Business Software Solutions

Elaine J Cromwell, FCCA

www.thomsoncooper.com Business Software Solutions Where do you start?

Jargon – urgh!  Business Software Solutions – what do we mean by that even?  Software used in a business context; specifically excludes games and entertainment products   Proprietary software is software licensed under exclusive legal right of its owner. The purchaser, or licensee, is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, but restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering Jargon – urgh!  Software as a Service – SaaS  No upfront purchase  Monthly licence or subscription fee  Usually includes everything – support, upgrades etc  Can be scaled up as your business grows  Increasingly more popular  FOSS  Free and open source software

Jargon – urgh!   Software to allow you to record your business’ financial transactions and help you produce reports that tell you how well you are doing  Payroll Software  Software that helps you calculate the amounts to pay your employees and keeps track of amounts to pay over to HMRC  CRM Software  Client relationship management software. Track communications with customers and contacts; manage marketing campaigns .  Cloud Computing  Well…. that deserves it’s own slide!

What is Cloud Computing ? “The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or personal computer.”

“Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the Internet).”

Advantages of Cloud computing:  Easy access – just need an internet connection, desktop computer, laptop, tablet or even a smartphone.  Programs and files aren’t taking up server space reducing IT and upgrade costs.  Safe and secure, online backups available.  Allows for flexible working for staff.

Who Offers Cloud Software? Among the many are:  Sage  Freeagent  Kashflow  Online Accounting  Quickbooks  Zoho  Brightpearl

Good starting point; www.getapp.com

Accounting Software  What’s your budget?  Add on extra for training

 Do your own research  Try http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/topic/technology/small- business-accounting-software-resources-index

 UK leaders:  Sage  Iris  Quickbooks  Pegasus  Tas Books

Why Sage?

Thomson Cooper recommend Sage Software because:

• Experience

• Sage are the market leader for small business

• Over 830,000 companies in the UK use Sage

• Excellent customer service - UK call centres

Sage Sage offer a wide range of business software, including SageOne (cloud) and Sage 50 Accounts Professional Online.

Sage products include: • Sage 50 Accounts • Sage Forecasting • Sage Instant Accounts • Sage 50 Payroll • Sage Instant Payroll • Sage HR • SageOne • Sage ACT! (CRM product)

www.sage.co.uk SageOne  Cloud application  Monthly subscription (one year initial contract)  From £5 per month  Simple to use  Accountant Edition allows collaborative working with your accountant  24/7 telephone helpline included in the monthly cost  No premium call rates – 0845 number Quickfile.co.uk  Free fully functioning accounts package  Bulk upload of statements  Limited reporting without fee  Various managed services including year end accounts

Sage One Payroll  Cloud payroll solution  From £5 plus VAT per month for 5 employees  Very simple to use  Help videos  24/7 telephone support included in monthly cos

IRIS Payroll . Payroll Basics – for up to 10 employees, simple functions and calculators and is Free to download. http://small-business-software.iris.co.uk/solutions.aspx

12Pay  Payroll Software . Express Edition - free payroll software . Accredited by HMRC and compliant . For up to 10 employees . Easy to download and setup . Calculates PAYE, NI, SSP and SMP . PDF reports . Premium and Bureau Editions available for upgrade from £54.90 per year. . CIS Extension also available

FOSS – things to consider  Is the software GPL – General Public Licence?

 Can the software support my currency used, VAT or tax rates?

 Where will I get help if it all goes wrong?

 Will I be able to share data/reports easily with other people who don’t have the same software? FOSS – business software examples  Wikipedia has various lists of free and open source software  Accounts  SQL  TurboCASH  FrontAccounting (web based)  Open Bravo  Quickfile  Design & Marketing  Inkscape  Scribus  Fatpaint  GIMP FOSS – business software examples  Payroll  12 Pay  Iris

 Office Alternatives  Open Office  Evolution (Outlook)  Zimbra (Exchange)  Open Project (MS Project)

 CRM software  Sugar CRM  Zoho CRM – 3 users

FREE Mobile Apps  Sage Record Keeper App  For iPhone and iPad only  Android and Blackberry “coming soon”  Earnest from Freeagent  For iPhone  MyBiztracker from Quickbooks  For iPhone  Forbes Receipt Tracker  Android  ZipZip Books  Android

FREE Mobile Apps (cont)  None deal with VAT – turnover less than £77K per year  Can email data in .csv form but no reporting capabilities as such  Great for keeping on top of expenses and income  Very easy to use  Check out features before choosing Thank you!

 Leave your business card  Free initial consultation  Free Sage User Group