In this tutorial I will guide you through the use of the accounting software Pandle. To do this I will take on the role of the business owner to better show you how the software works.
About Pandle
Pandle is an accounting software that will suit best for small business owners (either – Sole traders or Limited Companies) without complex functionalities.
Pandle accounting software has been on my radar since 2018 and I have seen how this software has developed since then.
Tutorial Summary
In this tutorial I am covering:
1) Registration process & licences
a) Which version to download
b) How to upgrade licence
2) System settings
a) How to set up your system
b) How to switch between your ‘Demo version’ to a ‘Live version’ software
c) How to remove VAT is you are not VAT registered business
3) Adding customers & suppliers
a) List of customers & suppliers
b) How to review their account
4) Recording Cash Sale and Sales invoice
a) Cash sale and receipt
b) Issuing sales invoice
c) Record received money from sale & allocate to Sales Invoice
5) Adding expenses -> cash expenses & supplier invoices
a) Recording cash/electronic purchase
b) Recording of the supplier invoice (bill)
c) Recording outgoing payment & allocate to bill
6) Reviewing ‘Dashboard’
Considerations about Pandle Accounting Software
Pricing
Pandle provides two packages – Pandle (which is for free – forever) and Pandle Pro at a price of £5 + VAT. For both – Sole traders and Limited companies, pricing is the same.
I have known businesses who have used Pandle’s free package for years and had no need to upgrade, however there are some differences that you should be aware of.
Pro package allows you to enable Bank Feeds that may save your time to take time uploading your transactions manually and Receipt Uploads. In simple – keep your support documents digitally stored.
Bank Feeds & Rules
If you have opted for a Pandle Pro (paid package) you will be able to enable Bank Feeds. I know that there are lots of reviews that Bank Feeds does not work, but when I tested and worked with Pandle – I did not encounter any issues with Bank Feeds.
All transactions were pulled through to Pandle and I was able to allocate them to the appropriate cost or income category. The ‘Bank Rules’ is an amazing feature especially if you have standard payments, direct debits and recurring invoices – that will be a playground for you as you can set up ‘like a filter’ that automatically will post on your system transactions that will meet the bank rule set.
Please note if you have multiple bank accounts, you will need to specify if that rule will apply to one particular bank account or to multiple bank accounts.
Customer Service and Help
Pandle Team’s response time is a couple of minutes from the second you have posted your question to them through the Chat box and I will not hold back to mention that the Chat box is available for everyone – even if you are not registered with them or if you are registered but you are on the Free package.
This is one of the best Customer Services that I have come across.
Also they have a huge library of video tutorials, step-by-step guides and FAQ – you can search by typing your query in the ‘Search box’.
Also you can reach their team through the ‘Contact Us’ section under the Support header.
Developing Software
Pandle is a developing accounting software indeed – it has minimum 2 to 3 updates a week of new features implemented.
Since I recorded the tutorial of the Pandle they have already implemented a feature to Bulk Confirming Transactions and Imports as part of the Banking processes. You will notice that I confirmed one by one but now this process has been made even easier.
Accounting method
There are two accounting methods – traditional or accruals method and cash method.
Almost all limited companies will use traditional method and this may not be a worry for them as majority of businesses will adapt double entry (accruals method) in the first year of trading;
Unfortunately for Sole Traders who recognise income and expenses based on the ‘money in and out’ principle for their Self Assessment purposes – this may be a little bit of a challenge.
Let me explain ‘Why?’
When a customer invoice is issued this gets recorded under Sales in Profit & Loss Statement automatically. This will mean that Sole Traders will need to adjust Sales for the amount that they have not received money for yet at the end of a Tax year.
And the same principle will apply for Expenses when you will record Supplier invoices – you will need to reduce Expenses for the amount of outstanding payables (e.g. Supplier invoices that are not paid at the end of the Tax Year)
If you used cash basis, money actually received and paid out, to calculate your income and expenses last year, it does not mean that you can’t transition to an accruals method, BUT you may need to make a transitional adjustment.
Payroll
Another weak point of Pandle accounting software is Payroll – you will be unable to create Payroll for your employees and submit reports directly to HMRC.
You will need to get one of the multiple free payroll accounting softwares available to generate your Payroll reports and submit them to HMRC. However, you will be able to post a Wages or Salary journal on Pandle.
It has a very simple and straightforward template that you can fill in to record wages amounts on the Pandle. All you need is your Payroll Summary file.
Mobile App
It is not like for like with the cloud based version on the computer or laptop. There are missing functions like entering a wage adjustment journal or any other adjustment journal if you will require it to do.
Also, if you will need to enable any of the functionalities on the go then your Mobile App does not have Settings option at all. For example, if you have the Pandle Pro package and you forgot to enable ‘Receipt Uploads’ on your computer before you left for your meeting to the city, then at the train station when you will actually want to add your receipt to your purchased ticket transaction – you will be unable to do it.
Another point – if you will record a transaction then most likely you will be unable to delete it. You will need to go on your computer to delete it.
And one more picky thing – once you record a bank transaction but you forgot to attach a receipt. You will be unable to attach it from your Mobile App afterward but you will be able to add it on your laptop.
However, having said this, there is one feature that is not available on the browser and it is ‘Mileage’. You can record mileage of your car/van, motorcycle or even bicycle only from the Mobile App.
In summary about Pandle
Pandle is a good accounting software for the price that will not break your bank if you will decide to go for a Paid Package.
Also, if you are a small scale business then you may not need to have a paid package at all to run your business operations on a daily basis. But you will take on board some manual processes like entering bank transactions or uploading a bank statement on the software.
As a Sole Trader – you may need to have some help from the professional at the end of Tax Year if you are using the cash method, unless you decide to move to a traditional method.
While Mobile App has some downsides, overall it does the job and you can issue invoices on the go as well as record transactions and check reports.
Pandle is Making Tax Digital compliant accounting software for VAT purposes at the moment, but I am sure that it will be MTD for Income Tax compliant by the deadline (now it is set for 2026).
Link to Pandle Accounting Software – https://www.pandle.com/
By Rita Krekovska ACMA, CGMA
Rita is Chartered Management Accountant and online influencer known as Digital Accountant.
