Recommendations for book keeping / record keeping templates please!

[MadameGazelle]

Hi, DH and I have just set up our own business and are trying to get to grips with record keeping. I have been on the business link website and tried to download the cashflow, sales and purchase ledger spreadsheets but it won't let me. I wondered if anyone knew of any other templates or spreadsheets I could download and use. I am familiar with excel so anything excel based would be great! TIA

The 'spreadsheets' on the Business Link site are a joke - they are just a set of column headings - no totals, not even any formatting so you get columns like:

1234
1234.7
1234.75

Excel is not really the best tool for the job for a number of reasons I won't go into now, if you must have something free try VT Cash Book or TAS Basics. For a low cost solution, look at on line systems - my favourite is Accounts Portal.

Curious as to why Excel isn't the best thing to use? My old company uses it (along with Sage). And I use it for my own accounts.

Principally because it is too easy to introduce errors of omission (adding a new entry at the bottom of a list which is not included in the SUM range).

It is possible to introduce controls that mitigate this risk, and then you end up with something like this, but by the time you have done that you have lost most of the advantages of going with Excel in the first place.

Using some other system (such as the ones I linked to or even [barf] $age if you must) for prime entry and exporting to Excel for reporting is a different matter, and is the optimum solution for most organisations.

YUCK to quickbooks

Tas any day

or for a spreadsheet, Towatessa on ebay sells a sheet that is macro /
password / ICAEW level that does basic SA accounts - for around £15

Sage instant basic is around £90 and so long as you do not pay for support - read the forums - is cheap and reliable

Towatessa doesn't hang out on ebay at the moment Talkin, but she picks up her emails from time to time if you message her through them.

I am Linkedin to Towatessa at her firm.
And she's beating me at FB Scrabble!
I can send her a link to this thread any time if people want!