Accountancy Package for self employed builder - no employees

seesaw

Please can anyone recommend a straightforward accounting package - for invoices / expenses and VAT returns. Thanks in advance ..

jack*tigger

I use Quickbooks - Simple Start.

It records all receipts and generated invoices. It also will tell you how much you owe the VAT. It's pretty basic but serves us well - small training company, 4 employees, £100k annual turnover. We pay a company to do the PAYE etc.

SAGE as I understand it is a better piece of software. But is more expensive and maybe like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut !

moneypooh

You could just use spreadsheets. If you need some advice many local colleges etc do adult evening classes for book-keeping. You can do all returns online and it's calculated for you.
It can be very simple, and not expensive.
There are free spreadsheets online.
Business link in your area will be a great free resource too.

FatAndy

If you've got an accountant it might be an idea to find out what package(s) they use and get the same or a compatible one. I used to work for an accountant where all the PC's had SageLine 50 installed so if a client sent us a disc with their paperwork we could make use of it and it usually saved a lot of time preparing the accounts (which theoretically at least should keep your bill down).

A few clients used other packages but if they sent us a disc more often than not we couldn't do anything with it and ended up having prepare the accounts the old fashioned and more long winded way.

I would say though that I agree with moneypooh, use a spreadsheet for your financial records and a word processor to produce and print invoices. A lot cheaper and just as effective if you know what you're doing.