Which would you choose?

Which would you choose?

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I have a new practice with very limited funds and currently just 5 clients. I can afford a website from one of the well known suppliers which will enable my clients/contacts to have newsletters etc and cheap practice software, or it's a cheap 2 page website and all singing all dancing software. I am undecided as to which is best. Any thoughts anyone?
SA

Replies (7)

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By RogerNeale
10th Aug 2008 20:14

Software is best a website isn't really that important.

I agree with the other posters, while an all singing all dancing web site might be of some use it's important to have software that will help you save time and therefore allow you to spend more time finding new clients.

If you haven't done already, it would be well worth checking out the website of the ICPA. www.icpa.org.uk

Regards


Roger Neale
Business Systems Consultant
Diamond Discovery Software Ltd

If you wish, contact me directly on 07791 983 567

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By User deleted
07th Aug 2008 18:55

1and1 Dreamweaver
If you sign up for a 1and1 business £10pm (or business pro which costs a bit more) site they will give you a free Dreamweaver program which wil give you hours of fun.It's easy to learn with very professional looking results. Just go for a standard template and produce a brochure website at first - a day tops!

They also have a one year free subscription offer for the business pro packages.

Moneysoft is good value for PAYE software.

One pitfall can be shelling out for eg Sage membership just to be able to produce the odd client's accounts. You get sucked into resubscribing because Sage is not backwardly compatible, so if next year your clients have a newer upgrade than yours you are up the creek unless you too resubscribe. Given a small number of clients you might be better off asking clients if you might spend a few hours at their computer printing off hardcopy or, better still, pdf reports for yourself.

Good hunting.


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By JWB
07th Aug 2008 14:01

Software
Choose the software, the website wont help you prepare accounts or do tax calculations for the five clients you already have and I am sure they will be more interested in having their accounts done than looking at your website or having a newsletter to read.

However I do think it is worth taking time to make the right decision on which software to buy, there's a lot of choice and difference in cost too. Get demos and try before you buy.

My website costs £4.99 a month and I created it myself.

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By WillWood123
07th Aug 2008 13:15

Software
I would choose software all day long as I believe in 80% of the effectiveness of a website is getting it up and listed on google. The bells and whistle are nice but how much value do they really add...One thing any website needs though is optimization for Google.

Check out www.moonfruit.com for a simple way to design your own website I built www.accsysltd.co.uk with it and whilst it may not be the best in terms of functionality the money I saved went to good use.

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By leoludwig
31st Jul 2008 09:21

Budget?
SA,

do you mind me asking what your budget is? Are your choices of "large" website + basic software vs "small" website + full software limited because of your budget? Did you only want the website because of the monthly newsletters?

The reason I am asking is because newsletters can usually be purchased - at a lower price - separately from the websites provided by the "well-know" suppliers, so you could have 2 page website + newsletter + full bells and whistle practice software.

Otherwise, I'd add my vote to the full bells and whistle software as it will be the option that will probably costs the most to change in terms of time and money 6 months / 1 year down the line.

Hope this helps,

Leo Ludwig
@ one of the 'well-known' suppliers :)

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By User deleted
31st Jul 2008 08:26

software
I would definitely vote for the software. With two pages you can still put on your contact details, a testimonial or two, a brief paragraph about you and a list of your services!!

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By User deleted
30th Jul 2008 20:07

Go for the software!
Go for the all-singing software now and a cheap website. You can always update your website later & it won't get you that many new clients in the meantime. The software on the other hand will save you time straight away (that you can spend on finding more clients!) and you won't have to waste lots of time in the future reinputting client details etc.

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