A Complete Guide to Choosing Online Accounting Software

Technology today has enabled businesses to simplify their accounting process. The advent of accounting software makes it easier for businesses to store their financial information and use it in many different ways to boost business transactions. To manage the business accounting with ease, there is a number of online accounting software.

What is Accounting Software?

Accounting software is a program or software that can handle multiple bookkeeping and accounting tasks. The program stores all the financial data that is used for business transactions. Modern business accounting software usually comes with built-in internet connectivity which empowers businesses to manage their businesses on laptops and mobile devices. Accounting software now also incorporate cloud technology allowing business executives to access information from any location anytime. It also receives software updates to provide latest features that businesses can use to simplify their business accounting process.

Examples of Accounting Software

Technology has become an integral part of business allowing business owners and entrepreneurs to do more things in less time. The need for better accounting has given rise to a new breed of accounting software for business that manages and process financial data automatically.

Some of the examples of accounting software are mentioned below:

• Xero: Founded in New Zealand in 2006, Xero has quickly become one of the most reliable business accounting software that meets all the requirements of small businesses. It offers user-friendly features ideal even for those who have low or zero accounting knowledge. With painless installment process, ready to use templates it makes life easier for businesses and entrepreneurs.
• FreshBooks: This award-winning finance and accounting software for business offers a great experience for small and medium-sized business owners. Winners of various awards, FreshBooks makes small business accounting easy, fast and secure.
• Zoho Books: A great business accounting software designed for growing enterprises, Zoho Books makes the entire accounting process simpler. It has an easy user interface, data-based intelligence system, professional invoicing and payment systems to keep you in complete control of your cash flow.
• QuickBooks: QuickBooks is an excellent option for those looking for robust feature-rich accounting software for their businesses. With a strong market reputation and around 2.2 million users, QuickBooks has a user-friendly and functional UI. It offers true double-entry accounting feature and project management options. With over 500+ integrations QuickBooks is notoriously easy-to-use and provides full visibility of your business finance.

Additionally, there is much other accounting software for a business like Adra Accounts, CashManager, Declare and Invoice that offer a wide range of features to businesses to manage their transactions.

Importance of Accounting Software

Handling business can be quite complicated at the times we live. There are multiple business operations and commitments that entrepreneurs have to look after. Hence, you cannot ignore the importance of accounting software. With business growth, it becomes increasingly tedious and time consuming for businesses to manage their accounts and transactions using conventional methods.

Accounting software for business has multiple features that encompass the features of bookkeeping and accounting making it easier for businesses to make informed decisions, speed up business transactions and mitigate costly bookkeeping and accounting mistakes.

• Timely Report: Time is money. Business owners and entrepreneurs often would require cash flow reports in order to make timely and informed decisions. Business accounting software makes it easier for businesses to create various financial reports by selecting multiple options and clicking a button which is faster than the manual process.
• Accurate Data: Data is the new gold in the world of business. Businesses require accurate data to help them make decisions and to know their inflow vs. outflow status. Accounting software ensures accurate data and reduces human error in calculation. However, errors arising in accounting software from data entry mistakes are a possibility.
• Business Efficiency: Manual account processing is good, but computers are able to process numbers faster than a human brain. Accounting software online can boost your business efficiency by providing you accurate data in from any location at any time.
• Minimize Cost: Businesses today have to ensure that they reduce their production and business cost. Using accounting software empowers employees to handle multiple financial and business transactions. This means businesses need a smaller team to handle business accounts.
• Tax Integration: Calculating tax can be a tedious task. Many business accounting software today comes with various integration features that allow companies to integrate their accounting programs with tax return software. Hence, the data can be imported from the accounting software to tax return software seamlessly allowing your business to calculate tax correctly without spending additional time and resources.

Factors for Choosing Accounting Software

It can be quite overwhelming for businesses to look for accounting software in the market. Every accounting software includes a different set of features for handling various bookkeeping and accounting processes. They also come in free and paid versions and offer multiple pricing plans. Hence, there are many factors to consider while choosing online accounting software.

• Usability: Before you make your decision, you have to be clear about how many employees at your firm will have access to the software. These days many business accounting software have cloud technology that enables businesses to let multiple people access the software from different locations. Some accounting programs also have a mobile app that allows users to access data through their mobile devices. If you have a single office, you can think of installing desktop software. But cloud-based accounting solution is a more preferred option.
• Features: The importance of accounting software lies in its features. Different accounting software has a different set of features. Hence, it is recommended that you read the list of features before you purchase it. Accounting software come with features like tracking inventory, accounts received and payable tools, time tracking, and payroll features.
• Costs: It is important to know how much you are willing to spend on your new accounting software. Businesses should compare and evaluate different accounting software for business before choosing the right one for their business.

Tips for Choosing Accounting Software

With the plethora of variety available in terms of accounting software, it becomes increasingly vital for businesses to choose the right accounting software. Here are few tips that can help you on how to choose the right accounting software for your business.

• Know What You Want: Knowing and understanding your business needs resolves half the challenge of finding the right accounting software. You must know how your business operates, the scale of your business, and the industry requirements. If your business is small you can go for SaaS model accounting software on cloud, but if your business is global you can choose accounting software for business with cloud integration feature.
• Research Well: Take your time to review online accounting software in India that would be ideal for your business. Look into the features that come with it and how your accounting department can use those features to get optimum results. Some business accounting software come with add-on features like tax compatibility that can make business accounting process simple and easy.
• Software Security: Security is critical when a lot depends on the accounting software online. Both accounting desktop software and cloud accounting software for business must have high-end encryption technologies, automatic backup and secure data-housing facilities to ensure that vital business and financial data is never hacked, stolen or lost.

How Much Accounting Software Cost?

Basic business accounting software usually is available for free download online. However, these programs have basic and limited features. Often, these programs are not ad-free which could hinder your business financial operations.

Paid accounting software online usually have basic features along with other features like cloud integration that allow companies to operate software on a monthly subscription fee.

High-end accounting software usually has advanced features like inventory tracking, payroll services, expense and sales tracking, and advanced reporting capabilities and team functionalities.

FinForce and Accounting Software

At FinForce, we understand the challenging business environment and provide tailored solutions to suit the diverse needs of your business. We have partnered with QuickBooks, Zoho Books, and ERPNext to ensure faster results and data correctness.

We provide various accounting services and use latest technology & software to ensure confidentiality of your business and financial data. We believe in working as partners to assure superior results within tight deadlines.

Contact now to know more about our accounting services and our team will be glad to assist you to achieve your business and financial goals.