| As a school owner it is essential that you know | | | | Online Accounting |
| exactly how your business is performing on a | | | | Ratings: Cost 5/5 (Free of charge) |
| month by month business. Rather than ignoring | | | | Ease of use 4/5 |
| this valuable information the successful school | | | | Reporting 3/5 |
| owner would know exactly how much income had | | | | A secure online accounting tool provided by your |
| been generated last month, how this income had | | | | accountant will provide you with the ease of use |
| been generated, how much expenses were paid | | | | of a manual bookkeeping (with no manual totaling!) |
| and exactly how much should be provided for | | | | and basic reports found in comprehensive |
| certain events. | | | | packages such as Profit and Loss, category |
| Without recording your transactions on a regular | | | | breakdowns, graphs etc. |
| basis it is impossible to know the above details | | | | Advantages: Reporting, ease of use, free of |
| with any certainty, and even harder to identify | | | | charge, no software installation |
| whether you are meeting or exceeding budgets. | | | | Disadvantages: Ideally requires broadband |
| Reports can be easily generated from accounting | | | | connection |
| systems, providing you with information such as | | | | Quickbooks |
| profit and loss accounts, various breakdowns of | | | | Ratings: Cost 2/5 (Approximately 100 upwards) |
| expenses, budget reports, and graphs detailing | | | | Ease of use 3/5 |
| year to date performance. | | | | Reporting 4/5 |
| In this article I am going to look at several | | | | Quickbooks is a comprehensive package targeted |
| different methods of keeping your bookkeeping | | | | at small business owners to assist them with the |
| records and provide honest feedback from an | | | | management of their financial affairs, offering |
| accountants point of view so that you can make | | | | various reports and functions. |
| an informed choice for your business. | | | | Advantages: Detailed reporting, ease of use |
| To grade the different packages I am going to | | | | compared to Sage |
| use the following criteria: | | | | Disadvantages:Cost, training requirements, ongoing |
| Cost there is no point purchasing enterprise-level | | | | updates |
| software with a correspondingly high price tag for | | | | Sage Accounting |
| a small school! | | | | Ratings: Cost 2/5 (Approximately 129 upwards) |
| Ease of use again, there is no reason for | | | | Ease of use 2/5 |
| purchasing software that is so complicated that it | | | | Reporting 5/5 |
| doesnt get used! | | | | Sage is an established accounting software |
| Reporting the standard of reporting provided | | | | providing comprehensive reporting and more |
| from the system is vital for allowing you to | | | | functions than you will ever need, albeit with a |
| monitor the progress of your business. | | | | steep learning curve. |
| Manual Cashbook | | | | Advantages:Detailed reporting, potential |
| Ratings: Cost: 4/5 (Approximately 10 20) Ease of | | | | departmental / budget analysis |
| use: 4/5 | | | | Disadvantages:Cost, learning curve, ongoing |
| Reporting: 0/5 | | | | updates |
| The manual cashbook has probably been used by | | | | If you feel that your system is not currently |
| all of you at some point the big red (or green) | | | | providing you with the reports that you feel |
| book provided by an accountant so that you can | | | | would assist you in your business it would be |
| handwrite all of your payments and receipts at | | | | worthwhile discussing this with your accountant to |
| the end of the year. | | | | decide whether a change would be beneficial. For |
| Advantages: Low cost, relatively easy to use | | | | example, our firm provide online accountancy |
| Disadvantages: No reporting,each column has to | | | | packages and tailor made Excel spreadsheets. We |
| be totaled manually | | | | are also Sage Accountants Club members, and as |
| Excel Spreadsheets | | | | such can advise all of our clients how to select |
| Ratings: Cost: 5/5 (Free of charge) | | | | and implement a package to suit their needs. |
| Ease of use: 3/5 | | | | All information given above does not constitute |
| Reporting: 1/5 | | | | advice. It is essential that you contact your |
| Excel spreadsheets are essentially a computerized | | | | accountant or tax advisor before acting on any of |
| version of the manual cashbook, available free of | | | | the information given below as they will have an |
| charge (provided that you have spreadsheet | | | | in depth knowledge of your individual |
| software). | | | | circumstances. No liability will be accepted by |
| Advantages: Excel analysis and summary tools, | | | | either the author or Dennis & Turnbull in |
| free of charge | | | | relation to the information provided above. |
| Disadvantages: Reporting in Excel is complex, | | | | Dennis & Turnbull Accountants. |
| potential formula issues | | | | |