| What would you say to a system that offers
your clients a simple, transparent bookkeeping system that gives you both real-time
viewing of their accounts at any time from any place and at the same time promotes your
practice?
Arithmo Accounting Solutions Ltd have recently launched
their online bookkeeping and accounting package that does this, and more. It fills a gap
for the small business or sole trader between basic handwritten books or computer
spreadsheets and complex software such as Sage or Quickbooks.
The immediate impression is that the Arithmo team has
created a program that is very simple to use. To a certain extent it appears too simple.
However, as their promotional literature suggests, they have worked hard to make sure
businesses did not get ‘stuck’ as they grow – the software includes a whole
range of features found in high end systems.
There are numerous sections, all doing “what they say
on the tin” and each broken down into component parts.
Income / Expenses / Bank / Cars and Assets / Reports /
Accountants.
When you choose a section, there is a further selection of
functions. Again, each of these is self explanatory.
Income > Enter Income / Expenses > List Entries
Each of these sub-sections is then very straightforward to
use. To enter income, you choose “Income” and then “Enter Income”. The
beauty of this is that anyone can use it, and even the more complex functions, such as
Bank Transfers or Cash Drawings, are handled in the same way.
One feature that impressed greatly was the Bank Statement
Import. This allows for your online bank account entries to be imported directly into your
books. All that is then needed is a simple process of confirming that the way Arithmo has
interpreted the entries is correct. Bookkeeping could not be more straightforward.
This ease of use could be inferring that the system is
basic. But this is not the case with Arithmo. Whilst it looks simple, it is very powerful
in the background. It appears to have a full double entry system behind the scenes, and
the reports generated, including a full ETB, are comprehensive, useful and well presented.
This is possible in part because the software sits on the
web. You simply open up a website, which accesses the program. This form of “On
Demand” software is widely seen as the way most software will be made available in
the future. Arithmo are certainly at the forefront of the market on this one. And it is
this structure that allows for the real feather in the cap when it comes to Accountants
looking at the system.
Not only is Arithmo ideal for your clients to use, they
have built it to allow accountants to have a fully branded version very easily. Although
not unique in offering this, Arithmo does it very efficiently and comprehensively. The
various versions we have seen integrate seamlessly with the practice websites they were
based on.
The benefits for an accountancy practice are manifold. The
user has an easy to use system, but it is seen as the accountant’s system. The
implications for promoting a practice are clear – the practice logo is seen every
time the client makes an entry.
In particular, Arithmo has an internal messaging system
where the user can send a support email. This is sent to the accountant and could be a
great benefit. Presumably this works both ways, and if so, it would allow the accountant
to send regular newsletters or other promotional messages to the users. All this could
help with customer care.
Not only that, a nifty little trick allows practices to
choose which areas can be accessed by clients. If you don’t want to allow access to
the end of year or VAT elements, then they can be turned off. At the same time though,
where it is not really desirable for the client to see an area of the system, such as the
depreciation module or the administration functions, it is only accessible by the practice
accountants.
This combination is indicative of the care which has been
taken when designing the system. Of course, all this would be of little use if the system
was difficult to use or lacking in features. In fact, the program is much more complex
than it appears – a difficult trick to pull off, and one that Arithmo succeeds in
doing. |
