Accounting Software : Benefits, Price, and Features

Accounting software programs are used to handle accounting and book-keeping, including storing your organization’s financial data and performing business transactions. It’s a time-saving solution that eliminates redundant data entry such as filling in your customer’s information on the quote, processing the work order, and then completing the invoice. Still, not everyone may need this system. For instance, a sole proprietor with no employees may suffice without it. However, small businesses with more employees, customers, and inventory handled can benefit from this system.

Before tackling the ways this solution can help you, it’s essential to determine first if it’s meant for you. The following questions may help you decide whether it’s right for your processes:

1. If you’re in charge of your finances, are you lacking the technical skill to manage it? Balancing books can be difficult as it’s prone to errors and simple mistakes that are arduous to solve.
2. Are you prone to overlooking your business finances? As your business grows, the more there is to track—invoices, rent, salaries, and inventories, among others, that it’s possible to overlook some aspects.
3. Are you spending a huge amount of your time chasing invoices? It’s a painful process to track cash flows, incoming cash, and late payments which can take up a huge amount of your valuable time.

If you answered yes to most of these questions, then you, indeed, can use the help of an accounting system. With that in mind, let’s proceed on answering the question: why accounting software is useful?

Benifits of having an Accounting Software

You may not aware of the benefits of having an Accounting Software in your business. Let me tell you some of the benefits of having an accounting software in your business.

1. It automates redundant tasks

Data entry is time-consuming. With any popular accounting system, automated payment plans allow you to only enter a customer’s information once. A customer’s payment habits and purchasing history are tracked for reference. When collecting payments is due, you’ll then receive payments without putting in extra work from your end. It also gives you vendor history and aging with reports for each member which makes locating and retrieving invoices and payments faster.

The entirety of each transaction history is also saved in the system without you having to manually input the data one by one. Not only does this saves you time, but this also eliminates potential errors from transcribing data manually. Many banks also allow a direct download of your bank account so you can easily input a whole month’s worth of transactions.

2. It helps with taxes

Using a good accounting system in place only requires you to record the amount of money you spend and receive in an organized way. This allows you to stay on top of your accounts when compiling and exporting documents and receipts to your accountant with ease. Properly compiled records also make your accountant’s job easier in taking care of your taxes.

Some software also complies with tax office rules through formatting invoices automatically so you won’t face headaches during tax season. It also enables audit-proof books which makes the auditing process shorter as IRS auditors may only check and do a cursory review to see if the bank statements align with the software’s records.

3. It provides digital invoices

In a technology-driven world, paperwork is outdated. Many processes nowadays are empowered by technology. It’s even predicted that by 2022, 70% of software interactions of enterprises will happen in mobile devices which stresses the importance of getting ahead against your competitors.

Sending a digital invoice to your customers via email is convenient both for you and your customer. Customers can send their payments with only a few clicks which make collecting them faster and easier. Many accounting platforms nowadays integrate with various payment channels that allow credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and e-wallets.

4. It oversees cash flow

Managing a business entails a net amount of cash and cash equivalents that flow in and out of your financials. Overseeing all transactions to pay and get paid for may mean having to designate your productive hours in flicking through contact lists, files, and Excel sheets without an accounting program to streamline the task.

The software helps you stay on top and keep track of incoming cash, invoices, and overdue payments, among others to ensure you won’t miss a crucial financial transaction. An accounts payable system tracks bills as they arrive so you can plan and forecast future cash flows instead of just cutting checks when bills are due.

Having formalized financial statements, such as balance sheets and profit and loss statements, is also necessary for evaluating the progress of your business.

5. It takes care of the math for you

Even if you’re excellent at math, accuracy is a crucial aspect of accounting processes. Despite having access to all financial records in your organization, there’s still a potential for errors, edits, and lapses in calculations that can cost you time and money to correct.

This is even more important as your business grows and you’ll soon have to handle more workers, taxes, bills, and payments with crucial deadlines. It also simplifies bank reconciliation so you don’t miss deductions. A good example of an accounting solution that handles these processes well is FreshBooks. It tracks expenses easily, automates payments for getting paid faster, and creates professional-looking invoices.

6. It cuts costs

Automating your accounting tasks saves you money in the long run. It eliminates the need for hiring a bookkeeper or allotting extra hours of their shift to handle all books, invoices, and transactions. In business, time is equivalent to money and optimizing this process greatly reduces bookkeeping hours.

Furthermore, the software has subscription-based pricing models with low costs to pay on a monthly or annual basis. Subscribing to a plan gives you regular updates, support, and tools which enables you to focus on actually running your business.

7. It enables wide accessibility

If your accounting system lives in the cloud, you can access it anywhere you are at any time when you need to. Matters regarding finances are hard to put off, hence, immediately solving any issue is critical. A cloud-based accounting solution doesn’t limit your access to your office or desktop. You can use native apps for mobile devices even when you’re on-the-go. In fact, 83% of users are more satisfied when their vendor offers a solution for mobile devices.

Quick Books: GST Ready cloud Accounting Software

QuickBooks is a small business accounting software program businesses use to manage sales and expenses and keep track of daily transactions. You can use it to invoice customers, pay bills, generate reports for planning, tax filing, and more.

According to me, QuickBooks is the best accounting software for small businesses. QuickBooks one of the most effective, comprehensive, useful, and usable tools. Furthermore, its depth, flexibility, and extensibility outclass those of its rivals. For more details about you can visit their website – https://quickbooks.intuit.com/in/

Pricing of QuickBooks