Selecting small business accounting software
Question: I'm just starting a new business and want to keep the books
myself to begin with. I don't expect the business to grow beyond
myself for a couple of years. Am I better off hiring an accountant now
even though I can't really afford to spend the money until my cash flow
improves or can I wait until I hire my first employee.
What do
you recommend?
Signed,
newmoney.
Accounting Software Selection:
You are very wise
to start out with an accounting system from the first day of your business.
Information is power in business and you'll be collecting and analyzing
financial business information almost every day.
You
don't need to hire an accountant if you have a basic understanding of
business finances. The small business accounting software these days
can be pretty self explanatory or can be very complex. If you run into
problems that you can't figure out talk with your accountant and have them
help you get started. Then you can do the day to day work.
There
are dozens of accounting software packages available including Quicken, Microsoft
Accounting, Peachtree, and NetSuite. Your best bet is to take a
look at the features these packages offer and pick the one that suites your
needs. The choice can be daunting.
We
are partial to Quicken by Intuit and highly recommend it because we have
been using it personally and in multiple small businesses for over a decade.
It is easy to use, easy to learn, and interfaces nicely with their TurboTax
tax software. This gives you a complete package for very reasonable
prices.
They
also have a variety of packages to take care of home and business.
QuickBooks Pro 2010 makes accounting
easy with tools to organize your finances all in one place. Complete tasks
like paying employees1, invoicing, bill tracking and check-writing. Track
sales and expenses, and easily share this data in Word and Excel2. With
QuickBooks Pro, you’ll spend less time on routine tasks and more time on
your business.
