This blog first appeared in 2017 and this is the 2025 uppdate.
Since 2017 there have been huge leaps and bounds in technology but in many ways the state of play in 2017 is very much what it it now.
AI may change that but to date I haven’t seen much in the AI space that offers a significant improvement to a meaningful problem.
Actually, the inertia that holds most people back from paper-free accounting is a reluctance to lose the paper.
Suppliers’ invoices and receipts
Apps such as AutoEntry and Dext manage and store images of invoices and receipts and will push the documents, along with the correct accounting entries, directly into your cloud accounting software.
You forward emails containing the PDF of your suppliers’ invoices to these apps. Equally you can download a version of the app on your phone and capture an image from there.
Sales invoices and e-commerce
If you use a CRM system to raise your invoices then there are several apps that will import the sales invoice data straight into to your accounts system. You can also create your own program to do it for you.
If you sell online then take a look at A2X, a highly-recommended app that takes accounting data from your e-commerce site and does the accounting for you.
On both the sales side and the purchases side, nothing is printed out and nothing needs to be physically filed. Workflows change, and they change for the better!
However, it’s vitally important that the business has a full and reliable back up of these documents in case the primary source is somehow lost or damaged.
Also worth visiting is HMRC’s guide on record keeping – even they say “HMRC recommend you keep all the original documents you receive. This does not mean you need to keep them on paper.”
Since 2017, bookkeeping software has migrated from the desktop to the cloud.
Advantages include:
The disadvantages:
Firstly, you’ve got to want to do it and, in fairness, we still see businesses owners who will not give up the lever-arch files.
But even if you’re not ready to give up the paper, you can still use the programs and apps I’m discussing here and we can help you to do that.
Indeed, if you’re self employed or a private landlord, then HMRC will soon mandate that you do your bookkeeping digitally if you fall into the size limits for their Making Tax Digital (MTD) regime.
Give me a call on 020 7125 0270 or email me at info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk and let’s have a chat about being paper-free.
Michael
We don’t believe in forms, we believe in talking to people, finding out your needs and tailor-making a solution just for you.
Give us a ring on 020 7125 0270 or email us at info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk
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