Online accounting software CharteCh sOftware prOduCt guide 2015 edition BUSINESS WITH CONFIDENCE

Online accounting software
Chartech software product guide
2015 edition
BUSINESS WITH confidence
icaew.com/itfac
ICAEW’s IT Faculty provides products and services to help its members make the
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lesley Meall is a freelance writer and editor specialising in business and technology.
© ICAEW 2015
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ISBN 978-1-78363-347-0
Online accounting software
Chartech software product guide
2015 edition
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02
Contents
1 Introduction
04
2 Benefits
06
2.1 Advantages of the online approach
2.2 Getting closer to clients
2.3 Benefits for small and medium-sized businesses
3 Concepts
3.1 The requirements for online access
3.2 Software as a service
3.3 Safety and security considerations
4 Choices
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
Considering the options
Before and after
Supporting collaboration
Considering costs
5 Risks and rewards
5.1 Potential concerns
5.2 Protecting your investment
5.3 Fear and trust
6 Reviews of online accounting packages
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
Aqilla
Clear Books Accounting
Intuit QuickBooks Online
KashFlow
Sage One
Xero
7 Resources
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
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1
Introduction
When the first online accounting applications hit the
marketplace back in the 1990s, the world was anything
but ready for them. Many people saw the internet as
a scary technological equivalent of the ‘Wild West’;
broadband connections were scarce and costly, and
very few businesses were in a position to exploit the
online approach to accounting, even if they wanted
to – and very few did. But things have changed
significantly since then and many of the technological
and psychological barriers to online accounting have
fallen away.
The internet has evolved from a network that connects
millions of computers into the network of interactive
computing platforms known as the cloud; this has
spawned myriad pay-per-use and free online services,
which we have embraced. Many of us now want to
collaborate, communicate, share and store information
using cloud-based software and services and a variety
of different fixed and mobile devices. So, although
some organisations still buy accounting software and
install it on the hard drives of their own computer
systems, increasing numbers are exploring the
possibilities of online accounting.
All of this has helped to create an expanding and
competitive market for online accounting services, but
choice can be a mixed blessing; exploiting the latest
and greatest technology isn’t always straightforward.
This guide aims to simplify and speed up the selection
process by helping finance professionals to assess
the potential benefits of online access to accounting
software; whether this is provided from public or private
clouds (see What’s in a name? on page 09); whether
they are accountants who are business managers,
accountants in practice, accountants advising business
managers, or accounting practices that are interested in
exploiting the online accounting approach to enhance
revenue-generating opportunities and client services.
In common with other cloud-based services, the online
approach to accounting systems has many potential
advantages, such as accessibility, flexibility, scalability,
fixed costs and rapid implementation times. See
2 Benefits for more information. But nothing is ever
perfect (and online accounting is no exception),
so as well as considering the advantages of the
approach, it’s important to pay attention to thornier
issues such as information security and privacy. See
5 Risks and rewards.
04
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Not all online accounting applications have been
created equal, and a system that’s right for business
‘A’ won’t necessarily suit business ‘Z’. Built-in features,
add-on functionality from other online tools and
service providers, levels of complexity, and pricing
models all vary between products and suppliers.
Accountants will need to consider a range of key
selection criteria during the research and selection
process, see 4 Choices.
Among the many online accounting and bookkeeping
systems available, offerings range from entry-level
products aimed at sole traders and businesses with
no bookkeeping experience, to more sophisticated
systems aimed at businesses with in-house finance
expertise. A selection is listed in 7 Resources, with a
closer look at the following systems in 6 Reviews of
online accounting packages:
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Aqilla
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Clear Books Accounting
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Intuit QuickBooks Online
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KashFlow
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Sage One
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Xero.
No discussion of online accounting systems is
complete without mentioning the underlying
technology. Whether you are trying to understand
terminology such as ‘cloud computing’ and
‘software as a service’ or grappling with broadband
connections and browsers, you will find technical
terms of reference and concepts explained in clear,
non-technical language, in 3 Concepts.
With the support of this guide, finance professionals
who are considering online accounting should be
able to approach the decision-making process from
an informed position, with an appreciation of the
pros and cons, practical considerations, and financial
implications of the choices they make.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
05
2
Benefits
Accountants have a history of exploiting information
technology, and their enthusiasm for the spreadsheet
helped to kick-start the personal computer revolution
in the 1970s. But many finance professionals are
as prudent with technology as they are with other
people’s money and for a while they have watched
from a safe distance while more adventurous
accountants took a walk along (and sometimes over)
the bleeding edge with online accounting systems.
2.1 Advantages of the online
approach
For some accountants there is still a yawning chasm
between appreciating the potential of cloud-based
applications and using them to manage something
as sensitive as financial data. But the accountancy
profession’s attitude towards cloud-based software
and services is evolving fast and this is combining with
developments in technology and economic pressures to
make the potential business benefits more appealing. In
an era where the electronic filing of statutory returns is
the norm, online accounting seems less like a ‘big risk’
and more like an idea whose time has come.
On a practical level, using the internet to access
and maintain business accounting records can make
tasks such as bookkeeping, accounts production,
payroll administration – and the associated statutory
compliance – much easier for everyone involved.
Whether software and data are in the public cloud
or private cloud (see What’s in a name? on page 09),
the online approach can also eliminate many of
the tasks associated with installing, updating and
maintaining the hardware and software needed to run
traditional ‘on-premises’ applications (from backups to
system upgrades), and reduce the need for in-house
IT expertise.
All of this can have a positive impact in areas such as
time management, productivity and flexible working
practices. With accounts data stored on a third-party
server, it can be remotely accessed anytime, anywhere,
by any authorised individual with internet access and
a browser, and accounts can be worked on whenever
and wherever it is most convenient, using an everincreasing range of fixed and mobile devices. So
those who need to can share information quickly and
easily, which minimises the need for re-keying and the
potential for input errors and misunderstandings.
06
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
The online approach can also deliver financial
benefits. Where you are effectively ‘renting’ software
and data storage, the up-front costs are lower, and
the associated monthly/yearly costs can be easier
to predict and control. You can also add users for
periods as short as one month, which can compare
favourably with some desktop licensing models.
How much you can potentially save will vary for each
individual scenario – not least among those who opt
to access online accounting functionality with the
support of managed service providers (see Private
clouds, page 09).
2.2Getting closer to clients
Perspective is everything, and some of the potential
benefits of online accounting will rate higher with
some users than they do with others. So accountants
in practice, for example, will be pleased to find that
they and their clients can work simultaneously on
client data without worrying about incompatibilities
if they are each using a different version of the
accounting software. Practitioners can also exploit
online accounting systems to take a more proactive
approach to offering advice and services.
It is easier for the accountant to spot when clients
are going wrong or getting behind, because they
can log onto the clients’ accounts at any time,
and offer advice on key transactions. Therefore,
online accounting can facilitate better bookkeeping
support and help firms to develop stronger links and
relationships with their clients. It can also create a
basis for all sorts of revenue-generating opportunities,
such as providing real time transaction and tax
planning advice, producing timely management
accounts from clients’ raw accounting data, and
offering a range of virtual FD-type services.
Some firms prefer the online approach so much that
they are trying to gradually encourage all of their
clients to make the transition to online accounting.
Some accountancy firms already offer all of their
services remotely – not face-to-face – using online
systems for accounting, customer relationship
management and other functions, while supporting
clients using email, phone and live chat.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
2.3 Benefits for small and mediumsized businesses
Businesses of all shapes and sizes can potentially benefit
from online accounting, but the biggest beneficiaries
are often the smallest organisations. Because it’s easier
for practitioners to access the information they need
to produce clients’ monthly management accounts,
reports, annual accounts, and so on, they can also
make any necessary amendments more easily.
This can be a boon to small businesses as they no
longer need to key in their accountants’ adjustments,
or worry about what will happen if they haven’t done
so accurately. And while accountancy firms may
already have strong business continuity measures and
information security procedures in place, many of their
small business clients will not, so the online approach
to accounting can offer big improvements in these
areas too.
Online accounting systems are also gaining in
popularity with medium-sized organisations that are
large enough to have their own in-house finance
function or require the breadth and depth of
functionality offered by an enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system. These are now available from online
pioneers such as NetSuite, traditional giants of ERP
such as SAP, and many other providers.
How much accountants, and the businesses they
support, actually gain from adopting online accounting
depends on many factors, ranging from their choice
of service provider, through the system in use, to how
extensively they allow this to influence the way they
run their businesses. The potential is enormous.
For some accountants there
is still a yawning chasm
between appreciating the
potential of cloud-based
applications and using them
to manage something as
sensitive as financial data.
07
3
Concepts
3.1The requirements for online
access
If you need to fly to India on business or send a parcel
to Ireland do you purchase your own plane or set up
your own international distribution network? Of course
not. Buying these outright is much too expensive, so
you take a more economical approach and pay a small
amount each time you use either of them. Meanwhile,
the airline and the courier take care of developing
and running the services, handling manpower,
maintenance, logistics, security and so on.
Although this isn’t a perfect analogy, at the simplest
level, the same model is used to provide online access
to accounting facilities – and various other software
and systems. The days are long gone when the only
way to acquire software was to buy it and the only way
to access it was to install the ‘on-premises’ application
on the hard disk of your computer. Now that the
‘software as a product’ model has been joined by the
software as a service model (see What’s in a name?
on page 09), you can pay for systems on a ‘per use’
or subscription basis, and even take advantage of free
access to some software and systems – and apps for
mobile devices.
To exploit this approach you need an internet service
provider (such as BT) to act as gateway between your
computer system and the internet; you need a telecom
line to do it over, a device with internet access to do
it from, and a web browser (such as Firefox, Internet
Explorer, or Safari) to do it through. (It is worth noting
that not all online accounting systems play well with
all browsers or all mobile operating systems – see
5.1 Potential concerns.) You also need a broadband
connection or a dedicated leased line – the faster and
more reliable the line, the better.
3.2Software as a service
Software as a service (SaaS), which is pronounced ‘sass’
(like mass), is a model for delivering (or deploying)
software, and it utilises all of these tools, plus the
internet, to provide access to software. Because the
software applications live on the servers of thirdparty providers, they can relieve you of the burdens
associated with day-to-day maintenance, technical
operation, support, and the relentless upgrade cycle –
as well as some of the burdens of business continuity
and disaster recovery planning.
08
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
3.3Safety and security
considerations
Despite our increasing comfort with all things cloudbased, some still see the fact that their data resides
with a service provider as more of a weakness than
a strength, because of the control issues it raises and
the safety and security dilemmas it can potentially
create. Each of you will have to weigh up the ‘pros
and cons’ for yourself and (if appropriate) your
clients. If you have ever used a free email system
such as Gmail or Yahoo!, then you have already
experienced the SaaS approach, and some of its
advantages and disadvantages.
In the case of online accounting systems, the service
provider stores your accounting data in a database
on remote servers, in the same way as Google stores
your Gmail emails on servers at a remote data centre.
So the service provider takes responsibility for the
safety and security of your accounts data – which can
be a lot less scary than it seems.
Clearly, you cannot trust just anyone to take care
of your sensitive private data. A good provider of
online accounting systems will have the technology
resources, operational procedures and technical
expertise to guard your data much better than you
could ever hope to. Data will be encrypted during
transfer between your point of access and the service
provider, stored at a secure data centre, and regularly
backed up. You can read more about this, and the
need for ‘due diligence’ in 5 Risks and rewards.
Private clouds
Some large organisations have transformed their data
centres into private clouds that provide on-demand
access (online and offline) to the software and data
on them – and some use public cloud services too in
an approach known as ‘hybrid cloud’. Some managed
service providers take a similar approach to providing
‘on-demand’ services.
Sometimes the software and hardware used is owned
by the managed services company and used by
multiple clients; in some scenarios it’s the service
provider’s hardware and their client’s software; in
others both the hardware and the software belong
to the client. So terms, conditions, benefits and
challenges all vary too.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
It’s a route to online accounting software that some
small businesses and practices prefer. Perceived
benefits include: more control over data integrity/
security, fixed costs, the personal touch and support
and advice that extends beyond discrete applications.
Cloud computing is developing fast and constantly
expanding. Keep a watchful eye on its evolution
and learn more from the ICAEW IT Faculty’s Cloud
Computing – A Guide for Business Managers.
WHAT’S IN A NAME? FROM SOFTWARE
AS A SERVICE TO MANAGED SERVICES
‘The cloud’ began its technology life as a
metaphor for the internet. Although the term
is still used this way (rightly or wrongly), as the
internet evolved from millions of connected
computers into an interactive computing platform,
the metaphor evolved into ‘cloud computing’.
The most widely used and well-known
manifestation of cloud computing is software
as a service – think free email accounts (such as
Yahoo!), micro-blogging services (such as Twitter)
social networking sites (such as Facebook), and
online accounting systems (such as those in
6 Reviews of online accounting packages).
But cloud computing describes a range of
computer resources that are delivered ‘as a service’
over the internet, in a dynamically scalable (or
elastic) form that can expand or contract to meet
demand, and in addition to SaaS this includes
infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and platform as a
service (PaaS).
All of these are usually provided and managed
by third-party service providers, who make them
available on a pay-as-you-go (and sometimes
free) basis to anybody with the wherewithal.
These services are provided from what is generally
refered to as the public cloud. But their success has
inspired private cloud services too.
09
Every day over a 1000 users
across 21 countries account
for over 206 billion pounds
worth of business with Aqilla
The most capable multi currency and easy to use
accounting and business solution in the world
World Class Cloud Based Accounting
10
www.aqilla.com
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
4
Choices
The number of bookkeeping and accounting systems
available online is growing, so accountants are not
short of systems to choose from. They range from basic
cashbook systems, through multi-ledger systems, to
full-blown ERP systems.
Some offerings are aimed at small business users with
basic bookkeeping needs and little or no bookkeeping
experience. The more fully featured systems have been
designed for multiple users with finance expertise,
and may be aimed at organisations with more
complex multi-site or multi-country set-ups, so the
need for training and support, or specialist help with
implementation and set up or integration with other
systems, can all vary widely – as can the associated
costs. There can also be wide variations between the
amount of functionality that is made available via
tablets and smartphones and apps.
Online offerings vary widely in many other respects
too. Some of the available systems provide access
to their own proprietary accounting software that
is available only online; some established software
vendors have built web offerings that are different
from their desktop products, and some offer online
access to systems for which there are also desktop
versions – though connectivity and integration
between the online and offline versions varies. There
are systems that provide a cashbook (for business
users) and full-blown double-entry bookkeeping (for
their accountants); some systems are aimed at specific
vertical market segments and some offer accounting
software with integrated payroll – though many don’t,
and functionality varies among those that do.
Payroll is an area so complex that it merits its own
guide for accountants (in business and in practice).
See Choosing payroll software and services, provided by
ICAEW’s IT Faculty.
On a superficial level, you can tell a lot about what
sort of system you are dealing with from the home
page of the supplier’s website. For example, go to
e-conomic.com and you will find a multicurrency online
accounting system that is available in English and in
many other languages; at Brightpearl.com the focus is
on multi-channel retail; while FreeAgent.com focuses
on freelancers and small businesses. But when you are
choosing an online accounting system it will pay to do
your research and look beyond the obvious choices.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
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4.1 Considering the options
All of the systems available are going to handle
basic bookkeeping, but there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’
solution, and there are lots of variations in terms
of available features, ease of use, pricing models,
upgrade paths, and more. You can make yourself a
spreadsheet detailing requirements such as:
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ability to import and export data to and from other
software tools and specialist systems (it’s important
to establish if the connectivity is bi-directional);
accounting for non-profit entities;
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availability (and range) of add-on applications;
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bank reconciliation;
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credit control;
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dashboard views;
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e-commerce – including whether it is integrated or
an add-on;
facility to import transaction data at set-up;
international functionality – such as support for local
sales taxes;
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management reporting;
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multi-company support;
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multi-language and multicurrency facilities;
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online banking – including whether the bank data
feed is automatic;
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payroll;
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point of sale;
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purchase order processing;
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sales order processing;
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stock handling;
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As well as checking out how good a fit the system is for
a business today, you need to think about the future.
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accessibility and functionality for (Apple, BlackBerry,
Android and Windows) mobile devices and
availability of mobile apps;
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However, there is no substitute for personal experience,
so watch the online demos and get a hands-on feel for
the systems by taking advantage of free trial offerings.
VAT – you should establish if it supports cash and
invoice accounting, the flat rate scheme, and the
VAT Mini One Stop Shop (VAT MOSS).
In the same way as you would select an on-premises
application you will need to draw up a features
shortlist – or a number of features shortlists –
depending on whether you are looking for an online
accounting system that can meet the needs of one
company, a range of small businesses or small and
medium-sized businesses, or a series of applications
that can be used to meet the needs of a diverse range
of clients.
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Does the system connect or integrate with other
(on-premises and online) systems; how easily and
how seamlessly?
Can data be exported in a format that can be
imported into a spreadsheet, a desktop accounting
program, or any other specialised online or offline
application?
Will the business or practice need specialist help with
the initial implementation and configuration?
Will the system be able to meet the needs of the
business as it grows?
If not, what is the upgrade path?
What is the exit route if the system proves
unsatisfactory?
4.2 Before and after
How were you maintaining accounts before coming
to an online system, and what might you need to do
after the system you are choosing now? both also
need some consideration. If, for example, you want to
import data from an existing accounting system or a
spreadsheet, you will find varying degrees of support,
depending on the service provider.
Some service providers offer a free import service but
restrict you to just bringing over names and addresses,
while others will support the import of as much
historical data as you like, for as many previous years as
you like – usually for a price. This can be a significant
issue for many businesses, not least because of the
need to retain access for up to six years’ VAT records.
Before making any commitment you also need to
consider your exit route – and this depends on a
number of scenarios. If you are moving on because
the system has proven unsatisfactory, and you want
to move on to an alternative accounting system, the
ease with which you can do this will, to some extent,
depend on your destination.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
All online and on-premises accounting applications
offer different facilities when it comes to importing
data from other systems, and there may be scenarios
where you need the services of a data conversion
expert or service to get your data from the old system
into a format that can still be accessed.
Those who need to move on because the business
has outgrown the system will face a number of
options, depending on which service provider
they have selected. Some online accounting systems
are impressively scalable when it comes
to accommodating increased numbers of users.
Meeting the changing needs of growing businesses
can be trickier.
However, the widespread availability and uptake
of cloud-based software and services is making
additional functionality increasingly easy to find.
The websites of many online accounting software
providers now include links to others providing
add-ons for all sorts of functionality: from cash flow
forecasting or customer relationship management
(CRM) systems, to receipts and expenses processing
tools and services.
Tools such as application programming interfaces
(APIs) and pre-built connectors (for specific software
applications) are making it easier to loosely couple or
fully integrate different online systems and their data.
However there are degrees of ease. For example,
because FinancialForce.com was built on the Force
platform (created for and by Salesforce.com) it is
relatively easy to connect it to other apps that were
also built for the Force platform.
It is also worth noting that although some cloudbased add-ons for online accounting systems will
work with some desktop systems, most cloud software
has been created to work with other cloud software.
Equally, it is not automatically any easier to connect or
to integrate different online software applications and
their data than it is to connect or to integrate different
on-premises systems and their data.
and no potential for add-on features or applications,
until and unless the basic product is enhanced (which
happens frequently with many online systems). Some
provide a potential upgrade path by offering multiple
variants, but with equally fixed feature sets; some offer
one application that can be tailored to meet the needs
of different users; some offer a modular approach
that mirrors more traditional applications; some offer
an ‘entry-level’ online system and provide growing
businesses with an ‘on-premises’ upgrade path.
There can be scenarios where traditional ‘on-premises’
providers may seem to have an edge. It may not go
down well with SaaS purists, but if a small business
outgrows its cashbook system and needs to move
on to a proper ledger system, or move from an
entry-level system to a mid-range system, they may
find this easier if their service provider has a foot in
both camps. However, there are clearly benefits to
choosing an online accounting system that is part of
the mushrooming cloud-based ecosystem of software
and services.
The relative strengths and weaknesses of established
service providers and new market entrants need
considering. While it would be short sighted to dismiss
a service provider simply because they are new to the
market, it would be imprudent not to factor this into
the decision-making process. But online bookkeeping
and accounting software from established desktop
providers can offer less functionality and be more
difficult for non-accountants to use than systems that
have been developed by cloud-based start-ups. It is
worth doing some ‘due diligence’ and looking into
the background, ownership, financial strength, and
longevity of the suppliers on your shortlist.
Before you make a choice, it’s also a good idea to
look at the service level agreement on offer, and
ask yourself, and the service provider, some difficult
questions.
Does the service level agreement guarantee service
uptime?
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What system availability does the service level
agreement guarantee and what comfort are the
penalties likely to be in the event of failure?
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So the extent to which a system can be ‘customised’,
‘connected’ and ‘extended’ to meet existing or future
needs will vary significantly. Some service providers
offer a single system variant with a fixed feature set,
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
How often and how long are scheduled maintenance
windows?
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Think carefully about support.
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Is there a 24-hour help line you can phone?
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What sort of online support is provided?
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How is support resourced?
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Where are telephone support staff physically
located?
How many end users does the service provider need
to support?
For many potential users of online accounting
systems the biggest barrier to adoption is the safety
and security of data – or the perceived lack of it.
So this is an area that all businesses should pay
specific attention to. In particular they should do
the following.
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Find out what the service providers’ backup
provisions are. How often do backups take place?
What sort of business continuity plans are in place?
Get references from the service provider and make
contact with existing users.
You have to be sure that you and your clients are
going to be happy putting business critical data and
processes in their hands (see 5 Risks and rewards).
Choosing the ‘right’ system from the available
online offerings is in many ways similar to selecting
a traditional application. It’s a multi-faceted and
potentially complex decision-making process, and
how well the system meets your needs will be
determined, to a large extent, by how well you
and the service provider understand them. Cloud
providers that hail from the UK can sometimes be
better at meeting the needs of UK businesses. Some
cloud providers of bookkeeping and accounting
software are better than others at providing external
accountants with the tools they need to work
efficiently and effectively with clients who are using
these systems.
4.3Supporting collaboration
Some providers of the more grown-up and fullyfeatured online accounting systems (rather than
bookkeeping systems) are primarily intended for
use by organisations that are large enough to have
their own in-house finance function. Therefore, they
14
are less concerned about functionality for external
accountants than vendors of online accounting
systems that have been developed with the
relationship between the business and its external
accountant in mind.
Because of the close working relationships that many
practising accountants have with their small business
clients they need to be able to share accounting data.
Many providers of online accounting systems have
designed offerings that support this collaboration,
and others have added this functionality as the
benefits of doing so became apparent. As far as
the mechanics are concerned, all online accounting
systems have the potential to exploit the internet to
enable the accountant and the client to share data,
and work more closely together, but beyond this
there are many differences.
Many online accounting service providers offer
practitioners a ‘control panel’ which provides an
overview of their ‘online accounting’ clients from
which they can access their accounting data. A single
log-in for access to all clients and their accounting
data and dashboard interfaces is increasingly the
norm. As you will see in the product overviews in
6 Reviews of online accounting packages, these
can provide practitioners with some useful (and
time-saving) administration, processing, and
reporting facilities. But not all online accounting
systems have been created equal, and with at least
one of the offerings out there, accountants can only
look at their client’s data by opening a series of new
browser windows.
Different practitioners will have very different
priorities. One firm may want to find a system
that could potentially be used to service all of
its clients, while another firm will opt to service
clients of different sizes and with different levels of
bookkeeping and accounting expertise with a range
of online accounting systems. Some banks provide
their business customers with online accounting
software so this may be a consideration. Some firms
will be comfortable encouraging their clients to use
a system that has integrated payroll, while a firm that
offers clients a payroll bureau service may see this as
a potential conflict of interest.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
4.4 Considering costs
One of the big selling points of online accounting
applications is that they allow you to effectively ‘rent’
access to software and systems, and the various prices
and pricing structures look good alongside the annual
maintenance charges of ‘on-premises’ systems. But as
with any rental agreement the devil is in the detail.
Some base their charges on the number of users,
some factor in the number of transactions, and the
way that they do this can vary. Some charge a one-off
fee. You can sign up to some subscription services
on a monthly basis (and leave at any time without
losing money), but you can also be quoted a monthly
subscription charge, and then asked to commit to an
annual contract. As the cloud ecosystem expands,
more and more add-on applications and functionality
become available, and the way that users are charged
for these varies too.
There is no ‘one-size-fitsall’ solution, and there are
lots of variations in terms
of available features, ease of
use, pricing models, upgrade
paths, and more.
Among service providers that have a partner plan
for bookkeeping and accounting firms that want to
offer online accounting to clients, there is a great deal
of variety. Some suppliers have created plans that
are multi-tiered: some of these are free; some base
costs on the basis of the number of clients using their
online accounting system; some provide varying levels
of functionality at different price points; the amount
of marketing and support available to practitioners
varies, even with a single service provider; some offer
inducements to encourage practitioners (and their
clients) to opt for a particular service provider.
All prospective users of online accounting systems
should do a very careful assessment of what a
subscription buys. Some providers offer a range of
free and paid-for add-ons and other services, and
some offer free storage space which can be put to
good use, if you can use it for anything you like, so
check. Find out exactly how much of everything is
included in the subscription and establish what sort of
additional charges you can expect if you exceed this.
You really need to do your sums properly before you
make any commitment.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
15
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16
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
5
Risks and
rewards
The potential benefits of online accounting systems
have been covered in 2 Benefits, but it’s important
to consider some of the potential – and perceived –
problem areas too.
5.1Potential concerns
One of the perceived benefits of online accounting
systems is that users are not responsible for the
installation, upgrade and maintenance of ‘onpremises’ software, but it is worth remembering that
this could have a downside. When you are running
packaged software on your own systems you get to
choose if and when you upgrade, whereas with SaaS
you generally have no choice (though some service
providers offer an alternative). If a SaaS provider
makes an upgrade that introduces a new version of
the system that has ‘teething troubles’ or changes
functionality in a way that has a negative impact
on your business, you will need to know what your
options are.
Not all online software works well with all browsers
or all browser versions, so firms and their clients may
need to ensure that they are using the latest version
or its predecessor. Similar challenges may arise with
different operating systems and different versions,
particularly with tablets and smartphones and apps.
The ease with which authorised people can share
data has a potential downside. For every business that
provides their bank and other investors with open
access to live accounting data and uses it as a way of
improving and strengthening their relationship (or
maintaining liquidity), there will be a business that
is horrified by the possibilities that this could create.
As the electronic filing of statutory data becomes
ever more mandatory, some may also be concerned
that HM Revenue & Customs will eventually want to
access businesses’ live accounting data directly.
Banking is one area where businesses and the
accountants who advise them will need to make some
very careful judgment calls. Businesses’ bank data can
now be automatically uploaded (electronically) into
both online and on-premises accounting systems,
but specialist service providers and online accounting
software providers use different approaches, and
individual providers use different approaches for
different banks. In some scenarios, after the initial
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
17
bank feed is set up, the bank feed data is passed into
the accounting software automatically: it requires no
action by the software user/bank account holder and
they do not need to submit their bank user credentials
or login to refresh the data. However, there are other
approaches.
Some online accounting software requires the user
to manually update the bank feed (not necessarily a
‘big issue’), but it may require the user to submit their
bank login and credentials to get a data refresh, and
this information is sometimes stored on the servers
of the online accounting software provider, which
can be a ‘big issue’. So establish what the software
provider’s position is on legal liability and check the
bank’s position too with regard to fraud and other
unfortunate incidents.
Some banks provide data feeds using a secure
platform provided by Yodlee. Credentials are shared,
but they are passed directly into Yodlee’s secure
platform which then securely passes the bank
transaction data back to the accounting software.
Bear in mind that authentication methods vary;
some banks use simple user name and password
authentication, but an increasing number require
secondary authentication using, for example, a PIN
device, which requires the user to key in a unique,
one-off code every time they request a sync between
bank and accounting software.
the question of how long some of the newer entrants
to the market will be around can’t be ignored,
particularly in the current economic climate, when
funding sources are scarce even for thriving longestablished businesses.
The market for online accounting systems is
becoming progressively more densely populated in
the UK, as new and overseas entrants join the party.
There has already been some consolidation and more
is to be expected. Some commentators believe that in
certain instances, market entries have been prompted
by investors who are keen to see their business
bought by larger, more established providers, so at
some point in the future there could be good news
for some providers and their users and bad news for
others; though no matter which service provider you
opt for you are taking a chance, of sorts.
5.3Fear and trust
5.2Protecting your investment
It is understandable that some accountants are
uncomfortable with the idea of valuable and sensitive
accounting data being stored on somebody else’s
hardware, accessible only over the internet. At
one time, the banking analogy was a popular (and
convenient) one for putting these concerns into
context. But while we are increasingly sceptical of
assurances that our money is safe in the bank and
guarantees that we can get access to it any time we
like, we are becoming less sceptical about the risks
associated with cloud-based accounting software
and data.
The issue of ‘future proofing’ your investment is
also a consideration. You need to know that your
accounting system can grow in size and capabilities
as and when the business requires it, whether it is
an ‘on-premises’ or online solution, but there are
some significant differences – particularly for small
business users. Some online accounting systems are
more scalable than others in terms of user numbers
and functionality – though shortcomings in the latter
can increasingly be addressed with applications from
elsewhere in the cloud ecosystem.
Nonetheless, risk assessment and management is a
complex area, and most businesses’ attempts to try
to assess, measure and prepare for it are doomed
to failure. If the credit crunch, terrorist attacks and
our increasingly unpredictable weather have taught
us anything, it is that the unthinkable can happen,
and that when it does, most of us will be woefully
unprepared for it. So the risk assessment exercise
you perform before opting for an online accounting
system should, in theory, be thorough and extensive.
The issues relating to established versus new
entrants are many and we dealt with some of them
in 4 Choices. Established is not automatically more
stable or financially secure, any more than new is
automatically more cost-effective or innovative. But
In practice, most businesses simply are not in a
position to ensure that it is any such thing. Even if you
put enormous amounts of time and effort into listing
all of the possible risks, prioritising them on the basis
of factors such as which are most likely and which
18
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
would be most bothersome, and then taking steps to
prevent, minimise and mitigate them, your data will
never be 100% safe and secure with an online service
provider. Equally, however, it would not be totally
safe if it were stored on your own hard disk on your
own premises and backed up daily using your own
tape drive, as it will still be at risk from human error,
equipment failure, fire, flood and many other threats.
You can check that the service provider is using
128-bit encryption and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
protocols during data transmission. You can read
its assurances that it is storing your data on a server
system with multi-tiered firewall protection and
no external drives, USB-ports or printers, which is
housed in an environment where employees have
been carefully screened and physical security is
controlled by a biometric access system. Then you
can confirm that similar security levels can be found
on the service provider’s backup site, and ask for a
detailed description of their business continuity and
disaster recovery plans.
But the bottom line is, that unless you check all of
these logical and physical procedures yourself, you
are going to have to trust your service provider – and
if you can’t do this, then maybe online accounting
systems are not for you.
WHAT THE USERS SAY
‘Online accounting is the way forward, because
it fits well with the way many small businesses
operate,’ says one sole practitioner.
‘I’m the closest thing we have to an IT
department,’ says one accountant, ‘but I handled
the transition to cloud accounting software for a
hundred-user system.’
‘We see the market in terms of small, specialist
clients and larger clients,’ says the operations
director with one big firm that is offering its
clients a choice between three different online
accounting systems.
‘Accountants should look carefully at the pros
and cons of SaaS before they jump in’, says one
accountant who already has, ‘because it is not
right in every scenario for every business.’
‘I used an online integration tool to connect my
online accounting system and an e-commerce
system, but when I needed to add credit card
processing I asked the experts.’
‘I have full access to my accounting history online,’
says one small business woman, ‘and because my
accountant can also access the system directly the
whole process is transparent, and problems are
easy to sort out.’
‘We used to email data to the accountant and get
nominal journals faxed back for us to process,’
says the accounts manager for a firm of architects.
‘Doing our accounts online saves time at both
ends and reduces the need for paper filing.’
‘I know that my accounting data is backed up onto
someone else’s server every day,’ says one business
user, ‘but I only feel secure if I know that we have
done our own backup too.’
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
19
6
Reviews
of online
accounting
packages
6.1 Aqilla
TARGET MARKET
Aqilla is a fully functional accounting system aimed at mid-market
organisations that are large enough to have their own finance
function. It’s a multi-company, multi-currency system, with multijurisdictional tax functionality and it supports a range of language
variants including English, French, Russian and Chinese (simple and
complex characters).
COST
There is an initial £100 administration fee to establish each instance
(as a legal entity). Ongoing subscription charges are determined
by the type of user and the type of entity: they range from £10
per month for each ‘Core Service User’ (accessing only document
entry, enquiry and report tabs) up to £50 per month for each ‘Pro
Service User’ (with full system access, subject to their role and
permissions). Monthly charges rise to £70 for an ‘Enterprise Pro’ user
for complex multi-company groups and those using inventory control
functionality.
Subscriber numbers can be increased or decreased on a monthly
basis, given the 30-day minimum contract period.
Service costs are explained clearly in the pricing section of the Aqilla
website.
USER BASE
Aqilla has over 600 subscriber organisations, including a number of
complex multiple entities in the private, public and non-profit sectors.
It has been part of the UK government G-Cloud framework since
2013. Although most Aqilla subscriber organisations are UK-centric, it
is used in 21 countries and by a number of international organisations
with multi-country operations. A few accountancy firms act as
partners and provide Aqilla to medium-sized clients in vertical markets
such as hospitality.
CONTACT DETAILS
Waqilla.com
T +44 (0)20 7098 9881
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ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
OVERVIEW
Aqilla was founded in 2006, when Colin Christianson and Hugh
Scantlebury decided to build on their decades of experience in the business
software sector and develop a cloud accounting solution. The result is
a grown-up accounting system for mid-market organisations that want
a system which can meet the finance needs of a broad range of users,
in the finance function and beyond. So Aqilla focuses firmly on financial
management, not bookkeeping – whilst the clear and straightforward
presentation of the website is reflected in the product.
it offers batch processing and analysis and full multidimensional reporting, querying and analysis (at
summary and detailed level). Because Aqilla uses a
single unified ledger, it’s easy to analyse documents or
transactions as they are entered; reports on actuals can
be produced live, at any stage of the month, and the
amount of time required for reconciliation is minimised.
CONCLUSION
A series of clean, uncluttered views provide easy access to the workhorse
functionality of Aqilla, which includes multiple ledgers, cash management,
order fulfilment, project costing, inventory control, business intelligence
(BI), budgeting and forecasting, financial analysis, bank integration and
automatic reconciliation, expense processing and more. All of this is
presented in a way that makes Aqilla feel intuitive to finance and nonfinance users, as the technical complexity of journals is hidden beneath the
surface. Built-in document management and workflow are used to simplify
and streamline complex processes and transaction schedules.
Aqilla is a multi-company, multi-language product,
with multi-currency capabilities, that offers the sort
of functionality a medium sized company might be
looking for from a serious accounting system (without
the complexity that can sometimes be associated with
this). It’s hard to criticise when it comes to analysis and
reporting facilities, as these are extensive. Migration
facilities are more comprehensive than those offered by
many other providers of online accounting systems.
There’s a lot of customisation available for views and functionality, which
simplifies initial configuration and the addition of new users going
forward. Unique views and data rights can be easily configured and
controlled for each Aqilla user: for example, the administrator can set role
permissions, add new users, create new data sets, and so on just by filling
in a few boxes. So a user’s rights may provide access to all features and all
data, or be restricted to one or two functions.
Aqilla will offer sufficient breadth of functionality
for many complex multi-company set-ups spanning
multiple tax jurisdictions, as it provides local tax
functionality for 24 countries. It is not an all-singing
all-dancing enterprise resource planning system; but
its tried and tested RESTful application programming
interface (API) enables it to be connected to other
systems such as CRM, payroll or project management.
Like any system there are pros and cons, which may
be in the eye of the beholder. For example: all Aqilla’s
enterprise class data centres are in the UK; its mobile
access is browser-based rather than app-based so
although all functionality is available from all mobile
devices, some screens may feel less easy to navigate as
device size shrinks.
When a user logs in a ‘home screen’ dashboard presents key data and
charts and graphs showing information that’s most important to them
at that point in time. Data may relate to information inside Aqilla or be
drawn from the internet and other external sources. Aqilla features built-in
BI capabilities: Smart KPIs such as bank balance, aged debt and liquidity
ratios; Smart Tasks monitor workflows of documents awaiting completion
or approval; Smart Events (date-driven tasks) are traffic-lighted to reflect
what requires the user’s attention – whether that’s a quarterly VAT return
that’s due to go to HM Revenue & Customs, or a month-end process such
as the approval of time sheets or authorisation of expenses claims.
Navigation is via drill-down and a series of tabs for reports, journals and
documents (which look as they would in real life), so users can quickly and
easily find commonly used documents such as purchase orders and sales
invoices. The built-in intelligence of the product is apparent throughout:
the system knows by expenses type whether it’s VAT or non-VAT, for
example. It also has a built-in ‘Smart Search’ facility that can, for instance,
provide the correct codes for product descriptions.
It’s clear that Aqilla has been designed to facilitate the fast and accurate
processing of transactions, and to simplify management routines and
repeat processes. As well as utilising document management and workflow
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Over the seven years since its general release Aqilla
has been available for 99.9997% of the time. It
describes its offering as ‘Software as a Service
plus Service’ to characterise the consultancy and
implementation support available and the focus on
building and sustaining personal relationships with
customers that reflect their individual (and often very
different) needs. The UK help-desk provides this via
email and over the phone, and whilst there’s no online
chat, the people at Aqilla actually know all of their
customers. All of which should help Aqilla to continue
attracting the sort of mid-sized organisation that can
be put off by the one-size-fits-all approach of some
online accounting systems.
21
6.2 Clear Books Accounting
TARGET MARKET
Clear Books Accounting, Clear Books Payroll and Clear Books HR
are aimed at small businesses ranging from the simplest sole trader
to VAT-registered small businesses with more complex needs. Clear
Books Pro gives external accountants access to all three systems
plus specialist tools to help them work with their Clear Books small
business clients. Clear Books is also cloud accounting provider for the
Santander iBusinessHub, a range of bundled cloud applications the
bank makes available to its small business banking customers.
COST
There are two subscription levels for Clear Books Accounting:
‘Together’, for the non-limited and non-VAT registered, costs £9
per month; ‘Together+’, for limited companies and VAT-registered
businesses (and including access to integrated online payroll and HR
for one employee, plus automated bank feeds), costs £20 per month.
Clear Books Accounting is available free to students.
Clear Books Payroll monthly subscriptions cost £2.50 per employee
and the minimum plan includes two employees. The bureau version
for accountants costs £200 per year, for up to 250 clients, each with
up to 250 employees.
Subscriptions for Clear Books HR cost £2.50 per month and the
minimum plan includes two employees.
All of these subscription levels (for Clear Books Accounting, Payroll
and HR) support unlimited users and free UK-based telephone, email
and live chat support (Monday to Friday).
Clear Books Pro is available free to accountant partners, who also get
discounted rates on the subscription charges for their clients who are
Clear Books users.
All Clear Books products are available free for a trial period.
USER BASE
More than 8,000 small business customers and accountants use
Clear Books software. Most of these are in the UK, but Clear Books is
expanding internationally, and opened its first overseas subsidiary in
the Netherlands in 2014.
CONTACT DETAILS
W clearbooks.co.uk
T +44 (0)800 862 0202
Clear Books Accounting is accredited by ICAEW.
22
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
OVERVIEW
Clear Books was founded in 2008 by chartered accountant Tim Fouracre
and Fubra Ltd (a web-hosting and advertising company). Since then,
both Clear Books the company and Clear Books Accounting software
have expanded: the system now offers cloud software for accounting,
payroll and human resources (HR) and the company employs over
40 people. Fouracre’s accounting background and his experiences
establishing and growing Clear Books give him insight into the needs of
the owners and entrepreneurs who use Clear Books software to manage
their businesses, and the accountants who use Clear Books Pro to
collaborate with their Clear Books clients.
Clear Books Accounting is well-named: extensive use of tabs and drop
down menus saves time by making it easy to navigate and gives the
screens a less cluttered feel than some other cloud accounting systems.
The Together and Together+ editions of Clear Books Accounting both
offer multi-currency support for bank accounts, quotes and invoices
(and users can automate recurring invoices); everything is covered when
it comes to paying bills (with features such as recharge and purchase
orders and a range of options for customers to pay, including direct
debit). Both systems can be easily customised to control the functionality
users can access.
Most cloud accounting systems now boast some sort of automated bank
feed and Clear Books is no exception. Automatic imports are mechanised
using Yodlee and are free to Together+ subscribers. VAT functionality
is also available only in Together+, but it includes support for the VAT
Mini One Stop Shop (VAT MOSS) for invoices (the system provides the
correct VAT percentage after the user inputs the country) and reporting.
The range of reports in both Together and Together+ is comprehensive
and includes budgeting and planning, cash flow, dividend vouchers,
P11D, profit and loss, and a customisable dashboard showing the most
important information.
Accessibility and ease of use extend to the mobile apps (for Android
and iOS), which provide selected functionality, ranging from capturing
expenses to creating a quote or sales invoice – and the accounting
system remains easy to find your way around on a tablet or smartphone.
There are some welcome time-saving features such as a grid input
screen for batch data entry and accountants will probably appreciate the
templates for pre-defined charts of accounts for certain types of client
and industry. Another nice touch is the ability to compare the standard
VAT scheme with the Flat Rate Scheme, which could have money-saving
potential for some businesses.
Clear Books Accounting automatically shares data with Clear Books
Payroll. This can support unlimited employee numbers and is not limited
to just weekly and monthly pay periods, but fortnightly, four weekly,
quarterly and annual payroll periods (unlike some cloud payroll software
and services). There’s also industry-specific functionality such as for the
Construction Industry Scheme; with support for salary sacrifice schemes,
directors’ NI, and some other functionality not universally available
in all cloud payroll applications or services. It lacks any pension autoenrolment functionality, but this is in the pipeline.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Another feature that separates Clear Books from
the cloud small business accounting crowd is Clear
Books HR – and its self-service functionality. After
setting up user permissions, employees can view all
of their personal information and request time off
online; managers can approve or decline this with the
click of a button; both can view absences, including
holidays, illness and appointments. Employees and
managers can use Clear Books HR to upload and share
documents such as contracts and CVs – and managers
can set up automated weekly emails to communicate
with the team about important approaching dates.
Clear Books Pro gives accountants single login access
to Clear Books Accounting (Together+), Clear Books
Payroll and Clear Books HR (and they receive a 40%
reduction in the subscription rate on these products
when they provide them to clients). Accountants have
an overview screen for all of their Clear Books clients,
plus tools to help the firm set-up and manage its Clear
Book clients, such as templates for charts of accounts
and role-based permissions, which can be customised
for individual clients and users. Firms can co-brand
the software with their own logo and company
information.
CONCLUSION
You don’t have to be an accountant to use Clear
Books Accounting, but if you are, there is plenty of
functionality and specialised time-saving tools to
help you manage your Clear Books clients efficiently,
across all of the integrated applications in the Clear
Books ecosystem – which is growing. In addition to
cloud software for accounting, payroll and HR, Clear
Books has other cloud products under development,
including its systems for customer relationship
management plus final accounts production for microentities (which integrates with Clear Books Accounting)
and both are freely available as beta test versions.
Clear Books suite provides all of the functionality most
small business and their accountants will need to run
their businesses and collaborate with each other more
easily and effectively – and there are lots of add-ons
to meet more specialised needs. Clear Books may not
have the longevity of some more established providers
of cloud accounting software, but it has won a number
of awards based on the votes and feedback of its users,
and during 2013–2014, when Clear Books raised over
£1.5m through two rounds of crowdfunding, more
than 1,000 small business and self-employed customers
of its cloud software chose to invest in the company.
23
6.3 Intuit QuickBooks Online
TARGET MARKET
Intuit QuickBooks Online is aimed at small businesses, ranging from
sole traders and start-ups to medium-sized businesses with dozens
of employees and more complex needs such as the ability to handle
multiple currencies. Partner firms also range from sole traders to
larger multi-site firms. Intuit is an international player and QuickBooks
Online is available in many languages and handles sales taxes for
many countries.
COST
The single-user Simple Start version of QuickBooks Online costs £7
per month; QuickBooks Online Essentials costs £15 per month for up
to three users; QuickBooks Online Plus costs £25 per month for up
to five users. All three versions of QuickBooks Online offer integrated
payroll functionality (powered by PaySuite) for up to 60 employees.
Payroll is free until 31 July 2015 then costs £1 per active employee, per
month.
Intuit provides free support via the phone (between 08:00 and
20:00, Monday–Friday) and using online chat (between 09:00 and
17:30, Monday–Friday). It also makes many help articles, videos and
webinars available online (for accounting and payroll) and a thriving
QuickBooks Online user community offers Q&A type support and
insight.
USER BASE
QuickBooks Online has more than 430,000 small business subscribers
and more than 1.3 million users worldwide. It is available in over
45 languages and has customers in 160 countries including its home
(and biggest national user base) in the US. In total Intuit has more
than 60 million customers worldwide, 45 million of them in the cloud.
CONTACT DETAILS
Wintuit.co.uk/quickbooks
T +44 (0)808 168 9533
QuickBooks Online is accredited by ICAEW.
24
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
OVERVIEW
Intuit has been around since 1983 when the founders Scott Cook and
Tom Proulx launched their personal finance product Quicken. They soon
followed this with their first bookkeeping package for small businesses.
Intuit is now an international company with more than 8,000 employees
generating more than $4.5 billion in annual revenue and QuickBooks is
an established and dominant force in the desktop and online markets for
small business accounting products in its home market in the United States
and many other countries, including the UK.
QuickBooks Online Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all provide
bookkeeping tools for: tracking cash flow, expenses and sales; creating
quotes and estimates and producing invoices (which businesses can
customise with their own company logo); automating the import of bank
account data; and managing Value Added Tax (for the standard, cash and
flat rate schemes). Certain functions are unlocked for use as users move up
from Simple Start to become ‘Essentials’ and then ‘Plus’ subscribers.
For example, the ability to schedule repeat items such as invoices, handle
multiple currencies and track currency gains and losses, and to see a
snapshot showing the state of a business on a single screen, all kick in
from ‘Essentials’ upwards. There are lots of automated (and customisable)
reports available at this level, but ‘Plus’ adds many more – along with
features such as tracking and billing for employee time, real time stock
management, plus budgeting performance management tools.
Comprehensive, fully integrated payroll functionality is available from
within all versions of QuickBooks Online. The integration simplifies
initial set up (information such as company name and trading address is
automatically carried over into payroll) and payroll processing (accounts
are automatically updated after a payroll run so that current liabilities
include payroll clearing, tax and national insurance). The payroll system
is easy to navigate and use. Calculations are all automated. Creating
reports is straightforward and making submissions such as Real Time PAYE
Information (for HMRC) is as simple as pressing a button.
Like many online accounting systems QuickBooks Online is part of a
growing ecosystem of other cloud-based services that can add value to
the data it collects – though levels of connectivity and integration vary
between add-ons. These include software and services such as Receipt
Bank (for extracting data from expenses receipts and invoices), Transaction
Pro Importer (which can be used to import transactions and lists from
Microsoft Excel into QuickBooks Online) and electronic invoicing (using
structured messages) from Tradeshift. A simple summary view inside
QuickBooks Online shows all of the add-ons a user signs up for.
Intuit Pay enables QuickBooks Online subscribers to securely accept
credit and debit card payments using their computer. A free Intuit Pay
app for tablets and smart phones can be used with a wireless Intuit Pay
chip and PIN reader (for which there is a charge) to take payments on the
go. QuickBooks Online subscribers can also use apps for Apple (iOS) and
Android tablets and smart phones (BlackBerry devices are not supported)
to access limited functionality such as managing customers, estimates,
invoices, payments and sales receipts. QuickBooks Online is also accessible
via mobile browsers on Apple iOS, Android and BlackBerry mobile devices.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
A free QuickBooks Online Accountant version connects
bookkeepers and accountants to their QuickBooks
Online clients, so that practitioners can access client
data and use accountant-specific tools to analyse, work
with and update it. After joining Intuit’s free Cloud
ProAdvisor Programme, practitioners get access to free
training, certification, specialist advice and support,
plus a range of tools that have been designed to help
firms enhance their client services and administration –
as well as free access to QuickBooks Online Plus.
This version of QuickBooks Online Plus provides all
of the standard features and additional functionality
for practitioners. These features include a single view
of all client data, tools to work with large data sets
(batch processing transactions and invoice processing,
for example), access to a number of accountantonly reports, and the ability to assign tasks and set
deadlines. All of this can be made available to an
unlimited number of bookkeepers and accountants in
the practice, each with their own unique user sign in.
CONCLUSION
The three different versions of QuickBooks Online
mean that there will probably be one that suits
most micro and small businesses. Many of them will
appreciate Intuit’s efforts to maximise the visual appeal
of the online product, make it mobile device friendly,
and minimise the initial set-up work (much of this is
automated) and the amount of ‘accountant speak’
they need to grapple with. However, you can’t please
all of the people all of the time, and those who come
to QuickBooks Online after becoming familiar with
a desktop variant of QuickBooks may feel as if the
navigation is less intuitive than they are used to.
Making some facilities easier for inexperienced users
and non-accountants may slow some seasoned
practitioners down a little until they become familiar
with QuickBooks Online; but as it is primarily aimed at
small business people, not bookkeepers or accountants,
this is perhaps to be expected. There are lots of reasons
to recommend this cloud bookkeeping software to
small businesses, including a saving on the standard
monthly charge for as long as they are signed up for
QuickBooks Online via their accountant, who also has
access to plenty of admin tools and other incentives
to encourage them to use QuickBooks Online as the
foundations on which to build a cloud practice.
25
6.4 KashFlow
TARGET MARKET
KashFlow and KashFlow Payroll are aimed at small and medium-sized
UK businesses ranging from freelancers, contractors and other sole
traders, to growing UK organisations and limited companies with
more complex needs – and the external accountants and bookkeepers
who typically work with them. It is part of IRIS, a specialist supplier
of business software for small and medium-sized businesses and
accountancy practices.
COST
KashFlow ‘Starter’ edition for low-transaction businesses costs £5 a
month; the ‘Business’ edition for growing organisations and limited
companies supports multiple users, unlimited multi-currency invoices
and bank transactions, for £10 per month; the ‘Business + Payroll’
edition adds integrated KashFlow Payroll for up to five employees
from £15 a month, with additional charges for higher numbers.
Free email support is provided.
The automatic bank feed service (powered by Yodlee) is free, as is
PayPal integration.
There is no minimum contract period and monthly subscriptions
can be stopped at any time for all editions of KashFlow. However,
KashFlow Payroll has a 12-month minimum contract period.
Membership of the KashFlow Connect Partner Programme is free.
Members of the partner programme get priority telephone support
and a dedicated account manager.
USER BASE
Over 33,000 businesses use KashFlow and around 2,500 use KashFlow
Payroll.
Almost 5,000 accountancy practices use at least one solution from
the IRIS cloud suite to collaborate and connect with over 213,000
subscribing SME customers.
CONTACT DETAILS
Wkashflow.com
T +44 (0)844 844 9644
26
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
OVERVIEW
In 2013 IRIS acquired KashFlow, which was set up in 2005 by Duane
Jackson (with financial support from the Prince’s Trust and the former
Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, Lord Young of Graffham). Being
part of IRIS puts KashFlow at the centre of an extensive suite of software
and services that can be used to automate small business admin tasks
(such as bookkeeping and payroll); integrate with products in the IRIS
range of software and services which enable practitioners to automate
aspects of their practice (from accounts production to taxation); and
enable small businesses and their external bookkeepers or accountants to
collaborate more easily and efficiently.
KashFlow began with invoicing, then evolved into a system with much
broader functionality: from basic bookkeeping tasks such as logging
receipts and invoices and keeping track of customers, to more demanding
tasks such as accounting by project/department and managing asset
depreciation. all three versions – ‘Starter’, ‘Business’ and ‘Business +
Payroll’ – provide core bookkeeping and accounting functionality:
some features kick in with the ‘Business’ version (such as multi-currency
invoicing and automated repeat billing and purchasing); ‘Business +
Payroll’ does what it says on the tin. The wide range of add-ons – from
business analytics to e-commerce and more – reflect the comprehensive
API which allows the software to be connected to other systems.
KashFlow was developed to automate and simplify record-keeping for
small businesses with little or no knowledge of bookkeeping – and this
shows. Navigation is straightforward, ‘accountant-speak’ is avoided and
complex functionality can be concealed. Automation is used to simplify
potentially complex tasks. For example, the system calculates the target
bank reconciliation balance and flags transactions already in KashFlow as
pre-reconciled. Users can review, approve or amend pre-ticked transactions
before completing the reconciliation. The automatic bank feed feature
includes auto-matching rules that suggest the best matches for these
transactions among existing invoices and purchases recorded in KashFlow.
The dashboard screen that users see when they log into KashFlow
shows a ‘snapshot’ of how the business is performing with a ‘Financial
Overview’ and other charts and graphs. Businesses can easily customise
the dashboard to show the most important information, to arrange the
dashboard layout, and select the types of chart or graph used to present
information. Like all KashFlow screens, the dashboard is optimised
automatically for different devices, so it is easy to find what you are looking
for whether you are viewing it from a smart phone, tablet, laptop or a
desktop computer – without the need to download any apps.
The option to see the current period VAT liability in the dashboard
‘Financial Overview’ at every login is a nice touch – as is the advance
warning given to non-VAT registered businesses if they are approaching
the VAT threshold and may need to register. VAT record-keeping and
reporting is a worry for many small businesses so anything that reduces
this is welcome. KashFlow offers comprehensive VAT functionality, with
support for Cash Accounting and the Flat Rate Scheme, plus support for
the VAT Mini One Stop Shop (VAT MOSS) reporting needed by even the
smallest supplier of digital services to EU customers.
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
KashFlow Payroll can be used to manage weekly
and monthly pay cycles for an unlimited number of
employees, companies and payment schedules. The
system is easy to navigate, with plenty of contextsensitive help. It even boasts some self-service
functionality for employees, who can log in and check
their own payslips. It includes a range of standard and
personalised reports; it automates the handling of realtime information (RTI) submissions (including their
online filing) and assessment and communications for
workplace pension auto-enrolment. Integration means
that relevant financial data is automatically posted into
KashFlow after each payroll run.
There are also plenty of special tools for practitioners.
From their KashFlow Connect dashboard, they can setup and customise the KashFlow accounts of individual
clients, then access and manage all client accounts
from this single portal using Client Manager, which
provides access to tools designed to make it easier
to work with clients, manage multiple accounts, and
develop the practice. Online collaboration is further
supported by IRIS OpenSpace, a private, secure, ‘file
sharing’ facility that clients and practitioners can use to
upload, store, approve and share documents with each
other. Both KashFlow Connect and IRIS OpenSpace are
‘white label’ products which can be customised by the
accountant with their own practice logo and colours.
CONCLUSION
Integration and collaboration are fundamental parts
of the (expanding) suite of IRIS cloud (and non-cloud)
software and services which KashFlow and KashFlow
Payroll are part of, and this has the potential to save
practitioners significant amounts of time, reduce
the likelihood of errors and improve client services.
KashFlow Payroll (previously IRIS OpenPayroll)
integrates seamlessly with KashFlow, which also
integrates with the IRIS accounts production software.
More specialist cloud products and services are in
the pipeline.
KashFlow was appealing enough to attract hundreds
of bookkeepers and accountants even when it used
to charge them a hefty annual fee to join its partner
programme. As it is now part of IRIS and membership
of the IRIS KashFlow Connect Partner Programme is
free, many practitioners will probably find KashFlow
even more appealing – whether they are already using
IRIS software in their practice or looking for an end-toend offering that will allow them and their clients to
make the most of cloud-based software and services.
27
6.5 Sage One
TARGET MARKET
Sage One and Sage One Payroll provide simple online bookkeeping,
accounting and payroll software for small and micro-businesses,
ranging from sole traders with UK-only customers and no employees,
to businesses with more complex needs such as multi-currency and
VAT compliance for trading overseas. The Sage One Accountant
Edition provides practitioners with tools to view and manage multiple
Sage One client accounts and payroll data online. Sage One is
available in the UK and 14 other countries.
COST
Sage One Cashbook (with support for cash-based accounting)
costs £5 per month and £2 per month for users introduced by their
accountant; Sage One Accounts (which adds functionality such as
invoicing and VAT management) costs £10 per month; both versions
are for single users. The multi-user, multi-business Sage One Accounts
Extra adds features such as multi-currency and international VAT
compliance and costs £20 per month.
Sage One Payroll costs £5 per month for up to five employees;
£10 per month for up to 10 employees; £15 per month for up to
15 employees.
Businesses that subscribe directly to Sage One Cashbook, Accounts,
Accounts Plus and Payroll can take advantage of a 30-day free trial
(thereafter, contracts are monthly). If an accountant is paying for a
subscription on behalf of their clients, there is no free trial period.
Sage One Accountant Edition is available free to accountants who
are members of the Sage Accountants Network (a subscription of
£0.99 per month includes various online resources and services). A
Sage One Accountant Edition subscription costs £0.99 per month for
accountants who are not members of the Sage Accountants Network.
All Sage One editions include unlimited transactions and free 24/7
telephone and email support.
USER BASE
Sage One has more than 47,000 UK subscribers.
Around 6.2 million companies use Sage products and services across
100 countries.
CONTACT DETAILS
W uk.sageone.com
T +44 (0)845 111 6611
28
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
OVERVIEW
Sage was founded in Newcastle in 1981 by print entrepreneur David
Goldman (who wanted a fast way to generate quotations for prospective
customers), computer expert Dr Paul Miller (who was exploring ways to
streamline business processes, including bookkeeping), and his student
Graham Wylie (who wrote an accounting software programme which
could estimate the cost of the print company’s jobs and manage its basic
accounting). Today, Sage is a global company and its specialist software
and services for businesses and accountancy firms are used by around
6.2 million companies in 100 countries.
The three subscription levels for the Sage One cloud accounting system
provide different functionality. Sage One Cashbook offers a quick and
easy way to keep basic records for accounts, customers and clients; bank
activity (such as drawings and recording cash deposits into the bank);
there are some simple reports such as a cash flow and a summary of sales,
expenses and profit for the month or year to date. Cashbook users can’t
create invoices; this feature kicks-in with Sage One Accounts, along with
other invoice and payments functionality.
Subscribers to Sage One Accounts (or Accounts Extra) can raise unlimited
invoices (unlike some cloud accounting systems) and doing this (and
emailing them) is simple. UK VAT functionality is available in Sage One
Accounts: it supports the main UK small business schemes, including Flat
Rate; however, traders using the VAT Mini One Stop Shop service (VAT
MOSS) will need Sage One Accounts Extra. Sage One Accounts has more
reports than Cashbook, such as the balance sheet, and a basic dashboard
summarises information on sales, expenses, profit, unpaid invoices, bank
balance, and when the next VAT return needs filing.
Sage One Accounts Extra provides more functionality, access for multiple
users (and tools to control what they can see and do), and the capacity
to manage multiple ventures (from a single log in). International trading
is supported: users can produce quotes and invoices and record sales
and purchases in multiple currencies; exchange rates are calculated
automatically, as is VAT. Additional reports in Accounts Extra include cash
flow forecasts and an audit trail, and performance analysis can be done
based on a range of variables (such as department or sector).
All three versions of Sage One integrate with Sage One Payroll, with
automatic posting of relevant pay run data into accounts, not manual
input. Sage One Payroll covers all the basics – such as automated PAYE and
NIC and RTI submissions. One area that separates it from some other small
business cloud payroll systems is its pension auto-enrolment functionality.
Sage One Payroll already supports NEST (National Employers Savings
Trust), NOW Pensions, and The People’s Pension – welcome news for those
trying to stay ahead of their staging date.
Sage One Accountant Edition gives practitioners a range of tools to help
them customise Sage One for their clients and manage their multiple
Sage One clients – using a single client summary screen that provides an
overview for clients using all three versions of Sage One. Like other similar
offerings, the Sage One Accountant Edition lets practitioners customise
charts of accounts, enter journal transactions, and run reports that aren’t
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
available to their clients (such as the balance sheet
and trial balance for Cashbook clients); and data can
easily be output to spreadsheets and systems such
as Sage Accounts Production and Sage Accounts
Production Advanced.
At the end of 2014, Sage claimed a first when it
delivered Sage Final Accounts Online, which is free for
use with ‘connected’ Sage One business subscribers.
It’s a workflow-based tool with built-in compliance for
sole traders, partnerships and small limited companies
(FRSSE 2015), which integrates with Sage One
Accounts to create an end-to-end solution: from online
bookkeeping to producing and filing annual (autotagged and iXBRL-compatible) accounts at Companies
House. It’s worth noting that it can also be used for
non Sage One clients.
CONCLUSION
The Sage One suite is part of a vast Sage ecosystem
of products for accountants and small businesses,
available for the desktop and the cloud – where the
options are growing. Cloud offerings include Sage
200 Online (which brings together sales, service and
financial information) and the customer relationship
management system Sage CRM. Users of Sage 50
Accounts can access it online using Sage Drive. So
there is lots of scope for businesses to change and
grow without leaving Sage.
By the end of 2015, the company aims to provide its
suite of tax functions via the cloud too. However, at
the time of writing (March 2015) there was a glaring
omission from Sage One: automatic bank feeds. As
these are almost the norm now in cloud accounting
systems, not having them may put off some small
business users. However, automatic bank feeds have
already been rolled out to Sage One users in some
overseas regions and they are expected in the UK by
May 2015.
Sage software has been around a long time and many
people react to it like Marmite – with love or hate. The
Sage One range may confound some expectations and
reinforce others – though not in the ways people might
expect. Non-accountants whose eyes glazed over at
the complexity of more traditional Sage accounting
products will probably appreciate the comparative
user-friendliness of Sage One; seasoned bookkeepers
and accountants may pine for something more familiar.
Whether or not you like Sage One will be largely a
matter of personal preference.
29
6.6 Xero
TARGET MARKET
Xero is aimed at small businesses ranging from start-ups and sole
traders to companies employing around 20 staff, and those with
multi-currency accounting needs – and the external bookkeepers
and accountants who work with them. Members of the Xero partner
programme are typically small to mid-sized firms with a few up to
hundreds of clients; Xero also has a strategic partnership with KPMG.
Xero focuses on English speaking countries.
COST
The monthly subscription for the ‘Starter’ version is £9 which covers up
to five invoices and five bills per month and allows the reconciliation
of up to 20 bank statement lines; at £20 the ‘Standard’ version offers
unlimited invoicing, bill payment and bank reconciliation, plus payroll
for one employee; for £30 per month the large version adds full multicurrency features to this, along with payroll for up to 10 employees. All
three subscriptions are for unlimited users within a single organisation.
There are also two lower-cost editions for accounting firms costing
from £2 per month per client.
An automatic once-a-day bank feed is available from HSBC (£3 per
month per account), RBS (£3.50) and NatWest (£3.50). Silicon Valley
Bank provides a free feed; free feeds are on the way from Metro Bank
and Santander; numerous bank and credit card feeds are also available
through Xero’s use of the Yodlee platform at a monthly cost of £3.50
for each account.
There is no charge for external accountants to join Xero’s partner
programme, which is structured into a number of tiers determined by
the number of clients the firm has (this also determines the discount on
Xero business subscriptions). Xero’s cloud-based Practice Management
and Xero Workpapers are free for firms with 25+ clients.
There is no minimum contract period, and monthly subscriptions can
be stopped at any time.
USER BASE
Xero has more than 400,000 subscribers globally, with more than
60,000 in the UK. Xero has over 13,000 accountant partners in more
than 100 countries, many of them are in Australia and New Zealand,
with more than 3,000 in the UK.
CONTACT DETAILS
Wxero.com
T +44 (0)800 085 3719
You can sign up for a free trial on the Xero website.
Xero is accredited by ICAEW.
30
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
OVERVIEW
From the beginning Xero was designed with the needs of both small
businesses and their accountants in mind, thanks to the company founders:
technology entrepreneur Rod Drury, and accountancy practitioner Hamish
Edwards. Just one year after it was founded (in 2006) it went for an initial
public offering in its home country New Zealand, and then set its sights on
the wider world. There are now more than 400,000 businesses using Xero
in more than 100 countries, and more than 13,000 accountant partners are
using it to work more closely and effectively with their clients.
Xero is definitely easy on the eye – and finding your way around it is
more intuitive and less demanding than some other bookkeeping and
accounting systems. One of its strengths is that it makes all of its features,
functionality (and the associated context sensitive help) available in a way
that allows users to use (and learn how to use) as much or as little as they
are comfortable with.
Screens are not cluttered with unnecessary information or ‘accountingspeak’. A dashboard with clearly labelled tabs helps users to easily find
their way around and terminology tends towards being ‘plain English’:
accounts receivable is money coming in, for example. There’s even a popup warning from the system during manual journal posting and editing,
advising the inexperienced user to leave general ledger management to an
accountant or bookkeeper – who has a more technical perspective.
Small business users will appreciate easily customisable quotes and
invoicing (with automated repeat billing); debtors and creditors share
a single contacts database; and Xero offers fully integrated payroll
functionality in some versions. With guidance from the system, just a few
steps are needed to configure payroll – assigning a bank account, setting
up the pay calendar, and adding tax information for the company and its
employees. A payroll-specific mobile app is being developed which will
provide admin features for managers and enable employees to submit
requests for leave and view their history for leave and pay.
There are plenty of reports, and the business basics are topped off with
some appealing additional features. Unusually, Xero includes a fixed
assets register and tools to manage depreciation. It has recently upgraded
inventory to provide complete tracking of the quantity and value of
products being bought and sold. It supports standard Value Added Tax
and flat rate reporting – unlike some online accounting systems. It also
offers expenses management functionality, with approval and authorisation
workflow, part payment of claims, and automatic claim reconciliation.
The mobile app Xero Touch (for iOS and Android), allows you to
photograph receipts and attach the image to a claim, as well as creating
and sending invoices, checking bank balances, and staying on top of
outstanding customer debts. Touch doesn’t provide all of the functionality
you can get from the full browser-based version, which works well on a
range of tablets with supported browsers; functionality is limited on smart
phones.
Xero was the first online accounting system to integrate bank feeds.
Various banks now offer once-a-day automatic bank feeds into Xero;
other automatic bank and card updates can be mechanised (from within
ONLINE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Xero) using Yodlee (and can be manually refreshed as
required). Charges for this service vary. Xero also offers
fast cash coding, which speeds up data entry. The range
of cloud-based third party add-ons for Xero is extensive
and expanding: it includes software for billing, cashflow
forecasting, CRM, inventory management, PayPal and
mobile payments; though it should be noted that levels
of connectivity and integration vary.
Xero also offers free tools for accountants to help
with the development and day-to-day running of the
cloud side of a practice, working with and managing
clients (using Xero) more efficiently. The ‘My Xero’
dashboard makes it easy to find information on staff,
education and tools, subscriptions and billing, and
the home page shows a list of clients and the status
of each account. But it is those with 25-plus clients
who get the most significant benefits from partnering
with Xero: they get free access to Practice Manager
and Workpapers, which are key to the efficiencies that
Xero’s integrated Practice Studio can deliver.
Practice Manager pulls information from Xero meaning
that, for example, contact details and tax returns
are always up-to-date; workflow management tools
speed up tasks such as job tracking, quoting and
invoicing, and a work in progress manager with its
own dashboard further streamlines tasks; custom filters
speed-up decision making; there are plenty of report
templates and custom reports are simple to build.
Each firm can set up its own approach to year-end
compliance using Workpapers, and because you can
access client data and use a secure online portal for
communication, it is easier for the firm to take control
of and prioritise compliance tasks and workflow.
CONCLUSION
Looks aren’t everything but Xero is easy on the eye
and it is easy to navigate (as is its entire website).
Because Xero’s integrated online accounting and
payroll tools also integrate with My Xero, Practice
Manager and Workpapers, and the data flows
seamlessly between them all, there is enormous
potential for small businesses and their external
bookkeepers and accountants to work more efficiently.
a well thought-out offering, Xero demonstrates how
powerful an online accounting system can be when
it is part of an integrated and connected ecosystem.
If you looking for an online solution that can enable
a more collaborative approach to client services and
streamline compliance and support, Xero should
definitely be on your shortlist.
31
7
Resources
There are many service providers and software developers offering online
accounting solutions and hosted versions of traditional ‘on-premises’
applications. the following list is not complete, but it does provide the
web addresses for a cross section of the many available.
Accounts anywhere
Accounts IQ
AccountsPortal
Aplicor
Aqilla
Arithmo
Brightpearl
Clear Books
e-conomic
FinancialForce
FreeAgent
Inrax
KashFlow
Liberty Accounts
Liquid Accounts
Microsoft Dynamics
MyBusiness
Netsuite
Online 50
QuickBooksOnline
Sage One
SAP Cloud for Financials
Twinfield
WinWeb Online Office
Xero
Xledger
www.accountsanywhere.co.uk
www.accountsiq.com
www.accountsportal.com
www.aplicor.com
www.aqilla.com
www.arithmo.co.uk
www.brightpearl.com
www.clearbooks.co.uk
www.e-conomic.co.uk
www.financialforce.com
www.freeagent.com
www.inrax.com
www.kashflow.com
www.libertyaccounts.com
www.liquidaccounts.com
www.Microsoft.com/uk/dynamics
www.mybiz.co.uk
www.netsuite.co.uk
www.online50.net
www.intuit.co.uk/quickbooks
uk.sageone.com
scn.sap.com/community/cloud-financials
www.twinfield.co.uk
www.winweb.com
www.xero.com
www.xledger.co.uk
The following links will take you to the websites of just a few of the
accountancy firms that are offering online bookkeeping and accounting
services to clients and prospective clients.
www.accountingservicesonline.net
www.ascotdrummond.co.uk
www.gloverstanbury.co.uk
www.inniaccounts.co.uk
www.orange-balloon.co.uk
www.thewowcompany.com
32
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33
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