Plain-English comparisons
Five questions that settle it
These decide whether you will still be happy with the software in two years.
Does it handle your VAT position?
Standard, flat rate, cash accounting, reverse charge, or partial exemption. All the main platforms file under Making Tax Digital, but they do not all handle the edge cases as cleanly.
Do you hold stock?
Inventory tends to sit on the higher tiers, and that changes the price you will actually pay rather than the one on the front page.
How many bank accounts, cards and payment platforms feed in?
Stripe, PayPal, Amazon and card terminals all need reconciling, and the quality of those feeds varies more than the core software does.
Who does the day-to-day entry, you or us?
If you are living in it daily, the interface matters more than the reporting. If you barely open it, reporting matters more than the interface.
What does the whole stack cost?
Accounting software plus receipt capture plus payments, all counted in.
What the stack actually costs
Illustrative figures for a VAT-registered limited company with two bank accounts. Providers change pricing regularly, so check their own sites before committing.
The VAT is reclaimable if you are registered, so the real cost is lower again. FreeAgent comes with every Buzz package, worth up to £330 a year.
If Xero suits you better, we are a Xero Gold Partner and will set you up there instead. If you are already on QuickBooks or Sage, we work in those.
How a switch actually runs
Pick a changeover date
Almost always the start of a VAT quarter or a financial year. A mid-quarter switch means reconciling two systems for one return.
Agree what comes across
Opening balances and outstanding invoices always. Full transaction history sometimes: it is useful for comparatives, but it takes effort and is not always worth it.
Connect the feeds
Bank accounts, cards, payment platforms and receipt capture, with the chart of accounts set up to report the way you need.
Run one period in parallel
One month or one VAT quarter checked against the old system before the old subscription is cancelled. That is how you find the feed that did not quite work.
Migration is included when you join Buzz on a package.
Common questions about software
Which software does Buzz recommend?
It depends on the business. FreeAgent is included in every Buzz package and suits sole traders, freelancers, landlords and smaller limited companies. Xero tends to win where there are more transactions, more users, stock, multi-currency or a need for add-on apps; we are a Xero Gold Partner. QuickBooks and Sage are both supported and both have situations where they are the right call, particularly where an existing team already knows one of them well.
Do I have to switch software to become a client?
If your current setup works and the records are clean, we work in it. That includes QuickBooks, Sage, and in some cases a well-kept spreadsheet where Making Tax Digital does not yet apply. We suggest a move in three situations: the software is costing you time, it will not do what Making Tax Digital requires, or you are paying for a tier you have long outgrown or never needed. Switching has a real cost in disruption and retraining.
Will I lose my history if I move?
Opening balances and open items always come across, and prior-year figures remain available either in the old system or as exported records. Keep both, since you are required to retain records for six years. Whether to import full transaction history is a judgement we make with you. Importing several years of inconsistent coding carries the problems into the new file, so the safer pattern is a clean opening position plus a readable archive of what came before.
Is a receipt capture tool worth paying for?
If you handle more than a handful of purchase invoices a month, almost always. It removes manual typing, cuts coding errors and keeps records in the digital form Making Tax Digital expects. Below that volume, the receipt capture built into FreeAgent or Xero will do. The tool only pays for itself if receipts get photographed at the point of purchase. See the comparison of Dext, AutoEntry and Apron.
How much do the software changes cost me if I switch?
The subscription cost is usually the small part. Budget for the migration itself, a fortnight of slower working while people learn the new screens, and a reconciliation that turns something up. Where FreeAgent is the destination, the licence itself is included in your package, which removes one line from the calculation. Switch when the time saved each year is greater than the disruption; for a business with clean records and low volume, it often is not.
What about AI bookkeeping tools that promise to do it all?
The capture and coding suggestions are good now and improving quickly, and the automation in Dext, Apron and the platforms themselves saves real hours. They cannot tell that the invoice from a builder was for the extension at your house and not the office, or that the deposit in March was a loan and not sales. Check what any tool promising a hands-off year end actually does before the subscription auto-renews.
Accreditations and partnerships
