Choosing Accounting Software For Your Business

For most people, Quicken is more than adequate software to run the books for their small business, but Quicken can't do everything. If you find your business outgrowing your accounting software, or you just want to see what else is out there, do a comparison.

What's Out There

Intuit's QuickBooks is considered the market leader in small-business accounting software with Sage's Peachtree generally regarded as the runner up. Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting, which has been renamed Microsoft Office Accounting 2007, is a newcomer with a small but very loyal market share. Sage Business Vision is a long-established product and a solid performer for many small to mid-sized businesses.

A Top Seller Does Not Mean It Is Your Top Choice

Looking at a list of top-selling small business accounting programs will not help you make a good choice. A best seller is not necessarily the best for your business. Many small business owners find it difficult to determine which accounting software solution is right for their needs. Usually they go about viewing software demos, listen to what their friends or associates are using, and then try to pick the one that they think will work the best.

A good place to start is by defining your business needs. Do you need invoicing? Accounts receivable tracking? Payables tracking? Payroll capabilities? Consider which of the accounting capabilities you require to meet those needs then compare the different capabilities offered by the different programs. This way you're comparing all of your options to one standard: your business needs, which you have determined first. The best small business accounting software solution for your business will be the one that meets most or all of your needs.

Business Accounting Software Analysis

Use a simple spreadsheet to perform your own accounting software analysis. List the capabilities that your business needs in the first column. Use the additional columns to rate the capabilities of each of the accounting solutions you're evaluating against the capabilities you need. A simple yes or no will work or you can place a check mark if they can and leave it blank if they can't. You can also have a column for cost so you can see if additional cost will result in additional features for your business.
You can determine quite a bit of the accounting software's capabilities by researching the vendor's website. It is possible to download demo versions straight from the web, or you can either attend a demo or arrange one through the manufacturer who will be happy to help you find a demo.
Conducting a software analysis with a simple spreadsheet is an effective method of organizing your evaluation process so you can focus on the capabilities that are important in your business, and not get caught up in fancy features you really don't need.
The following web sites offer information and sales sites for small business accounting software.
www.simple-accounting.biz
www.tgiltd.com
www.EverestSoftwareInc.com