Stuart Noble wrote:
Gav wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Hi

Can anyone recommend a PC based accounts package for the self employed?

Looking for simple. I don't carry any stock to speak of, customer
buys it, I fit it. I don't employ anyone, I don't have any cash flow
issues (payment at completion of job).

Just want to keep track of ingoings & outgoings for the tax man &
keep an eye on the business.


just been playing about in MS office 12 and they actually have a set
of templates for buisness use, if ya want em email me or get yourself
a copy of office 12

As far as Medway Handyman is concerned, I don't think the tax man is
going to be interested in the fine detail. If your figures are within
what the Revenue regard as average for that type of work, they
shouldn't bother you. Money in, money out, materials, expenses.
Scribble them in your diary and think about making the money rather
than accounting for it.
Sure, you can design your own accounts package in Access or Excel but I
wouldn't bother buying them just for that. The templates are pretty
elementary and getting anywhere near the functionality of Quickbooks
etc would be a major undertaking for a beginner.


A good option for an absolute beginner in DIY book-keeping would be to
use simple paper-based accounts for a while, to get some hands-on
experience of calculating how the money comes and goes. Once you have
developed a system that suits your business, it is then very much easier
to move it over to Excel.



--
Ian White