For the last few years the buzz word in computing has been "cloud computing". Everyone has been promising that Software as a Service (SaS) is going to revolutionise the way that we use our IT.
To date, with a few notable exceptions much of this software has promised lots and delivered little.
However in my opinion Freeagent is one of those exceptions, and well worth a look.
Freeagent is designed for small business owners and sole traders who wish to run their business without needing to learn accounting. If you run a Freelance, or contracting business you really should take a look at their software.
Why?
Put simply, it will streamline your accounting process, saving you time and money. It has been thought through from a users point of view, not the accountants. As such it is extremely easy to use and doesn't tie you up in long winded processing. Whether you need to keep track of outstanding quotations, email an invoice to a client, or set automatic payment reminders, FreeAgent has it all covered.
Get a snapshot of all your current estimates, quotes and proposals
A lot of other software can also do this but where FreeAgent excels is in how it handles your bank accounts. Rather than forcing you to meticulously process all of your transactions, you just download your statement into one of the many accepted formats and import into FreeAgent, and FreeAgent handles the rest.
You "explain" the payments and receipts and effectively you've just done your accounts. This radically reduces the number of purchase invoices that you need to process, and is a considerable time saving over the traditional methodology.
Unexplained transactions are just a click away from being processed
Another key feature is the Tax Timeline. This is available on the home page and gives you a helpful reminder of when key tax amounts based on the information entered would be due to HMRC. This is invaluable as it helps you plan for these payments in advance and avoid any nasty surprises.
Keeping on the right side of the tax man has never been easier
FreeAgent integrates with other 3rd party apps, including apps for smart phones, so staying on top of your accounts has never been easier.
In addition to all of this your accountant can log in and review the work that you've done. This means that if you have processed a transaction incorrectly it is easy for them to correct it, without the need to stopping you from transacting.
I have always been a big fan of Sage Line 50, but one of it's major weaknesses was that it was too data hungry for some of the smaller businesses out there. It requires a level of commitment that frankly too many small business owners are not prepared to give. FreeAgent addresses these issues and is rapidly gaining recognition in the accounting and software press.
So if you run a small business, click on the "I love freeagent" link below, and take a look at what FreeAgent can do for your business.
I'm sure like me, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
