Our association Trésorier wants to replace his software as its old (plus 10 years) and no longer available or supported company no longer exists. He cannot remember the name…..
As its a computer problem, they turn to me to recommend a tool. I know nothing about accounts, its got to be 30 years since I used pegasus or sage and even then I was no expert just covered the minimum
As we are an association and want the lowest price possible (free) but still with functions to balance our books
I suggested using calc in libreoffice and I would write the formuls needed
Any accountants out there ?
Users of accounting software
Free !
I really dont know what to ask or recommend
Open to ideas
Yes i looked on the net but had no idea what to look for or ask
Not me, but my wife is accountant. I can tell you, that accounting software is not just inserting/updating records in a database. It has to fulfil some criteria, which are prescribed by law. and the software has to be accepted by the tax authority.
Every country may have different laws regarding this, but I’d be surpised if this was very different in France.
Do it once, the old way, by hand in a book.
That will document what is required.
Then find or write some software to match requirements.
You cant fulful a specification that does not exist.
Guessing will lead to pain later on,
Think this may limit our use, our Trésorier will only speak french, although he knows english he never uses it. Not sure google translate could do it all. But nice offer
Pay close attention to what László mentioned, if you want to do accounting, with sales, receipts, etc., because, for example in PT, the tax office only accepts certified programs and SAF-T PT files (Standard Audit File for Tax Purposes - Portuguese version) have to be sent every month.
If you don’t need an official accounting program, this is an example of an open source accounting program: Frappe Books
That’s not the definition of incomplete accounts - it’s where the client turns up with all the receipts in a plastic bag, dumps them on the accountant’s desk and says “you sort it”
Not sure the Fisc would be impressed with that to be honest.
Trust me - I’m an accountant (whatever the definition of that is)
Actually, to be fair, Accountant is the most improperly named profession imaginable. They are accountable for nothing as most (if not all) client’s will tell you, that the first thing they make you sign is an agreement that states they have no responsibility for anything they do on your behalf
well, if you need your accounts submitted, I guess you sign it. It’s standard practice.
As for Fraud, that’s almost laughable… if the revenue ask the accountant for specifics about your accounts, they are not allowed to tell you - on pain of being prosecuted and possible imprisonment - go figure. I think that professional standards do come in to play to be fair though and you can (otherwise) rely on their integrity not to deliberately disclose things or expose you to fraud, theft identity or other illegality in the same way as it is for the legal professions.
I look at our balance sheets every year for the assembly general when its présenter along with the budget for the following season. That’s as close as I get or want to be involved.
We never do invoice as we dont sell anything except for cash sales of cups and tee shirts.
We have animations in summer so have a team We pay, plus any shows We run, djs groups magicien etc. We run a tombola, we have a couple of trips out for the kids. A swim teacher. That’s about it
For my part they bought a couple of stand up paddleboard and 2 new sound systems.
Plus a web site to get membership, inform of activities.
Insurance, performing rights payments, membership of national association
All you need , to record that , is a Cash Book. (single entry), and a list of Assets.
To process it, you want a program that converts those records into 2 things
I dont think you can remove the possibility of being sued for negligence by having a client sign something. The medical profession ask customers to sign things, but they can still be sued for negligence or improper conduct.
I used accountants when we had a farm business. The main reason was I did not have a spare lifetime to read and digest the tax laws. The arithmetic part of it is simple. We never had any problems with our accountants… they helped us set up the business model, showed us what to record, and did it every year like robots… all the time adapting to changing tax laws. I was impressed with their efficiency.
