Small business accounting made simple

Staying on top of their finances can be a major headache for many small businesses. Accounting software could be a smart investment.

Staying on top of their finances can be a major headache for many small businesses. They may not have the resources to appoint specialist staff even though existing employees lack skills such as accounting expertise.In this situation, accounting software could be a smart investment. This can give you access to automated accounting tools and help ensure that you're keeping all your relevant financial data in one place.

Such software is more affordable than ever before. Small businesses used to have to pay hundreds or even thousands of pounds up front for an accounting package. But today online services cost less than £20 a month and provide enough sophistication for the vast majority of small business users. Hence take-up of these services is increasing rapidly. Xero, one of the most high-profile online accounting providers, now has more than 200,000 subscribers in the UK. More than 100,000 have joined QuickBooks, which is run by Intuit, one of the original developers of accounting software for small businesses. Other well-known providers include Sage, FreshBooks and FreeAgent.

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David Prosser
Business Columnist

David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.