| MYOB | 47.3% |
| Quicken/Reckon | 30.9% |
| Cashflow manager | 7.3% |
| Xero | 3.6% |
| Manual - None | 2.0% |
The remaining 8.9% used a wide range of products.
What we did not ask but became clear as we processed the information is that the overwhelming majority used desktop, not cloud.
It makes sense as desktop is much cheaper. As the financial officer in a point-of-sale environment is almost always in the shops, so the mobility of the cloud which is its big plus is not required. In fact, the cloud is a disadvantage in such environments as it introduces another two extra layers of complexity - the Internet and cloud.
Most people it was clear were pleased with what they used. Those that used it were happy with our integration into their accountancy program, although several did state they preferred to run it non integrated.
One interesting choice that came out of the survey was paywave, a free cloud accountancy program. I need to examine this one. It appears that for many of my smaller clients, it may be ideal. It has links to most Australian banks and an active support team. One point that did make me uneasy was I could not figure out how if it was free, the company made money while providing the service. Maybe its the add-ons or the credit card charges, I do not know but it did make me uncomfortable. My client who used it for three years, felt highly about it, confirmed it was free and did everything he needed and more. So I will try it, as I am looking for a personal accounting program and report back here.
Overall, these are all good solutions.
My thought on accountancy programs is that they all do similar functions, as Australian accountancy standards have not changed much in many years. So it should be said that any accountancy software package released since GST will do the job. It really depends what you like and what works for you.
Personally, I like Quickbooks or Reckon, although they are not free, they are by far; I think the best value.
I also looked at MYOB and found that it is nearly double Quickbook's price, but clearly it works well. I should say here that MYOB is now all subscription based unfortunately although you can get a perpetual licence if you ask for it. I recommend you do ask for it.
Xero seemed pricey to me for what it is, so I don't recommend it to anyone which doesn't mean it's a bad program; it just means when I looked at it, I found point I had doubts about but to be fair my doubts on the program is probably a case that I am used to something else. Not that it matters with less than 4% of the market to me.
Finally I am very tempted to look at Saasu again as I probably did not give it a fair go last time. I have been told the service is brilliant and it is certainly good value.
