do i need an online accounting software

do i need an online accounting software

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Hi

Nowadays that everything is moving online including shops, services etc I am seriously contemplating offering clients an online bookkeeping software in line with a lot of other accountants. However, I am not sure if such a move is justified as the majority of our clients I reckon will not subscribe to this, either because cannot be bothered to write up their books themselves (they rely on us) or they simply are unable to do that (no expertise). Any similar experiences? I am looking at other accountants websites that are heavily offering online bookkeeping and I am wondering: am I the only one whose clients are like that? Many thanks..

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By mabzden
10th Oct 2015 12:44

Not much interest

I tried something similar a few years ago and offered an online bookkeeping system to my clients at no extra cost. I would say less than 5% of my clients took me up on the offer and use it - even though it's free.

That said, the level of interest will depend on your client base. If you have a lot of IT consultants as clients they are more like likely to use it than, say, builders or artists.

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Replying to Montrose:
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By qhas
10th Oct 2015 13:38

Online accounting

mabzden wrote:

I tried something similar a few years ago and offered an online bookkeeping system to my clients at no extra cost. I would say less than 5% of my clients took me up on the offer and use it - even though it's free.

That said, the level of interest will depend on your client base. If you have a lot of IT consultants as clients they are more like likely to use it than, say, builders or artists.


My experience precisely
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By iamtrainee
10th Oct 2015 11:22

It depends what kind of clientele
you have.

If the client is good enough to use the online software it means they are good enough to do it themselves inhouse and send you reports by email.

If you really wanna find out who will be interested just send all of them an Excel template that suit you to collect the data and you will see how many can do that.

In short it is not worth it for small practices yet

I am Trainee I am Mostly wrong..

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By Ken Howard
10th Oct 2015 16:00

Virtually all my clients are online now, including a decorator, a kitchen fitter, a couple of electricians, a few corner shops and a car mechanic.  I found the key was to use the simplest online system I could find and provide them with some decent face to face training from the outset.  I adopted Kashflow for them which is far easier than the likes of Sage and Quickbooks.  None of these clients would be regarded as particularly tech-savvy, and most of them used to either give me error-strewn spreadsheets or some kind of hand written cash book (mostly wrong!).  You need to do a lot more than just emailing or sending a letter offering it to them - I talked them through the pros and cons either in person during the year end meeting or by phone if they were client's I never met.  Ironically, the one and only person who couldn't get to grips with Kashflow was a so-called tech-savvy person who had a maths degree - but then again, she couldn't do spreadsheets either!

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Replying to lionofludesch:
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By mabzden
13th Oct 2015 12:39

I admire your efforts but...

Ken Howard wrote:

I found the key was to use the simplest online system I could find and provide them with some decent face to face training from the outset.

I talked them through the pros and cons either in person during the year end meeting or by phone if they were client's I never met.

.. is it worth the trouble?

I now have a situation where a few of my clients use the online system I provide. This gives me one or two benefits when I'm doing the accounts but most clients still fill in a spreadsheet I send them. I'm happy whichever option they choose.

One benefit is it's good to mention the online bookkeeping system when speaking to a potential new client - it's definitely a selling point.

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Replying to lionofludesch:
By shogun
13th Oct 2015 15:01

How did you manage to sell the idea to them of writing up their own books without losing any income from bookkeeping? surely if the client is expected to do the bookkeeping, I would anticipate that they would jump at the opportunity to get a discount off the fee! 

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By AmyBolton
13th Oct 2015 16:41

If your clients are finding it beneficial and this isn't costing you anymore time, this seems fine.

Also having a USP is also attractive to potential new clients.

K A Farr and Co.

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