If you run your own business then you have a choice to make when it comes to accounting. You may wish to employ and accountant or outsource it to an accountancy firm that will already have software that they use. Some people still use spreadsheets to do their accounting, which can start to get a bit long winded if you start to have a lot of transactions that need to be inputted.

There are some great off the shelf accountancy software packages such as Sage Pay, Quick Books and Xero. They are range massively on prices and functionality and all of these companies offer packages at different levels meaning you only pay for what you use. Xero for example has three packages, all of which are very similar. Package one, is their basic one which only allows you to do 5 invoices a month and reconcile 20 bank transaction. Their next package is £12 more but gives you unlimited invoices and reconciling as well as online VAT submission. The final package is about £5 more and you have the added function to use multiple currencies.

Many of these companies will offer you a free trial which is always worth doing to check it is the right software for your business.