Specialised accounting software required

Specialised accounting software required

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We have a VAT registered client who sells tools ‘door to door’ to garages etc and requires an accounting system that will cater for his specific needs. He currently uses a bespoke system but is charged a monthly fee which is a lot based upon the size of the business. The system needs to allow individual customers to be set up and part payments to be made (some customers pay back at only £5 per week). He has a weekly collection round so will require reports telling him who to collect from on a particular day. Whilst the system is not used for stock purposes it should have all stock items on with prices so that he can call up the system when pricing for customers and should allow our client to update the prices as necessary. He also needs to run sales invoices from the system.

Does anyone have any experience of businesses who operate in this trade and what software they use?

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By 3569787
03rd May 2016 17:58

PC, Handheld or Online?

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By Steve McQueen
07th Feb 2012 14:00

I used to do...

... a dozen "snap-on" tools dealers when I was in practice. I used VT for all of them sucsessfully, it just took a bit of thought as to how I was going to set it up.

 

If I remembered to detail, I'd tell you, but I handed the job over to one of my chaps in about 2003 and gave up practice in 2008, so its a long time since I did the do on the client.

 

Steve

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By E Medlock
07th Feb 2012 15:11

 

 

Thank you for the answers so far.  At the moment our client has the data stored on the c-drive of his laptop.  In an ideal world he would like to have the data stored online so that he & some of his employees can access it from their individual laptops whilst they are on the road.  But cost is a factor for him.

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By Kryton
07th Feb 2012 23:18

Specialist?

Much of this does not sound very specialist so far. Most accounting systems I have come across allow for fixed price stock items and allow for partial payments to be made.

Perhaps the only extra part you need is some scheduling of his collection rounds. I am not sure what this involves with your brief description, but presumably you could set up a separate list of people to collect from on your rounds. Presumably a simple excel spreadsheet would do?

Kryton

www.selestial.com

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By roshodgson
10th Feb 2012 20:04

Quickbooks Solutions

I can think of a few options - though may need a few more details.

Quickbooks has a new online version which would suit the flexibilty he requires and it can be accessed on pc's & hand sets, with up to five users.  It is a monthly fee again though ranging from £9 - £29 per month depending on how many features he needs.

Alternatively he can buy a desktop copy of QuickBooks Pro 2012 which can be customised for his needs with out additional add-ons.  2012 has a diary/scheduling feature for his regular rounds and also he can customise his sales invoices to suit his needs.

For online accounts check out the Intuit website.

If you need further info on QuickBookds 2012 e-mail or post further questions.

 

Ros Hodgson

BCAMS Ltd - [email protected]

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By MrHopko
14th Feb 2012 17:25

online software

Hi

I currently manage an outsourcing/bookkeeping company and here is my advice:

My experience is with most of the small desktop packages and Xero. I have looked also at e-conomic, twinfield and Kashflow.

I would separate out your specifications like this:

Cheaper than the current systemOnline accessA debtors ledgerA diarySales items/An accessible price list

I would then add:

QuotesJob costing/time allocation for wages

and here are my answers to your spec:

How much is he currently paying? what does he expect to pay? All online packages have a monthly cost starting from around £15. If he needs a 'bolt-on' (see later) he'll have to pay additional costs.Loads to choose from. Have a look at Xero, Kashflow, e-conomic & twinfield. They all offer a free trial so go have a crack.All the ones mentioned have this.Why not just use a spreadsheet as suggested above or a diary. There must be loads of free online diaries. Just setup a recurring entry for each customer.Is he happy to maintain this price list? Could he just get a searchable list from his suppliers' websites?
If he wants the costs in his system, then Xero allows for setting up items.I think most mentioned have the ability to add items. I do not know how easy it is to access a list of those items.Quotes/job costing - If you went with Xero you would need to use a 'bolt-on'. Workflow max is well known though I have not used it. I believe this is a full job costing system that his staff could access and record their time on. The invoicing would then flow through to Xero. There are free demos available online so take a look. I think e-conomic and Kashflow also have job-costing modules but, like Xero, you will have to pay a bit more than the basic cost for this functionality.

Sage line 50 - full version has all the features you require but is not online. It's not a very friendly piece of software either if you are not a trained in both bookkeeping and Sage.

Hope that helps in some way

MrHopko

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By Datatonic
06th Mar 2012 11:43

Encore

 

This maybe too late, but I would like to suggest Encore from Anagram Systems. I work with them and believe the essentials package would more than meet your client's needs and leave room for growth.  They have several small businesses in this kind of trade. Encore Can handle:- 1. Individual pricing and payments per customer.2. Reporting to handle his collection rounds3. Stock all listed and can be controlled and updated.4. Sales invoices can be raised.5. VAT is controlled. No monthly fee, just an upfront purchase and small yearly support charge. To find out more about their Stock Control and Accounting package click here

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