I don’t usually talk about tax software, and I don’t use e-Record myself.
However, I stumbled across this announcement from the ATO (Australian Tax Office): e-Record
When I started Computer Aid, nearly 5 years ago, e-Record was almost the only free package available, but it didn’t suit my plans for the business, so I didn’t use it.
So why am I talking about it?
Well, after having worked on many hundreds of computers over the last 5 years, I’ve noticed that many people use e-Record.
In fact, I’d say that for every installation of commercial software like MYOB and QuickBooks, there is probably 5 to 10 installations of e-Record.
To me, that indicates that e-Record is a lot more popular than the ATO wants to admit. However, the ATO is withdrawing e-Record because “it’s no longer compatible with current commercial record-keeping systems”… and will need to be re-developed.
To me, it seems like they are saying: “we can’t import and/or export to other accounting software, and we can’t afford any further development of e-Record, so we will just drop it”.
In the future, it seems the only options available to people who are using e-Record, is to buy a commercial package.
There must be way to bridge the gap between the manual “pencil and paper” form of accounting, and the fully commercial accounting done by larger companies.
I’m now wondering: Does this mean people will just keep using the last (outdated) e-Record? Or will they go back to manual pen-and-paper accounting? Or does this mean MyYob and Quackbooks will get a sudden surge in the money flowing into their coffers?
Only time will tell…
Note: Computer Aid is not responsible for erecord in any way. However, we can provide limited remote help with installing and configuring erecord. Fees charged are detailed here.