Entry level accounting software - the real cost. Can Microsoft break the barrier?
Web sites are buzzing with information on the new Microsoft Accounting Software.
One challenge for all the entry level vendors is their ability to price and deliver adequate support to their user base. Even though Microsoft’s latest entry level offering is free, users may well struggle to get the software up and running without some face to face training – which can cost several hundred pounds a day. There is a UK discussion forum on the Microsoft site which includes questions about VAT handling which highlights this problem.. More information at
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx
Most accountants will agree that regardless of the tool, users need a reasonable level of accounting skills to use any product. Many small charities do not have these and rely on helplines to slowly work their way through the problem. Helplines cost money to staff and charities ultimately have to pay for this. For an entry level system to really take off this issue needs to be addressed. It will be interesting to see whether Microsoft develop a new approach to this that might work – for example via interactive training/support. If they can tackle this they may make it in the entry level accounting software space.
Have you looked at Validis (www.validis.com) to solve a lot of the points you raise? - it is 100% complimentary to accounting packages and costs a small % of support costs and saves loads of time.
Posted by :Chris Poll |December 5, 2007 at 7:12 AM
Thank you for your comment. Yes I am aware of your product. However I would need some convincing that it would be of real help to a small business trying to get say Sage up and running. As per my previous post in my experience small businesses without an acoountant in situ really struggle to use products like Sage. Concepts such as accruals and prepayments, treatment of capital purchases and of course VAT need to be understood before entry level systems can be used to full effect. Most small businesses end up with poor accounts - or use an external accountant/book keeper to do some/all of the work. This can be expensive. Is this an issue with the complexity of accounting that cannot be avoided? Or is it possible to design an accounting system that is so easy to use that it gets round these problems?
Posted by :John Tate |December 5, 2007 at 5:01 PM
So what would you say is the better package for a small business? Sage Instant is only around £100, that seems to be what most people are using.
Posted by :steve |January 22, 2008 at 5:20 PM
Sage Instant Accounts
Good question
I have had some experience of Sage Instant Accounts, and feel that it struggles to get the balance right between the features it offers (functionality), price, ease of use and customer service. Unfortunately most of the users I have talked to have problems in one of these areas. If you do a Google search on ‘Sage Instant Accounts Reviews’ there are some web sites with truly appalling feedback.
As per another posting there is the issue of whether a small organisation has the skills to use any entry level product to full effect – without time, training (hence cost) and good accounting skills. QuickBooks is an obvious alternative to Sage and does seem to get a better rating. However I have also had a number of adverse comments regarding customer support/service.
There is a commercial challenge for vendors in offering support for entry level products. Many customers try to use support lines to get trained on a product and in effect have an outsourced accounting service. The price typically charged for supporting an SME finance product does not allow for this level of service – so customers that expect/need this tend to feel let down.
As far as Microsoft’s new product is concerned I have successfully downloaded the entry level version. From first impressions it looks quite basic – but seems fairly easy to use. However I am a qualified accountant with 20 years experience of accounting software packages so may not be the typical user.
Posted by :John Tate |January 24, 2008 at 7:11 AM