a firm of accountants, we have clients using them all.
I would suggest either QuickBooks or Xero, as I think these are more user friendly (aimed at you as opposed to the accountant).
Our accountant has negotiated a low monthly fee for a mid-level SAGE package and also doing some training on it! I had looked at other solutions including Pandle but this seemed like the better way to go. It is another layer of complexity that I could have done without really. I don't suppose the accountant's fees will be going down either although surely this will make their job easier?
More red tape. Oh goody.
My accountant has recommended Sage.
We are just in the throes of moving to Xero it does seem pretty good, easy to use and very cheap but haven’t yet done the VAT on it so can’t comment on that. Do watch which bank you are with as not all interface seamlessly with Xero Lloyds Commercial certainly doesn’t although is meant to in “six to eight weeks”.
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I just stared with quickbooks as it’s reaady to work with submitting VAT, I’m a photographer not an spreadsheet/office person but it seems easy enough for me to pick up with a few questions answered with google or the help function, only issue I have is I can’t seem to import a couple of past months of bank data to do the current vat return, will see how good their support is tomorrow I guess.
Ditto. Easy to use once set up and it’s probably halved the time it takes me to do my accounts as I do them regularly rather than last minute.
We've been using Xero for a year now, it's very easy to use, we had a brief training session from the accountant & haven't had any issues.
Submitting online & MTD are not the same thing. You can submit online using figures from an Excel spreadsheet: MTD requires the use of software with access to the underlying accounts. Cut & paste from Excel is not acceptable (or wasn't, there may be a bit of backtracking).
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...ng-tax-digital
We've also got to deal with this nightmare. We have an existing piece of legacy ERP software that runs everything including accounts, purchasing, stock, quotes, deliveries etc. Trying to find and implement a replacement in the timescale available to us doesn't look possible. Many of our customers use SAP, and none of the users recommend it. Sage is clunky and while Xero looks whizzy and new, it requires lots of interfaces to other bits of software to carry out all the required tasks. I don't hold out much hope of those remaining effective in the long term.
I've found a list of all the currently compliant software developers: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/software...ax-updates#VAT, but that's a hell of a list to go through.
I use Sage Instant Accounts (or whatever it is called nowadays) and find it a bit clunky to use, but just about OK when you get used to it. My issue is that I do not use it very often, so it it is often a slow process when I do update my books, as I do not find it in the slightest bit intuitive.
I would not rush to use Sage software again and will be looking at alternatives too when I have to upgrade, as my 2016 version of Sage is no longer accepted by the new MTD rules, forcing me to upgrade again. The Sage software is also in need of a serious overhaul, as it still has the whiff of software developed in the 1980's, which has just been lightly refreshed over the past 30 years.
My wife has just started using the online Xero and I heard her grumbling about a recent 'refresh' of the software meaning it was all slightly different when logging on from one day to the next, but I guess that is most software nowadays!
Yes I get that but migrating to Sage meant I stopped using spreadsheets for my accounts and invoicing as the software handles it all as well as being linked to my bank account. As a result I use Sage at least once per week and so keep on top of my book keeping rather than cramming before deadlines.
Going to look at this carefully as all my invoices are self billing where the main contractor raises the invoice
I've been using Cashflow Manager since 2010, with a single software purchase of £100. Now, I'm going to have to use software that I have to subscribe to and it'll cost more each year than the entire 8 years since I started. What a rip-off
Sage have an MTD ‘apadtor’ which allows you to make MTD submissions from spreadsheets. The desktop app is available now, and the cloud version will be out in March sometime. Good news for any business that’s using Excel or pen and paper for bookkeeping. Also those with group returns and complex VAT schemes.
I use Quickbooks for £7 per month and it’s well worth it. I started off using a spreadsheet, got used to that process, and then switched to QB which felt like a PITA initially. However once I’d got used to the platform itself it saves me loads of time every quarter and end of year is so much easier.
Did you come to any conclusions?
I’m mostly self billing and also use the flat rate scheme for VAT so am looking for a dead simple solution, although am quite happy to switch from an Excel spreadsheet to an accounting application.
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I use Zero reasonably simple and easy to use.
John
Thanks for that, can I check, is that Xero rather than Zero?
Was looking at FreeAgent, QuickBooks, QuickFile and Xero whilst I was meant to be working today.
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A simple, useful and easy-to-use software utility, VAT Calculator Software from Goodwill Business Solutions lets you calculate the VAT values by specifying the price and the VAT percent you are interested in as well as providing the calculation to remove VAT or add VAT to a given price. Check more info.
Last edited by Derrils; 18th March 2019 at 07:01.
After 460 miles, turn left.
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