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So how can you make this process easier, less painful and cut your accountancy fees?
Well buying an accounting software package is one way.
First of all you need to decide whether you are going to keep your accounting records manually, that is using pen and paper, or whether you are going to computerize the process.
If you decide that computerizing the process is the way to go then you need to decide whether to buy an accounting software package, for example Sage or Quicken, or whether a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel will suit your needs better.
As a general rule if you are a cash business that just needs to record income and expenditure then you are better off using a spreadsheet.
So, should you choose an accounting software package? Yes if:
· You have customers to whom you extend credit and you buy goods in the same way
· You process in excess of 50 transactions per month
· Your business is an Incorporated Company (Limited Company in the UK)
· You are computer literate or are willing to learn!
Before choosing the accounting software, speak to your accountants – they will be familiar with the various accounting software packages on the market and will be able to advise you. Most accountants use software in their office to process the bookkeeping for their clients and will have a working knowledge of the accounting software package they use. It may be cheaper for you to use the same one they do, because they can advise you how to get it up and running and will be on hand to answer questions, plus at your financial year end when your accounts need preparing it will be less expensive, believe me to have a compatible program.
I also recommend doing some research yourself, you may be able to obtain a demonstration disk or download of the most popular accounting software packages and this will give you an idea of how they work and if they are user-friendly.
The cost may also be an issue, so you need to decide on your budget. But consider how your business is likely to expand - you may outgrow that budget accounting software quickly and end up buying the more expensive one anyway.
Accounting software providers may also try and up-sell you a maintenance contract. Save your money! In my experience the established software providers will not have bugs in their systems. They will also try and upgrade you to the next version on a regular basis, but if the software is doing everything you need then there is no need to upgrade.
Of course, you could also pay someone to do your accounts for you, either your accountant or a bookkeeper – the payoff being you don't have to do it yourself and it frees you up to actually run your business!
Copyright © Jakki Francis,(UK), 2005
With more and more people self employed and setting up businesses from home accounting software are becoming much more of a necessity. If your business is lucky enough to be growing rapidly you may have trouble keeping a track of all your finances. If you don't want to spend every evening yourself going thorough the accounts you could pay an accountant to do all this for you, but this is costly and not feasible for small businesses that are starting out. The best way is to buy reputable accounting software. And if you get this right is could be a major investment for your business. But you don't want to spend a lot of money on accounting software only to find out that a few months down the line your business is growing so rapidly and your accounting software cannot handle it.
The problem with accounting software is that there is no single best product that suits every businesses needs. To find the best software you need to evaluate what your needs for your particular business are. Some of the questions you need to ask are:
• What exactly do you want the software to do?
• Will it cope if my business trebles in a year's time?
• Will the software meet my current and future needs?
• Does the package provide web integration?
• Can the software be customized? If so will it be capable of meeting your full requirements?
• Is the vendor reputable and do they offer customer and technical support?
• Does the software produce the reports your business needs?
• Is it easy to use?
The best way forward is to research your particular business accounting needs. Read reviews and find similar companies to yours and find out what software package they use and ask all the pros and cons of that particular software. There are many websites that evaluate and review software for you, but remember many businesses have different needs and are of a different size. And if your business is successful and growing rapidly then your accounting software needs to be able to have the resources to take on the extra accounts that it might produce in the future.
You must be careful not to buy accounting software because of its price. You may find some software that is very reasonably priced and then only to find out you have to upgrade it to it can run your business effectively. But this does not necessary mean that the more expensive software packages are any more suitable for your business. This is why you must be careful before you buy any software, research is a must. You might find all the different software packages on the market quite daunting and be put off and just buy one that's in the price range you have available. And you may also use the excuse that you have little time to research what software package is most suitable. But a little amount of time spent before you purchase your software could save you an awful lot of hassle and time in the future. Don't be afraid to ask companies for advice, they may tell you some horror stories they had and how to avoid these yourself.