The Banks have started offering free online software to their customers. For example, Nat West (owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland) is offering its new customers Free Agent software for no cost.
At the same time, the Banks are drastically cutting down on the amount of time they can spend with their customers as they close their branches. As you will have noticed, the queues in all bank branches have got longer recently due to branch closures. The chance that anybody in the Bank will spend any time teaching you how to use the new software that they have just given you, as a start-up business, is pretty small.
We are considering offer training on Online Software as an additional service to our clients. The idea is, firstly, to help you understand what the terminology used by the software means. Computer software has a jargon of its own, and what is meant by it is far from obvious to everyone.
The next step will be to go through some routines for using the software such as generating invoices to your clients, bank feeds, and explaining items on bank statements.
The aim of this is that you should feel more in control of your business, and have a clear idea, on a real time basis, of how well you are doing.
As a first step along the road, we intend to contact some of our clients shortly and arrange training sessions in Quick Books.
Watch this space!
– By Stephen Handley, FCCA