Accounting Software for Mac

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Hello,

I am consisdering sertting up my own practice and I was wondering what the best Accoutning software package for a Mac would be?  I know this has been covered before with lots of people recommending VT but that is only Windows based.

So is there anythhing out there for a Mac or would I be better inversting in a PC?

Thanks in advance

Dave

Replies (19)

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Scalloway Castle
By scalloway
24th Jun 2018 20:36

GnuCash is the only one I am aware of. Why not use an online accounting package then it doesn't matter what hardware you use?

https://www.gnucash.org/

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Replying to scalloway:
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By David Hedley
25th Jun 2018 08:02

Thanks Scalloway, what on line package would you recommend?

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Replying to David Hedley:
Scalloway Castle
By scalloway
25th Jun 2018 08:28

The only one I've actually used is Quickbooks online. It seems to rate highly. The other popular one is Xero.

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By Russell Huk
24th Jun 2018 22:05

Hi Dave

We started up 6 years ago, we started using VT accounts but after some really great cloud software, we quickly ditched VT and almost ditched PCs for Macs.

Currently we use
Taxfiler for Accounts and Tax Returns
Accountancy Manager for Practice Management
Xero for our own Invoicing and own Book Keeping

All above are cloud based so work perfectly on Macs, we have 3 Macbooks and 2 Macs working in in tandem in the Office

We also use Google Drive as our "cloud" drive

We have one PC, only because our preferred payroll software is Moneysoft and is not cloud based and only works on Windows; but we manage this ok.

Hope this helps.

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Replying to Russell Huk:
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By David Hedley
25th Jun 2018 08:06

Hi Russell,

Thanks for the reply but excuse my ignorance here but would Taxfiler cover all my book keeping needs as well? As I am anticipating a lot of clients will be handing me carrier bags containing invoices and receipts so I am anticipating having to a lot of the leg work for create final accounts statements, cash flows etc.

Also what are the benefits of Practice Management software, coming from an Industry background (Manufacturing and Construction) this is something I hvae never come across or needed.

Thanks in advance.

Dave

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
25th Jun 2018 06:15

When you say "Accounts Software" i am assuming you are talking final accounts.

Taxcalc will run on a Mac and is a complete suite, with tax software etc.

The PM software is not ideal so you might want to tag on Accountancy Manager or Senta to manage deadlines

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Replying to Glennzy:
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By David Hedley
25th Jun 2018 08:09

Hi Glen,

Thanks for the reply, yes I will be wanting to pull together full sets of accounts, also cover off some payroll as well as VAT.

Again I have no real experience of Prictice Management software, how useful do you find it?

Best Regards

Dave

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
25th Jun 2018 11:42

I should concentrate on the basic numbers and tax stuff before getting too bogged down in PM software, there's lots out there and it's best to see how you and yoir clients work first before picking the type of PM facilities that best suit you.

I've been Mac only for about 6 years now and, although you can easily run PC software on them (using apps like Parallels) or in an hosted environment, it will only be a short time now till everything is run on Cloud Apps.

The majority of my clients use cloud accounting (there are about 30 available) and so the balance sheet and P&L are easy to prepare in the app, before taking them to the accounts and tax return software (I too use Taxfiler).

As there is currently no easy way to do incomplete records jobs on Taxfiler, ie you enter a TB and that's it, you may find one of the other systems more suitable.

Having said that, can I suggest that incomplete records (paper bag) jobs should now be a thing of the past, especially with digital tax submissions (MTD) on the horizon. These days it's best practice to encourage/train clients to keep at least a basic ongoing record of their accounting throughout the year and if you're interested in using a basic and extremely cost effective cloud app then I'd suggest having a look at Pandle.

Good luck

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Replying to Paul Scholes:
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By David Hedley
25th Jun 2018 20:18

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the reply lots of good information and things to think about.
I agree it will be best to train clients in record keeping but I suspect with some that will be easier said than done.
Best Regards

Dave

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By chatman
28th Jun 2018 11:35

Stick with online software. There is plenty of really good stuff about, and trying to run things on a Mac will always cause problems.

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By BRIANADALY
28th Jun 2018 11:44

For practice management at low cost I'd use Quickbooks Accountant online. As people are saying, it's not hardware dependent and it integrates with other software like Taxfiler. Even better when the client base uses QB's.

I've used AccountEdge on Macs and it's a good standalone package but it's not for practice management and tax reporting in itself.

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By raybackler
28th Jun 2018 11:44

I use Liberty Accounts for all clients that includes payroll and VAT Return submission then transfer the trial balance into Taxfiler for final accounts and tax returns. All in the cloud. As others have said there are many cloud offerings. I would avoid desktop systems altogether as a new start up because it is not the future. Others have recommended Xero or Quick Books, which are able alternatives to my choice of Liberty. Accountancy Manager is a great piece of software for managing your practice, but you won't need it to start with and it is also in the cloud. One last point - Making Tax Digital is just around the corner. It is essential that you educate VAT Registered clients to use cloud software and all others should be rapidly steered in that direction. One major benefit of cloud accounting is bank feeds that directly allow transactions to be transferred electronically into the system. If you have clients who process all of their transactions through bank and credit card accounts, the bookkeeping can be dramatically streamlined.

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Replying to BRIANADALY:
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By David Hedley
28th Jun 2018 18:52

Thanks, I think PM will be a while away but it is worth bearing in mind.

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Replying to raybackler:
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By David Hedley
28th Jun 2018 18:54

Much appreciated, I agree Cloud is the way to go. I will look into Liberty as it is not one anyone has mentioned yet.
Best Regards

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Replying to BRIANADALY:
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By David Hedley
28th Jun 2018 18:57

Thanks, I think PM will be a while away but it is worth bearing in mind.

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Replying to BRIANADALY:
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By David Hedley
28th Jun 2018 18:59

Thanks, I think PM will be a while away but it is worth bearing in mind.

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By BRIANADALY
28th Jun 2018 12:01

For practice management at low cost I'd use Quickbooks Accountant online. As people are saying, it's not hardware dependent and it integrates with other software like Taxfiler. Even better when the client base uses QB's.

I've used AccountEdge on Macs and it's a good standalone package but it's not for practice management and tax reporting in itself.

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By timothyvogel
03rd Jul 2018 09:46

sorry to have missed this tread as was away on holiday
Used Macs in own practice for 20+ years now Used Kashflow as accounts package because although any online one works it seems to dovetail well with pop ups and things as the mac normally uses them and their help line understand Macs, have used Xero and Quickbooks and they work.

Use Taxfiler for accounts production. the bet thing about that combination is it will shortly tie in to a Kashflow download (they tell me after Iris bought both). Use HQ for practice management
Excel online for anything else that clients send me

But the bes thing about using Macs is that firstly tbey ar great at opening odd program files that clients send us using programs that computer experts have never heard of, and secondly twice clients have had virus and my Macs have been totally unaffected despite deliberately logging on to save their data. Not to be recommended but in both cases saved them Thousands of pounds at the risk of reinstalling Mac software on an old laptop that would only take an hour at most to do

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Replying to timothyvogel:
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By David Hedley
05th Jul 2018 20:28

Much appreciated I will take a look at Kashflow.

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