I know this is not usually a matter for ‘work’ but my 2 sons have been saving up their hard earned pocket money to buy a new games console.

Yesterday I was asked the awkward question ‘whats best an Xbox 360 or the PS3?’ Well being a wiz on Google I immediately started my research, several hours I am ashamed to say I can’t answer them with any authority.

Can anyone help shed any light on this?

I am have just received a pleasant surprise in that Arithmo has been shortlisted in the SME Accounting & Finance section of the Software Satisfaction Awards 2010.

This is the second year running that we have shortlisted for such awards and I would like to thank all those users that have cast their votes. There is still a long way to go and we are up against some very stiff competition but without the support of our users we would not have been shortlisted.

Thanks again.

Mike

At the recent Business Start up exhibition, 190 visitors, from all manner of enterprise, were asked a series of simple questions regarding their business. In particular they were asked about how they went about their bookkeeping. The responses threw up some interesting statistics.

In the main the respondents were small businesses, but only one third were start ups.

No provision

The first figure that stands out is the number of respondents who do not currently have any bookkeeping provision. Over a third of the total sample stated that they do not have any method of bookkeeping at present. Furthermore, this includes those who did not actually state how they kept their books. Taking only those who did indicate this, over half (52%) of those who answered did not have any bookkeeping at all.

This is the highest of all responses, and appears to flag up a real need for easy to use solutions. If small businesses knew there were ways of keeping their records easily, rather than laborious spreadsheets or full accountancy packages, then perhaps more would use them.

Current software

In terms of software used, there was a clear leader. Of the respondents who said they used an accounting system, the highest individual system used was Sage, with 17%. This was even higher than those who used Excel, with only 10% of respondents.

However, what was unexpected was the number of these businesses who were interested in knowing more about other software. Of the people who currently use Sage, Quickbooks, TAS or VT Software, around two thirds (65.5%) were interested in finding out more about alternatives.
What this means is open to conjecture of course. It could mean that the business people were quite rightly checking out all possibilities, in this case Arithmo, as opposed to any real dissatisfaction with the software used.

Conclusions

Of course, these figures could mean nothing. It is possible that the people who do not have any bookkeeping method are in the process of getting one set up (this was not asked). However, this is unlikely to apply to all the respondents.

The results of those who currently use a form of software could also be misleading. They should not be taken at face-value. By the same token though, they could indicate a degree of dissatisfaction with the current software used. If so, whether or not this is a result of the growing level of awareness of Cloud Accounting is not known without further studies being made.

We have now added the new Case Studies section to the Arithmo website.

From new businesses looking for an online accounting solutions to established accountancy practices using online accounting softare to aid rapid growth.

Keep your eyes peeled as we will be adding more case studies shortly!

I have to say that last Thursday and Friday exceeded my expectations. I have done many exhibitions in the last few years but this years Business Startup Exhibition was by far my busiest. Our ‘Peanuts’ promotion was well received by the visitors .

How much business or awareness this brings remains to be seen, hopefully we will see the benefits over the coming weeks.

Will we be at the November Show? Not sure yet, we will let the dust settle and review our options.

Mike and Sarah are off to the Business Startup show where we will have a stand - 504 to be precise.  

We’ve got lots planned, and we hope to see plenty of users, old and new. There’s going to be a few surprises too.

Not only that, we’ll be giving away a netbook. We reckon it’s a great prize - online accounting software systems like Arithmo are so flexible you can use them anywhere. And a netbook lets you do that.

Come and see us on Stand 504 for your chance to win, and find out more about how Arithmo can help your business.

Look out for the monkey…

I have just had a very good and interesting conversation with one of my contacts and discovered a new player in the saas accounting software arena, Just Accounts.

Not yet launched my source tells me that Just Accounts is comprised of ex Sage staff and they already have accountants signed up and ready to go.

I will of course be keeping a watchful eye on how they progress but do believe that the arrival of good quality competitors is good for us smaller vendors as it helps highlight what will be a greater shift towards online products. This was highlighted by yesterdays article in The Times regarding microsoft.

 You must not blame me if I do talk about the clouds”

Henry David Thoreau

In his book “Walden” Thoreau explained the ways of the world and his own philosophies on life through his observations on nature. Something of the same idea is being used when we call what is essentially a bunch of software “Cloud  computing”.

A cloud in nature is a visible mass of water droplets, gathered together and suspended in the sky.

“The Cloud” is an invisible mass of disparate but related computer systems, gathered together throughout the internet.

Both clouds are one thing made up of many separate, independent elements.

About eighteen months ago I wrote “Software as a Service (SaaS) is commonly touted as the next big thing in software circles”. The world has not changed yet, but you can be assured it is doing. T

The slow shift from traditional software has definitely begun. Momentum is growing and when the likes of Google, Sage, Salesforce and Amazon get involved you can bet that there is nothing going to stop it.

So what happened to SaaS? When did the Cloud appear on the horizon?

What is the Cloud?

SaaS still exists, but to understand why requires an explanation of what the Cloud is. And this is essentially a description of three main types of “droplet” that make up the cloud.

With any computer system there are certain elements that it needs to make it work:

The physical hardware of the computer

The platform that allows the software to run

The software that you use

Cloud computing systems have all of these but they are accessed over the internet, rather than being part of your computer. (Commonly these three elements are called Infrastructure as a Service; Platform as a Service; and Software as a Service.)

For example, Infrastructure as a Service could be a massive server offered to software companies to host their systems on – good examples are www.rackspace.com and www.opsource.net.

So, Software as a Service still exists, but it is now common to talk of the Cloud as a whole. This makes sense as it is certainly easier to remember. Although as an accountant though, you are more likely to be interested only in the software part, it is likely that that Cloud will be used more and more to describe either the whole concept or any individual part. So it is useful to understand the background.

How does Cloud Accounting help you?

Cloud accounting is becoming more and more prevalent. Traditionally businesses either went with a known name for their accounting system, such as Sage, or they did as their accountant advised. Nowadays cloud based systems such as Liquid Accounts, FreeAgent, Kashflow and Arithmo are often the first choice, especially for startup businesses.

This change in perspective is driven entirely by the benefits of Cloud computing.

Cloud systems are generally:

          easy to get started

          easy to use

          easily accessible from anywhere

          low cost, with few overheads

          easy to maintain

Crucially, businesses have seen how these advantages combine to offer an efficient, low cost way of accounting. The software is always available, from anywhere. It is always up to date and needs no installation.

As systems and data are accessible from anywhere it allows for great flexibility. For accountants this allows access to clients’ records. The business can make bookkeeping entries, and the accoountant can view them from their office.

Summary

The Cloud is the next step in computer software. It encompasses a variety of software services, but all with the common factor of being accessed over the internet.

The benefits of the model – flexibility, ease of use, security and cost - are being recognised as more businesses see the potential in using Cloud software rather than traditionally installed systems.

And there is particularly good news for accountants. The design and build of cloud systems lends itself to financial processes. Accounting programs fit perfectly into the model. Implementing the software, especially for clients, could bring major benefits to an accountancy practice.

The bottom line is: Have you got your head in the sand or in the clouds?

By Julian Shaw, April 2010

At Arithmo Accounting Solutions we are currently running an advertising campaign on Channel 5, targeting the audience of “The Business Inspector”.

We are looking to publicise our online accounting system to sole traders and small businesses.

See our online accounting advert shown around Channel 5’s “The Business Inspector” here

We have been delighted with the results and below are a number of possible reasons for the adverts success:

The system is designed to be an easy to use entry level accounting system for the small business. But it also has a full dashboard interface that allows for a high degree of collaboration between practice and client.

As a practice whose clients may well use their system (or, dare we say it, one of its competitors), we are asking for your comments, good or bad.

Do you understand what is being advertised and how it could help?
How could the message be improved?

Please view the advert using the links here. It’s only twenty seconds, and any point of view, good or bad, would be appreciated.

Click here to give feedback.

For more information call 0161 968 7395

Over the last few months we have been working closely with all our accountant clients to get their clients working well with Arithmo.

I’ve just posted a case study on Accounting Web that shows how one practice in particular, Sturgess & Co, has used Arithmo to help them grow.

Click here to read the case study

Online accounting is not necessarily a new concept - it’s been around for quite a bit in one guise or another. What’s happened recently though is a different approach to it. Partly this has been caused by software vendors looking at what businesses want from an accounting system, with accountants having a say in it. 

More than that though, recent developments have come from the general direction the web has taken - web 2.0 and all that. Things have become much more communicative. It’s no longer good enough to be a flat information screen, there has to be interaction.

This has coincided with much faster internet speeds, plus the emergence of “cloud” software. All of this has lead to a new way of accountants working, a more hands on approach.

And this was the reasoning behind Sturgess and Co choosing Arithmo. It allows for collaboration between accountant and client in a way that simply was not possible a couple of years ago.

Arithmo was designed with this collaboration in mind. We made the accountant dashboard specifically for practice’s like Sturgess and co.