Things to consider when choosing accounting software
With the impending further role out of HMRC’s Making Tax Digital scheme or more commonly known as MTD, the focus on getting the right software in place to help with the increased reporting has never been so prevalent.
We are pleased to say that a lot of our clients were already well ahead of this and have been using software for a good period of time now. What the further roll out of MTD will bring though is a wider net of those that come under the need to use software who may not have previously considered themselves “in business” and with the need to keep records in this way – mainly landlords and micro businesses with profits of more than £10k.
We’ve put together some keys points that we think you should be considering when choosing the right software for you.
Don’t see software as just another cost
Yes, most software options will come with a monthly subscription. For the most popular choices this can range anywhere between free and £32+VAT per month, these may be subject to change depending on the time of reading this and any additional bolt ons available.
Stop seeing this as just another cost to your business and instead assess it by the benefits it may bring and time it may save. Most accounting software will help with taking away some of the manual tasks you may be doing within your financial admin, such as bank reconciliations or automating invoicing.
So instead focus on the time it saves and what you can be doing or earning in that time which we find in most cases far outweighs the monthly costs involved.
Think about what you want out of the information
With MTD coming into place it easy for people to think that this is just another compliance tool, which yes, it will help with that process but focus on what information it can produce that would be useful in helping you to manage finances and aid decision making alongside your accountant.
The reporting functionality within the software itself along with supporting bolt on can really help you to take your business to the next level. Using this information to focus on opportunities, minimise risk, plan and make provisions are just a few of the benefits that can come from this.
So getting the software set up in a way that helps you to easily snapshot this information is essential. You can then use this information to more effectively interact with your support around you.
Think about the other processes within your business
As a business grows you tend to use a lot of tools to help you achieve this, whether it be point of sale systems, CRM’s, marketing campaigns etc. Often you will be using core information that is applicable across all and often has a financial impact to this.
The leading software have a number of integrations with other Apps and these are featured on the APP stores. Streamlining these processes can again save you time and give you better quality of information.
Check the features you need
In the past pre-cloud software options we often found that the needs of the business owners were different from the software they were using. This was mainly the case where only a small proportion of the features were being used (as those were what were needed), meaning large parts of the software was being underutilised or in most cases, not needed.
Therefore think about the features you may need and use this to help choose the software that would be suitable. We think it is always worth reviewing this alongside your future ambitions for the business so you can factor that into your decision making so you have things ready to scale up so you aren’t a point of trying to implement new procedures at a time where you are busy or focus is elsewhere within your business journey.
These are just a few ideas on some key considerations you may need to give. If you need help with choosing the right software for you or support and training in making sure that you get the most from it, then get in touch with the team here at RiverView Portfolio.
