Elba contour or my business. Comparison of online accounting services: which one is better to choose? Service functionality: where is better

Not every entrepreneur can afford to keep an accountant on staff, as well as pay for expensive accounting software. Thanks to the development of cloud technologies, business owners have the opportunity to conduct accounting on their own using special remote online services. We will list the main online accounting services currently available to Russian users, compare them and find out which online accounting is better.

I. Sky

This service is designed primarily for small businesses and startups. The system is simple, and even a beginner in accounting can easily understand it. The user is offered two main tariffs - Tandem, which costs 500 rubles per month, and Team, which costs 3500 rubles per month. Plus an additional payment in each of the cases for submitting reports to the tax and funds, amounting to 100 rubles for each report.

Users, depending on the selected tariff, are provided with various options regarding the quantity accounting entries- for Tandem 100 thousand and for Team 1 million annually. At the same time, one and the same user can keep the books of an unlimited number of legal entities.

The conclusion of reporting is possible in the STS, OSN and UTII. The function of downloading data from the 1C office program is available. It is possible to download information and generate reports in EXCEL format, as well as in the form of an xml file. There is an opportunity to pass accounting statements to the tax office without personal digital signature through the company supporting the service.

Perhaps the only visible drawback of the service is its insufficient promotion, which causes natural distrust. Among the advantages, one should highlight the presence of SMS notifications about the delivery of reports. The state of affairs can be monitored using a special mobile application.

II. My business

This service has been operating for several years and managed to gain credibility among users. It is designed for enterprises of all sizes and provides services for each of the accounting and reporting systems, including the delivery of reports to tax office and foundations.

There is a base of normative acts, users are provided with all the news regarding the updating of legislation. Also, through the service, you can get advice from specialists in taxes and accounting.

Among the main advantages of the service, a high level of security should be highlighted: DATA centers are located in Europe, the likelihood of unauthorized access is minimal. Information is backed up four times per hour. Access to accounts is differentiated by levels (director, chief accountant). Notifications about the delivery of reports are carried out by e-mail.

There are 4 types of tariffs, in brackets is the amount of the monthly payment:

• Individual entrepreneur without employees (612 rubles);
• LLC without employees (676 rubles);
• Individual entrepreneur or LLC with employees (1230 rubles);
• Turnkey accounting (from 1000 rubles, depending on the types of additional services).

III. Contour (Elba)

The system is focused primarily on small businesses. There are a number of subroutines that provide accounting of varying degrees of complexity. The function of importing data from 1C is available. A characteristic feature is the presence of specialized modules that simplify the accounting of goods, control their movement and the formation of shipping documents.

Among the disadvantages of the program is the lack of support for some specialized tasks, such as, for example, keeping records for producers of agricultural products. Among the advantages, it is worth highlighting the low cost of services, as well as free training webinars.

There is a detailed grid of tariffs, the delivery of reports is included in the price. Let's list them with the indication in brackets of the cost for the quarter:

• Suite (4000 rubles);
• Comfort (3000 rubles);
• Standard (2000 rubles);
• Salary + (2500 rubles);
• Accounting + (2000 rubles);
• Salary (1500 rubles);
• Accounting (1000 rubles).

IV. Assistant

The service is focused on small businesses, a wide range of services is provided, the presence of prompts makes it easier to work with the system for users who do not have special accounting skills.

It is possible to maintain a simple warehouse and financial accounting, control of mutual settlements with suppliers and customers, quick filling of all the necessary forms, automatic preparation of declarations and accounting books on the basis of previously entered information, keeping records of employees. There are many other features as well. For electronic declaration, integration with "AWP Payer" was carried out, and to accelerate the export-import of documents and payment information- with the "client-bank" systems of the leading banks. There is a system of reminders about the deadlines for submitting reports, as well as all the necessary information on the legislation, the opportunity to receive advice from specialists is provided.

There are three tariff plans, each of which is focused on a specific category of service consumers.

Most entrepreneurs work on their own without outsourcing their business. Also, in order to save money, businessmen conduct their accounting independently, without involving a professional accountant.

With the development of technology and the Internet, independent bookkeeping has become much easier and cheaper. Below in the article we will compare two online accounting services and My Business, which will not "hit the pocket" of a novice individual entrepreneur and are easy to use.

What is Elba and My Business?

And Kontur.Elba and My business are cloud services, which help the entrepreneur to conduct accounting without the help of a specialist. For their work, you do not need to install any programs on your computer, all manipulations are carried out in the PC browser, you just need to enter your account using your username and password. Working in the cloud also allows you to work with services from anywhere with Internet access - wired or mobile.

Also, both services have mobile applications for Android and iOS platforms, which makes control even more mobile.

Who are they suitable for?

My business provides a demo access to the product for three times - this is enough to understand whether the service is convenient for you or not.

Comparison of tariffs

Free tariff

Provided by Elba only for those entrepreneurs and organizations that need to submit zero reporting to regulatory authorities.

My business does not have such tariffs.

Tariff for individual entrepreneurs

The tariff "Without employees" from My business is designed for individual entrepreneurs on the simplified tax system, UTII and Patent and, surprisingly, those who do not have employees. The tariff allows you to calculate taxes and fees, generate and send reports, create acts, invoices and invoices, calculate wages, exchange data with banks, keep inventory records. Also, an electronic digital signature in the cloud is issued to the connected tariff.

Cost - 833 rubles. per month (1,733 rubles per month with the "Check counterparties" option).

The "Economy" tariff from includes: preparation and sending via the Internet tax reporting; calculation of taxes, individual entrepreneurship contributions and preparation payment orders to pay them; SMS reminder and e-mail about the need to submit reports and pay taxes; keeping records of income and expenses, automatic generation of KUDiR and cash book; reconciliation with tax reports submitted, tax arrears, payments to the budget.

Cost - 1,500 rubles. per quarter or 3,900 rubles. in year.

Tariff for individual entrepreneurs and LLC

The tariff "Up to 5 employees" from My business is suitable for individual entrepreneurs and LLCs on STS, UTII and Patent (Patent, as you remember, only for individual entrepreneurs) who have up to 5 employees subordinate to them. The tariff offers the following functionality:

• Calculation of taxes and contributions.
• Formation and sending of reports.
• Preparation primary documents and billing.
• Expert advice.
• Accounting for employees (up to 5 people).
• Inventory control.

Cost - 1 624 rubles. per month (2,524 rubles per month with the option "Check counterparties").

"Business" from offers organizations and entrepreneurs (no employees) on

The support guys answer your calls, letters, messages in Telegram, chat and social networks. It's time to get to know them better. We will tell you how our support was born and developed, what questions the consultants answer, how they study, work and play.

Elba appeared in January 2010 and lived without support for almost a year. There were few users, and any person on the team - developer, manager, or marketer - could answer their questions. It didn't take long.

Clients and questions became more and more, and in November of the same year, eight people from the support of another Contour service trained Elba. And on July 1, 2011, our support became an independent department and advised on two services at once: Elbe and Kontur. Accounting.

Now the support has become quite large: it has 57 consultants and 26 interns.

See how it was in 2012 and 2013:

And how it has become now (in the photo, about a third of the department):

What can you ask about

We immediately realized that Elba's support is not just “go to the service, press a button”. Our users are entrepreneurs who handle reporting alone. It is not simple.

Often an entrepreneur does not have an accountant friend who will answer questions, and it is dangerous to believe in advice on the Internet. Therefore, our consultants began to help not only work in the service, but also with simple accounting issues: what is the difference between taxation systems, how to calculate tax and reduce it by insurance premiums.

Of course, a support consultant will not replace a real accountant, but will help you navigate taxes and accounting. And more complicated questions can be asked in the Elbe section "Questions to an expert".

How we monitor quality

This is facilitated by training, mentoring and testing.

Education

Approximately 10 interns come to support every few months.

Newbies do not immediately start communicating with users. For three weeks, trainees listen to lectures and carry out practical assignments. In the third week, test calls from other consultants are added. If all goes well, beginners start chatting with real users in week four. At the end of the first month, trainees write a certification and undergo another interview. It depends on the results whether they will remain in support or not.

But the training does not end there. Consultants learn something new every day: they understand complex issues, receive mailings, undergo training and trainings.

Mentoring

During the first three months, newcomers are not left without help. There are always mentors next to them who are ready to help and answer questions. After three months, beginners run out of probation and they join the rest of the guys.

Counselors are divided into 5 groups, each of which has a supervisor. It helps them deal with difficult questions and improve the quality of their responses. The supervisor listens to the calls and then discusses them with the counselor. He talks about shortcomings and explains how to avoid them. Doesn't forget to praise.

Each supervisor organizes training for his group and provides alternative work - for example, analyzing calls to find incomprehensible places in the service. Altrabota allows the consultant to take a break from calls and learn new things.

Knowledge tests

Professionals from the knowledge testing department are listening to calls from consultants. Each of them has 10 calls and 4 letters a month. Once every two weeks, they hold a conversation with consultants, where they discuss everything good and bad.

At the end of the call, the user has the opportunity to evaluate the answer of the consultant. Calls with low scores - from 1 to 3 - are listened to immediately. If they find an error in the answer, then they fix it - they call or write to the user, they say what needs to be done.

Each consultant also passes attestations: after 3 and 9 months from the start of work, and then once a year. This is how he confirms his knowledge.

How the team communicates with support

Communication with support helps the team to learn about questions and wishes of users, and consultants - about news and plans of Elba.

Everyday communication goes through analytics - this is an intermediary between Elba and support. He tells consultants about new service opportunities, and the team - about frequent questions users. The analyst adds to the knowledge base - a collection of information about the Elbe. He also deals with difficult situations which the consultant could not solve for himself.

In addition, we also meet with the consultants themselves - we tell Elbe news, answer questions and share plans. We all sit on the same floor, so it's easy to arrange a meeting. The main thing is to find the time between calls.

We meet not only to discuss matters - for example, we congratulate each other on the holidays. On Elba's last birthday, the guys gave them a cozy hut, and we New Year- gyro scooter.

Here they are congratulating Elba on her birthday:

And here is the same hut:

Once a year, during the reporting period, daredevils from the team come to support the “free cashier”. This means that they temporarily become consultants - they receive calls and answer users' questions.

Analyst Olya and designer Nikita at the "free cash register":

How to chat with support

• write to mail, Telegram or online chat on the site
• call - ask a question in social networks or in
• consult an accountant in Elba - on the "Premium" tariff.

Now we are trying to reduce the number of calls and communicate more in writing. It's comfortable:

It is easy to attach a screenshot or documents to a letter or message. This helps to quickly resolve the issue.

While the consultant is looking for an answer to a question, you do not need to hold the phone in your hands. Calmly go about your business and wait for the message.

A separate group of 12 consultants are responding to emails. These are not newbies, but experienced guys who previously consulted well over the phone. For consultants who communicate with users in writing, we have invented and run a writing course. He teaches to write clearly, without clericality and spelling errors. The course consists of an introductory lecture, 7 letters and homework - we talked about it in the article.

How long to wait for an answer

We usually respond to letters in the mail within two hours. In chats - right away.

We also answer calls quickly - 80% of users wait on the line no more than 20 seconds. Yes, we love statistics :)

The expert's question in Elba will be answered in about a day. There it is better to ask difficult questions about accounting, and ask about work in the service in chats or by phone.

On the blog and on social networks, we try to reply during the day, but there are delays here - mail and chats are a priority. Therefore, if you have an urgent question, do not ask it in the comments. Better write to the chat - this is the most quick way get an answer.

In the last days of reporting, response rates have slowed down as many users are asking for help. If you called and got into the queue - order a call back. As soon as the consultant is free, he will call you back. Better yet, don't postpone reporting until the last day.

Who are these cool guys

And at the end, about the main thing - about people.

At first, they tried to hire accountants, economists and even former entrepreneurs in support. They seemed to understand the accounting service faster and understand business problems more easily. Then they realized that the market for accountants, economists and former entrepreneurs is not unlimited, and they began to hire people of other specialties. We now have historians, lawyers, radio operators and even former doctors. And during their work in support, they become a bit of accountants.

Many consultants are moving from support to Elbe and other Kontur services. For example, our analysts Pasha Orlovsky and Olya Avvakumova were consultants, and then they were invited to do Elba.

There are many talented people among the consultants. For example, there is a music group that performs at corporate parties of our company.

Support guys are often on vacation together. They arrange movie nights on Fridays, gather at someone's place or go to the countryside.

And the guys support not only users, but also each other:

Now you know almost everything about our support :) Tell us, do you often contact us with questions or do you cope on your own?

From the online accounting department "Elba"

Another puzzle for me is the choice of online accounting.

This is a service that will help me in preparing reports and in other important matters, about which I had only a vague idea before registering an individual entrepreneur.

On the left is a screenshot showing three options for maintaining documentation and submitting reports: do everything yourself via excel and mail, hire an accountant or work with online accounting.

Automation is, of course, more interesting.

Let's try to figure out which service to choose, how much does it cost, and is all this online accounting necessary for a novice entrepreneur without employees?

I warn you right away, this article may seem to you like a big mess: a “sheet” of text, a lot of pictures, comparisons, but maybe it will be useful for IT specialists.

Online accounting- this is a consolidated name that developers use for their products - automated services with which you can keep accounting, tax, personnel and management records directly on the Internet.

Because the services are intended primarily for an accountant - to keep accounting and calculate taxes online. Although, of course, they are used by managers, individual entrepreneurs, and personnel specialists.

Because services are not tied to specific computers of users (like many programs), they do not require installation on a computer. They are located on the developer's Internet servers, and you can work in them from absolutely any computer with Internet access - even from work, even from home.

Such online services as My Business, Kontur.Elba, 1C Online, Buchsoft Online, etc. are known.

Compare Elba and My Business

My business(moedelo.org) and Elbe(e-kontur.ru) are considered the leaders of software solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, or, at least, they are heard by many.

“My business” is expensive and wants money for the year in advance, “Elba” is a little more budgetary and the payment for the quarter is enough for her. My business gives only 3 days to test the service, and Elba - 30 days.

But the coolest thing is that Elba offers for a promotion a year of premium service for new individual entrepreneurs (registration period is less than 3 months). Therefore, I serve there, I do not pay anything and below I tell you how it all looks inside.

Even if you are going to conduct your black-black bookkeeping in a black-black thick notebook (just kidding) and without opening accounts, then you, like any potential entrepreneur, will come in handy anyway free service for preparing documents for individual entrepreneurs... this is offered by each service, including for attracting customers, about this section below.

Then in the article we compare tariffs... declared functional... look into personal accounts ... compare bonus referral programs and finally in the last part I show what i had to work with in Elba Contour.

Preparation of documents for registration of individual entrepreneurs

To attract customers, each service has an online assistant for the free preparation of documents for registering an individual entrepreneur or LLC.

Of course, this should have been written about in the article about the IP opening. what service provides what assistance, but there is already enough material.

The free service provides assistance and thus shows its effectiveness, which ultimately can affect the choice of an entrepreneur of Internet accounting.

Everything is simple there: you fill in personal data, information about future activities with a choice of suitable codes for this very activity and receive documents at the output that need to be printed and sent to the tax office.

"My business" guides you through all the points in turn, however, at the same time opening an application for opening an account in a number of partner banks, which may be superfluous:

Immediately after completing all the registration stages, it is reported that there are three days left until the end of the free period.

Have Elbe a little easier in terms of preparing documents: you also fill in your data and immediately download the archiver with all the documents.

I liked the constant tips during registration:

I will note useful instructions at the exit in the spirit of “what and where to carry, what to be ready for”: instructions from Elba in pdf. And here is the instruction received from "My Business" in pdf.

To summarize, both services help to achieve the desired goal, but in the case of Elba everything chews and there is no reason to go further into a search engine to find out the nuances of taxation or google: do you need a current account right away.

Compare rates

I assumed that since I am an employee by myself, there is a minimum of documentation, then the choice of service should be approached depending on the capabilities of your wallet. Simply put, it is better to save money, especially since after going over the reviews I found positive and negative for both companies.

Came across a freebie from Elba:

Then I read somewhere that the promotion only until December 31, 2015 again began to compare the two services, but in the end I learned that the promotion for newcomer entrepreneurs is still valid to this day, so I quickly registered and became happy the owner of the Premium rate in Elba for the whole year!

But let's take a look at the differences in order.

Economy tariff in Elbe only for individual entrepreneurs: 1500 rubles / quarter. Additionally, +3 months will be given immediately after registration:

Those. pay RUB 500 / month or for a promotion supposedly 250 rubles / month. for 6 months.

By the way, with a one-time payment for a year in advance, the price will be 3900 rbl... which is equal to the price 325 rubles / month This amount includes:

• Preparation and submission of tax reporting via the Internet... including STS declaration, UTII and SSCH.
• Calculation of taxes, individual entrepreneurship contributions for oneself and preparation of payment orders to pay them. All you have to do is upload the ready-made payment to the Internet bank.
• SMS and email reminder about the need to submit reports and pay taxes.
• Compliance with cash discipline: Elba knows how to keep track of income and expenses, automatically generate a KUDiR and a cash book.
• Reconciliation with tax submitted reports, tax arrears, payments to the budget.

Valid tariffs as of 01.04.2016:

Confused by the indication of the possibility of sending documents to the FIU and the FSS only at an expensive tariff, maybe I don't need it. I leave the question open.

My business offered payment 333 rub / month:

Confused here some fields. There is no one, there is no other, patent system not named. The dots above the i were placed by the senior manager of “My business”, who called for the second time and wanted to lure me into the service (they had my data after the paperwork for registration of an individual entrepreneur was drawn up).

It turns out that the first tariff is suitable only for those who do not receive income, maintains the so-called zero reporting - only for the tax and funds.

This did not suit me in any way, I still planned to receive income, which means that I would be satisfied with the minimum tariff for my purposes with payment 777 rub / month In my humble opinion, this is expensive.

But you also need to pay for a whole year in advance ( 9324 rbl in total)! Even if they promise hotline 10% discount... but this investment for me, let's say, is incomprehensible, to give about 8400 rubles is not clear for what ...

Calculation of tariffs sent to me by mail:

By the way, on January 26 and February 26, spam sms came with an offer to connect until the end of the month with a 15% discount.

Considering the fact that the MD still has affiliate program, according to which the inviter and the invitee receive 1,500 rubles each, the real cost of the service without promo-markups is estimated by me at

I repeat the numbers again: in My business immediately a year of payment in advance will cost a discount 8000-8300 rub instead of 9324, Elbe gives economy tariff for 3900 rbl instead of 6000.

Ok, one service is more expensive than the other, it's clear, what's the other difference?

Service functionality: where is better?

My demand is small: I am not a specialist in accounting, documentation or personnel records and have no experience in such Internet services. If you have experience, please write in the comments, and I will appreciate the declared functionality and third-party comparison on several points.

The difference "My business" from "Contour" first of all, this is material responsibility, this can be read in the offer agreement on the website, i.e. the contour does not have it. Those. if a failure occurs, the reporting will not be received on time and you will receive a fine, then we are responsible for this and will compensate, unlike Kontur. There are no differences in the preparation of reporting.

Here is such a review (word for word) about a competitor, I received by phone from “Moe Delo”, and as many as three times, after the preparation of documentation for registration of an individual entrepreneur, a week later, and then a little later. In the fight for the client, all means are good, therefore you can ring a couple of times and prick your competitors ... But such an insistent indication of miscalculations is not in favor of MD.

The functionality of both services is very similar, the difference is insignificant, it seems to me (I used the comparison from here):

V Elbe also developed applications for Android, WindowsPhone and Mac, and in MD only web application + iPhone, for android the application is under development.

I saw the differences in the functionality of trade and logistics, if my business was connected with trade, then the possibilities of Elba probably would not satisfy me:

Inside "My business"

Screenshot from 01/20/2016, still New Year's:

I could not help but check mcc when paying with a card in MD:

Payment goes through the PayOnline aggregator, mcc 4816.

As I wrote above, I was bribed by an insane freebie in the form of an annual free service in Elba at a premium rate, so the story below is about it.

Bonus program

It seemed to me curious referral program MD to attract new users of the system: 1500 rubles for a new client who paid for a year of work... and they are given to both: both to the one who brought the client and to the client himself:

Maybe that's why so many reviews and reviews of MD are for trivial earnings?

But if you are eager to work with “My business”, then you will surely be able to find those who want to attract you by sending a call by reflink, it will even be in your interests.

By affiliate program from Elba I will be able to receive for invitations 25% of the tariff payment by the referral, and the invitee will be given 3 months free service in Elba by following this link:

Work in Elba Contour

As I understand it, the main thing is to synchronize the work of the online accounting department with the bank.

This can be done by independently uploading account statements in the Internet bank and importing them into the service:

And you can use ready-made solution, Elba, for example, has online integration with Tochka, Alfa-Bank, and since March 2016 - with Tinkoff Bank.

After clicking the link “I want to integrate with the Tochka”, my bank, I was sent to read the synchronization instructions. by which I should have climbed into the old information security i.tochka.com (which I had no idea about, instead of my.tochka.com) and there in the settings, click sync

Soon everything was done:

We want to section Money :

Go to Reporting... where offer pay insurance premiums or view the Income Book:

They kindly suggest how much and when to pay insurance premiums:

But these figures puzzled me, because individual entrepreneurs should pay more in 2016!

It turns out that the service calculated me correctly, right from the day of my registration in mid-January, i.e. you can trust and pay as recommended.

By clicking on the creation of payment documents, several payment options are offered, incl. you can transfer the payment order to the bank / Tochka or pay from the card (Yandex money icon):

I think the best thing is to pay from the current account, so that immediately there was a normal payment document, there is no time for extreme with payment services.

Suddenly, it turned out that I need to know a certain Reg. Number of an individual entrepreneur in the FIU, which I must find in my "Notice of registration of an individual ...".

I had nothing of the kind in my hands, nothing came by mail. The FIU explained that for a couple of years no letters have been sent, the registration number can be found during a personal visit or even by phone.

A couple of calls and the number was on hand. It was also necessary to enter the code of the PFR territorial body into the form:

After that, the documents were exported to IB Points and also to the old version:

... there I went to payment:

Well, I hope the money will go where it needs to go, let's go:

By the way, I was offered to find out about the passage of payments by the same number of the territorial body of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, where I phoned to find out my registration number.

- How much work for you - I was indignant into the phone, meaning that it can be somehow automated, perhaps through state services.
“And don’t tell me,” Larisa Evgenievna, an employee of the Pension Fund of Russia, sighed in response.

As a result, on click I got a document ready for printing. For example, here's the first page:

And on the second page, the end of this Income Book:

The Elbe-Contour interface seemed convenient to me; if at first I did not know what and where to press, what I might need, then in the course of work I figured out, with the payment of contributions and with the Income Book, everything became clear.

I was warned in advance by e-mail about the payment of contributions, although, of course, I could have paid them at the end of the year, but it seemed that it would be better to follow the recommendations, take some steps right now so that there is an understanding of what is being done and how and to check whether everything went well.