What the Clear Books accounting solution is all about
Today I was asked in an email what Clear Books is all about. Here is my answer:
What is Clear Books?
Clear Books is an online accounting system for small businesses.
Goals of the accounts system
- Clear and Simple: We are developing a system that will not overpower small businesses with accounting jargon. We want to keep things simple and guide the user through the often baffling experience of maintaining accounts and keeping on top of the bookkeeping.
- Easy and Time-saving: We are developing a system that utilises the functionality of the web to make processes easy and quick. We aim to save our users time so that they can get on with running their business.
Quickbooks SimpleStart Free
I recently installed QuickBooks SimpleStart Free to have a look at what our more established accounting software competiton offer. The benefit of Clear Books as an accounting package with an online platform was apparent from the start.
Cloud versus Desktop Software
First I had to download a small file from the QuickBooks Intuit website that when executed started downloading a much larger file (300MB large). Several cups of tea later the file was downloaded and I could install the software. During the installation I was asked to make a further download and install critical updates. Eventually I was able to begin using QuickBooks SimpleStart.
Free Accounting Software for Charities
We offer our online accounting software package, Clear Books, free to charities providing usage limits are not exceeded.
There are some 170,000 charities in the UK and all these charities are required to maintain accounting records, even the 80,000 that have an annual income of under £10,000. The larger charities must submit their accounts on an annual basis to the Charity Commission.