IRIS Or Digita?

IRIS Or Digita?

Didn't find your answer?

I know this has been discussed but cannot see anything recently. I am considering IRIS Vs Digita:  I am after integration (Accounts, Tax and PM solution), ease of use and decent customer service.

I also wish to know how they both handle Group accounts.

I have about 70 clients, mainly Ltd, 3 Charities, and 2 partnerships, and several landlords and director self assessments.

Any thoughts or advice would be helpful, especially from sole practicioners and small firms.

Thanks

 

Thanks

 

Replies (10)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

By mrme89
20th Jun 2017 13:01

Iris gets good reviews, but people get [***] off with the year on year eye-watering price hikes. If you go with Iris, it is only a matter of time before you leave because the cost becomes too much.

Several Aweb members have switched to Digita and left pretty quickly - Glennzy and First Tab are two I can think of.

Tax Calc comes up frequently as a recommendation and it is reasonably priced.
Capium and BTC also get regular recommendations.

Thanks (1)
avatar
By Mr_awol
20th Jun 2017 13:01

If you want true integration go with IRIS.

As you have mainly Limited company clients go with IRIS (Digita's 'new' accs pro package is [***]).

As you have only a few clients, you may be tempted by Digita's lower fees, and I cant dismiss that.

Digita personal tax package is very good. It's probably what is keeping them in business to be honest, given how bad the FRS102 compliant accs package is

Thanks (1)
Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
20th Jun 2017 13:08

For the size you are look at Taxcalc or BTC they will give you integrated solution no cap on client numbers and cost you under £1500. Both also well down the road with MTD products.

Iris is good but very expensive and not sure you would get the benefit from the extra cost.

Digita is a good (cheaper) alternative to IRIS although some of the products in the suite were looking a bit dated and the next generation ones are not yet available so would maybe hold back on that before they were released and working well before committing to it, otherwise you could end up being a guinea pig for 12 months.

Both Digita and Iris still insist on charging you for client bands which when adding a lot of clients can double your cost in a year. That is the appeal of Taxcalc and BTC you could double in size but in the 5 years time you will be paying a similar fee as you are today + inflation.

Thanks (0)
By stratty
20th Jun 2017 13:41

I recently decided on switching from IRIS to Digita.

IRIS is a wonderful piece of kit but I was never a fan of the personal tax. For final accounts prep it is great but the cost was a concern.

Digita accounts seem adequate for our client base and it has really good integration with Xero (we are a Xero practice). £2k savings per year.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Alex_T
20th Jun 2017 14:10

Iris have come under fierce criticism on AWeb for their eye-watering price hikes every year. I would steer clear of them if you can find a viable alternative. I use BTC and like it and it's a fraction of the cost of Iris. TaxCalc and Taxfiler come highly recommended on here too.

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-answers/taxcalc-2

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-answers/btc-v-taxcalc

Thanks (1)
avatar
By aadil
20th Jun 2017 14:34

Thanks all for the comments and the links. Very interesting. Overall IRIS appears to be popular but costly, Digita not as costly but seems to have issues.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By DMGbus
20th Jun 2017 20:19

One factor to consider - assuming that MTD will actually be introduced - is what bookkeeping package clients use - see what bookkeeping packages will feed into IRIS or Digita.

As an example I believe that Xero may well integrate into IRIS...

https://www.xero.com/blog/2017/05/iris-xero-reducing-the-burden-of-makin...

So a practice wth lots of Xero clients might choose IRIS rather than Digita, unless similar integration is available with Digita.

There are other factors such as level of support and rate of price increases to consider, each prospective software supplier should provide some specific assurances on these matters.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Ta Bulat
08th May 2018 14:18

Our firm switched from Iris to Digita products. Previously, I found Iris a bit complicated, but after starting using Digita, I find Iris very user friendly. Digita is just a complete nightmare, simple tasks take ages to do or to find how to do them. Their helpline is not knowledgeable at all. Try to avoid Digita!
I also have experience using TaxCalc. I find it extremely easy to use for PT, Accounts, and CT. Highly recommend.
My friend, auditor and accountant, used Iris before, and now switched to CCH. He said to me that CCH is cheaper and user friendlier than Iris.
I hope my review will help someone not to make the same mistake as our firm did with Digita.

Thanks (1)
Replying to Ta Bulat:
avatar
By TaxAngel
14th May 2018 17:09

I have been using Digita Personal Tax for about 20 years and have found that in that time it has gone from being very intuitive and user-friendly to becoming increasingly less so and more frustrating (in fact reminds me of early HMRC attempts at software). However, it is a lot more comprehensive than some other software.

I also use CT and CoSec modules. I agree that it often takes ages to do the simplest of things, especially in the integrated versions.

In general I think the support staff are still very good but not as good as they used to be (new staff don't have the experience). I dislike the new help portal.

I want to jump ship but am not keen to go from frying pan into the fat. Has anyone moved from Digita and regretted it?

Thanks (0)