SJD Accountancy Online Software

[Simon C]

[QUOTE=Hawkeye;2416889]Hi,

Anyone here with SJD and using their new online software? I started playing with it today and tbh am not impressed. Seems like an absolute pain to use and also missing fields. Do not feel like I should be doing UAT for them at the price I am paying. Maybe it is me.

Anyone else using it and have thoughts on it?

Thanks!

Hi Simon C here at SJD. Sorry to hear that you are not impressed. We are planning big improvements to both functionality and usability of SJD online, tho' the responses from most clients has been positive so far, we do have some that still prefer to remain with the both traditional and familiar spreadsheet. If you would be so kind to private message me with a list of your issues, I will feed this back to our development team. Client feedback like yours will help us improve the service that we provide. Many Thanks/Regards Simon

[contractorinatractor]

Riddle me this:

If you have a relatively company and personal SATR setup, spreadsheet or freeagent, why go with SJD?

I've noticed NixonWilliams have went downhill since the merger with SJD - could, of course, entirely be down to coincidence. But when you think about your relatively simple company setup and personal SATR, how difficult is it really?

I don't see what you get by paying one of the highest accountancy charges in the contracting industry to SJD, I really don't. I'll be moving soon and would recommend others to evaluate their own setup. A change or loss of accountant is the perfect opportunity to compare the market.

Lots of buy to lets, complicated tax setups and such, perhaps SJD are niche and can cater for that - I personally do not know on that side.

[Fred Bloggs]

Riddle me this:

If you have a relatively company and personal SATR setup, spreadsheet or freeagent, why go with SJD?

I've noticed NixonWilliams have went downhill since the merger - could, of course, entirely be down to coincidence. But when you think about your relatively simple company setup and personal SATR, how difficult is it really?

I don't see what you get by paying one of the highest accountancy charges in the contracting industry to SJD, I really don't. I'll be moving soon and would recommend others to evaluate their own setup. A change or loss of accountant is the perfect opportunity to compare the market.

Lots of buy to lets, complicated tax setups and such, perhaps SJD are niche and can cater for that - I personally do not know on that side.

A lot sense there. But in mine and many others experience, it seems there is no real relationship between what you pay and the service you receive in return from accountants.

[ContrataxLtd]

A lot sense there. But in mine and many others experience, it seems there is no real relationship between what you pay and the service you receive in return from accountants.

Would you think it was a fair point to say that the quality of service is, in most cases, probably more linked to the size of the firm and how much direct involvement the owners have in the company? Where the owners are more closely involved the quality levels normally being higher than where there are external investors/PE firms involved who on the whole want to maximise profit levels and growth? Just a point for discussion perhaps?

Martin
Contratax Ltd

[Fred Bloggs]

Would you think it was a fair point to say that the quality of service is, in most cases, probably more linked to the size of the firm and how much direct involvement the owners have in the company? Where the owners are more closely involved the quality levels normally being higher than where there are external investors/PE firms involved who on the whole want to maximise profit levels and growth? Just a point for discussion perhaps?

Martin
Contratax Ltd

I would have a mind to agree with the latter part of your post particularly and not just in your line of business. Overall, it is probably a bad idea to make huge sweeping statements about it.

Where my opinion has developed the last few months is that now that what seems like a player heading for a significantly large chunk of the cloud software business for contractors, then the correct choice of the platform is just as important as the choice of accountant. Why? Simply because being able to swap accountants easily and quickly from within a pretty large choice of candidate firms with no loss of continuity or data will make people far less tolerant of poor service and/or high prices. The development of cloud software is, in my opinion a game changer in more ways than one.

[ContrataxLtd]

I would have a mind to agree with the latter part of your post particularly and not just in your line of business. Overall, it is probably a bad idea to make huge sweeping statements about it.

Where my opinion has developed the last few months is that now that what seems like a player heading for a significantly large chunk of the cloud software business for contractors, then the correct choice of the platform is just as important as the choice of accountant. Why? Simply because being able to swap accountants easily and quickly from within a pretty large choice of candidate firms with no loss of continuity or data will make people far less tolerant of poor service and/or high prices. The development of cloud software is, in my opinion a game changer in more ways than one.

I completely agree Fred, I think the choice of software is just as important as the accountant now more than ever. Freeagent is a great piece of software as you, and a good number of others know, as it provides so much functionality that is needed for Contractors. It also has the benefit as you say of allowing the moving of accountants to be almost pain free meaning service levels have to stay at the upper end or clients will just move elsewhere.

I also feel that in the next couple of years if MTD gets fully implemented then (in my opinion) Freeagent will gain even more traction among contractors and accountants.

Martin
Contratax Ltd

[Lambert Simnel]

Hi Simon C here at SJD. Sorry to hear that you are not impressed. We are planning big improvements to both functionality and usability of SJD online, tho' the responses from most clients has been positive so far, we do have some that still prefer to remain with the both traditional and familiar spreadsheet. If you would be so kind to private message me with a list of your issues, I will feed this back to our development team. Client feedback like yours will help us improve the service that we provide. Many Thanks/Regards Simon

Must admit that I also rejected it and asked to stay on the old spreadsheet. It's not that the spreadsheet is that great, to be honest, but the online software was so clunky that I would likely change accountants if SJD were to insist on its use. The apparent lack of data portability to another accountant (if necessary), preferably with the ability to retain local copies of the data, is pretty much a deal-breaker for me. But, honestly, I can't imagine anyone who had actually run a contractor limited company was involved in the acceptance testing of the software - it felt like your requirements had all been written from the accountant's side of the picture.

[Fred Bloggs]

Must admit that I also rejected it and asked to stay on the old spreadsheet. It's not that the spreadsheet is that great, to be honest, but the online software was so clunky that I would likely change accountants if SJD were to insist on its use. The apparent lack of data portability to another accountant (if necessary), preferably with the ability to retain local copies of the data, is pretty much a deal-breaker for me. But, honestly, I can't imagine anyone who had actually run a contractor limited company was involved in the acceptance testing of the software - it felt like your requirements had all been written from the accountant's side of the picture.

Well, the option you are looking for, that meets your requirements, it's out there. Take a free trial and see what state of the art contractor book keeping cloud software looks like.

[radish2008]

Well, the option you are looking for, that meets your requirements, it's out there. Take a free trial and see what state of the art contractor book keeping cloud software looks like.

So if you take the free trial, and then sign up top an accountant that wraps FA into their package do you get to use the same account ?

Also - anyone have any experience of Dynamo in Leeds ?

[Lambert Simnel]

Well, the option you are looking for, that meets your requirements, it's out there. Take a free trial and see what state of the art contractor book keeping cloud software looks like.

Thanks, but the spreadsheet is not bad enough that replacing it is enough to overcome my inertia.