I have now had two ‘wasted’ weekends, originally set aside to start my accounting - not QF’s fault, but just trying to feel my way around, plus huge problems with uploading bank statements (as I don’t have a business bank account to date).
My question relates to the fact that I am a VERY small business (domestic cleaning) which will probably never grow to the point where I need to send invoices etc. What I really want to know is: What are the advantages of using QF as opposed to keeping a simple spreadsheet of income/outgoings etc.? It seems to me that I would find a spreadsheet a ‘doddle’ in comparison to the glitches that seem to be hitting me at every turn with QF? Obviously, I would still need to keep and organise my receipts and bank statements etc., but that doesn’t feel like much of a problem?
As I said, I am a very small business, a sole trader, and I just need a simple way to do my accounting…
Getting into the swing of things now with QuickFile will be a good move to help prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD). If you’re not aware of MTD, it’s HMRCs initiative to make businesses keep and submit digital records. There’s more on this here:
That aside, having a package in place can help you see an overview of your business from various angles. Yes, you can help a spreadsheet with all your income in, but being able to drill down on some figures can help establish what sells well, what doesn’t, and tied with features such as the project tags, you can calculate profit and loss down to individual jobs. I appreciate this may not be necessary for a business quite of your size, but it could be helpful.
To go with all this, there’s also features such as online payments, automated overdue invoice reminders, statements, automatic foreign currency exchange rate handling, the client dashboard, amongst others.
The truth is, you just need to explore what QuickFile can do for your business and how it can fit in with what you do. And if you’re stuck, we have an open and friendly community who are at hand to help point you in the right direction and help you get the most from QuickFile.
Thanks for your very detailed reply! However, apart from MTD (which, for non-VAT businesses will, as I understand it, be voluntary), the majority of the points you make simply do not apply to my business - and, most probably, never will. What sells well/doesn’t sell well comes down to my work rate/thoroughness, I won’t be cleaning outside my immediate area (so no need for automatic foreign currency exchange rate handling), I don’t send invoices (I am paid by cash or standing order)…So, for the time being at least, I think I will stick with a spreadsheet and then, once I am confident with that, I will look again at QF.
Thanks again for your support!
