One of the most interesting aspects of the current battle in accounting software is the role of the accountant. Accountants have typically recommended their clients buy either MYOB or QuickBooks (through Reckon) for their business accounting needs.

This loyalty has made it hard for new players to enter the market as they have to convince accountants to try something new or win over business owners directly. But business owners often trust their accountant to make these sorts of decisions.

Accountants have also stuck by their favourite programs in the UK, where Sage holds majority market share. Duane Jackson, CEO of cloud-based accounting program Kashflow, vented his frustration with an amusing article called “My Accountant Wants Me to Use Sage”. An edited version is reprinted below with permission.

The irony is that some of the new breed of cloud accounting vendors are encouraging accountants to switch to their software – and sell it exclusively. The more things change…

 

My Accountant Wants Me To Use Sage

I wanted my website to work on all web browsers – it’ll get me lots more customers.

But the web designer I’m paying said it makes his life easier if he only makes sites for Internet Explorer 6.

I wanted a Mac – I find them much easier to use than PCs.

But the guys I pay to look after my IT only support PCs running Windows 95.

 

I wanted an electric car – they’re much more efficient and cheaper to run.

But my local mechanic only works on petrol engines.

 

I wanted a dishwasher – it does the hard work for me and saves loads of time.

But my plumber doesn’t like dishwashers.

 

I wanted the office to be pink – beige is boring and sends me to sleep.

But the designer I’m paying only makes stuff in beige. It makes his life easier to not have to deal with other colours.

 

I wanted my launch press release to be in English – it’s a language I understand.

But my PR firm only writes in Korean.

 

I wanted to use an accounting app that automates things for me, connects to other systems and gives me valuable real-time insight into my business.

But my accountant wants me to use Sage.

 

If you try out KashFlow and don’t subscribe at the end of your free trial then you’ll more than likely get an email from me asking why.

Occasionally I get a response along the lines of the above and it drives me crazy! Are you paying your accountant so YOU can make THEIR life easier? Seriously? Would you put up with that from anyone else you’re paying?

If your accountant wants to force you to use a tool that makes his life easier, to your detriment, then I’d seriously suggest you find another accountant.

Article by Duane Jackson, CEO of Kashflow. A version of this post first appeared on the Kashflow blog.