Technology

Software options for accountants

James Byrne examines the factors that come into play when you are choosing your accounting software and the company that will provide it.

When you’re looking for software to help manage your practice, you’re likely to find familiar, global names and younger, independently owned software. Corporations have thousands of employees, multiple kinds of software and substantial financial investment. So, why would you entrust your practice to an independent?

Big corp. Big prices It seems the more well-known the logo, the higher up your eyebrows go when you see the cost. (All those employees, offices and investors need funding, after all.) Often, pricing is also based on the size of your practice and the features that the software provider assumes you’ll need, rather than one price and access to every area of the software. Length of contracts Long-term contracts are the norm for larger companies, locking you in whether you’re finding value or not. Independent software companies may need your money more – and would love to lock you in forever – but user satisfaction and retention are also more critical. Their success relies more heavily on your success. As such, independent software companies will keep a closer eye on adoption rates and the success of their users’ businesses – and review their performance more regularly.

Additional costs for training and support Charging for implementation, training and ongoing support isn’t restricted to software owned by large companies, but there’s certainly a trend. Paying for training increases the overall cost and puts you at risk of lost expenditure if you and your team don’t get on with the software. It may also signify complexity and a user experience that’s not too intuitive – though that’s not always the case.

You’ll always be more important to an SME than to a corporation – and that’s exactly how they should make you feel if you need a hand. With a small-to-mid size independent company, you’ll probably know the support team by name and they’ll know all about how you use the software. The larger the company providing the software, the more support staff they’re likely to have, leading to less personalised support and, weirdly, longer wait times.

Consider what role support has in the business too. With an independent vendor, the support team will probably work directly with the development team – adding to the agility and speed of development.

The impact of investors Independent software is always looking to grow, both in capability, user base and team size. That means they’re more likely to invest the profits back into the business to keep improving. No outside investors means that independent software owners only answer to you. Yes, corporations have more funds, but arguably this could lead to decisions that don’t put you first.

The speed of development A large company means many levels of hierarchy and many stakeholders. Projects take longer to get sign-off and updates to the system are slow to emerge. Although new features may come from user feedback, the final decision will be made at a much higher level. Smaller, independent companies are more agile and able to turn system improvements and additions around in a matter of days.

James Byrne CEO,AccountancyManager

Your impact on shaping the software Quite a few independent software vendors in the accountancy industry were founded by accountants that ran their own practices. As such, these platforms solve the same frustrations you experience every day – and continue to respond to existing and emerging pain points. This means that the feedback and suggestions loop between the users and the development team must remain strong. Perhaps the biggest benefit of using independent software is the impact you can have on its future. Imagine giving Google or Microsoft a call and asking for a new feature. (If you find a phone number, let us know.) You’ll find that independent software companies maintain a closer relationship with their users, both in providing support and listening to opinions. A focus on accountancy and bookkeeping Many of the big-name brands cater to all kinds of industries and often specifically target large companies (which goes some way to justifying the high prices). This means accountants and bookkeepers in practice may not be central to their investment and strategy. Author bio

James Byrne is CEO and founder of AccountancyManager, a multi award-winning practice management software built to reduce back office administration for accountancy firms. What I see in Facebook groups of accountants is the amount of hacks and bodges they’ve got. They have maybe 15 or 20 different systems loosely talking to one another, when they could have five core systems that are fully integrated.

Andy Sullivan, Complete HQ

Everything you need – in one place You might sign up to a few well-known tools to perform specific tasks, such as managing your deadlines and workflow, sharing files, e-signing documents or emailing your clients. Then develop a “system” within your practice where you sign in and use multiple pieces of software for different things – probably keeping track of everything in good old Excel. With independent software built by accountants, you’re likely to find many of these features included. On a Facebook group for accountants this week, a list of software was offered up as an “ideal solution”. This included HelloSign (owned by Dropbox) and Sharefile (owned by Citrix). These are great at what they do, but there are a few disadvantages to using disparate software, not designed specifically for accountants and bookkeepers.

The overriding problem is that all your client data, internal tasks and communication with clients are in different places. As well as adding hours of time keeping track of each software, this method exposes you to human error, forgotten deadlines and miscommunication across teams.

Part of your community For independently owned software, the prioritisation of personal partnerships extends beyond their user base. Quite often, the founders and owners of independent software will build relationships with each other and other thought leaders, actively participate in events and liaise directly to discuss potential integrations. Again, this speeds up the time to release and combine knowledge to build the best software for their shared users. With large corporates, or software not designed for accountants, these partnerships are much harder to make. ●

Try AccountancyManager free for 30 days: Give

AM a test drive for 30 days. You’ll find plenty of videos and walk-throughs to help and we’ll give you a personalised demo too. We don’t ask for bank details upfront, transferring your data from another platform is easy and you’re welcome to give us a call with any questions on 01926 355 366.