FreeAgent

[northernladuk]

* Bank feeds with HSBC still require manual input due to two-factor authentication (not really FreeAgent's fault).
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What exactly do you mean by manual input? I have to click the button to force a Santander update as it requires an extra question? Is that what you mean?

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

Thanks for the feedback all.

@Maslins - possibly a bit misleading of me to say "building" our own. Basically, its a standard system which can be customised, tweaked and branded. But at the end of the day, it's cr@p so we need to ditch it. FA seems to be right on the money for what we are looking for.

[Jack Kada]

Thanks for the feedback all.

@Maslins - possibly a bit misleading of me to say "building" our own. Basically, its a standard system which can be customised, tweaked and branded. But at the end of the day, it's cr@p so we need to ditch it. FA seems to be right on the money for what we are looking for.

Does that mean you will be putting in a bid for Freeagent and forcing shareholders into a hostile takeover? :0)

I have used Freegaent and still do and its pretty good. Sometimes a spreadsheet seems simpler but most times Freeagent does the right thing.

[rob s]

As someone fairly new to Ltd co I am finding FA to be pretty clear and helpful. I still needed/wanted to construct a spreadsheet to calculate my CT liability on a month by month basis as FA reported the total including for invoices raised but not yet paid.

Tax/CH timeline reminder is useful. Bank direct feed is very useful. Knowledge articles generally good WRT how to do stuff in FA.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

What exactly do you mean by manual input? I have to click the button to force a Santander update as it requires an extra question? Is that what you mean?

Yes, I need to enter an OTP token generated from a little device each time.

Why banks can't implement some kind of restricted read only feeds I have no idea.

[Willapp]

I've just signed up for two free trials of FreeAgent (one for each Ltd I operate) and so far I think it's excellent. Spent a few hours this weekend uploading bank statements and generating historical invoices as I've just finished my year-end for one Ltd and mid-way through the other. Unless I find any major problems during the 30 day trial period I will definitely be signing up for the paid-for versions for both companies.

One question I do have for the long-time users: are the facilities it provides wrt self-assessment, VAT returns and Corporation Tax sufficient that you don't actually need an accountant? At the moment I have an accountant (local guy with very reasonable rates) but if (when) I start paying for FA it kinda feels like I'll be paying twice if I keep my accountant around, and yet it is occasionally helpful to have someone to call to answer the odd question or two...

[sal]

Thanks for the feedback all.

@Maslins - possibly a bit misleading of me to say "building" our own. Basically, its a standard system which can be customised, tweaked and branded. But at the end of the day, it's cr@p so we need to ditch it. FA seems to be right on the money for what we are looking for.

You can get FA customized for your practice with branding and some tweaks, my current accountants have this in place.

Personally i wouldn't change FA, unless a new alternative comes out that is better and i highly doubt it. The price of £20ish/month is nothing compared to how much time it saves you.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

One question I do have for the long-time users: are the facilities it provides wrt self-assessment, VAT returns and Corporation Tax sufficient that you don't actually need an accountant? At the moment I have an accountant (local guy with very reasonable rates) but if (when) I start paying for FA it kinda feels like I'll be paying twice if I keep my accountant around, and yet it is occasionally helpful to have someone to call to answer the odd question or two...

VAT Returns - YES.
Self Assessment - YES, so long as your affairs are simple.
Corporation Tax - MAYBE. Due to various reasons its never been 100% accurate for me, largely to do with support of some aspects of capital allowances (small pools allowance), deferred tax provisions and other small differences BUT, it is more than accurate enough to have a rough idea of your CT liability within a few hundred quid or so. Depending on your circumstances it might even be spot on.

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

FreeAgent

@sal. Yes, just discovered that.

@willsapp. Imv, software will never be able to replace professional advice. There are a lot of areas where you could become unstuck.

@thecyclingprogrammer. The CT was one of my concerns. The "tax timeline" is excellent but not of much use if inaccurate. That said, a couple of journal entries should straighten it out and I don't suppose a couple of hundred quid (probably a tolerance of +/-1% is really too much of an issue.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

@thecyclingprogrammer. The CT was one of my concerns. The "tax timeline" is excellent but not of much use if inaccurate. That said, a couple of journal entries should straighten it out and I don't suppose a couple of hundred quid (probably a tolerance of +/-1% is really too much of an issue.

Yes, its never a huge amount and I always have a few journals to enter at the end of year, mostly to account for timing differences - deferred tax, work in progress etc.