These days, many business owners are investing in good quality small business accounting software to help with the successful running of their business.
Are you feeling frustrated with the amount of time you spend:
- Recording receipts?
- Reconciling and balancing accounts?
- Keeping track of debtors or creditors?
- Manually entering data into excel spread sheets?
- Filing away documents?
- Processing Payroll manually?
- Working out how much money your business actually makes?
If this is the case, investing in a proper small business accounting software can be your best solution.
Doing so will allow you to spend your precious time elsewhere whilst also reducing some of the stress that can come with manually managing your transactions.
But, do you really need it?
Well it depends….
If you’re a micro-business with little going on, you may get away without having accounting software.
But, for MOST of our business clients, especially those who aspire to building a successful business, we recommend having a suitable accounting software with relevant add-ons and integrations.
Using the right software will not only make your life easier (able to focus on other business matters of greater importance), but it also helps us too! It helps to automate the process of syncing your accounts with our systems.
Before rushing into anything, let us help to effectively narrow down your options and choose a software to best suit your circumstances.
Unlike other accountants, we’re not a “one software only” firm. Instead, we can recommend a range of different accounting software depending on your personal and business needs.
Later in this article, we have provided a basic guide highlighting key accounting Software for small businesses and the pros and cons of each.
This guide only contains a few of the main ones, however there is a whole range of other software and integrations that we can consider for your business.
If you’re interested in discussing Software options in more detail contact us on:
- Knox Taxation and Business Advisory
- Phone: (03) 9762 7344
- Email: mail@knoxtax.com.au
Small Business Accounting Software – Introductory Guide
MYOB Essentials is a great software if:
- You’re a small business owner
- You’ve had experience with MYOB, but are seeking a cheaper and simpler alternative
- Your business does not require payroll (You don’t have many employees)
- You don’t do much invoicing and if you do, they’re only very basic
The Pros:
- A cheaper alternative to the full MYOB suite, yet has the same overall feel and reliability
- Relatively easy to learn
- It’s user friendly
The Cons:
- Has limited business performance reporting options
- If you love or are used to the full MYOB suite, you may find this software to be quite limiting
Intuit QuickBooks is a great software if:
- You’re a small-medium sized business owner
- You don’t have previous experience using another software so aren’t loyal to a particular brand
- You find Xero to be too expensive or confusing and want to save costs
- You’d like to be able to download a wide range of customisable business performance reports
The Pros:
- Similar to Xero but is much cheaper
- Intuit QB has the largest range of customisable reporting functions
- It integrates seamlessly with helpful add-on Apps
- Can do progress invoicing (invoicing based on job progress)
- Predicts future expense allocations based on previous entries.
The Cons:
- Currently does not offer direct bank feeds with all banks (though the majority are active)
- Sometimes the suggestions for expense allocations can be overkill and incorrect
Xero is a great software if:
- You’re a larger more complex business
- Your business is experiencing rapid growth or you’re planning to grow
- You have a more complex payroll system
- You’d like to be able to download business performance reports
The Pros:
- The robust nature of the Software enables it to grow as you do
- It has a powerful payroll system
- Xero has the second largest range of business reports available but only some customizability
- Integrates seamlessly with helpful add-on Apps
- Can do progress invoicing (invoicing based on job progress)
- Predicts future expense allocations based on previous entries.
The Cons:
- It is one of the most expensive Software on the market
- The Software navigation can be a bit confusing
- It’s not as user-friendly as some of the other Software available
MYOB AccountRight Live is a great software if:
- You’re a larger and more complicated business
- You’re business has bookkeeping requirements beyond those supported by the above software options.
- You’ve had previous experience with the full suite desktop version of MYOB
MYOB AccountRight Live is a bit more complex than the other software alternatives mentioned above. This is why we haven’t gone into detail about the pros and cons here.
If you are interested in MYOB AccountRight Live for your bookkeeping needs, please feel free to discuss this with our team on (03) 9762 7344.
Truly, there are many brands of Small Business Accounting Software on the market. If you’re interested in a software that isn’t listed above, don’t worry.
We have knowledge of and sync in with a vast range of other Software brands. Just ask and we will be able to give you a proper run down of it.
Small Business Accounting Software – Recommended Integrations/ Add-ons
Hubdoc is a great integration that you can sync in with your Accounting software.
This works really well if you’re wanting to streamline and automate how you manage expenses and receipts.
Pros:
- Allows you to upload invoices, receipts and other documents and sync them with your Software (Eg. Xero or Quickbooks)
- It has a built-in filing-system which automatically sorts invoices and receipts by contact name – This feature can definitely come in handy!
- Can link up with your accounts and automatically fetch new Trade & Bank statements
- Acts as a good place to store and protect important documents; making them easy to access. This is useful in the event of an audit and for easy reference.
Cons:
- Can take up to 24 hours to process your invoices and receipts before they are ready for review
- Hubdoc only syncs with a limited number of supplier trade accounts – If you work with a smaller supplier, a direct link may not exist yet.
- Does not integrate with MYOB products
Square is a great integration that you can sync in with your Accounting software.
This can be great if you’re a small businesses who wants to take on the spot card payments and you want to run a basic Point of Sale (POS) software
Pros:
- There is no ongoing hire of an EFT terminal as you can own it for $19 or $59.
- The only fees incurred relate to transaction fees, but they are at market rates
- No monthly subscription fee for the POS software
Cons:
- May not be suitable if you require a more advanced POS option. If this is the case, we can recommend some other options.
If you’ve read through these options and are still unsure what software to choose for your business, or whether you even need one, give us a call!
Our team are here to help you find a software that saves you time and suits your business and personal needs. This enables you to spend your time and energy on other important areas of your business.
If you’d like to discuss small business accounting software with us in more detail give us a call on: (03) 9762 7344.
