Making Life Easier

Sometimes it's worth working extra hard work to make things simpler and easier.

Making life easier for our users is a goal that the Online50 team strives for.  This month we highlight a few areas where our service makes life easier.

• At this time of the year we often get feedback from Accountants about how much easier Year Ends are when they and their clients both use Online50.
• Changing software often requires a lot of hard work.  With Online50, moving into the Cloud couldn't be easier.
• Online retails can make their lives easier by adding Tradebox - available with calendar monthly terms from Online50.

If you have any ideas about how we can make your business life easier, or if you'd like to discuss how Online50 is already making life easier for our users, please call the Online50 team on 0800 195 0835.

In This Issue:

Year Ends Made Easy With Online50

As many businesses run their financial year to 31^st March we are now entering the season where a large number of our users and accounting partners are processing their financial year end.  When an accountant or their client first processes a year end on Online50 they are often surprised at how painless the process can be.

One comment we have repeatedly heard from accountants is that prior to moving a client onto the Online50 service they would expect to find that the client did not post adjustment journals that they were given and that this meant additional (and often unrecoverable) work each year.  Because the accountant has real time access to the accounts of a client on the Online50 platform they can ensure that any year end work is properly completed to the live accounts, eliminating the need to duplicate work at a later date.

The same is true of monthly management journals.  Where an accountant is providing monthly or quarterly management accounts they ensure that the books are kept in order throughout the year, greatly simplifying the work required at year end.

One accountant told us: "I normally set aside three days to complete the year end for (a particular client).  Our bill is agreed in advance each year and so problems with the year end are unrecoverable and lead to us battling to increase the fee for next year.  I went to site for my initial meeting with the client's book keeper and managed to complete the year end processing in half a day!  This is thanks to the fact that our staff have kept the system tidy by providing monthly management accounts and we don't rely on our client to post any adjustments or reconcile the ledgers.  The client is happy because they now have a much clearer idea of where they are."

If you aren't using Online50 yet and you'd like to talk to us about how a faster and smarter approach to accountancy services can save you time and increase service levels, please call the Sales Desk on 0800 195 0835.

Online Sage 50 - Easy Come, Easy Go - Reason 4 To Choose Online50

Sage 50 is the clear UK market leader in SME accounting software.  Consequently, most book keepers know how to use it, most accountants are highly experienced users and most business owners have at least used it.  As a general purpose small business accounts package it is suitable for a wide range of needs and the majority of businesses use it.

Moving to Online50 is easy.  Many business owners, accountants and book keepers are worried that it will be difficult to move to Online50.  They are worried that they will have to reload their Sage 50 Chart of Accounts, customised reports and all the other tweaks they have made to get Sage 50 running just right for them.

In fact, it couldn't be easier.  Take a backup from the existing Sage 50 program (of any version at all back to Line 50 v 8.1).  Restore this data into your Online50 company (created as an empty company for you as part of the setup).  Start working.

Staying with Online50 is easy.  Sage 50 on Online50 works exactly like Sage 50 works on your local machine.  It may be a little faster.  It may be a lot more convenient because you can access it easily from other locations.  You may feel more secure because you will have the benefit of data being replicated between locations for business continuity.  It may be more flexible because you can get an additional license just for a month or two when you have your very busy period.  Otherwise, it will be just as you knew it.

Leaving Online50 is easy.  Although many users have been with us for a long time — some since the original pilot in 2001 — companies are able to leave with just one full calendar month's notice.  To take your data with you, just take a backup from Sage 50 on Online50 and then restore it into into your local Sage 50 (provided they are the same version) and everything will be exactly as you left it - except for the benefits that come from hosting.

Software Focus: Tradebox
Making E-Commerce Integration With Sage 50 Accounts Easier