You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Looking to do my finances from paper and books to the pc - any recommendations?
Many thanks as always T
I've tried using packages, but they generally confuse me. I always end up making my own excel spreadsheets and letting my accountant deal with the more complicated stuff!
[img] 
[/img]
XL spreadsheet for me, too
Excel.
tbh Once you've seen what it can do, there isn't really any other tool needed. . 😉
I am having a go with microsoft money at the moment.
Yes it is discontinued and unsupported but it is a free download to see if you like it, and most/all of the other paid software is able to import from money.
The bit I am not liking about money is that it "learns" categorization based on things you have put into catagories by hand previously. There does not appear to be a hard rule that can be defined "anything with BP or Shell is petrol" kind of thing.
A big impact is the bank you use, can you download statements in a usable format? First direct can do that easily in a number of formats, but Smile (despite being an internet only bank) cannot.
Mrs sib uses kashflow......i dont think it does accounts/books as such, more debt control I think, invoicing etc. I've used it before and it is very user friendly, £10/month iirc. As above though, excel can do it all.
I use excel and have in the past had a simple app on my phone to keep track of spending. I find if it relies on me doing work on the laptop to keep track of stuff I don't where as a mobile app I do it there and then and it's fine.
In the past I've used Gnucash, but moved to YNAB a few years ago. Works well for simple personal finances.
J
Excel with a simple Sumif and unpaid items highlighted is the simplest and most foolproof way of keeping your accounts up to date. Extra columns can be added to account for VAT.
Sage One, Kashflow and Xero are all designed for those with no understanding of accounts. They are subscription based and very simple to use. They also allow your accountant to access the data if required. Xero is modular based with addons to do just about anything you require.
Sage Instant accounts and Line 50 require an understanding of accounts but can give a whole wealth of added functions.
Sage Line 50 is a bit OTT for working out how much you spend in Tescos 😉
Besides that, Sage is the most bloated, awful, horrible piece of software, with the most unhelpful, money grabbing company supporting it.
For my business I use an app called Easy Books on iPad etc - it's very good, may well do what you need.
(iPad just tried to change "my business" to "my ursine ass" 🙂 )