The TOP 10 accounting software most used in the UK

Accounting using Excel spreadsheets can quickly turn into a nightmare for companies of all sizes. Fortunately, numerous fintech sector solutions now make such tasks much easier for a large proportion of FDs and entrepreneurs. As is often said, clear and up-to-date accounting reflects a well-managed business! At the very least, we can't say the opposite is true. Indeed, a reliable accounting system means a company's overall management runs more efficiently: transparency, time-saving, increased productivity and performance. It goes without saying that for a company to make a profit, it must know where money is spent, where money is earned and where money can be potentially earned. This is only possible with rigorous accounting management. Finally, good accounting goes hand in hand with good decision-making.

There is a range of accounting software, most of which have the same basic features, to which various options are added. The choice of software will depend on the company's goals, budget and needs. These software programs are generally compatible with external tools such as Mooncard, which can be integrated into a company's IT system.

Indeed, Mooncard is an SaaS solution that's easy to use, secure and fully configurable. The Mooncard Visa payment card is linked to a management app that allows you to track the company's expenses in real-time. Expense report management is therefore fully automated. Expenditure information is directly entered into the company's accounting software, in the form of accounting entries that do not require re-entry. This means all entries can be exported to Excel and all accounting software on the market.

What sort of accounting software should a company choose?

Before you start looking for an accounting solution, you'll need to define your needs. Here are some questions you should ask yourself when choosing a suitable software and formula:

How big is your company? What is your business sector? Does this sector require specialised software? Do you use an external accountant, or do you want to/have you already implemented an in-house accounting management process?

Should the software only include accounting features or provide other functions: invoicing, cash management, dematerialisation of payment receipts, automation of accounting entries, payroll management, automatic integration of bank statements into the accounts, etc.?

What is your budget?

Does the software need to be connected to other applications, platforms or tools you use daily for your business?

How many users will need or will have access to this accounting software?

One thing's for sure, accounting software is considered efficient and effective if it has certain key features:

(automatic) input of accounting entries,
(automatic) VAT registration,
Monitoring of third-party accounts, monitoring of payments,
The option to export accounting entries,
Data protection, security and authentication,
A dashboard could be useful for your company as it will provide a global summary of your company's accounting situation at a glance,
Analytical forecasting could also benefit your company as you'll be able to see the potential evolution of your company.

Today, such software must comply with the 2018 Anti-VAT Fraud Act.

Now that you have the information you need, it's time to choose the accounting software most suited to your business. Here is a list of the 10 accounting software programs most used in the UK and which are also compatible with Mooncard.

Do you want to go a step further with your accounting software?

Learn how to boost your accounting software by automating the management of business expenses: accounting entries for your expenses are automatically generated according to your settings and chart of accounts, and then integrated into your software.

👉 To learn more, get in touch with a Mooncard expert.

Did you know?

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a tool for standardising a company's information system, making it possible to manage and monitor the entire activity of a company daily. This tool can be defined as a system in which different company functions (accounting, finance, production, supply (stocks), marketing, human resources, etc.) are linked together by the centralisation of information in a single software and the same database.

This leads to a butterfly (AKA ripple) effect: any operation carried out by an employee will have an impact elsewhere. If we take the example of a purchase, the recording of this expense is automatically reflected in the company's inventory which subsequently increases, the invoice is recorded in the accounts and the cost to the company is therefore updated.

In other words, ERP helps with decision-making by providing an immediate overview of the impact of each decision.

Business intelligence refers to all the technologies that allow companies to analyse data that help their decision-making.

Quickbooks software

Quickbooks is 100% online accounting software adapted to UK accounting procedures. It is designed for entrepreneurs and recommended for VSEs/SMEs.

Features :

Daily cash flow that monitors all inflows and outflows
Payment tracking
Preparation and management of quotes/invoices/expense reports: automatic or manual entry of purchase invoices by attaching the supporting document - the accounting entry is generated automatically and the score is simplified,
Automatic accounting allocation of banking transactions for risk-free bank statement reconciliations
Free access for your external accountants
The programming of automatic alerts and emails if you need to chase customers/clients
Synchronisation with your bank and any apps used daily (Google, PayPal, Receipt Bank, etc.)

Advantages:

Well-designed interface,
Intuitive and simple ergonomics, easy to use,
Option to instantly send customised invoices,
Automatic import of journal entries through online banking synchronisation,
Certified anti-VAT fraud software (mandatory since January 2018) and TRUSTe (a personal data protection/privacy certification),
Mobile and tablet versions are available,
SaaS software, which removes the need to back up accounting, commercial and financial data,
Quickbooks is compatible with Mooncard management software.

Cost: from £10 (1 user) to £49 (5 users) per month depending on the formula chosen.

The Essentials package is £25 excl.VAT/month (up to 3 users): management of quotes, invoices and expenses (tracking, reminders, VAT) expense input via photos, automation of recurring invoices.

Additional options: cost accounting, the number of additional users (+2) and forecasted budget monitoring are £49 excl. VAT per month.

Want to go further with Quickbooks by automatically generating accounting entries for your business expenses?

SAP Software

The global market leader in ERP software.

SAP (Systems, Applications and Products in data processing) is a German brand that offers a complete ERP, available in several versions with modules adapted to each business sector. The one we're looking at is the accounting duo module: SAP Financial and Costing. It includes all sales and purchase accounting entries, which are automatically sent to general accounting via customer and/or supplier accounting, as well as cost accounting.

Advantages:

Redundant and inconsistent information is reduced,
Improved coordination between the different company services/departments making it easier to increase company productivity: for example, imagine employees in department X must re-enter information sent by employees in department Y into their particular database before being able to use it; with SAP this is no longer necessary, integrated information is directly shared with the other departments thereby increasing employee autonomy,
Compatible with different operating systems: Linux, Windows, Solari and Unix,
Customisable formula: you can choose the modules that suit you best,
SAP is also compatible with Mooncard!

SAP S/4 HANA is the most recent version of SAP's ERP system and it also exists in an SaaS version: SAP S/4HANA Cloud.

Strengths: business process standardisation and uniformity

Price: you'll need to budget for:

The licence fee (£4,000 min, £5,000 max): the prices vary according to the module and the version chosen, ranging from £2,500 to £5,000,
implementation costs,
User training costs (£850/day).

Our tip: Clearly define your company's needs so you can choose the modules that will best fit your organization.

Want to go further with SAP by automatically generating accounting entries for your business expenses?

👉 See how SAP and Mooncard can be integrated.

Sage Software

Considered the most popular software publisher, Sage targets SME/ETIs and VSEs.

Sage offers a wide range of products divided into different subscriptions according to company objectives, which can make finding and choosing the right formula quite complex. There are three options:

(1) Sage Business Cloud Accounting & Invoicing, (2) Sage 50 Cloud Sky Accounting (see the software below) and (3) Sage 100 Cloud Accounting.

Sage Business Cloud Accounting & Invoicing: Invoicing and cash flow management software: invoice creation and management, expenditure and revenue tracking, global view of the company's finances and VAT automation. In addition, several other functions can be added: stock management, access rights to several users, the establishment of provisional cash flow, product catalogue management, and the creation and management of quotes.
Sage 50 Cloud Sky Accounting: accounting software for companies already well established: management of quotes, invoices, assets, delivery notes, payments, fixed assets, loans, etc.
Sage 100 Cloud Accounting: the ultimate in accounting software from Sage is aimed at companies that want to work on their development and growth. It has all the features of the previous version, simplified entry, manual or automatic bank account reconciliation, reporting, generation of analytical plans, production of accounting entries files, remote VAT declaration and payment using EDI.

Advantages:

Signing in and/or syncing with a Google Drive account,
Format: online and available on mobile devices (available at any time, from anywhere + automatic updates),
Intuitive ergonomics, easy to use,
Software compliant with anti-VAT fraud laws,
Dematerialization of integrated invoices after scanning/photo, which are directly inserted into the accounting database,
Custom reporting,
Integrated into the Microsoft 365 package,
Manual accounting entries are possible, except for bank accounts. You can choose between automatic synchronisation or file imports,
Multi-currency system.

Sage is perfectly compatible with the Mooncard management software.

Overall, the Sage tool makes accounting analysis, tax procedures, tax calculations, and data collection and transmission much easier.

Price: from £25 excl.VAT/ month for the "Essentials" package (the basic package)

Want to go further with Sage by automatically generating accounting entries for your business expenses?

👉 See how Sage and Mooncard can be integrated.

Cegid Software

A company based in Lyon, France that has a comprehensive management solution for entrepreneurs, VSEs and SMEs.

Cegid software meets all the management needs of a company, whether for accounting, finance, taxation, payroll, human resources, sales management, or reporting etc. It comprises a range of packages according to your needs. There are 3 solutions:

Cegid Quadra: for companies with less than 50 employees,
Cegid Expert: can be tailored according to the needs of the company,
Cegid Loop: for accounting firms.

Features: Cegid covers standard accounting software features: finance and general/auxiliary/analytical and budgetary accounting: VAT returns, tax returns, dashboard, asset management, customer credit, treasury, and business intelligence.

Advantages:

Integrated with the Office 365 suite,
Choice of dashboards, general and analytical accounting, access to bank statements (AKA screen scraping),
Multi-currency software,
Perfect solution for on-the-go use (on any media, accessible from anywhere), mobile and tablet versions available
Invoices are scanned, dematerialised, processed and filed: the accounting entry is generated automatically and the customer file is updated,
Innovative technology: thanks to the software's integrated AI process, Cegid learns from your experience and corrections, becoming more autonomous with use,
Excellent legal compliance,
Integrated into a vast ecosystem of peripheral applications,
Secure and certified France-based servers,
Cegid is compatible with Mooncard management software.

Price: available on request depending on the package chosen.

Want to go further with Cegid by automatically generating accounting entries for your business expenses?

👉 See how Cegid and Mooncard can be integrated.

Exact Online Management Software

The French 100% online accounting solution for VSEs and SMEs.

Features:

Optimal editing and management of quotes and invoices: customisation, scheduling of reminders,
Accounting and commercial management, CRM: accounting management, orders, customer relations, inventories,
Dashboards and cost accounting: real-time cash flow and profitability monitoring,
Free access for external accountants: the company defines the desired degree of sharing with its accountants,
Collaboration with all stakeholders in the online business ecosystem: task management and management of any file attachments.

Advantages:

Commercial management and accounting management using 100% cloud software (no updates, no installation),
Creation of an ecosystem connected to Exact Online (Zendesk, Bittle, MailChimp, Prestashop etc.),
Available on all supports (desktop/laptop, tablet, mobile),
Certified ISAE 3402 so users can rely on the internal control system of the services they purchase
Exact Online is compatible with Mooncard management software.

Price: from £19/month (rental price).

Want to go further with Exact by automatically generating accounting entries for your business expenses?

👉 See how Exact and Mooncard can be integrated.

Accounting software is an essential management and analysis tool for companies. There are numerous options available on the market. The above solutions remain basically the same: management and maintenance of general and analytical accounts, management of third-party accounts, editing of accounting documents (invoices, quotes), etc. Even so, software publishers address different company profiles with solutions aimed at each one. What can really make a difference is the interoperability of data as well as the incorporation of certain tools not included in the EPR.

And Mooncard is one such tool. Mooncard offers an upstream solution compatible with numerous accounting software packages, in terms of covering all the processes related to professional expenses, from payment to the establishment of expense reports and even accounting entries.

The tools in which you invest must be complementary to increase the efficiency of your information system and general management.

👉 To learn more, get in touch with a Mooncard expert.