6 Steps to Choosing the Right Accounting Software
Posted Jun 07, 2022
Getting the right digital accounting package for your business, is crucial to managing your business’ money efficiently. They each have a learning curve and you don’t want to waste time on a system which doesn’t fit your business, nor provide you with customized financial reports that support effective decision making.
There are six steps you should take when choosing an off the shelf accounting package.
1. Make a list of must haves in respect to functions and features – this list will help you to eliminate those accounting packages which only do half the job. Placing them in priority order will also assist for some software will be stronger in your must haves than others.
2. Identify functions and features you would like the system to do, but are not deal breakers – it is unlikely you will find a package that can do everything you want it to do the way you want it to. Put these items in priority order too so you can find the best fit.
3. Research the accounting packages available and eliminate the software which doesn’t meet the criteria you outline in number 1. Hopefully you will narrow it down to two or three. Review your choices again against items you listed in number 2.
4. Investigate and test your chosen package before you buy. Often appearances are misleading, you want to make sure you know what you are getting, is what you perceive you are buying.
5. Recruit a professional to install and setup your new database. While it appears you can simply start with many packages, if you have already been trading and have submitted your first business tax return, to get your financial reports accurate, you will want to have the starting balances entered from the gecko.
6. Undertake training. Bookkeeping is more than data entry and requires a different set of skills to simply processing transactions. You will not only need training in how to use the software, but understand particular bookkeeping concepts to extract the most value from your chosen package. Find out how, or recruit a professional bookkeeper to either train you or to manage your bookkeeping and accounting package for you.
Most accounting software packages will have a cashbook facility, enabling you to manage customer receipting and supplier payments. Some packages are stronger in this area than others, but this is essentially the core of all the accounting software available.
Differences between the packages become increasingly different when considering the other functionalities:
· Sale invoicing;
· Supplier invoicing;
· Inventory management;
· Payroll management;
· Regional taxation requirements;
· Job/Project Costing;
· Predesigned financial reports;
· Divisional reporting;
· Customized report writer.
Can you think of any others? These are the type of items you will list in step 1 and 2 and will discern which software package you should choose. No package is perfect, you will have to make sacrifices to find the package which is a best fit.
These six steps are crucial in ascertaining which software accounting package is right for you. They should be considered when selecting a package for the first time.
If you are already using a software accounting package and you wish to transfer to another, there are many other steps you should undertake. Look out for a future post on ‘Converting your Accounting Package’.
Good luck with choosing the software accounting package which is right for you. This is only one of the processes you can take to help making your money work for you and make managing your business a breeze.
By Debra Cooper