Accounting software for a limited company in Ireland: a buyer’s checklist

Most VAT-registered companies file a return for each two-month period, due by the 19th of the following month, with ROS filers given until the 23rd to file. Once a year the company also files a Return of Trading Details, which breaks total sales and purchases down by Irish VAT rate.

The less re-keying between those returns the better. Software that codes every transaction with its rate produces both from one set of figures.

Directors often pay a company expense personally or take money out between payroll runs. Each of those needs a clear entry so the director’s loan account is right at year end. Look for software that lets you tag a transaction to a director and see the running balance, rather than a suspense account that grows all year.

Plenty of Irish companies invoice UK or US customers. Multi-currency support records the invoice in the customer’s currency, the payment at the rate received, and the exchange difference automatically. Check which plan includes it, because several vendors keep it for their top tier.

These separate a good fit from a frustrating one.

• Does it compute the VAT3 from the ledger, and can it export what the RTD needs?
• Is Irish payroll included, an add-on, or a separate product?
• Which plan includes multi-currency and how many users?
• Can my accountant log in to the live books at no extra cost?
• How will it receive structured e-invoices, which every Irish business must be able to do from November 2028?

A company’s accountant prepares statutory accounts from the ledger, and every unreconciled balance, uncategorised payment or missing invoice turns into a question and a fee. The best software for a limited company is the one that leaves the fewest questions in December, not the one with the longest feature list.

Before you buy, ask to see how the product handles accruals and prepayments, fixed assets and depreciation, and the closing of a period so figures cannot change after the accounts are signed. Those are the areas where cheap invoicing tools fall short.

Companies tend to have several people touching the numbers: a director approving bills, an office manager raising invoices, a bookkeeper reconciling and an external accountant reviewing. Look for user roles that limit each person to their job, and an audit trail that records who changed what. Per-user pricing can make this expensive, so check how many users each plan includes.

Companies buying services from other EU countries, or working in construction, meet reverse charge rules where the customer accounts for the VAT instead of the supplier. The software needs a tax code that puts those amounts in the right VAT3 boxes on both sides, or the return will look wrong even when the business has done nothing wrong.

HelloBooks computes VAT3 figures box by box from a ledger its AI keeps coded, with you confirming each posting. Multi-currency is on the Pro plan, and accountants get multi-client workspace management in their own account at no extra cost.

Gaps to know: you enter the VAT3 in ROS yourself, Irish payroll is not in HelloBooks yet, payroll journal import is coming soon, and subscriptions are billed in US dollars until euro billing arrives. Direct Irish bank connections are rolling out; statement upload works now.