How To Choose a Cloud Accounting Solution For MTD

Cloud accounting software can help save you time and money. But how do you choose the right solution for your business needs?

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT came into effect in April 2019 for most UK businesses. Even if you fall under the VAT threshold, you’ll still benefit from going digital with your accounting now. So let go of those spreadsheets and embrace digital bookkeeping.

Cloud accounting solutions have been designed to make it easier to get your tax right (no more overpaying, or incurring penalties for accidental errors) and they do a lot of the hard work for you. They can also help give you a big picture view of your business accounts that would otherwise be hard to achieve, giving you more control and visibility of your business.

 

Cloud accounting software for UK businesses

We’re here to help you make the right decision for your business. We have carefully selected the best cloud accounting solutions on the market, drawing on our years of experience working with small businesses and our understanding of the challenges you face. They are all HMRC-approved, MTD-compliant, and Warr & Co clients can take advantage of discounted rates. Our expert team will be on hand to help you throughout the process too, from choosing a solution to problem solving in the day-to-day.

Every business is different, so take a look at our five preferred cloud accounting solutions below and get in touch for advice on what will best meet your individual requirements.

 

Quickbooks

Quickbooks is the world’s leading cloud accounting software, with 3.6 million businesses all over the world using it to manage their finances.

We chose Quickbooks as a partner because we love how user-friendly their digital platform is. Quickbooks say that their software saves small businesses 8 hours a month on average, and we believe it! Quickbooks is one of our go-to recommended solutions for most sole traders, contractors, and small businesses because it’s so simple and easy to use.

The software boasts calculation and filing of VAT returns, direct connection to HMRC, customisable invoice and report templates, expense receipt management, a mobile app and much more. You can even take photos of your bills and upload them as expenses straight from your phone while you’re on the go.

Warr & Co are a Quickbooks Platinum ProAdvisor, which means that we’re well equipped to help you get started with your new Quickbooks account and get ready for MTD for VAT. That also means that we offer the top-level of Quickbooks to our clients, and at a fraction of the advertised rate.

QuickBooks Plus: £27/month
Warr& Co price: £7/month*

	Price per month*	Price for 12 months*
Full price	£27	£324
Quickbooks direct discount	£11 for 6 months followed by £27 for 6 months	£228
Warr & Co client discount	£7	£84

 

 

FreeAgent

FreeAgent was voted ‘Small Business Accounting Software of the Year’ at the 2018 Accounting Excellence Awards. It provides a comprehensive small-business bookkeeping solution together with the ability to forecast UK tax liabilities. It makes the process of accounting simpler, reduces the time required to manage your business allowing you to focus your energies on your customers.

Warr & Co are a FreeAgent Gold Partner, which means that we are expertly placed to ensure that you get the most from this award-winning software. Use the mobile app and web platform to keep your records and bookkeeping up to date, leaving Warr & Co to deal with the complex work and compliance services.

Read a 2019 case study of how Warr & Co have helped transform small business accounting with FreeAgent.

FreeAgent: £29/month
Warr& Co price: £12/month*

	Price per month*	Price for 12 months*
Full price	£29	£348 when paid monthly £290 when paid in one annual sum
FreeAgent direct discount	50% off for 6 months followed by £29 for 6 months	£261 when paid monthly £145 for first year, £290 thereafter
Warr & Co client discount	£12 for 12 months followed by £17 thereafter	£144 for the first year, £204 thereafter

 

 

 

Sage Start

Aimed at startups and small businesses, Sage Start is a simplified version of Sage Accounting that Warr & Co offer to medium business sized clients. Sage Start has all the features you’d expect from an online accounting software, from invoicing to tax assistance and profit and loss information. Like the others, it connects to HMRC directly to make payments easy.

This platform requires some accounting knowledge, so is more suited to a medium or growing business that will benefit from its features.

Sage Start: £22/month
Warr& Co price: £7/month*

	Price per month*	Price for 12 months*
Full price	£22	£264
Sage direct discount	£6.60 a month for 3 months followed by £22 for 9 months	£217.80
Warr & Co client discount	£7	£84

 

Xero

Xero is a highly functional accounting software that greatly reduces the time you have to spend to keep your accounts up to date. It allows you to stay up to date on your business finances and cashflow, generate real time reports and customise invoices. You can access Xero anywhere, anytime, from any device. The accounting application allows you to import bank transactions, making reconciliation a quick and easy task.

We recommend Xero to growing businesses because in addition to its range of built-in features, there are also over 200 apps that can integrate directly into Xero and provide additional functionality, so Xero can also grow with your business. Xero is our go-to option for larger and more complex businesses.

Xero: £22/month
Warr& Co price: £17.50/month*

	Price per month*	Price for 12 months*
Full price	£22	£264
Xero direct discount	25% off for first 3 months	£247.50
Warr & Co client discount	£17.50	£204

 

KashFlow

KashFlow is an award-winning platform that offers straightforward bookkeeping for sole traders, freelancers, small and micro businesses.

We have chosen KashFlow as a partner because of their easy-to-use software that works seamlessly across desktop and mobile, allowing you to manage your business finances from anywhere, at anytime. It’s got a clear dashboard that includes a business health check score, and the software links directly to HMRC to ensure that you never miss a deadline when it comes to VAT returns.

KashFlow: £15/month
Warr& Co price: £7/month*

	Price per month*	Price for 12 months*
Full price	£15	£170 when paid annually £180 when paid monthly
KashFlow direct discount	None	£111 when paid annually
Warr & Co client discount	£7	£84

 

 

What to do next

• Talk to your accountant – they know you and your business, so can advise on the best cloud accounting software for you
• Confirm your subscription – remember to take advantage of your Warr & Co client discount 
• Use the software early – don’t ignore any helpful emails you receive as a new subscriber to your chosen platform; the sooner you get started the easier the transition will be (and don’t be afraid to ask your accountant for help if you get stuck!)

 

 

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*Prices correct at time of writing. All prices are excluding VAT. 

Please note. Discounted prices via Warr & Co are limited, discount rate licences are offered on a first-come-first-served basis. After these discounted licences are taken up we cannot guarantee the same prices.