UK Accounting Software Market Report
In keeping with our open approach as a business, I am pleased to unveil our UK Accounting Software Market Report. For a copy please click here: UK Accounting Software Market.
If you would like to use this report or quote from it, you may do so providing you reference and link to the Clear Books website www.clearbooks.co.uk.
Last month I posted a plea to online accounting providers asking them to volunteer as much information as possible about their businesses. A big thank you is due to the following vendors who obliged:
- Michael Parkes (Arithmo)
- Hugh Scantlebury (Aqilla)
- Ed Molyneux (FreeAgent Central)
- Duane Jackson (KashFlow)
- Lisa Kendrick & Matt Holmes (Liquid Accounts)
Thanks also extends to the following industry commentators:
- Dennis Howlett (you can read his thoughts on the “bizarre” analysis here!)
- Ben Kepes (CloudAve)
- Richard Messik (Vantis)
- David Terrar (Business Two Zero)
These were the contributors cited by the research team so apologies if anyone has been missed out. In particular gratitude must go to the three students from The Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge who put together this report over a period of just one month. These students were set objectives on the premise that they were acting as consultants to Clear Books, and were then left to carry out their research independently.
As far as I am aware this report is the first ever serious piece of consolidated work on the online accounting market in the UK. That’s not such a surprise in our young industry.
The interesting snippets that I picked up were:
- Estimate that 2m businesses in the UK use accounting software and that more than 2m don’t
- UK user number estimates: KashFlow (5000-6000) Xero (3000-4000) FreeAgent (1500-2000)
- The big four desktop accounting vendors between them have UK estimated revenues of just over £200m and approximately 1m users.
- Quality of product is critical in evaluating IT products
- FreeAgent probably raised approximately £800k from recent Iris investment
- Clear Books performed favourably against competitors in a usability questionnaire
What did you pick out? Do you agree with the research or do some facts need setting straight? Let me know…
Starting A Business From Scratch
Starting A Business From Scratch (Part 1)
This is one of a number of business startup guides that will be posted over the coming weeks thanks to Duncan Accounting. Today’s post is the first of two posts on the basics of starting a business from scratch.
How to make your accountant happy
Bring it in complete.
The value of this was highlighted recently when a client brought his books in and I asked him to clear some bushes in the garden. An hour and a half later the job was done, the rubbish taken away and the client was paid for his troubles.
What would have been the effect though, if I had said he could only cut down one bush then, and I would let him know sometime later when he could come to deal with the second and subsequent bushes?
Common sense says the job would have taken much longer and he would have charged considerably more.
The same goes for accountants – check that the information is complete.