"the company didn't have time to waste sourcing and installing a traditional accounting application... "
         Stephen Drew - Millifoods Limited "Now, I'm doing a job I wouldn't be able to do without Liberty, from wherever I happen to be."
         Heidi Hayes - Body Active Chiropractic Clinics "There are other systems out there,' he says, 'but there aren't any truly viable offerings that are equivalent"
         Barnaby Scott - Waywood Furniture "When I log into Liberty it immediately lets me know which client accounts are due or coming up for payment"
         Mary Palmer - Mary Palmer Consulting "Our accountant is happy with it, and the non-accountants have found it very easy to use too."
         Gregory Bricusse - 020 London Directory "They can't help you enough, so the support is fantastic"
         Tracy Purdon - London 1st Accounting "I don't have to worry about making security backups or updating the software."
         David Ryder, Treasurer - St Marks Church, Sheffield "....and Liberty was the only one with integrated payroll"
         Liam Logan - Wollaton Building Limited "If I want to get up and do my accounts at six then go for a run at nine, I can do that. Why should I commute just to get access to information...?"
         Graham Jackson - Jackson Maunders "The real beauty of an online system is that it can be tailored to fit the client"
         Ray Backler - Capsa Consultants "....who then had to re-key everything into the Revenue online portal.... automating the process saves up to 10 minutes for each return"
         David Hughes - Accountants4Contractors "Liberty Accounts looks like a package that has been thought through and developed by real users"
         Nigel Harris - AccountingWeb May 2006 "Liberty Accounts is so user friendly I don't feel intimidated..."
         Sarah McCaig - MJM Plumbing and Heating Ltd "It is possible for the firm and its clients to review and update the same financial picture, even though they're at different locations"
         Tracy Purdon - London 1st Accounting "Every day, the software provides me with a snapshot of exactly where the business is..."
         Stephen Drew - Millifoods Limited "With Liberty, Wollaton is getting an enterprise system without the big costs"
         Liam Logan - Wollaton Building Limited "We no longer have to worry about incompatible version numbers, or being locked out of the system because we don't have the latest upgrade"
         Tracy Purdon - London 1st Accounting "Because we're a charity, we pay a reduced rate... "
         David Ryder, Treasurer - St Marks Church, Sheffield "We don't have to worry about back-ups," says Jackson, "and we have very robust recovery in the event of a computer failure."
         Graham Jackson - Jackson Maunders "020 was set up so that we could all work from anywhere, and we wanted the same from our accounting system..."
         Gregory Bricusse - 020 London Directory "Liberty Accounts has revolutionised my working day..."
         Sarah McCaig - MJM Plumbing and Heating Ltd "We can make changes to our system and get them out there really quickly because we don't have to wait for the next big upgrade"
         Alan Wright - Liberty Accounts "Your customer service is probably the best I've experienced from anyone - ever..."
         Alexander Greene - Greene & Greene Wines

Want to know more? - Call us on 0845 230 9803

Practice Makes Perfect

Using Liberty Accounts to handle bookkeeping, accounting and payroll online can help small practitioners utilise their time more efficiently and improve the service they provide to clients.

When accountant Ray Backler decided to expand his business and develop value-added revenue streams, he knew it would require a radical approach to basic bookkeeping and compliance services. After considering his options, he decided to migrate all of his small business accounting clients to use online accounting software from Liberty Accounts, because it offered him a way of servicing them efficiently and effectively as well as providing a more personal service.

“Liberty has completely changed the way I work,” he says. “Instead of producing quarterly VAT returns, doing annual tax returns and then sending the client a big bill once a year, I work with them on a weekly basis and charge a monthly fee for my services.”

Liberty has completely changed the way I work...

Backler runs Capsa Consultants, offering clients a range of services including health and safety advice, human resources consulting and specialist project management, as well as accounting services. “My small business clients range from sole traders up to businesses employing 20 staff,” and their pre-Liberty approaches to accounting were many and varied. Some were handling their accounts manually, some were using spreadsheets, and others had small business accounting applications installed. But over the past year, Backler has managed to convince them all to adopt the internet-based system.

it can be tailored to fit the client..

It doesn’t require the latest and greatest hardware, or the repeated software upgrades associated with traditional accounting solutions. Liberty stores the client’s financial information in a secure database that authorised users can access from wherever they happen to be - as long as they have a PC and internet access. This saves the firm and its clients a lot of time and money, but as Backler comments: “The real beauty of an online system is that it can be tailored to fit the client.” As he explains: “Some of my clients use Liberty for bookkeeping and some for payroll, while others want to input invoices and let me do everything else for them.”

The system is very easy for non-accountants to use...

At London 1st the firm and its clients also appreciate the flexibility of Liberty. “Clients like to have a choice and feel in control,” observes business solutions manager Tracy Purdon, and the firm can use the online system to provide them with whatever level of involvement they require. “The system is very easy for non-accountants to use. Even an administrator with no bookkeeping or accounting experience can handle the payroll,” she says adding: “It’s no big deal for them to manage tasks such as taking on new employees.”

Some of the London 1st clients who now use Liberty previously used QuickBooks, Sage or Pastel, but the firm encouraged them to change, because it believed that the transition would benefit them both. “We no longer have to worry about incompatible version numbers, or being locked out of the system because we don’t have the latest upgrade.” The way Liberty is accessed and licensed means that registered users are automatically using the same current version of the product.

Many of the security problems associated with traditional systems can be eliminated with an online solution. “Because there is less need to send data backwards and forwards, the potential for input errors and misunderstandings is minimised, as is the risk presented by viruses,” suggests Purdon.

Helping clients with their queries has become less time consuming and complex...

The Liberty approach to online accounting software also helps to minimise support problems. “Helping clients with their queries has become less time consuming and complex, ” says Backler, explaining: “Both of us always have the same current view of the system on screen, so I can easily help over the phone from wherever I happen to be and get them out of trouble very quickly.” And, on the rare occasion when Liberty users experience any technical problems, they are dealt with quickly and painlessly.

“You can only call a traditional supplier with a query if you’ve signed up for support,” says Purdon, but as she explains, it’s a very different experience with Liberty. “They can’t help you enough, so the support is fantastic.” Reducing the software costs associated with servicing clients, as well as speeding up the process, has enabled London 1st to save time and money - that it has chosen to turn into lower fees for clients. “It costs them less because it costs us less, ” she explains.

the support is fantastic...

As up-front investment in online accounting software is minimal, you have nothing to loose and everything to gain from investigating the possibilities for your firm and its clients. So why not call Alan Wright on 0845 230 9803 for more information.