Several options including LiveDrive which gives you 5 TB of space across up to 5 PC's for £14.99 a month. Not bad if you have real volume to look after.
Our clients use iPad's to access their whole PC desktop as hosted with us.
This gives them live access to all their compliance programs from anywhere with internet connection. Plus they can run tax comps, view files, do anything pretty much they would do in the "office".
They do this via RDP and the two most popular apps (we have found) are probably iTAP as mentioned above and PocketCloud. There are many, and they vary in price but are all less than £10 or free in some cases.
(Caveat - yes we are a supplier of hosted desktops and virtual servers!)
At any point in time we have people migrating between packages whilst also moving to our hosting solution.
This generally works very well, but all parties do need to be organised so that a clear cut-off point is agreed, the data "migrated" and then available to load back into the new system.
In each case there are some nuances to watch out for - for example you might need to re-marry spouses within the system (as this is not transferred) or you might lose NI numbers for example. These "exceptions" should be detailed by the software company and so long as you know, can be dealt with.
Finally make sure you give yourself plenty of planning time for any migration - you want it well managed and not rushed.
...are limited, but certainly look at DIGITA. They have more price breaks and happy users. The support is good as well - maybe see a demo or get a trial.
(Note - we have no vested interest, but know the software very well having worked there for many years in a previous life...)
Oh, and in all cases discuss fixing the price for 3 years - this applies to all vendors and they will do this.
We know all the packages but do not make specific recommendations - you'll want something not part of a bigger suite but it then depends on what your budget looks like.
Probably the top 2 or 3 in this bracket that we come across would be Logical Office, Relate DRIVE (includes email) or similiar.
Do you need timesheets/invoicing/document management? These are the questions you need to consider....
I was one of the last people to switch to dual a few years back - I can't believe I missed out for so long. We use 3 each now and it is fantastic. More and more people are calling looking for triple - 4 however seems a bit excessive!
My answers
Online backup
Have you considered online backup?
Several options including LiveDrive which gives you 5 TB of space across up to 5 PC's for £14.99 a month. Not bad if you have real volume to look after.
http://www.livedrive.com/ForHome/#CompareProducts
Dan
Taxcalc
As discussed, and having knowledge of all the packages - this is your best bet for small, individual use:
http://www.taxcalc.com/products/list.php?productType=personal
Dan
AIMS
I used to do quite a bit of work with these guys - I would say the members are generally very happy and their annual events were popular.
I have no link to them at all but worth a look...
http://www.aims.co.uk/
Dan
Hosted Desktop
Our clients use iPad's to access their whole PC desktop as hosted with us.
This gives them live access to all their compliance programs from anywhere with internet connection. Plus they can run tax comps, view files, do anything pretty much they would do in the "office".
They do this via RDP and the two most popular apps (we have found) are probably iTAP as mentioned above and PocketCloud. There are many, and they vary in price but are all less than £10 or free in some cases.
(Caveat - yes we are a supplier of hosted desktops and virtual servers!)
Dan
VT on a Mac
As discussed the easiest way would just be to emulate.
Whilst hosting would give you access from "anywhere" allowing you to collaborate better, the cost would probably spoil this for just one client.
Dan
Migrations
At any point in time we have people migrating between packages whilst also moving to our hosting solution.
This generally works very well, but all parties do need to be organised so that a clear cut-off point is agreed, the data "migrated" and then available to load back into the new system.
In each case there are some nuances to watch out for - for example you might need to re-marry spouses within the system (as this is not transferred) or you might lose NI numbers for example. These "exceptions" should be detailed by the software company and so long as you know, can be dealt with.
Finally make sure you give yourself plenty of planning time for any migration - you want it well managed and not rushed.
Dan
www.hostedaccountants.co.uk
Other options...
...are limited, but certainly look at DIGITA. They have more price breaks and happy users. The support is good as well - maybe see a demo or get a trial.
(Note - we have no vested interest, but know the software very well having worked there for many years in a previous life...)
Oh, and in all cases discuss fixing the price for 3 years - this applies to all vendors and they will do this.
Dan
www.hostedaccountants.co.uk
Budget?
Hi
We know all the packages but do not make specific recommendations - you'll want something not part of a bigger suite but it then depends on what your budget looks like.
Probably the top 2 or 3 in this bracket that we come across would be Logical Office, Relate DRIVE (includes email) or similiar.
Do you need timesheets/invoicing/document management? These are the questions you need to consider....
Dan
WOW
Kevin
I like this the best http://www.multiplemonitors.co.uk/products/eight-22-monitors/
That is just fantastic!
Dan
Would never go back!
I was one of the last people to switch to dual a few years back - I can't believe I missed out for so long. We use 3 each now and it is fantastic. More and more people are calling looking for triple - 4 however seems a bit excessive!
Dan