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Get to grips with the benefits of using accountancy software like Quickbooks vs the benefits of a traditional accountancy service like Daniel Sam

QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting applications for self-employed workers and business owners. One of its main advantages is no doubt its low subscription cost. However, despite attracting money-savvy individuals and entrepreneurs, the human touch also has its advantages.

This article will discuss the benefits and downsides of using Quickbooks to do your accounts yourself, vs. the traditional route of hiring an accounting firm or professional to take care of this for you.

Cost

Quickbooks price plans start as low as £6 per month, whilst accounting firms and professionals may delve into three figures. These can be both one-time costs and subscription services, for example, maintaining your business accounts throughout the year. Despite the noticeable price difference, with QuickBooks, you must do the accounts yourself. There is support on hand; however, even still, they can only guide you through the process, not calculate tax, income, or VAT for you.

If you’re not very good with numbers or are unfamiliar calculating revenue and expenses, then it may be more cost-effective to go the route of an actual accountant.

Time

We’re sure you’ve all heard the phrase: “time is money,” before. And there’s a very good reason for this – partly because it’s true. To decide whether QuickBooks or hiring an accountant is best for you, you need to ask yourself: is your time best spent making more money or tackling other tasks, or perhaps learning how and then later calculating your books on a frequent basis?

This is arguably the most important factor when considering between the two options. However, if you’re a business/company with one or more employees, it may be worth hiring an internal accountant, or asking a member of staff to handle the books – that is if they’re comfortable doing so?

Support available

If you choose to do your accounts yourself, whether this is on Quickbooks or another platform, support options are often limited. Conversely, choosing the traditional route of an accountant opens up several doors. If part-doing your books yourself, you can receive hands-on support, compared to a live chat from a customer support worker.

If going solo and doing the books yourself through Quickbooks, and the support is no use, you’re back to square one. You’ll have to solve the problem yourself, occupying more time most likely better spent on more important tasks.

Accountants Bolton

If upon finishing this article you’re interested in working alongside an accountant as opposed to doing your books yourself, whether this is VAT, tax, or payroll enrolment (amongst other services), we’d love to work with you.

At Daniel Sam Chartered Accountants, we are family-run and provide a variety of accountancy services, including general bookkeeping and accountants, personal tax, not-for-profit, company tax, VAT, cloud accounting, Payroll & Auto-enrollment, and specialist tax advice.

To find out more information, or to contact the Bolton Accountants team, click here.