If your small business has grown from a sole proprietorship with only a single employee-you-to one with several employees now sharing the bookkeeping responsibilities for inventory, payables and receivables, perhaps it’s time to streamline your daily accounting by choosing a business accounting software that generates reports that can help you take your company to the next level. If you are not a CPA, choosing an accounting software for your business from the thousands of options available can be daunting at best-and the attempt can be quite costly if you make a mistake. First, take a look at what you need to know about your operation and about the software packages that interest you.
Considerations for the Software Purchaser
• If you have a small client base, do not carry inventory and have very few employees, you may not need to spend the money for business accounting software.
• There may be an industry-specific software (e.g., manufacturing, wholesale distribution, construction) available that would be a great fit for your operation.
• Software packages vary with respect to the accounting features and managerial documentation they offer. Making a list of what you need before you shop-sales tracking, inventory management, budgeting and estimating capabilities, payroll module, etc.-will help you avoid paying for features you won’t use.
• Are there user-related functions you should include on your shopping list? Do you want an online system that facilitates accessing your records from multiple computers? Will you want the ability to restrict access for some users? How much software support do you anticipate needing, and how much does it cost? How many users can the system accommodate?
• The software’s ability to grow with your business is important. Does it upgrade easily to a more robust version when business operations require expansion? Can the data be exported to other software later on?
Consult Your CPA
A good accountant is a key element in every successful business-small or super-sized. Your Certified Public Accountant will know your business almost as well as you-and will be familiar with the software packages that can help you meet your goals. After thoughtful consideration, then, consult your CPA, Jacksonville, Florida! Or Jackson Hole, Wyoming…or Juneau, Alaska…wherever you are now, your CPA can help you choose the software that will get you where you’re headed!
