If you purchased Solar Accounts before May 2015 then you are running the old offline version of Solar Accounts which stores your data on your computer. Our new online version saves data to 'the cloud' and offers several benefits over the offline version you are currently using.
Your data is automatically saved to our online servers in two separate locations, so it is kept safe and is always available online.
Your User ID and password is all you need to access your data from any Mac or Windows computer.
The online version allows multiple users to access the same business data simultaneously.
When you share your computer with colleagues, the online version protects your sensitive financial data from unauthorised access.
The new Notes field provides a way to record more detail than the standard Journal Memo field.
Create a customer activity statement showing invoices, payments and a running balance.
If you send invoices using Solar Accounts Online, you can easily see which emails have been delivered by clicking menu Tools > Email Status.
The offline version is designed only for displays with low-DPI ('dots per inch') so text fields can be the wrong size on newer high-DPI screens like Apple's Retina display or Microsoft's Surface tablet. The online version now has better support for these high-DPI screens.
New features we develop in future will automatically be available to users of the online version. These features will not be available in the offline version.
We currently offer free technical support for all users, but we may withdraw support for the offline version at any time. The online version provides guaranteed technical support for the duration of your subscription.
Solar Accounts Online is designed to quickly import your existing business data in minutes with no interruption to your normal workflow. It takes just 5 steps to switch:
Yes, the user interface for the online version version is almost exactly the same as the offline version you are used to, so there is no need to re-learn any new data entry process.
A Solar Accounts Online subscription costs £20 + VAT per month for a VAT-registered business, or £9 + VAT per month for a non-VAT-registered business.
In future we plan to include an 'Offline Session' feature which will allow you to continue using Solar Accounts Online without an internet connection after you log in. If your internet connection is not reliable we recommend you wait for this feature before switching to the online version.
Solar Accounts Online offers much better security than most websites because we encrypt almost all your data when it is stored online. In addition, the password used to decrypt your data is never sent to the server. Together, these two security measures mean that even an attacker who gains complete control over our online servers would be unable to access your accounting data (except for emails sent while the server is compromised).
Yes, the online version of Solar Accounts is a completely separate program to the offline version, so you can run both programs simultaneously on the same computer. This may be useful if you want to manage one business online and a separate business offline.
The offline version of Solar Accounts can access business data files located in a Dropbox folder but with two important restrictions: 1) two users cannot access the same data file at the same time; 2) to avoid data loss you need to be careful to synchronise your Dropbox folders in a particular order (see this page for details). The online version doesn't have these limitations, giving you peace of mind that your financial data is safe.
Yes. We can arrange for free 'read-only' access to your data for up to 2 years after you cancel your subscription. Please contact us to arrange this type of access.
Please contact us and our friendly staff will be happy to answer your questions.
