Business Software Solutions

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Business Software Solutions

Elaine J Cromwell, FCCA

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Business Software Solutions

Where

do you

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 Business Software Solutions – what do we mean by

that even?

 Software used in a business context; specifically excludes games

and entertainment products

 Proprietary software

 Proprietary software is software licensed under exclusive

legal right of its owner. The purchaser, or licensee, is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, but restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering

Jargon – urgh!

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Jargon – urgh!

 Software as a Service – SaaS

 No upfront purchase

 Monthly licence or subscription fee

 Usually includes everything – support, upgrades etc  Can be scaled up as your business grows

 Increasingly more popular

 FOSS

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 Accounting Software

 Software to allow you to record your business’ financial

transactions and help you produce reports that tell you how well you are doing

 Payroll Software

 Software that helps you calculate the amounts to pay your

employees and keeps track of amounts to pay over to HMRC

 CRM Software

 Client relationship management software. Track

communications with customers and contacts; manage marketing campaigns .

 Cloud Computing

 Well…. that deserves it’s own slide!

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What is Cloud Computing ?

“The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or personal computer.”

“Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the Internet).”

Advantages of Cloud computing:

 Easy access – just need an internet connection, desktop computer,

laptop, tablet or even a smartphone.

 Programs and files aren’t taking up server space reducing IT and

upgrade costs.

 Safe and secure, online backups available.  Allows for flexible working for staff.

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Who Offers Cloud Software?

Among the many are:

 Sage

 Freeagent  Kashflow

 Xero Online Accounting  Quickbooks

 Zoho

 Brightpearl

Good starting point; www.getapp.com

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Accounting Software

 What’s your budget?

 Add on extra for training

 Do your own research

 Try  UK leaders:  Sage  Iris  Quickbooks  Pegasus  Tas Books

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Thomson Cooper recommend Sage Software because:

• Experience

• Sage are the market leader

for small business

• Over 830,000 companies

in the UK use Sage

• Excellent customer service

- UK call centres

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Sage

• Sage 50 Accounts

• Sage Instant Accounts

• Sage Instant Payroll

• SageOne

• Sage Forecasting

• Sage 50 Payroll

• Sage HR

• Sage ACT! (CRM product)

Sage offer a wide range of business software, including SageOne (cloud) and Sage 50 Accounts Professional Online. Sage products include:

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SageOne

 Cloud application

 Monthly subscription (one year initial contract)  From £5 per month

 Simple to use

 Accountant Edition allows collaborative working with

your accountant

 24/7 telephone helpline included in the monthly cost  No premium call rates – 0845 number

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Quickfile.co.uk

 Free fully functioning accounts package  Bulk upload of statements

 Limited reporting without fee

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Sage One Payroll

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Cloud payroll solution

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From £5 plus VAT per month for 5 employees

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Very simple to use



Help videos

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IRIS Payroll

 Payroll Basics – for up to 10 employees,

simple functions and calculators and is Free to download.

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12Pay

 Payroll Software

 Express Edition - free payroll software  Accredited by HMRC and compliant

 For up to 10 employees

 Easy to download and setup

 Calculates PAYE, NI, SSP and SMP  PDF reports

 Premium and Bureau Editions available for upgrade

from £54.90 per year.

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FOSS – things to consider

 Is the software GPL – General Public Licence?

 Can the software support my currency used, VAT or tax

rates?

 Where will I get help if it all goes wrong?

 Will I be able to share data/reports easily with other

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FOSS – business software examples

 Wikipedia has various lists of free and open source

software

 Accounts

 SQL ledger  TurboCASH

 FrontAccounting (web based)  Open Bravo

 Quickfile

 Design & Marketing

 Inkscape  Scribus  Fatpaint  GIMP

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FOSS – business software examples

 Payroll  12 Pay  Iris  Office Alternatives  Open Office  Evolution (Outlook)  Zimbra (Exchange)

 Open Project (MS Project)

 CRM software

 Sugar CRM

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FREE Mobile Apps

 Sage Record Keeper App

 For iPhone and iPad only

 Android and Blackberry “coming soon”

 Earnest from Freeagent

 For iPhone

 MyBiztracker from Quickbooks

 For iPhone

 Forbes Receipt Tracker

 Android

 ZipZip Books

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FREE Mobile Apps (cont)

 None deal with VAT – turnover less than £77K per year  Can email data in .csv form but no reporting

capabilities as such

 Great for keeping on top of expenses and income  Very easy to use

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Thank you!

 Leave your business card  Free initial consultation  Free Sage User Group