If the summer is known as the "silly season" then there's probably a good case for calling the end of March and the beginning of April the deadly serious season. For it's at this time of year that the financials have to be put into order for the Inland Revenue and Companies House for most organisations, and a substantial number of companies are still not using technology to assist in this. That can seem a little crazy given the time that can be saved, except for the following awkward facts:

· VAT inspectors won't look at computerised records - so you'll need paper copies of everything when they call.

· The legal status of electronically held documents is clearing but there are grey areas - so simply scanning in every receipt isn't going to satisfy every auditor.

· Many accountants will work with different systems to those of their clients and will therefore not be able to take simple emailed copies of the books.

These are bona fide queries but are pretty much defeated by the suggestion that you can print everything out as you go, which satisfies just about everyone. The fact is that most small businesses would benefit from automating their accounting systems and the end of a financial year is a good time to start.

You need a number of things: the first being computers of course, the second being a small budget and the third being an idea of the scope of the job. If you're self-employed or in a very small company, there are a number of packages out there to help for well under £200 plus VAT, and the field gets more expensive as the number of companies you're managing increases. We'll look at those in more depth later, but the following procedure is common to them all.

You'll need your latest bank statements for every account you wish to manage with your system. Likewise you'll want credit card details and balances for every account you wish to handle with the software, plus all of your outstanding bills, plus amounts you are owed by your customers if you're a credit-based, rather than cash, business.

Then sit down, install the software, wait for the prompts as to where to set up the accounts and put the figures in. And make sure you have some coffee next to you - this can be a long process. But, crucially, as long as you keep your electronic books up to date, the time savings will become apparent very quickly. Specifically:

· Closing a financial quarter and filling in a VAT return becomes a task taking minutes rather than hours or even days.

· Closing a financial period likewise can be made to happen automatically.

· Most packages will allow you to link direct to bank accounts so reconciliation can be automated.

· Cheque runs can also be automated - and managers can get a good idea of where the company is financially without taking the accounting staff's time.

The inroduction of the web page language XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language), means that the forms that leave someone's desk electronically from a supplier will be able to hit your desk, pick up your company layouts, fonts and anything else, and display it as if you'd done the tedious retyping already.

More importantly, XML files at the upper end of the market will be active rather than passive, in that elements of them will be able to attach to elements of the receiving company's system. So instead of someone having to put an invoice into the purchase ledger, the invoice will find its way there automatically, subject to security checks.

For the smaller trader this is a way off, but the benefits of automation are still plentiful. Some of the products available to the start-up company include:

Sage Instant Accounting

Instant comes from Sage, which is the market leader in small business accounts in terms of volume sales. Instant represents the simpler end of accounting although since it uses a number of accounting codes for different products and services, it's still made with the accounts department (or single person) in mind. Sage will be able to supply upgrades to the system as a company grows, since its products go all the way to the medium-sized company. www.sage.com.

TAS Books

TAS benefits from clear layouts and ease of use - it will happily print out your VAT return so all you need to do is post it. Separate versions are available for people who want to be able to invoice or to do payroll. www.tasbooks.co.uk.

Simply Books

Simple layout, simple manual, looks exactly like a spreadsheet with very few bells and whistles. Many businesspeople used to looking at spreadsheets all day will like this. www.simplybooks.net.

MYOB

A number of different versions of this are available; the MYOB First Accounts system offers a diagram of what you need to do to make your money work, and an easy setup wizard to boot. www.myob.co.uk.

Quickbooks

Intuit, maker of personal finance software Quicken, offers a simple-to-use wizard for setting up all of your accounts, then offers an "accountant's copy" so you can send the technical stuff to an expert for analysis. www.quickbooks.co.uk

Omni

Of course, not everyone needs stock control (in a service industry you won't need it at all). And not everyone will want to invoice if they have a cash business - but they'll still have to pay for the functions. Unless they go for Omni. The basic version is free to download, then if you need more functions, such as invoicing, VAT return, extra reports, you tick the box and pay a few pounds only for what you're going to use. www.omniaccounts.co.uk

As companies grow and needs become more complex it's worth building a relationship with a good dealer. Some are better for stock control, others for time billing, for instance, and advice can be invaluable.

Finally, for sole traders, personal finance packages Quicken and Microsoft Money have versions with invoicing and business accounts in them. They can however be cumbersome when it comes to receiving supplier invoices.

Always remember, of course, that if your books are truly easy to write down then a copy of Microsoft Excel will handle much of what you need.

Start up with a free download

Gworks is a property maintenance facilitator which started in November. Managing director Tim Starks decided to computerise the accounts almost immediately. "Basically we knew we wouldn't be able to deal with all the accounting maths manually," he says. He started looking for something to encompass all the needs of a start-up immediately, and his IT supplier spotted Omni as a free download. "We spoke to our accountant about what it could and couldn't do and asked around, and all the reports we had were extremely good."

Probably the most appealing thing about the software was its structure: you only pay for what you need, so there is no wastage. "The database behind it was perfect for our needs," says Starks. In spite of the modular structure, the thing came together as a single download from the website.

It has been running since the company started it and - although the accountant has yet to come over and see the information the system is generating -all seems to be running well. Like most of the software on the market, it will output to Microsoft Excel, and the results can be mailed to the accountant at will.

Starks, as a new user of accounting systems, has a few issues with the way the software works overall at the moment. "There was no manual; all the help is online in the system," he says. He acknowledges that this is commonplace enough. "It's not something I'm used to personally, and to find it was a bit of a shock."

Overall, however, the time spent installing the system and setting it up was minimal and the benefits have outweighed any reservations.

Help panel
Electronic book-keeping

· If you're undecided about which software to use, ask your accountant what they have. It'll save time and money if you can simply email your accounts to them at the year end for checking.

· Print everything out for the statutory authorities. Yes, electronic submissions of returns are happening but if there's any checking to be done you're still better off with paper for the moment.

· Think ahead: if you buy something that won't handle multiple currencies, what happens if we enter the euro or if you simply start selling abroad?

· Keep your existing book-keeping running for a few months at least until you're comfortable with and confident in your new accounting system.

· Don't trust your accounts system to the point of not paying an accountant for checking: you can make mistakes on screen as easily as you can on paper and they need checking!