With the economy recovering and the market gradually finding its feet post-pandemic, this is the perfect time for every business to step on the accelerator. If you are a small and medium business that shares the same goals then it is important to equip your accounting department with accounting tools to help you chart, support and optimize your growth path.
If you are a small and medium business still on the fence about accounting software, then with this blog we would like to help you understand its necessity. If you are already looking for accounting software for your business, then we go a step ahead and help you choose the right accounting software for your business.
Why Small and Medium Businesses Must Invest in Accounting Software?
If you are currently using spreadsheets for your accounting, then you must know that there quickly comes a point where you may not be able to get the accounting job done. Spreadsheets work when your transactions are lower side, you don’t manual work and have a lot of time on your hands. Even if you qualify all these three requirements for how long do you think your business will be on the same scale? Not long.
As your business expands your transaction data grow in both volume and complexity. You will have to create more invoices, journal entries, generate financial statements – your accounting process demands more accuracy and speed.
Spreadsheets instead of getting your accounting done will create more problems and errors along the way. And this is where you will be needing accounting software. Instead of waiting until you are surrounded by problems in every direction, it is in your best interest to choose the right accounting software that can automate all the manual accounting tasks and simplify your accounting process and does this for years to come.
As a trusted remote accounting firm, Outsourced Bookkeeping recommends every business automate their accounting tasks with the right accounting software for better accounting performance. That said, if you are already looking for accounting software for your business, then here are the 6 factors you must consider while choosing accounting software for your business:
Functionality: Listing out the features you will need from your accounting software will greatly simplify the task of finding the right accounting software you will for your business. Fortunately, almost all the major accounting software providers like QuickBooks Services, Sage, XERO, and FreshBooks provide all the basic features to cater to the majority of accounting requirements. But businesses must carefully check out the features as some of them are only included in upgraded versions. Compare the options only after checking out the priced add-ons or features your business might need.
Industry-specific Functionality: If you are a niche business you might need add-on features that may over time make the software a pricey proposition. Instead of choosing general accounting software, you can look out for industry-specific accounting software which usually simplifies the accounting process and comes with all the required features out of the box.
For example, restaurant businesses may need POS integration, e-commerce businesses may need e-commerce website integration. At Outsourced Bookkeeping, we recommend you consider industry-specific cloud accounting solutions above the general accounting package if you are from a niche segment.
Usability and Interface: Once you zero in on the functionality and features you need, it is time to look at the usability. As accounting in itself is filled with complex procedures, it helps to have a simple and intuitive interface. But the most important is how effective it is in showing the financial information – bill paid, invoice owed, and cash-in and out over a given period. Simple demo will help you understand and assess the functionality of different accounting software.
Scalability: How easily and cost-effectively you can scale your accounting software is the most important factor that must govern your accounting software purchase. While all accounting software provides basic features, a few of them charge high amounts for add-ons and upgrades on basic features which may make the whole offering expensive. So make a note of the future requirements, estimate the costs and make a decision.
Security: The pandemic has shown us how important it is to invest in remote accounting. With remote working and work-from-anywhere being the future of the work, it is important to have a security standard given how sensitive accounting data can be.
With a cloud accounting solution, you can save our data in external servers which will serve as your backup. Also while you select the accounting software, know-how the accounting service provider saves the application data – cloud or external server, if the latter ensure they follow stringent security measures to safeguard the data.
How Outsourced Bookkeeping Can Help?
Though there are also other features you must have a look at, getting your requirements and features listed out will take care of most of them. However, it is an accepted fact that the real power of accounting software can only be leverage when you have the right accounting talent on board. It is also advised to decide in close partnership with your accounting resources.
If you are looking for the right accounting expertise whether to guide you through this process or to outsource bookkeeping and accounting services altogether, then our expert accounting team at Outsourced Bookkeeping can help. You can find us here: https://outsourcedbookeeping.com/
