Selecting a bookkeeping software
Saving money: keep your records in Excel
Have you just started and don't you have many customers, and therefore invoices to send? Then Excel may be the best accounting solution for you. With Excel templates you create balance sheets and annual accounts.
An advantage is that Excel is free of charge and that the program, or variants thereof, is programmed on almost all computers.
The disadvantage is that you have to know a number of formulas and that your excel reports might not be compliant to shared with the T&CA if needed.
Save time: keep your records in accounting software
In case your company is operational and has more than 50-100 transactions per year, you might be able to save time by using accounting software.
The software might allow you to automate a large part of your accounting, such as filing the VAT return and create a bank connection. At the same time, you still have your accounting in your own hands. You have to pay for an online accounting program, but you often get the costs out quickly.
If you want to conduct a healthy and efficient online administration, you look beyond your financial administration alone. You may also want to track hours, record mileage, and make quotes. You also want to be able to work well with your accountant or accountant in your accounting package and be able to file returns. For every business activity there is a package that you can support. In that case, a good online accounting package is a package with which you can link other software or which may even partially replace the other applications.
Also consider whether you want to fully automate things, such as being able to automatically load your bank transactions. Or that you don't mind uploading them manually. Also determine which things you want to do yourself and what you want to outsource to an accountant or trust office, such as the VAT or income tax returns.
It is best to list your requirements and wishes with regard to the functionalities. With a good complete list, you can then search online for accounting packages that meet this requirement.
Examples of wishes and requirements for accounting software:
Corporate Income Tax Filing
Bank statements integration
Draft and Send (pro forma) invoices
Send payment reminders to debtors
debtor management
Process purchase invoices
Scan and recognize
foreign currencies
Working in the cloud
Data well provided ( strong security & well secured mobile app)
Possible integration