Overview
So, you've either decided to stop using an accountant and do-it-yourself, or, you are looking to replace or upgrade your accounting software. Accounting Software Functionality is next on your list. On this page we hope to provide you with an overview of Accounting Software. (If you are an expert in Accounting Software, then you probably already know all the information contained in here!)
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Uses for Accounting Software
Popular searches for accounting software relate to : church, construction, fund, inventory, manufacturing, nursery, payroll, project, restaurant, etc. This just goes to show that no matter what your business, you need (or at least believe) that an accounting software system will help you to lower your costs, improve your accounts' accuracy and give you a much better idea of how your company is performing while also giving you control at the same time. Furthermore, with the possibility of e-filing (electronic/online filing) an accounting software system may just help you with that too.
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Accounting Software Functionality
- Generally, you need to manage your sales**, customers**, inventory and other information along with associated documents. You will definitely want to generate reports.
- Ideally, the 'out-of-the-box' (minimum or no configuration required) accounting software will manage:
- your money coming in (Accounts Receivable)
- your money going out (Accounts Payable)
- your main documents (Billing, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders)
- your inventory (Stock)
- Additionally (probably an additional cost to you)
you may need your chosen system
to manage:
- money owed to you
- your staff's expenses and salaries (Payroll)
- project times (so that you can charge for actual work against projects your staff are working on)
- approval processes (so you can submit, then track who approved what and when)
- Advanced Requirements
(just a few)
- integration to other systems (normally enterprise systems)
- 'big' imports (big imports are normally required by the administrator (or implementor) when implementing a system for the first time or during a major upgrade)
- 'small' imports (for regular use by staff for getting small quantities of data into the system)
- backing up of the accounting system (includes data entered into it, as well as configuration of the system)
- reporting/graphs (for high-level views such as Balances, Profit & Loss, Portfolio overviews etc)
- Multiple currencies
- Import ability
- Localisation (allowing you to use the software in your own language)
- Cheque/Check printing
** there are specific CRM Solutions to manage just this functionality - try this Customer Relationship Management Solutions article.
The Right Solution For You
You should really, consider:
- How are you managing your accounts at the moment?
- How many transactions do you have a month? (manual might be best if you only have a dozen transactions a month for example)
- What type of company is yours? (meaning what type of legal entity is it?)
- How many people wil be using the system?
- Do you know what your business needs? If you know what your business needs, then you will be able to better match up functionality of the accountancy package(s) you are considering.
- What database will the accounting package be using?
- You may additionally want to see
Some Popular Accounting Software
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Your Company
Size
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Accounting Software Supplier
(list not ehaustive by any means) |
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Personal |
GnuCash
(GPL) |
HomeBank
(GPL) |
JMoney
(GPL) |
Microsoft Money |
Quicken |
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Small Enterprise |
Microsoft Office Accounting |
MYOB |
Peachtree |
QuickBooks |
Sage 50 Accounts 2008
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TurboCASH
(GPL) |
WebERP
(GPL) |
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Medium enterprise |
ACCPAC |
Microsoft Dynamics |
NetSuite (on-demand) |
Tiny ERP (GPL) |
TurboCASH (GPL) |
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Large Enterprise |
Lawson Software |
Oracle Corporation |
SAP |
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Finally
The cost of your chosen accounting software will range between ZERO and 'a small arm and a leg'. You will have convinced yourself that you will benefit from installing a new accounting system or by upgrading/replacing your existing one. Your supplier should have no problems showing you (not just telling you) how and why they are a good partner for your company. Don't be afraid to ask questions - not to trip them up, but to get ansers to issues important to you. Allow resoanlable time for the task of selecting the right software for you. Be frank and open with the supplier - you'd expect the same back after all! Negotiate hard - before you sign is the best time for getting a good price and/or goodies (training, consultancy, health checks, etc) thrown in.
keywords
accounting software, business accounting software, business software, financial software, small business software, tax accounting software, bookkeeping software, free accounting software
Good Luck - I hope this information helps you in some way (in which case please bookmark this or forward it to a friend).
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