How to Choose the Right Accounting Software for Your Business

by: Brandon Hall
With any good luck and a good amount of hard work, you're having the same problem many business owners today are facing. Your business is growing rapidly and you're having problems controlling your finances. Time and time again, that Microsoft Excel spreadsheet you've been using just isn't getting the job done for you.

So, you’ve decided that you’re ready to take the next step, and buy a full-featured accounting software program. Many options are available to choose from, but I believe the best solutions to be Quicken Premier Home and Business by Intuit, QuickBooks Pro also by Intuit, and Peachtree Accounting by Sage. In order to decide on the right package for you, you need define the type of business that you operate.

With the rise of self-employment (businesses with one or more owners but no paid employees) a need has arisen to manage business and personal finances on one platform. Intuit has released Quicken 2005 Premier Home and Business to fill this need.

This software is perfect for the small business owner who receives income from investments, real estate, and/or internet
marketing. Also, Quicken 2005 Premier Home and Business is well priced at only $89.95.

For more typical brick-and-mortar business owners, you will usually need a more robust solution like QuickBooks Pro or
Peachtree Accounting for functions like payroll reporting and check producing. Each piece of software has its advantages,
but don't forget that QuickBooks has been the standard in business accounting software for many years now. As for features and basic operations, both applications will provide you the same functionality and convenience for your business.

One additional factor to consider in your decision is that Peachtree Accounting is less expensive than QuickBooks. Both
starter versions of Peachtree and QuickBooks are priced at $99.95 each, but the full-featured version of Peachtree is priced at only $199.95 while the full-featured QuickBooks Pro is priced at $299.95.

At the end of the day, the biggest advantage QuickBooks offers over Peachtree is compatibility with other applications. For example, most commercial banks (Bank of America, SunTrust, etc...) provide you with files designed to work directly with

QuickBooks, so that you can read, study, and decipher transaction details. Also, some banks will allow you to update account information in real-time with QuickBooks. Check with your bank to see what accounting software their online services support, and you should be able to make your decision.

For more information, Click Here!

Do you need accounting software? By Jakki Francis

If you’re anything like me then you dislike with a vengeance doing your accounts and taxes.

So how can you make this process easier, less painful and cut your accountancy fees?

Well buying an accounting software package is one way.

First of all you need to decide whether you are going to keep your accounting records manually, that is using pen and paper, or whether you are going to computerize the process.

If you decide that computerizing the process is the way to go then you need to decide whether to buy an accounting software package, for example Sage or Quicken, or whether a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel will suit your needs better.

As a general rule if you are a cash business that just needs to record income and expenditure then you are better off using a spreadsheet.

So, should you choose an accounting software package? Yes if:

· You have customers to whom you extend credit and you buy goods in the same way

· You process in excess of 50 transactions per month

· Your business is an Incorporated Company (Limited Company in the UK)

and

· You are computer literate or are willing to learn!

Before choosing the accounting software, speak to your accountants – they will be familiar with the various accounting software packages on the market and will be able to advise you. Most accountants use software in their office to process the bookkeeping for their clients and will have a working knowledge of the accounting software package they use. It may be cheaper for you to use the same one they do, because they can advise you how to get it up and running and will be on hand to answer questions, plus at your financial year end when your accounts need preparing it will be less expensive, believe me to have a compatible program.

I also recommend doing some research yourself, you may be able to obtain a demonstration disk or download of the most popular accounting software packages and this will give you an idea of how they work and if they are user-friendly.

The cost may also be an issue, so you need to decide on your budget. But consider how your business is likely to expand - you may outgrow that budget accounting software quickly and end up buying the more expensive one anyway.

Accounting software providers may also try and up-sell you a maintenance contract. Save your money! In my experience the established software providers will not have bugs in their systems. They will also try and upgrade you to the next version on a regular basis, but if the software is doing everything you need then there is no need to upgrade.

Of course, you could also pay someone to do your accounts for you, either your accountant or a bookkeeper – the payoff being you don’t have to do it yourself and it frees you up to actually run your business!

Copyright © Jakki Francis,(UK), 2005

About the author:
This article is copyrighted. Please feel free to use it in it's entirety including copyright information and information about the publisher. Jakki Francis operates the website http://www.accountingsoftware-reviews.com

Grow your consulting business

I have observed and realised that most consultants try to expand their business the wrong way and thus go on a wild goose chase. Here are a few tips for growing your businesses.
1. Instead of creating new product and spending a lot of money, diversify your services for your existing clients. Your existing clients may need more than just the one service you are providing therefore identify the other services and they will be more than willing to allow you to provide those services.

2. The services you offer now could also be produced in the form of e-books, videos, pdfs and other digital forms that could be sold through the Internet. In that case, these will bring you residual income which will go a long way to help your finances. This will also make people see you as an expert and bring more consultations.

3. You could find additional markets by extending your territories i.e. going beyond your local territory and selling to other areas of the state. You could also organise grout consultations in the form of seminars. This will be more cost effective which will in turn save you money.
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Keys to financial controls in a business

From time to time, you hear of a business loosing a lot of money because one of the workers has embezzled some money. This normally does not occur in one day. In fact most of the time the worker starts taking the money in small amounts when he runs into financial difficulty. He may have the good intention of repaying the money in the account. The owner of the business may not realise it at the beginning as he may be very busy handling other business issues. As time goes on, the worker will begin to take bigger amounts and it becomes difficult for him to pay back the money. By the time the business owner finds out, it may be too late.
This is a very familiar story that occurs more often than not. This brings to mind the need for financial controls from the very beginning of the company. This can be done by
1. Ensuring the reliability of financial records,
2. Protecting both cash and assets, as well as
3. The promotion of efficient transactions. Measures have to be put in place to ensure that these three objectives are achieved in the business.
Most of the time, separation of duties among the workers makes it difficult for theft to take place. This also ensures checks and balances are in place. The appointment of an internal auditor also puts every worker in check.

Some of the measures necessary to ensure the above objectives are:
Cash and cheques collected taken in by the business should be paid to the bank immediately. If the company needs money, petty cash imprest should be used and monitored. It should be made intact.
A paper trail must exist for all forms of financial transactions. Paper tails like a receipt or a voucher.
All payments to be made by cheque to avoid any ambiguity.
The worker who does bank deposits should be different from the worker who handles cash as well as the one who does the bank reconciliation.
If possible, numbered receipts should be used to avoid any cover ups.

It is important that these principles are instilled in the workforce from the very beginning. This makes it easy when the business grows in size. This also helps avoid the issue of embezzlement and saves the business owner a lot of pain.

The Author is the webmaster of http://www.panacheplush.com/accounting an informational website where you can find all the information you need for the accounting needs of your business.