Reply to: Accounting software vs not

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

It's coming.

I'll believe it when I see it.

[SuperLooper]

In an ideal world banks would provide read only limited access account credentials for this kind of thing.

It's coming.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Do you mean because you have to enter each transaction individually? I agree that it'd be good if you could enter multiple transactions on one screen. Have you mentioned it to Freeagent? If enough people ask they will put the feature on the roadmap.

That and the UI is pretty clunky which would make navigating loads of expenses a chore.

Most of my expenses are trip related and I'd much prefer to organise expenses this way - making trips a concept within the UI, being able to enter where the trip was to, associate the whole trip with a project and associate travel, accommodation, subsistence and any other relevant expenses with that trip.

There is also a lack of good reporting.

I have suggested to FreeAgent on numerous occasions that I would like to see the expense handling overhauled.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Are they really bank feeds? Or are they using your login details to screen-scrape?

AFAIK the only official feed they have is Barclays. The rest use Yodlee which does use scraping and therefore does store your banking credentials.

Yodlee are supposed to be very secure but it's still very much a case of using at your own risk (including the possibility of violating your online banking terms).

Auto import also only works if you do not require two factor authentication. In my case I need to enter a OTP token (HSBC) so nothing is automated.

In an ideal world banks would provide read only limited access account credentials for this kind of thing.

[SuperLooper]

FreeAgent use Yodlee as the third-party agent which fetches your bank data. Their security is pretty robust IMO. FreeAgent never sees or stores your bank credentials; they're securely sent directly to Yodlee.

(I have no affiliation with either FreeAgent or Yodlee!)

[pr1]

They wouldn't be doing their jobs if they didn't include such a disclaimer... although you should be covered by the Freeagent company if they were found to be in the wrong

Sorry, to clarify - I trust freeagent, my concern would be if someone completely unrelated to freeagent was the fraudster, the fact that you'd handed over your details to freeagent would potentially void you from the banks fraud protection, and I doubt freeagent would be interested in paying up if it was nothing to do with them

[PerfectStorm]

Yeah you have to hand over your login and password - I personally don't trust it after reading some bank small print thatif you get frauded (made up word) and you've willfully given your login and password to a 3rd party you might not be covered

I am happy to spend the 30-60 seconds it takes to download and import the statements

They wouldn't be doing their jobs if they didn't include such a disclaimer... although you should be covered by the Freeagent company if they were found to be in the wrong

[pr1]

Are they really bank feeds? Or are they using your login details to screen-scrape?

Yeah you have to hand over your login and password - I personally don't trust it after reading some bank small print thatif you get frauded (made up word) and you've willfully given your login and password to a 3rd party you might not be covered

I am happy to spend the 30-60 seconds it takes to download and import the statements

[northernladuk]

Are they really bank feeds? Or are they using your login details to screen-scrape?

Erm, I'm not sure what the differences are but it's explained here. Yes you put your details in at setup but it auto imports your transactions overnight.

An introduction to Bank Feeds - FreeAgent

[SpontaneousOrder]

I used to use the spreadsheets from SJD which I really liked. Easy to use, pretty clear but didn't do much on the calcs. Switched to an accountant using Freeagent and I love it. Autobank feeds, easy to submit stuff to HMRC, plenty of graphs, dates for submissions etc etc. I love it. Anything that gives you more control over your finances can't be a bad thing surely as long as you have the accountant in the background for questions?

Not a chance I'd go back to sending anything over. My accountant can look at my figures anytime and I get a quarterly review of my account from them proactively to boot.

Are they really bank feeds? Or are they using your login details to screen-scrape?

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

FWIW I find FreeAgent's out of pocket expense handling one of its weakest features. I do actually record my expense claims in a spreadsheet and enter them into FreeAgent in batches.

Do you mean because you have to enter each transaction individually? I agree that it'd be good if you could enter multiple transactions on one screen. Have you mentioned it to Freeagent? If enough people ask they will put the feature on the roadmap.

[zudecke]

Good stuff guys.

I'll probably start on spreadies and upgrade to Kashflow if it's too burdensome!

Many thanks!

Z

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

FWIW I find FreeAgent's out of pocket expense handling one of its weakest features. I do actually record my expense claims in a spreadsheet and enter them into FreeAgent in batches.

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

Accounting software vs not

I don't know kashflow but it'll be better than spreadsheets that's for sure.

If you go for kashflow (or any other app) I'd recommend ensuring you get sn accountant who is on board. I expect kashflow will have a partner programme you'll be able to pick from.

[zudecke]

You can do that but expect to a hefty premium for it. I reckon I'd have to charge £250 PCM to make this worthwhile. Or to scare the contractor into doing some of it himself or find someone else.

Ah, I should have known - sounded too good to be true.

So in that case, Excel vs Kashflow - consensus?