Accounts software for retailers: advice please

crocus

Hello. I'm opening a small independent shop this Spring and am looking for some all-encompassing software for my accounts and stock control. I don't want to buy a subscription or have something 'in the cloud' but to use software on my own PC. Obviously if something is free that would be fab but I'm willing to pay a reasonable one-off fee (ie not a subscription). Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thank you.

Savvy_Sue

On one level, you can do a lot with Excel ...

On another, have you talked to your accountant? They may say "give us the figures in Excel", or they may prefer to use some other system. Following their recommendation should keep your costs with them down.

paddyrg

What you're after is an 'ERP'. I've used Erply (online, subscription, so I won't bother suggesting it) however there are some free open source ones.

Have a look here, find some that fit your requirement, try then out. They're not all equal.
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ERP_software_packages

Owain_Moneysaver

What sort of shop? There are different requirements (and software) for eg convenience stores or fashion boutiques.

crocus

Thanks for the replies. In my current small business I use Excel but want to get more streamlined and sophiscated with a bigger business. I don't have an accountant yet as I've always done my own accounts and tax return and like to keep on top of things myself. I know I will need an accountant but want to do as much as possible myself.

The new business is a retail store, with a strong focus on crafts and other 'making' hobbies.
I'm beginning to realise I may have to buy a cloud subscription. Xero and Kashflow sounds good for the accounts/invoicing/bank reconciliation/client & supplier side but they don't have an inventory. Well, they have linked add-ons but they also cost £20 or so a month so that would be £40 a month. Defo too much.
Has anyone used these open source packages:
Gnucash, Turbo5, xtuple's Postbooks?
Thanks people.

greyteam1959

Personally I would get myself an accountant first BEFORE you decide on what accounts package you start using.
Then take their advice as to what form they need you figures in.

zygurat789

crocus wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. In my current small business I use Excel but want to get more streamlined and sophiscated with a bigger business. I don't have an accountant yet as I've always done my own accounts and tax return and like to keep on top of things myself. I know I will need an accountant but want to do as much as possible myself.

The new business is a retail store, with a strong focus on crafts and other 'making' hobbies.
I'm beginning to realise I may have to buy a cloud subscription. Xero and Kashflow sounds good for the accounts/invoicing/bank reconciliation/client & supplier side but they don't have an inventory. Well, they have linked add-ons but they also cost £20 or so a month so that would be £40 a month. Defo too much.
Has anyone used these open source packages:
Gnucash, Turbo5, xtuple's Postbooks?
Thanks people.

This sounds like a suimple business with no debtors and cash sales, Xcel is perfect for this.
As a retail operation you purchase goods for resale and expenses. Xcel is perfect for this.

Of course, it all depends on how you set up your Xcel spreadsheet(s)

But what are you trying to deal with, a growing business or a new one and surely using one of these packages is the opposite of streamlining.
Why, specifically, do you feel the need to change what is working well?

Owain_Moneysaver

if you need scanning, itemised receipts and stock control you might be better looking at a till-based EPOS system.

crocus

Thanks for the feedback. I'm trying out a free download of Kashflow, which is actually a monthly subscription package in the cloud, not what I wanted. It seems like a great package, good user interface, fairly intuitive and the technical back-up/answers to queries is speedy and clear. It does the usual accountancy stuff and also has some stock control. Lots of useful reports available to monitor income/expenditure, sales, inventory. Am enjoying having a play around with it. Also signed up for free trial of Xero but less keen.

murkins

I'm not an accountant but I've started using GNUCash and informed my own accountant that I'd be using it to keep my books. She was delighted :beer:

My suggestion would be to download and install it anyway, seeing as how it's completely free! Then go to YouTube and look for step-by-step tutorials. Just type "GNUCash tutorial" and you'll get some videos. There are also loads of tutorials online. Within an hour or two you should know if it's right for you.

As has been said elsewhere, your accountant can also advise you.

mikeyjuk

Hi Crocus

We use sage50 to keep track of our accounts, its not the cheapest solution but was highly recommended when we were looking into what to use.

They also offer a free trial which we found useful as then at least you can determine if it would be right for you without spending money.

If did you fancy looking into this you can find out more info on their site. I can't post a link in here as it wont allow me to, but a simple search would find you the domain

Hope that helps

Mike