Part 2 Accounting Software: This is a follow up from my previous article “Thinking of moving to a MAC Environment?”
For accounting software the transfer is a bit more involved. For most small businesses in the UK they would use either Sage or Quickbooks, neither of which has a Mac equivalent (Although Quickbooks offers a solution on-line). There are a number of separate Macintosh accounting packages available, the most established being Accounts Edge (what was MYOB). This has similar functionality to Sage line 50 at a much reduced cost. Being developed for a Mac platform it is very easy and intuitive to use. A non accountant can pick this up within a few hours where Sage is more designed around accountants.
The major difference is that SAGE locks transactions as part of its VAT reconciliation process. In Accounts Edge you have to manually lock the date and bring the tax point forward for late invoices. This is important for HMRC VAT inspections as the “VAT detail report” from either system should match what was submitted in the VAT return. No transactions should “wander” between quarters.
Accounts Edge works over a Network and has add on products for Iphone and ipad integration, lodging timesheets on-line and point of sales systems.
There are other alternatives on the market such as “QIF for Mac” which is meant for small players but does automate some processes such as allocating bank transactions to customer and supplier ledgers. “Neatworks for Mac” allows for scanning receipts and auto filling in your account records (there are issues with the correctly reading of each field). “Express Accounts for mac” is basic bookkeeping software which is appropriate for smaller businesses.
To transfer data across to the new system you would need to do it at the end of a VAT quarter or financial year. Customer and supplier contact details would have to be exported across and opening balances manually entered, including a complete list of debtors and creditors with the trail balance.
Usually each business has its own idiosyncrasies and procedures and one should attempt to replicate or improve these procedures in the new system. It is suggested you get a consultant who knows both systems to do this for you, because if this is not done properly at the start it leads to inaccurate accounts in the future which can be difficult to correct.
To conclude, if you intend on moving across to a mac platform, yes it is more intuitive to use but some of the more advanced business functionality is still to be found in the windows system. You can switch to a windows environment via a “virtual windows machine” but if you are determined to use just the Mac OS, careful consideration should be given to alternative software that will meet your business requirements.
Malcolm Ford has been involved with business for over 25 years. For the last five years he has been involved in implementing Enterprise software and designed customised financial tools for medium sized businesses.
