The Clear Books Wikipedia article is currently listed as an article for deletion in Wikipedia. This is the second time that it has been put up for deletion after no consensus was reached the first time. The debate is currently ongoing.
The quest to get Clear Books recognised in Wikipedia stemmed from the comparison of accounting software Wikipedia article. Clear Books is accounting software and therefore it should be listed in this comparison. To be listed Clear Books needed its own article.
Customers of Clear Books will support the case that Clear Books is accounting software, that much is obvious. However, to be listed in Wikipedia existence apparently isn’t everything, Clear Books needs to be notable accounting software. So what makes accounting software notable?
Clear Books is one of the new breed of online accounting applications in which the cloud based delivery method is very different to traditional desktop accounting software, and that makes Clear Books notable. It’s a technological step change in accounting software.
A Wikipedia without Clear Books in is leaving a gap in the knowledge and ability to research accounting software. Someone using Wikipedia to research accounting software will be able to research the history of desktop based software such as Sage and QuickBooks, but when they try and find out more about the cloud accounting software packages that business owners are increasingly switching to, they’re not going to find all the facts.
There is a whole movement against article deletion in Wikipedia as deletionism goes against the premise of Wikipedia: “Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That’s what we’re doing.” — Jimmy Wales, The founder of Wikipedia.
Other references used to support Clear Books notability as accounting software include:
- Clear Books gives MPs free accounting software
- Coverage in the Telegraph in the article Banks: A) do lend B) don’t lend C) help or hinder?
- The Accounting Software Market report that Cambridge Judge Business school students produced
- Reviews in .Net Magazine and Simply Business, Online accounting software – a roundup
- Accreditation for Clear Books from the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers
- Integrations with reliable references such as HMRC for VAT filing and Clear Books – Companies House Data
- Several articles from industry analysts referencing Clear Books and our growth rate
It would be interesting to find out your experiences trying to get products, services, companies, websites or people included in Wikipedia so please leave a comment.
