Choosing the Right Service of Online Accounting

There are probably six or seven established online accountancy and bookkeeping services on the market right now: Kashflow and Marginz (aimed at the small business and sole trader market), WinWeb and Liberty Accountants (focused on the SME market), Twinfield and Sage\'s own Online 50 solutions.

Obviously, many of the features offered by these services are similar, but here\'s my personal guide to selecting the right online bookkeeping or accountancy service for your company.

1) Is There a Free Trial

In order to find out whether the particular package offers the reports and functionality you need, it is essential to try before you buy. WinWeb and Kashflow both offer 60 day free trials, so you can log in and see what is - and more importantly - what isn\'t available to you.

I would suggest that you create a checklist of essential features before signing up - that way you can be sure the service offered covers all the needs of your business.

You should also check whether there are restrictions on the reports themselves - limits to date ranges, for example.

2) Are You Going To Be Able To Use the Data In The Future?

The service you choose must allow you to export records and data in a format that can be used with more traditional desktop accountancy packages, thereby allowing you to swap providers in the future.

Further, you must be able provide the necessary reports to your accountants in a useable format. Excel or CSV export options are a must for all reports.

3) What Is the Service Level Agreement?

With any web based service, the critical thing is uptime. You must be able to rely on the service to be live 24/7 and there must be a minimum level of acceptable uptime agreed in the contract. Don\'t be fooled by guarantees like \'99% uptime guaranteed\' - that is not sufficient for a business critical application.