Suma vs running the books in Excel and WhatsApp
A shared workbook for the numbers and a WhatsApp chat full of receipt photos is how many Hong Kong businesses start, and for some it is enough. This page compares that setup with Suma on where records live, reconciliation, the audit trail, the year-end handover to your auditor and who can see what.
Disclosure: Suma wrote this page and is one of the two options it compares. It describes a spreadsheet and chat-thread setup in general terms, makes no claim about any Microsoft or Meta product, and every Hong Kong legal requirement links to the official page it came from. Checked on .
At a glance
| Topic | Suma | Excel and WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|
| Where records live | In one app for your company. Sensitive fields are encrypted at rest with a key unique to your company. | Figures in a workbook, and the evidence for them as photos and messages in one or more chat threads. Linking each figure to its receipt is a manual step. |
| Reconciliation | Where a bank account is connected, a payment is matched against your rules and posted as a balanced double-entry line. Anything uncertain is asked once, as a yes or no. | Bank statements are compared with the workbook by hand, on whatever schedule someone keeps. |
| The audit trail | Every entry records its source and reason and is retained for seven years. | What changed in a cell, and why, is as clear as the team's own habit of noting it. The evidence sits in chat history. |
| Year-end handover to the auditor | The ledger is kept reconciled during the year, and our partner CPA firm, W. M. Sum & Company, provides professional review, licensed CPA sign-off and statutory filing. | The workbook, bank statements and receipt photos are gathered and handed to your auditor, and gaps tend to surface at that point. The financial statements of a Hong Kong company are audited every year unless it is dormant.[3] |
| Access control | Every request is scoped to your company's account on the server, and one company can never see another's books. | Anyone with the file, or in the chat, can see what it holds. Access is whatever sharing and group membership allow. |
| Keeping the records for 7 years | Every entry is retained for seven years with its source and reason. | Up to you: the workbook and the chat history have to be kept, and kept readable, for at least 7 years. The duty applies whichever tools you use.[1] |
| Getting started | We begin with your spreadsheets, exported WhatsApp records, receipts and existing systems. The setup cost depends on your records and workflows, set in a proposal after a call. | Little or nothing to set up: many businesses already use both tools. |
What Hong Kong law asks, either way
- Section 51C of the Inland Revenue Ordinance requires every person carrying on a business in Hong Kong to keep sufficient records, in English or Chinese, of income and expenditure, and to retain them for not less than 7 years. Failing to comply without reasonable excuse carries a maximum fine of $100,000.[1]
- The records the IRD names include books of account recording receipts and payments, and the vouchers, bank statements, invoices and receipts that support them.[1]
- Section 373 of the Companies Ordinance requires a company's accounting records to disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, its financial position and financial performance, and section 377 requires them to be preserved for 7 years after the end of the financial year they relate to.[2]
- Audit of financial statements is required for all companies, including those within the reporting exemption, except dormant companies.[3]
The guides go further: Bookkeeping requirements for Hong Kong companies and Does your Hong Kong company need an audit?.
When Excel and WhatsApp is the better choice
- A very small or new business with a handful of transactions a month.
- A business before revenue, still testing the idea, with few records to keep.
- One person keeps both the workbook and the receipts, so shared access and a formal audit trail matter less for now.
Where Suma fits
Suma fits once the workbook and the chat stop keeping up: more transactions, more people touching the numbers, or an audit that keeps turning up gaps. We start from the records you already have.
Suma's price depends on your records, workflows and custom requirements, so it is set in a proposal after a call.
Book a callSources
- Inland Revenue Department: Record keeping Checked on
- Companies Registry: Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), Part 9, Accounts and Audit (PDF) Checked on
- Companies Registry: FAQ on accounts and audit Checked on
General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Confirm the current requirements with the IRD, the Companies Registry or a licensed practitioner.