Financial Management


What advice do other shops have about financial management?  What are the accounting packages of choice?  Who prefers to use spreadsheets and why?  Has anyone successfully integrated an EPOS system with an accounting package?  (I have read the forum on EPOS and I suspect the answer is no!)

Thanks in anticipation

David Cheshire

Yarpole Community Shop

Posted by david Cheshire on 15 January 2010

 Hi David

We use QuickBooks to manage our accounts. We started with the free version, just to become familiar with it, but found that we needed the Pro version to cope with the volume. We don't have Epos linked in and I think the systems which allow this would be prohibitively expensive for us. You can see the software by clicking on quickbooks.intuit.co.uk/.../quickbooks-pro-demo.jsp

kind regards

Alun Evans

Almondsbury Community Shop

Hi Alun

Thanks for your response.  Since posting my original question I have looked at Sage Instant, Xero and Quickbooks and have opted for Quickbooks.  My decision was influenced by being given free, unregistered, copies of the Simplestart 2008 and then the 2006 Pro version by an accountant friend who was also able to help me set it up!  It's good to have your endorsement of the product too. I am finding it fairly easy to use on an accruals basis and it gives me more confidence than using spreadsheets which are prone to error, or omissions.  I am also pleased to be able to produce a Balance Sheet whenever I want!

Regards

David Cheshire

Yarpole Community Shop

Charlotte Foster's picture

What could a qualified accountant do for your organisation?

Could they be a grants officer, a treasurer, an accounts manager, a membership co-ordinator, an auditor or a trustee? What about help with budgeting or creating stronger financial controls?

Traditionally voluntary organisations have been told that skilled finance volunteers are hard to come by. Reach's new partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW) will put an end to this scarcity, creating a whole new resource for the sector.

Reach can now promote your finance volunteer roles on the ICAEW job board, attracting the interest of the thousands of accountants registered there. Tell us what role you would like to fill and we will publicise it for you.

A trained chartered accountant could transform your organisation, improving its effectiveness and securing its sustainability. Register your role now at www.reachskills.org.uk or call 0207 582 6543 and Reach will help you find you the right skilled volunteer for your organisation.
 

CSN Poll

Is 2012 the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives?:

""