Looking for new software

I need a replacement for the soon to be gone corporate filing software that HMRC provided

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Hello

I would appreciate any help and guidance. I am run a very small practice (I have only 6 Limited company clients) and to date I have used HMRCs online filing facility to submit Accounts to both CoHo and HMRC. HMRC are stopping tax agents from using this from year ends ending after 31/12/15. I wasn't aware of this until today and so I am now in a position where I need to purchase software to submit my few 31/3/16 year ends by the end of 2016. Could anyone suggest a software that would produce accounts ( I currently use a manual ETB and excel) and then allow me to produce the CT600 and submit Accounts etc to both CoHo and HMRC. In the medium term I will be sticking with my small number of clients but once my children are at school I hope to grow my business, with visions eventually of approximately 50 clients. This info may be relevant as software costs increase per number of clients. I will always be the sole user of the system.

Many, many thanks in advance,

Becky

Replies (11)

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By DMGbus
10th Nov 2016 11:40

It appears that Taxfiler is the most highly recommended CT600 software on this forum.
It is one of four CT600 software products that I have used and have found it the easiest and fastest to use.

The one flaw that Taxfiler has is that it has the capability of submitting the CT600 wthout the iXBRL accounts and not warning you of this omission - so be careful to follow the instructions provided to ensure that a complete filing is made.
I never encountered this shortcoming with the other CT600 software packages that I have used, but then those other packages were worse on other levels (eg. complexity and time consuming and/or software cost).

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By mabzden
10th Nov 2016 16:00

I use Gbooks myself. You can submit both to Companies House and HMRC.

It's cloud based and a nice system to use.

Taxfiler is another option but it's a bit more on the cheap and cheerful side. I've had a look a couple of times over the last two or three years and it hasn't changed much in that time. So I don't believe the system is being improved and is a bit on the dated side now.

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By the_hoff
10th Nov 2016 16:22

I'm in the same position and am furious HMRC has stopped the old service. I will be sure to deduct the cost of any software I buy in my accounts, and my finger may slip and add a zero to the end.

I will take a look at the two suggestions.

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Replying to the_hoff:
By Tim Vane
10th Nov 2016 17:46

Oh yes, it's completely unacceptable that the taxpayer should stop paying for the software you need to run your business. Whatever next? They'll start insisting that plumbers buy their own tools, shop owners should buy their own tills and delivery drivers should pay for their own insurance. Shocking. And do please inflate your costs and claim ten times what you spend - that's absolutely fine nobody will have a problem since you've been so harshly treated. Some might say that if you can't afford £150 for the software you need then you should probably rethink your business plan, but not me. I really feel for you. I do.

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Replying to the_hoff:
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By mabzden
11th Nov 2016 15:37

@ the_hoff
I'm sorry about the rudeness. Some people take everything very seriously!

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Replying to mabzden:
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By the_hoff
11th Nov 2016 15:44

Yes, I can see that. Good heavens!

I wasn't being entirely serious in my comment above (just in case HMRC is watching). But I will be entirely serious in future.

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
10th Nov 2016 17:43

Hi Becky - always worth doing a search as this question arises regularly, here's two from the past week:

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-answers/corporation-tax-software-for...

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-answers/taxfiler-is-it-too-good-to-b...

Taxfiler is, indeed, cheap and cheerful (the latter being a good description of how easy it is to use).

I've been using it for several months and, even in that time, I've seen general improvements as well as the release of the FRS 102 S1A format. I also understand that two years ago, it didn't do accounts at all, so hardly stagnant software.

At £10 per month for up to 50 returns it's not going to break the bank to use it for a couple of sets of accounts and returns and move elsewhere if it doesn't suit.

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Replying to Paul Scholes:
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By BeckyRuffett
11th Nov 2016 14:37

Thanks Paul. Great info and a good point made. I'm going to give it a go.....

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By mabzden
11th Nov 2016 12:00

There's an ancient Chinese proverb that says "if using software makes you cheerful you need to get out more".

Only joking ;) And I hope I haven't offended any Chinese readers.

I can only go by my experience but when I tried Taxflier everything was all over the place. It didn't look like a system that was going to help me organise my practice and avoid mistakes and penalties.

Users on this site do seem to accept that it's a basic system but nevertheless that it can work for them in some circumstances. Presumably not wanting to pay for more sophisticated and integrated software is a factor, and that's a legitimate position to take.

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Replying to mabzden:
By Tim Vane
11th Nov 2016 13:51

It's true that the "best of breed" versus "integrated" debate is one of the oldest in the accounting software market. Each has its advocates, since we all work in different ways. I'm a "best of breed" guy myself, so I'm not expecting my tax software to do everything. Tax software for tax, payroll software for payroll etc. For established practices I am not sure that cost is too much of a factor. The 3 main software packages that I use costs me a couple of thousand pounds less than the integrated equivalent, but if I felt that I would do better with a more expensive offering then I would switch. The simple fact of the matter is that there is mediocre or even poor software that costs a lot, good software that doesn't, and other software that is priced about right. There is choice, and that's the best thing of all.

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
14th Nov 2016 16:56

For over 20 years with Iris I've been an "integrated" fan however, with Cloud apps starting to take over, I've switched allegiance and think that Zapier, or similar, will become indispensable in future allowing you to pick and connect your favourite apps.

It's early months still with Taxfiler, it does feel simpler and far more basic than Iris but then my clients are pretty straight forward plus (and it's a big plus) at a saving of £3,000 pa I'm happy to take the risk that next month I'll find it can't do something.

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