# New Coffee Shop soon ..Book keeping software



## the.gibbos (Jul 11, 2012)

Hi

The wife and I are in the process (Its been a very long process too!) of opening a coffee shop which hopefully should be completed in about 3 weeks.. barring anymore hiccups

Has anyone any recommendations for Software for basic Book keeping they could help us out with.. preferably freeware

Many Thanks in advance


----------



## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

Sage accounts is pretty industry standard, also intuit quickbooks


----------



## the.gibbos (Jul 11, 2012)

Thanks for the quick reply i have looked at those 2 programs and just wondered if there are any decent free programs people could recommend that do a similar job just as well


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

You get what you pay for, and in many cases freeware results in a higher accountancy charge at year end.

I would highly recommend speaking to your accountant (and if you don't have one I recommend getting one - they actually save you money overall)

He/she may have a preference that makes their life easy, the paperwork compliant with HMRC and will result in more advice being given than time spent working out what you have done with the free stuff.


----------



## the.gibbos (Jul 11, 2012)

Thanks Glenn and Green Bean appreciate the help we have an accountant ill give him a look and see what he says

Great Forum by the way gives me lots of interesting reading



Glenn said:


> You get what you pay for, and in many cases freeware results in a higher accountancy charge at year end.
> 
> I would highly recommend speaking to your accountant (and if you don't have one I recommend getting one - they actually save you money overall)
> 
> He/she may have a preference that makes their life easy, the paperwork compliant with HMRC and will result in more advice being given than time spent working out what you have done with the free stuff.


----------



## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

I've used 12Pay in the past - you can use it for free or unlock more features by paying for the full version.


----------



## the.gibbos (Jul 11, 2012)

Thanks for the suggestion ill give that a look too



funinacup said:


> I've used 12Pay in the past - you can use it for free or unlock more features by paying for the full version.


----------



## finky (May 29, 2012)

We opened a coffee shop last August with a Sage package which cost about £70.00 , which i think is not too bad. Accountabts and bookkeepers all know it and mostly like it aswell. its called sgae instant accounts


----------



## richardblack5 (Jan 7, 2013)

Hi,

I have run a chip shop for about three years and have always used a spreadsheet, which to be honest is perfectly adequate for a sole trader!

good luck with it!

cheers

richard


----------



## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

I use Solar Accounts which is an excellent basic package for a small business - don't know how it would fit retail.

Fairly new on the scene but very reasonable, UK designed and good customer support.


----------



## Barry Cook (Feb 14, 2012)

As Glenn has already said, You Get What You Pay For.

We've used Sage since we opened 7 years ago, and you can set it up as simple or complicated as you like. As long as you've inputted all your data correctly, it will even produce you VAT return figures that are shown in the format of a VAT return to make it pretty foolproof.

When we originally set up shop, we were part of a franchise and they set Sage way too complicated. After going independent four and a half years ago, we reset Sage to it's default settings and find it perfectly adequate.

I know other people who have used Quickbooks, but our accountant prefers Sage, so we go with their advice.

Ask your accountant before investing. I don't believe there is such a thing as a "simple" business, and especially one that wouldn't benefit from accounting software.


----------



## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

As per my first post... I used to work for a small IT support company helping small and startup businesses. In terms of ease of use, functionality and backup provision, sage instant accounts was by far the most widely used app by our clients.


----------



## the.gibbos (Jul 11, 2012)

Thanks to everyone who took the time and replied with suggestions its much appreciated


----------



## bobbert (Mar 4, 2013)

Have you considered an online package at all?

We use Clearbooks and to be honest, I love it. It seems to do everything we need of if and there are accountants out there who will engage with this package.

I joined Clearbooks when it first started and it's now gathering a lot of momentum from what I can gather.


----------



## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

I'm using quickbooks which works well for our business. It has an intuitive front end and has been easy to use / customise for our needs. I have limited experience of accounts but get on well with the package. There are pre-configured reports which help with managing the finances.

Whatever package you chose, get it installed before you start the business if thats not too late. I didnt and it caused my major headaches when the first quarters vat return was due.


----------



## RatScallion (Mar 28, 2013)

Also check out Kashflow, i used it for a few years and definitely recommend it. Great support too, Uk based.


----------



## DavidBondy (Aug 17, 2010)

Speaking personally, I would totally agree with Glenn and be driven very much by what your accountant suggests.

My accountant wanted me to use Sage and that makes his preparation of tax and VAT returns much easier and, in the long run, cheaper.

David


----------

