Accounting / Bookkeeping Software
Instant Invoice 'n' Cashbook
It's the easiest!
Instant Invoice 'n' Cashbook from Ezysoft is a small business accounting / bookkeeping software application for Windows 7, Vista and XP, and it is very quick to set up and easy to use. In December 2007 I tested numerous low cost accounting software packages for small businesses, and this was a clear winner.
Life's too short for steep software learning curves, especially when you have a small business to run. Thankfully, setting up your business records with this software is extremely easy using it's guided set up wizard; it literally only takes about 10 minutes to get up and running.
Easier than traditional accounting software
Once you're set up, making transaction entries is a breeze! There's nothing too daunting, even for those without any bookkeeping experience. There's none of the usual strict double entry and audit trail principles to suffer; no period ending, no updating, just ongoing, simple and clear bookkeeping. And if you make a mistake, it's quick and easy to correct.
Easier than spreadsheets
Formatted spreadsheet accounts and word processor templated invoicing can be adequate if you're, for example, a tradesman who is paid instantly when the job is complete. But if you have credit account clients and are considering using such a system, you'd have a lot of unnecessary work to do, and plenty could go wrong. You would have to save your documents as you work and manually look after individual files. Also, when you create invoices, you would have to manually add them to sales ledgers, track paid / unpaid status, and manually enter remittances to the cashbook! -All very manual!
With Instant Invoice and Cashbook, you get the best of both worlds: data saved as you enter, easy data back-ups and date range financial reporting.
Low cost
The software comes as separate stand alone modules - Instant Invoice and Instant Cashbook. They cost just $79 each and can integrate into one application as shown in the screen shot above. The software is also multi company as standard, and multiple user licenses are available.
This is my favourite accounting software for small business, and yes, I use it myself for my own business accounts.
Invoicing
With the invoicing module, you don't get total control over layouts and fonts as you do with Sage, but the templates are well thought out, and you get to use your company logo, add remarks, terms and conditions etc'. The real benefit though, in comparison to most accounting software, is that it's far easier and quicker to set up and use!
It gives you a simple inventory for stock items which can also be used for standardised services with a description of up to 3 lines. Sales ledger functions are handled via dedicated filtering reports. Remittances can be allocated to invoices either from the invoicing module or cashbook, and all entries (cashbook receipt and sales ledger allocation) are made simultaneously. You can also create a new invoice by copying content from an existing one.
Invoices and statements can be emailed to your clients using SMTP directly from the application (or via a MAPI compliant email client) and integration with PayPal gives customers the option to pay by credit/ debit card.
Cashbook
The cashbook has multiple bank accounts and structured nominal ledger accounts, all of which are definable / modifiable. Entries in the record list can be edited at any time via the editing form, and all relevant ledgers will be adjusted automatically.
All necessary accounting information, such as for your VAT return or year end, is generated from filtering reports.
What it doesn't have ...
As mentioned earlier, and what is part of the appeal, is that it doesn't have strictly auditable procedures. Also, it doen't have a purchase ledger - just customer statements and date range reports. So if you're a larger company requiring an annual audit, or have a plethora of supplier credit accounts, you'll need a comprehensive double entry accounting system such a s Sage.
Try it out
If you are located in Greater Manchester or Cheshire, you can arrange for me to install the trial version on your computer, set up your company, and teach you how to use it; simply contact me to arrange an appointment. This service is available from £50 depending on your location and circumstances.
You can then purchase the software at any time during, or at the end of the 1 month trial period without losing any data; everything you've entered will still remain after you unlock the software.
Alternatively, you can have a go yourself; simply download and install the trial version. Once it's installed, view the demo's listed under "help/ view demo's".
OpenOffice
OpenOffice, as the name suggests, is an open source (free) office suite of applications. It has been developed over the past few years by the open source community from the originally donated source code of StarOffice from Sun Microsystems. There are other open source office suites and applications around, but this one seems to be the most developed and is available on all major operating systems. More details can be found at the OpenOffice website.
If your bookkeeping requirements are only basic, you could set up and manage an analysing cashbook using the spreadsheet and use the word processor to manually create documents such as invoices and statements. However, as mentioned earlier, this isn't the easiest option; otherwise, it's a good choice for it's powerful and stable functionality and continual open source development.
If you or a colleague has database experience, no doubt you could set up a system of tables, forms and reports to do your invoicing, stock items and bookkeeping, but I doubt if this could ever be cost effective for small business now there's such as Instant Invoice 'n' Cashbook available for less than $160.
Sage
Sage software is perhaps regarded as the industry standard, but being based on double entry principles and procedures, has a steep learning curve for those inexperienced with bookkeeping. It is also strictly auditable, meaning that if you make a mistake with a posting, putting it right can be quite a lengthy and complex job. Setting up your business is also a lengthy task too. But if your business isn't so small, and you want to be able to employ staff already trained and experienced in its use, then there are strong arguments in its favour.
