Small Business Accounting Software -- So Many Options, So Little ...

everystockphoto 177221 m Small Business Accounting Software    So Many Options, So Little Time

That?s right. Tax time is right around the corner and if you haven?t been keeping track of your small business finances, you could be in for a long few months.

Of course, just like with personal finances, there are many options when it comes to software for small business that will help to keep accurate records, no matter how small or large your may be.

While you may not be able to use one of these programs to get your affairs in order this year (unless you put in the man hours to get it all in the database), there is always time to prep for next year, the year after that, and the year after that, for years to come.

But of all the options out there for small businesses to choose from, which one is the best? Here are two of the best small business accounting software options, with regard to accounts payable and receivable, payroll, inventory, banking, and general ledger.

Bookkeeper

Bookkeeper isn?t one of the more popular options, or one of the software programs that people see on commercials, but it should be. Maybe it will be in the future.

For whatever reason, accounts payable is a little easier to use than accounts receivable on Bookkeeper.

Payroll is fantastic on Bookkeeper because of its ease of use, its functionality within the software itself, and because it makes life a little easier when it comes to getting those checks out. (Note: see below for possible hang-up in payroll)

Keeping track of inventory is not quite as easy as it is on other programs, which means you still need to put in a few man hours to keep track of everything coming in and going out.

Banking on Bookkeeper is easy, as well, and has excellent functionality. You can link your accounts to the program and make transfers through the system as needed.

The general ledger portion of the software beats many of the options for your small business accounting software. Because this is a crucial portion of any small business?s day-to-day operation, Bookkeeper is a serious contender for those that see the general ledger as a make-or-break component.

Unfortunately, Bookkeeper has a few pitfalls for any small business. It?s missing some of those additional features that make life a little easier on the payroll side of things. For instance, there is no direct deposit functionality in the software, which can be a real pain to set up by hand.

Also, you can only set up the program on one PC and you don?t get remote access, so again, this could be a deal-breaker if your small business is expanding. But, for the price ($39.95), you won?t get better accounting software for the price.

Quickbooks Pro

Quickbooks from Intuit is definitely one of those accounting software programs that you?ll see on commercials. It?s because they are one of the most popular small business accounting programs in the world. For good reason, too. The program was rated among the best small business accounting programs by PC Magazine.

First we?ll get the cons out of the way: this version of the popular accounting software does not keep track of inventory location, which means you?ve got to do a little manual labor to find your products. Also, it doesn?t support FIFO or LIFO cost methods, which can make it difficult to see how much money you?ve got tied up in inventory at any given time.

With that said, this program is still among the best.

Its accounts payable and receivable are easy to use, but Bookkeeper has a leg up here because of its superior accounts payable program.

Where Quickbooks Pro really succeeds, though, is in its payroll functionality. It makes this complex part of small business very, very easy to use, so even if you are not an accountant, you can probably take care of this using the software.

As was noted earlier, the inventory functionality is somewhat lacking, but if you don?t need to know exactly where you inventory is, or how much capital you?ve got, you can still keep track of inventory with ease.

The banking functionality is easy to use and you can hook this one up to your bank pretty easily, as well.

The general ledger is where Quickbooks really shines. While this can be a daunting task for many small business owners, Quickbooks makes it easy to keep track of the day-to-day expenses any company puts out there at any given time.

At $183.96, you get a whole lot of bang for your buck from Quickbooks.

 Small Business Accounting Software    So Many Options, So Little TimeAbout genevieve.coates ?(2 Posts)

Genevieve Coates is a freelance technology writer. She has worked with small businesses in Tampa, Florida to help improve their IT knowledge and understanding.


Source: http://www.richescorner.com/small-business-accounting-software-so-many-options-so-little-time/

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