Having the fitting accounting software program will assist your sole dealer enterprise immeasurably.
Whilst you’re dealing with the day-to-day operating of your enterprise, accounting software program can prevent hours of labor and mountains of receipts flooding out of shoeboxes. It’ll additionally provide help to lower your tax payments and scale back the chance of creating errors. Some even make it simpler to kind a restricted firm if that’s the course you wish to go in.
With all that in thoughts, we’ll be having a look at find out how to discover the fitting accounting software program in your sole dealer companies together with a few of the greatest packages available on the market.
How do I discover the fitting accounting software program for my sole dealer enterprise?
Earlier than you dive proper in, you’ve undoubtedly bought some elements to contemplate. What do you have to be searching for out of your accounting software program? We spoke to specialists from three accountancy and finance corporations to search out out extra.
Free trial
Having a free trial means that you can have a taster of various accounting platforms earlier than making a decision. That is particularly helpful when you’re not sure of the performance you’ll want.
“Should you can experiment and check out just a few out then do,” mentioned Rick Smith, managing director at Forbes Burton. “All of them carry out a really comparable operate, however it’s essential choose one that’s going to be straightforward so that you can use. The final word intention must be to not make life tougher for your self for the sake of perceived comfort.”
Price
When you’ve established what you need, price is the subsequent essential issue. “Most are evenly priced, however there could also be options that you simply want which aren’t included so be sure you test what options are included. Locking right into a contract and discovering some parts are restricted may nicely be troublesome and costly down the road,” defined Smith.
Performance
As you’ll be able to see, the performance itself is massively necessary. This may imply many various issues – and watch out about having too little or an excessive amount of performance.
“A major consideration for sole merchants seeking to put money into new software program is the software program’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) compatibility, whereby sole merchants with a gross earnings of greater than £10,000 shall be required to file tax returns electronically from April 6, 2024,” mentioned Joanne Thorne, technical compliance supervisor at SJD Accountancy. She went on to say that beneath MTD, sole merchants must submit these information on a minimum of a quarterly foundation. The Self-Evaluation Tax Return (SATR) will then get replaced by a Last Declaration.
“Within the meantime, it’s enterprise as common, so it’s advisable to make use of software program that may enable them to submit their SATRs, and software program that may robotically calculate their SATR based mostly on the digital information which are submitted on the platform can save lots of admin time.”
>See additionally: 9 myths about Making Tax Digital busted
Thorne additionally mentioned that it’s value contemplating what you want out of your software program from an operational perspective, reminiscent of the choice to run payroll or submit VAT and whether or not your chosen choice helps this. Sole merchants also needs to examine whether or not they want to hyperlink their financial institution accounts to the system.
Then there’s widespread performance which could be very helpful for the on a regular basis operating of your enterprise. “The most important growth for sole merchants is OCR (optical character recognition) know-how, whereby the accounting bundle self-populates from a photograph that the consumer takes of their receipt. This removes the necessity for onerous submitting of receipts and makes the method instantaneous,” mentioned Clare Bowen, director of Monahans accountancy. “That is invaluable when customers are on the highway, going from job to job. When linked to a card fee platform, invoices could be despatched on to shoppers and the consumer due to this fact will get paid faster.”
As we’ll be aware a bit later, integrations with platforms you have already got an account with can streamline your enterprise processes. “You also needs to take a look at how straightforward it’s to get knowledge and data out of the software program,” mentioned Smith. “For instance, are you able to export the accounts into one other bundle? Is it straightforward to work together with different platforms? These are the issues that may gradual you down.”
Ease of use
In fact, having refined performance isn’t any good if the software program is clunky and troublesome to make use of. “Accounting must be one thing you are able to do whilst you’re out and about, wherever and at any time, as an alternative of in entrance of a spreadsheet on a Sunday afternoon,” mentioned Bowen. “The important thing for these platforms to be of use to sole merchants is that they must be comparatively fundamental, with out all of the high-end capability that you simply may in any other case want for a bigger company.”
She warned of apps which are pared-down variations of larger platforms that are usually utilized by those that are VAT-registered, i.e. these whose taxable turnover exceeds the £85,000 threshold. “These are a bit of pricier and due to this fact much less suited to sole merchants,” she added.
>See additionally: Sole merchants and VAT
Evolving with your enterprise
Attempt to go for software program that may swimsuit your enterprise sooner or later in addition to at present. “Above all, you need to put money into accountancy software program that may evolve alongside you and your enterprise, with the agility to develop and embrace new capabilities as and when required and selecting software program which could be simply up to date to take account of any modifications in tax laws, reminiscent of MTD, is vital,” mentioned Thorne.
How your accountant might help
Your accountant can provide you additional steerage on the fitting accounting software program for you as a sole dealer, however they might additionally have the ability to give you a software program licence at a diminished price, based on Smith. Nevertheless, they may choose so that you can use the one which they’re aware of, so be ready for that.
Bowen advises having a great relationship together with your accountant so that you don’t lose monitor of the numbers. “That’s going to turn out to be extra necessary when Making Tax Digital guidelines are prolonged to all those that have a self-employed (and property) earnings of greater than £10,000, from April 2024. From this date, you’ll should submit quarterly returns however with the usage of software program, the thought is that this course of is as environment friendly as potential. That’s why I’d advise any sole dealer who isn’t already on these techniques to start out utilizing them, in order that they’re seeing the advantages and aren’t caught out final minute.”
>See additionally: Hiring an accountant: A small enterprise information
Which accounting software program is true for me as a sole dealer?
Now, on to the accounting platforms themselves. As talked about, they provide largely comparable performance however there could also be options that stand out to you and your enterprise’ wants. Right here is an introduction to a few of the high merchandise available on the market, so as of their most cost-effective bundle. Extra particulars on every product are listed beneath.
| Software program supplier | Options | Integrations | Free trial | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ember | Multi-currency accounting, personalised onboarding, seize bills on the go, intuitive money movement experiences, obtain real-time tax-saving ideas, file VAT returns direct to HMRC | Smart, Tide, Revolut, Zoom, Slack, Hubspot and extra | No | Starter (for common month-to-month income as much as £1,000): £0 Professional (for common month-to-month income as much as £5,000): £7.50 a month Final (for common month-to-month income over £5,000): £24 month |
| Coconut | Will inform you how a lot tax to put aside, seize receipts and save paperwork within the cloud, ship and monitor invoices, join financial institution accounts from over 25 UK suppliers | Monzo, Barclays, Starling and different banks | 30-day free trial | £7.50 per 30 days together with VAT (tax deductible) |
| IRIS KashFlow | Calculate, log and monitor all your enterprise journey utilizing mileage options, computerized invoicing and reminders, create quotes and estimates after which convert them into an bill, join a number of accounts to KashFlow, hyperlink on to HMRC to submit returns | Worldpay, GoCardless, PayPal, Stripe, iwoca and extra | 14-day free trial | Starter (preferrred for sole merchants): £9 a month + VAT |
| Intuit QuickBooks | 90-day money movement forecast, monitor your invoices on the go, create and ship branded invoices direct out of your system, add receipts, VAT error checking function | PayPal, GoCardless, Zettle, Mailchimp, Wix and extra | No | Self Employed: £5 a month for the primary 4 months; £10 a month thereafter Easy Begin: £7 a month for the primary 4 months; £14 a month thereafter |
| FreshBooks | Double entry operate, invite your accountant, automated financial institution reconciliation, create abstract and export it to Excel, monitor funds, overpayments and credit score notes | Gmail, Dropbox, WooCommerce and extra | 30-day free trial | 50 per cent off for 4 months Lite: £5.50 a month (£11 a month thereafter) |
| ClearBooks | Create and ship customised invoices, monitor enterprise payments and worker bills, allocate financial institution transactions to invoices and purchases, share data with accountants and staff, multi-currency accounting, timesheets, free electronic mail and cellphone help | PayPal, Revolut Enterprise, Metro Financial institution, HMRC, XE, Stripe and extra | No | Small: £6 a month for first three months; £12 a month thereafter |
| Sage | Create and ship invoices, monitor what you are owed, calculate and submit VAT, computerized financial institution reconciliation | Stripe, GoCardless, Zapier, Sq. and extra | 30-day free trial | All packages free for the primary three months (+ VAT) Begin: £12 a month + VAT |
| Xero | Calculate VAT returns and file returns securely, tracks bills and worker spend, join financial institution feed to Xero and have transactions movement instantly, contact administration, seize knowledge, create skilled on-line quotes | Stripe, PayPal, Sq., Planday, Hubspot CRM and extra | No | All have optionally available add-ons Starter (greatest for sole merchants): £14 a month Commonplace: £28 a month Premium: £36 a month |
| FreeAgent | Ship invoices and fee reminders robotically, document bills and mileage on the go, robotically generate MTD-compatible VAT returns as you go that then get put over to HMRC, auto populates most of your tax return | PayPal, Shopify, HMRC, Capsule CRM and extra | No | Month-to-month: £9.50 + VAT for six months; £19 + VAT thereafter Annual: £95 + VAT for first 12 months; £190 + VAT thereafter Get FreeAgent without cost in case you have a present account with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Financial institution or Mettle. |
| Crunch | Create and ship limitless customised invoices, financial institution reconciliation, expense administration, VAT submission, HMRC registration | Brixx, TripCatcher, Snap app (Shopify and Stripe coming quickly) | No | Sole Dealer Professional (preferrred for beneath companies with beneath £35K annual turnover): £24.50 + VAT |
Ember
Options: Multi-currency accounting, personalised onboarding, seize bills on the go, intuitive money movement experiences, obtain real-time tax-saving ideas, file VAT returns direct to HMRC
Integrations: Smart, Tide, Revolut, Zoom, Slack, Hubspot and extra
Free trial? No
Value
Packages particularly for sole merchants
Starter (for common month-to-month income as much as £1,000): £0
Professional (for common month-to-month income as much as £5,000): £7.50 a month
Final (for common month-to-month income over £5,000): £24 month
Coconut
Options: Will inform you how a lot tax to put aside, seize receipts and save paperwork within the cloud, ship and monitor invoices, join financial institution accounts from over 25 UK suppliers
Integrations: Monzo, Barclays, Starling and different banks
Free trial? 30-day free trial
Value
£7.50 per 30 days together with VAT (tax deductible)
IRIS KashFlow
Options: Calculate, log and monitor all your enterprise journey utilizing mileage options, computerized invoicing and reminders, create quotes and estimates after which convert them into an bill, join a number of accounts to KashFlow, hyperlink on to HMRC to submit returns
Integrations: Worldpay, GoCardless, PayPal, Stripe, iwoca and extra
Free trial? 14-day free trial
Value
Starter (preferrred for sole merchants): £9 a month + VAT
Intuit Quickbooks
Options: 90-day money movement forecast, monitor your invoices on the go, create and ship branded invoices direct out of your system, add receipts, VAT error checking function
Integrations: PayPal, GoCardless, Zettle, Mailchimp, Wix and extra
Free trial? No
Value
Self Employed: £5 a month for the primary 4 months; £10 a month thereafter
Easy Begin: £7 a month for the primary 4 months; £14 a month thereafter
Freshbooks
Options: Double entry operate, invite your accountant, automated financial institution reconciliation, create abstract and export it to Excel, monitor funds, overpayments and credit score notes
Integrations: Gmail, Dropbox, WooCommerce and extra
Free trial? 30-day free trial
Value
50 per cent off for 4 months
Lite: £5.50 a month (£11 a month thereafter)
Plus: £9.50 a month (£19 a month thereafter)
Premium: £15 a month (£30 a month thereafter)
ClearBooks
Options: Create and ship customised invoices, monitor enterprise payments and worker bills, allocate financial institution transactions to invoices and purchases, share data with accountants and staff, multi-currency accounting, timesheets, free electronic mail and cellphone help
Integrations: PayPal, Revolut Enterprise, Metro Financial institution, HMRC, XE, Stripe and extra
Free trial? No
Value
Small: £6 a month for first three months; £12 a month thereafter
Sage
www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/accounting/
Options: Create and ship invoices, monitor what you’re owed, calculate and submit VAT, computerized financial institution reconciliation
Integrations: Stripe, GoCardless, Zapier, Sq. and extra
Free trial? 30-day free trial
Value
All packages free for the primary three months (+ VAT)
Begin: £12 a month + VAT
Commonplace: £26 a month + VAT
Plus: £33 a month + VAT
Xero
Options: Calculate VAT returns and file returns securely, tracks bills and worker spend, join financial institution feed to Xero and have transactions movement instantly, contact administration, seize knowledge, create skilled on-line quotes
Integrations: Stripe, PayPal, Sq., Planday, Hubspot CRM and extra
Free trial? No
Value
All have optionally available add-ons
Starter (greatest for sole merchants): £14 a month
Commonplace: £28 a month
Premium: £36 a month
FreeAgent
Options: Ship invoices and fee reminders robotically, document bills and mileage on the go, robotically generate MTD-compatible VAT returns as you go that then get put over to HMRC, auto populates most of your tax return
Integrations: PayPal, Shopify, HMRC, Capsule CRM and extra
Free trial? No
Value (for a sole dealer)
50 per cent off for the primary six months
Month-to-month: £9.50 + VAT for six months; £19 + VAT thereafter
Annual: £95 + VAT for first 12 months; £190 + VAT thereafter
Get FreeAgent without cost in case you have a present account with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Financial institution or Mettle.
Crunch
Options: Create and ship limitless customised invoices, financial institution reconciliation, expense administration, VAT submission, HMRC registration
Integrations: Brixx, TripCatcher, Snap app (Shopify and Stripe coming quickly)
Free trial? No
Value
Sole Dealer Professional (preferrred for beneath companies with beneath £35K annual turnover ): £24.50 + VAT
Learn extra
Finest enterprise financial institution accounts for sole merchants
