Cheap, basic, accountancy software

I use Xero for our main business and find it very useful.

However, we also have a much smaller, sole trader business and I can’t justify a £30 month subscription.

There are a few cheaper options out there, including one off application purchases and even free options.

Any recommendations for a basic package?

Can’t you tag it on your existing Xero subscription?

Pretty sure you can tailor the fees depending on business size and type and also gain discount for multiple businesses?

Don’t think so?

I’ll have another look.

There’s a basic version of Quickbooks Online for <£20.  I use it and it’s fine – the only thing I wish it did was automatically create monthly invoices (I need to pay almost double to get that feature)

Freeagent is pretty good, I have it for my Ltd co. as part of my accountant’s package but I believe it’s less than a tenner a month for sole traders or free via some banks (e.g. Natwest, RBS etc)

Don’t think so?

I’ll have another look.

In the main drop down – ” + add another organisation”

You can also use the same bank feeds if needed and sync the accounts if needed.

I mean, how small is the sole trader operation if you can’t justify £30 a month?

I can add another organisation to Xero but there’s no discount.

How small? <£40,000 turnover.

£30 a month is a significant subscription.(To me).

Quickbooks offer a £10 a month subscription for non-vat sole traders. Think I’ll try them.

Maybe have a look at odoo https://www.odoo.com/app/accounting

Mettle app has built in basic accountancy functions…?

QuickBooks is what I used as a sole trader with a fairly small turnover.

I mean, how small is the sole trader operation if you can’t justify £30 a month?

That is the subscription trick. Its just the price of a cup of coffee or a beer or whatever. You don’t need it for just one month and every sub adds up. Before you know it you have a £1000+ heading out of your account. May not be much to some but for some small businesses it’s a chunk of the bottom line

I just use an excel spreadsheet, in fact a LibreOffice spreadsheet. Does for my basic accounts. For the tax return I just need the totals but I have a few other columns for my records and to do some analysis should I feel the need

I have signed up for quickbooks at £10 a month for a sole trader, discounted to £1 for 6 months.

It has only taken me a couple of hours to complete the return info.