SOFTWARE NEWS: Yorkshire Accountancy creates Excel-based Cashbook Pro. By John Stokdyk

Hull-based Yorkshire Accountancy has developed a £10 bookkeeping package based on a set of Excel spreadsheet templates.

Partner Nick Robinson told ExcelZone he originally came up with a two-worksheet (income and expenses) system in response to a client request about two years ago. Since then, he has enhanced the package with worksheets for VAT returns, P&L account and a master Lists worksheet that controls the account names. Selling for £9.99, the package has been christened Cashbooks Pro and has more than 100 users.

Cashbooks Pro came to our attention via a posting in reply to Martin Curtis's Any Answers request for a simple electronic cashbook.

"The package came about because I was looking for the same thing as Martin - a system that could replace the old manual Simplex and Guildhall paper cashbooks," Robinson said. "I did a search via Google and found there wasn't anything out there, so I created one myself."

"We've got 200 clients ranging from mobile hairdressers up to my largest client, who has a £1m turnover. To be honest, I'd be surprised if 10% of those clients would benefit from Sage or QuickBooks. Most sole traders would probably get by with a good Excel spreadsheet - and their accountants' fees wouldn't be much different."

Robinson said Yorkshire Accountancy didn't see itself as trying to take on the accountancy software developers and added that Cashbooks Pro "probably pays for my holiday every year".

Like all programs, it took a few versions to get Cashbooks Pro absolutely right. Initially there was a bug in one formula that missed out a wages total, but that has now been corrected. As far as software support goes, Robinson occasionally gets a call from a client who wants to know what they should do at year end.

An Excel-based accounting solution isn't perfect, he admitted, but it does work well for his clients. For example, anyone could copy the spreadsheet and reuse it, and there is no meaningful audit trail.

"I'm self-taught in Excel and though I could add a few bits to Cashbooks Pro, I have probably taken it as far as I can," Robinson said.

Instead, he is beginning to consider the possibilities such as More - a similar package to his cashbook, that is processed by the developer into a trial balance at the end of the year - and the online Winweb accounts system.

"We've got a couple of clients on Winweb," Robinson said. "To me that's a really good idea. Winweb probably does things that a basic sole trader wouldn't use, but a cashbook entry screen could enable it to most of my clients. I could then go in as and when I need to, look at their bookkeeping and deal with any queries almost before they arise."