Choosing Accounting Software: Keep It Simple
Accounting tasks, from keeping your books current, to entering a customer’s address on a quote, take up a large amount of time. One of the fastest, easiest ways to cut down on business costs and time is by investing in a well-developed accounting software.
When searching for the right software solutions for business, start by listing small business accounting features that are integral for the smooth operation of your business. Some that you may want to consider including on your list are inventory management, the ability to manage customer contacts and work with any current software you have, sales tracking, budgeting, estimates, payroll, business tax reporting and merchant account support for accepting credit cards. You may also want to look for accounting or software that was designed specifically for businesses in your industry, like commercial screen-printing software or print estimating software, since it was created to run smoothly for businesses with issues like yours.
Next, consider important questions, such as: will the software help grow your business, and does your bank support the choosing accounting software you consider purchasing? If you are unable to download transactions from your bank straight into your system, you might as well continue doing your accounting tasks by hand.
You also want to find out if you can restrict access to your system for some users, if the software comes with a free trial so that you can find out how it works before committing time and resources to installing it, and if it is an online or desktop software. Many companies prefer online software, since it can run on multiple computers simultaneously, and is safe since it runs through an internet browser.