The FreeAgent Blog

It's all about speeding up your workflow, with some new time saving features winging your way and a faster interface for building invoices and estimates.

All new invoice and estimate building

Some of you have said it takes too long to build estimates and invoices. For these 'time poor' individuals we've improved the way invoice and estimate items are added, speeding up the process considerably.

You can now add or edit invoice items via a pop up, or delete items directly from the invoice preview. We've run a battery of tests, independently adjudicated by Carol Vorderman, and can confirm that the billing process is now 4.35 times faster than ever before. Go try it!

Introducing your Price List

If you tend to sell the same product and service again and again, you'll find the Price List a real life saver. Simply define the items that you commonly sell (think 'Web Hosting', 'On-Site Training' or even 'Kitchen Sinks'), and these can be added instantly to your estimates or invoices.

You can add items to your Price List as part of the normal Invoice creation workflow or view all Price List items from the Settings > Price List section.

Contact Statement of Accounts

We know how long some people have been waiting for this, so we're delighted to be able to finally release it: Statement of Accounts for Contacts.

When you view a Contact you'll see a new Statement of Account tab. Just select the date range you want the statement to cover and we'll build the Statement of Account, which you can print as a PDF or send by email.

The statement covers invoices you've sent and any bills that are owed, and we even handle the weird and wacky situation where you've billed a client in multiple currencies. Worth the wait we hope.

Online VAT filing

After a successful trial period we're pleased to enable Online VAT filing with HMRC for our UK users.

Full details can be in our File your VAT Online article on the Knowledge Base.

Anything else?

Well, now you ask:

• You can now add your Project name automatically to Estimates
• You can now add an expense from the Project details page
• We've added a referral notification system, but it's a secret and you'll need to find it out for yourself :)
• We replaced your old referral links with shorter, snappier ones, which will make pimping your discount code that bit easier. Thanks for all the suggestions on Twitter everybody!
• We've added support for Chartered Bank of Singapore CSV, the new Co-op CSV format and German iBank QIF format
• We've added support for the Turkish Lira

And Finally

A huge thank you to everyone who nominated us in the .net magazine Awards 2010. FreeAgent made the shortlist in the Web App of the Year category, and we'd love your vote if you're that way inclined. Thanks!

Until next time,
Roan & The Team at FreeAgent.

Every software application has a learning curve. Users have to learn concepts and workflow before they become proficient and comfortable using the app. One of our main challenges here at FreeAgent is not only introducing users to a new application, but one involving potentially confusing accounting concepts.

We know most of our users aren't accounting experts, and helping someone overcome any trepidation or confusion they might have is crucial for a good user experience, and therefore our success.

We've recently introduced a new series of 'blank slate' designs throughout the app, which we hope will help users as they get started with FreeAgent, and possibly educate into the bargain.

Blank slate?

'Blank slate' is a phrase used to describe the empty state of a section in an app: when it's yet to contain any data. Like a message board with no messages, or an address book with no contacts. Creating a good blank slate can dramatically improve first impressions of an app; helping the user understand what they can do and how they can do it. With so much time spent developing new features and testing them with plenty of data, blank slates are often created as an afterthought.

We were pretty guilty of this, here's what our old blank slates looked like:

Not especially helpful or pretty, unless you're totally comfortable with our concept of a Bill. When we wanted to improve this, we had a clear idea about what was needed:

• Explain what that section of the app is for
• Explain what isn't it for - often just as important
• Clear up any confusion with similar terminology
• Provide examples of when you would use this part of the app
• A main call to action

Define the problem

If I had one hour to save the world I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem
- Albert Einstein

One of the biggest barriers when it comes to understanding accounting is the jargon: it's confusing and people can have different ways of saying the same thing (is it invoices or accounts receivable?). One of the things that sets FreeAgent apart from our competitors, I believe, is the lack of "accountantese".

With this in mind we thought the metaphor of the dictionary was a relevant and fun concept: define the "thing" in question, along with synonyms, and then a breakdown of when it should and shouldn't be used. For many sections of the app, this is probably overkill but for areas like Bills and Expenses, where it's often not obvious when one should be used over the other, the new blank slates set a positive tone, with informative examples and use cases.

Here's the new blank slate for Bills, one of the parts of the app people struggle with understanding when to use:

Much better don't you think? Visually more appealing and informative with a clear call to action. We've also linked relevant articles in the Knowledge Base in case people need more information.

Getting touchy feely

The primary driver here is quickly getting people comfortable and productive with the app. The secondary benefit is less tangible, but arguably just as important: making people feel cared for as they take their first few steps throughout the app. Hold the user's hand through those first awkward steps and you're much more likely to win a customer out of them.

It's as much about setting a tone and character for the app as it is getting someone through a series of steps, and when you're dealing with the intimidating world of accounts, having a welcoming first experience is key.

We've started implementing these blank slates throughout the app, but we'll be adding more in the thornier areas, over the next few releases.

If your business is a limited company, it has a legal identity of its own.

This means that, apart from numerous other factors, it can have its own address. This is called the "registered office address".

Why is this important?

A company can't keep its registered office address private. The address will be available for anyone to buy it from the Companies House website for a few pounds.

The registered office address must, by law, also be put on a company's website and all its correspondence, including, for example, invoices and e-mails.

If your company's registered office address is different from its correspondence address, you can use the default text feature in FreeAgent to include the registered office address on your invoices and estimates.

Companies House and the tax authorities will write to the company at its registered office, and send documents, such as reminders to file an annual return, to the registered office.

I work from home, I don't want my home address splashed all over the web!

In that case, or if for any other reason you want to keep your business address private, you can choose another address for your company's registered office address.

The registered office doesn't have to be where your company actually carries on its business, but it must be a real physical address to which documents can be sent and where legal documents can be served on the company if it's unlucky enough to get sued. 

What alternatives are there?

There are businesses which do offer a registered-office service, where they will allow you to put their address forward as your company's registered office, and forward all documents on to your correspondence address.

The fees for this will vary depending on where the registered office is. Some businesses sell the prestige of an office in Mayfair!

Search for "registered office address provider" in your web browser to find a selection.

Be aware that some serviced office providers won't let you use their address as your company's registered office. Check carefully when you're choosing a serviced office provider.

Many accountants do also offer a registered office service to their clients, so that your accountant's office will be your company's registered office. Some accountants have a preference for your company's registered office to be at their office, so that they can deal straight away with documents that Companies House and the tax authorities send to your company.

But if your accountant works from home as well then they might not offer that service!

You can't use a PO Box address as your company's registered office.

Why can't I use a PO Box address?

Because the registered office address must be a real physical address.

What about where in the UK the address can be?

If your company is registered in England and Wales, then the registered office address must also be in England and Wales - for example, an English company can't have a registered office address in Edinburgh.

If your company is registered in Scotland (in which case it will have the prefix SC in front of its company number) then its registered office address must also be in Scotland.

What about the directors' own addresses?

Until 1st October 2009, the company's directors' own addresses were also available to buy for a few pounds from the Companies House website.

Since that date, directors still nearly always have to tell Companies House what their "usual residential addresses" are, but they can opt to have a "service address" too, and keep their home address off the public website.

The service address can be the same as the registered office address.

The only snag with that is that if you were a company director before 1st October 2009, before the Companies Act 2006 came into force, your address will be on the public record from old Annual Returns - and you won't be able to take it off! 

Why do directors still have to tell Companies House their home addresses?

Companies House will give directors' home addresses to credit reference agencies and certain public authorities.

I don't want them to do that!

Companies House specify that you can apply for your home address not to be given out only if you're "at serious risk of violence or intimidation because of the activities of" the company.

Disclosure of your addresses is one of the legal quid pro quos for having the protection of limited liability. If the privacy of your address is a serious concern for you, then you might decide to trade as a sole trader or partnership instead. 

If in doubt, as always, seek professional advice!

In this update we release a number of improvements to our VAT handling, including support for VAT handling of EU sales, and announce online filing with HMRC.

All new VAT returns

You'll first notice your VAT returns now have a completely new design. It'll look more familiar to those of you who've filled in one of the old paper forms.

As mentioned previously, changing the status of a VAT return automatically changes any older ones, so if you mark a return as 'filed', all earlier ones will also be marked as filed too.

Buying and selling within the EU

Lots of our customers buy and sell goods and services to countries in the wider EU and FreeAgent is now able to give you more help to record these transactions on your VAT return.

All the information you need is in the Knowledge Base:

• Create an invoice to sell goods or services to a customer in the EU
• Record a bill for goods or services bought from the EU
• Enter an EU bank transaction, receipt or payment
• Record an out-of-pocket expense for costs incurred in the EU
• FreeAgent will now fill in boxes 2, 8 and 9 on your VAT returns where HM Revenue require it.

Online VAT filing

The big announcement is that FreeAgent now supports online filing of VAT returns to HMRC!

Before you rush off, be aware that we are rolling this feature out gradually to make sure there are no bugs, but all being well this will be available to everybody soon. When that happens, we'll publish full details about how it all works.

It's not just VAT though

Actually, it mostly is, but we also:

• Added support for next year's 20% VAT rate
• Added support for next year's Flat Rate Scheme rates
• Allow you to add default Additional Text to recurring invoices, just like normal ones.
• We've added support for the Vietnamese Dong, Latvian Lats and Egyptian Pound!