Personal Accounting Software Package

[MyCashFlow]

Just wondering what sort of criteria do you use to evaluate the purchase of a personal accounting software package for your business?

Would that be similar to this post:

http://www.smallbusinesslog.com/how-...d-replacement/

[silkinteriors]

Most important to me is ease of use - it has to be something I can use and just hit the ground running. I used to use eRecord and Excel in the past which worked OK. But now I want to do something a bit more advanced but nothing that's going to require training (e.g. MYOB) or hours of frustration learning how to use it on my own. My accountant suggested Cashflow manager. Any feedback?

[rhys.viridity]

Sandra,

I would also suggest you take a look at Xero. Very easy to use, online so no software to install / no upgrades to do / no worries about backups or data security. Also because it is on line you, your bookkeeper, your accountant can access the same file at the same time. You can access the file from the office, from home, from any PC or Mac, anywhere / anytime. You get direct feeds of all transactions from your bank account. So many great features that deliver benefits to you!

You can find out more about Xero at my website, details in my signature.

Good luck whatever solution you choose,

Cheers, Rhys

[silkinteriors]

Hi Rhys,

Thanks for your reply. The idea of having it all online is very attractive, though somewhat scary in terms of security. One question - do you know if it's compatible with eWay (it's our payment gateway).

Cheers,
Sandra

[rhys.viridity]

Hi Sandra,

Yes I agree getting your accounts on line is attractive - I put my own accounts onto Xero 6 months ago and almost instantly regretted not doing it much sooner! Far too many benefits to list here!

Security of data means a whole bunch of things - data not getting lost in a fire, or if your premises are burgled, data not getting lost in the event of hardware failure, data not being accessed without authority and so on. After being hesitant about putting my accounts on line for a number of years I am so glad I finally did - I think it is actually far more secure than on a server in my office. I will be putting up a blog on my website on the topic of security of online accounting data in the next week or so (when I can find time to write it!)

Xero are working on a direct feed from eWay right now, don't have a firm roll out date for that. However unlike PayPal (where you can leave funds in the account to spend) all monies you collect via eWay clear through your nominated bank account, so you can match them to your Xero invoices from there. If the transaction volume is really large we could develop a solution for that for you, but I am guessing from the nature of yor business that the number of receipts per day is small enough that matching these manually until the eWay feed is available would not be an issue.

Happy to talk to you about this directly if you want any further information, or if I can help in any way.

Cheers, Rhys

[MyCashFlow]

Hi Sandra,

If you feel like having 100% control of your small business accounting data and unlimited invoicing and bank reconciliation, you can take a look at Cashflow Manager small business accounting software as a viable alternative to XERO for only AUD$30 per month, which is much cheaper than XERO:
http://www.xero.com/pricing/

Also see http://www.erecordreplacement.com.au/why-cashflow-manager/cheaper-than-myob/,

[Adara]

This personal finance software is a freeware Windows based applications will allow you to track your spending and net worth as well as create a budget. Its feature list includes:

Unlimited accounts
Tracking of your net wealth
Filtering of your transactions to track down specific payments
Importing data from your bank account via the qif format
Rapid categorisation
Charts to show where your money is going
Budget planner allowing easy budgeting and to track of your expenses
Automatic upgrades to make sure you have the latest features