Xero is the new contender and starts at $25 per month but you can only send five invoices with that so it’s essentially useless at that “great introductory price”, and so you will be forced to pay at least $50 a month. Whaaaaat!
Everybody knows of MYOB, and they are also around $25 per month for a starter account so they are no better at trying to rip you off. It’s ridiculous! Quickbooks is more of the same.
The problem is that accounting software used to be a matter of just paying for it outright at a fixed price. If you didn’t want to renew or update, that was also okay and the software still worked just fine. No stress at all. But unfortunately that has all changed.
Nowadays all the major accounting software companies have decided that you are going to pay them forever. What once cost you one hundred or two hundred dollars, now costs you at least $25 a month… forever – and that’s if you’re lucky. They have also placed restrictions on all their older version software so that it no longer works reliably. In the case of MYOB for example, the older software now forces you to constantly validate your accounting file online with the MYOB online servers, and they make this as troublesome and time-consuming as possible to frustrate you into giving up on this older software in frustration. Before they made this unreasonable requirement, their older software functioned quite perfectly. It’s terribly dishonest. Consider that the ATO requires you to keep all your financial records for at least seven years and you can see where this is heading.
Well to cut to the chase there is a simple alternative solution and it’s free. No ongoing monthly charges, no advertising no selling your soul to the devil, no left and/or right kidney.
The accounting software is called Manager. The interface is easy to use for people who are not familiar with accounting software. You can get up and running once you’ve added in your bank account and some business details in about an hour. You can customise your invoices to a limited degree that serves the needs of most small to medium businesses. The software developer is able to provide the software for free because he has a lot of business customers who pay for the multi-user cloud shared version of the software. As a result, the company is able to financially justify giving this software away without any catches. I use it myself for my business, and I find it easier to use than MYOB which at one time was the best accounting software in this regard. Upgrades for the software are also free and it works with GST very easily.
Have a look at it and see which you think. It certainly beats having to pay a perpetual amount of money for your accounting software. It’s very easy to navigate around Manager as everything for navigation it on the left-hand side. As a result, it’s a lot less confusing to use than both Xero and MYOB by this reason alone. Quickbooks is a very brightly coloured maze and only the bravest of adventurers dare venture into that labyrinth of frustration.
Manager works on Windows PC, Apple computers, and even Linux if you’re a computer nerd type like me.
Check it out at www.manager.io