KashFlow Software

Makes running the back end of my business very easy.

Pros

It's not Sage! I've been using accounting software for 30 years and some of it was a nightmare. Kashflow is straightforward and easy to use.

Cons

No real issues. I've found customer service have sorted out any problems quickly and efficiently.
I can't even complain that it's expensive as it's very good value!

Pros

Our old accountant had us recording all our invoices etc onto a spreadsheet and at the end of the year charged us a small fortune to input this onto their system to eventually produce a profit and loss account, VAT returns and tax return. On the advice of a friend we switched accountants and now use Kashflow. Big pluses are that it's vastly cheaper, it's about the same amount of effort to record expenditure etc but we can easily view what each aspect of our business generates in sales and expenditure. VAT returns used to cost £150/quarter - now take minutes as Kashflow calculates everything and once you've checked it looks Ok a press of a button and it goes straight to HMRC.

Cons

Takes a while to set up initially to have cost codes for different parts of the business, and work out how it all works. However good help articles online and if needed (I didn't) there paid for tutorials.

Recommended by new accountant and seems to be saving me a fortune, plus giving me much better info about my business.

Pros

Once setup, its pretty simple and quick to use. Get much better info out of it then when we sent all our invoices etc to our old accountant - rather than just a end of year P&O we can now track expenditure at any time. Accountant used to charge us £150 a time to do a VAT return - I can now do it for nought in a few minutes - so think they were taking the proverbial

Cons

Nothing much - takes a while to set up how you want it, and you need to have basic understanding of accounting codes, but once done its fine.

Pros

Easy to set up - Good interface that guides you.
Good selection of Youtube Videos to help with getting started
Well organized dashboard - makes it easy to find functions
Good project management features
Can import bank statements

Cons

Lots of annoying bits:
-Have to manually add shipping, sales tax, and discounts, which is a pain
-Importing data can be annoying because you have to make sure all dates and prices are in UK format - why can it convert the format automatically?
-No mobile apps

Pros

KashFlow is a really easy to use system for small businesses and handles CIS correctly which is a plus.

Cons

The support provided by Iris & KashFlow is truly abysmal. The support staff always tell you to ask your accountant which is nonsense.

Pros

One of the more simple screen layouts for a cloud accounting app.
Easier to use than most competitors.
If UK small business not using FX than a very good bet.

Cons

No foreign currency bank accounts supported.
Poor technical back-up where problem is not straightforward.
Lack of connecting apps compared to competitors.
Compared to Xero and QB Online lack of functionality.

Pros

I like the automatic VAT, Pay Roll RTI updates and self assessment filing, these features make it simple to make the correct submissions the the HMRC first time.

Cons

The mobile app could be more fully featured as it only offers a small portion of the websites functionality.

Pros

- Some of the reports are fun.
- Being cloud-based is great because you can log in anywhere.
- The basic menu is straight-forward.

Cons

- The support is terrible - slow, uninformed, slack. They don't know the software or understand what you want to do with it
- Beyond the basic menu it's a nightmare trying to find anything.
- Some of the features (like journal) are locked away to try and make you upgrade to the payroll version.
- Statements and invoices will be logged as "sent" when they haven't been sent - no way of finding out without asking your customers.
- The app is a bit pointless.
- When something goes wrong, you're on your own.

I find Kashflow a mixed bag. In some ways, it's a good system and works well when everything is perfect. If you suddenly need to change something, however, prepare to get frustrated (no doubt you will at some point and good luck not messing your accounts up!).

Charging for their basic tutorials on how to use the software to avoid messing things up will cost you on top of the monthly subscription you're paying. This reason alone, I feel their not customer centric and am personally moving to another system due to this.

Pros

Kashflow can generate some nice reports and it looks fairly appealing.
Straight forward to set up in some ways.
Support is ok, can be a mixed bag.

Cons

A bit un-intuitive, unable to open links in new windows for some things which mean you have to keep re-running a report to work through each item in a list rather than quickly skip forwards and backward (Kashflow also forgets which dates you had selected so you have to re-select both dates every time!).

Unclear in places

Tutorials to learn the software are paid for those who are already subscribed, this is unforgivable. What kind of company charges their subscription paying customers to learn the software they pay for??

Kashflow feels like a strange mix between last gen software (and the frustrations that came with it) along with new gen (clean-ish interface). The whole package doesn't feel polished or finished.

Things like importing bank files will lead to duplicates without warning, Kashflow won't bother to check if any items are dupes. There goes the rest of your month manually removing all the duplicate items! Support will say it can only be done manually, can you tell it happened to me?

Advice to Others

Make sure it's right for you, it's not bad - in fact there are lots of things to like but overall I'd look into other options before making a concrete decision on Kashflow. The whole paying to get access to their tutorials was the final straw for me.

If you need to upload actual or older bank statements you'll have a nasty surprise.
Also, the customer service is quiet most of the time, no matter your issues.

Stay away!

Have used Sage for twenty years we looked at all the online - We tested all the other systems and Kashflow was the quickest to set up the easiest to use. Although customer support is by email its very quick so why wasted hours on a phone. They also offer a discount at http://kf.cm/LrG3g1

Pros

invoices, statements and reminder letters all by email.
Payroll can be included.
Simple to set up.
Quick Support via email - you can be working on the items instead of hanging on the end if a phone and then you also have a clear answer which you can refer to in the future
Value for money
No long Term Contract

Cons

Last time I checked I could not include the supplies invoice number of the payment remittence advice.

Pros: Easy to raise invoices and integrate with paypal.

Cons: They sent a few too many emails in the trial period

So badly written I could cry. The amount of times I have to switch screens to do simple job involving the same customer account is incredible. As someone else has said you waste so much time. I wish I'd bought another package.

Also, there are very few software updates so I don't see these problems being sorted any time soon.

Avoid, for your own sake avoid!

Kashflow lauched bank feeds and I thought great. I signed up on my Barclaycard and imported using the steps highlighted in software. The system amended all my transaction for 7 months to negative. I sent details to Kashflow who advised the bank feeds is not support, issues are with yodal so there his nothing they can do. Its there service they are offering. I would avoid using bank feeds as well as Kashflow as the support on this new enhancement they have offered is shocking.

Their support is only by e-mail. The problem is when they don't know the solution. They simply cut and paste the same standard reply back. Even though it's incorrect. They will not admit if they don't know. So it waists so much time. I’m 4 days into a simply request and still not solution. So it may be cheap, but it’s false economy as it’s waists so much time. Data also take more time to enter than any other package we’ve used. You can’t steam in bank data etiher.

Pros

It's inexpensive.
It's in the cloud.

Cons

E-amil support can take up a lot of time.
Slow at entering data.
No Bank streaming.
KashFlow have a habbit of stringing you along.

We have used Kashflow for our business for many years and will continue to do so, simply because there is nothing that touches it for ease of use, stability and reliability.

Pros

Integrates with all of our other software and can be automated saving valuable time all round. Updates keep the program current and there is you can tell a concerted effort to improve on what is already a great piece of kit.

Cons

We have yet to find any negative points to using this software - hey even our accountant likes it!

Kashflow has helped me enormously in my business... I'm not an expert on book-keeping, but the day to day interface is so easy. I used to struggle to keep on top of accounts, panicking at the end of each quarter, but now all the information is easily at hand.

Pros

Simple, obvious for the uninitiated, great interface, very good support.

I would highly recommend Kashflow to any small business that wants an intuitive, reliable and well supported book keeping solution. I have used Kashflow for many years, and seen their evolution as they have really listened to what their customers want.

Pros

- excellent, speedy, human support
- intuitive, ideal for the non accountant!
- always improving

Cons

can't really think of any....

I am very happy with Kashflow. Easy to set up and use but sophisticated enough to cope with everything a typical small business might want. I particularly like the PayPal integration and the more integration that happens, the better as far as I am concerned. Being able to access accounting data from anywhere and even better allowing your accountant to access it has been a tremendous timesaver. I also like the automated back-ups and the ability to switch easily between the accounts of multiple businesses. They even reduced the price to a level where it could not become an issue.

Pros

Ease of set-up and use
Your accountant and you can easily get access to the original data from anywhere
Good handling of multiple sets of accounts
OK Reports
Integration with other systems
Reasonably priced

Cons

Does not automatically integrate with everything I want it to (yet!)
Standard reporting is adequate rather than extensive
Can't think of anything else

KashFlow is definitely for the small business owner that has no accountancy knowledge.
Everything is so straight foward, and when you do have a problem all you do is raise a support ticket, which then gets answered in no time at all (I got mine answered in 6 minutes).
It also allows me to track all customers and the cost of sales along with producing invoices. You can also email the invoice with a PayPal or Credit Card button so you can get paid quicker.

Pros

Quick and easy to pick up
Support are friendly and quick

Cons

Getting your head around the Stock feature was a bit tricky - but maybe thats just me!