Find Accounting Software

Hinkle + Landers, PC, an Albuquerque New Mexico CPA firm recommends this article by Luke Wagner

Project Specialist at Find Accounting Software

Understand your current setups positives and negatives

The first thing to do when considering a switch to new accounting software is to look at your current setup. Does it make sense to replace your current way of accounting? Let’s take a look at a few of the different options:

1. Continue with an off the shelf bookkeeping program. It is likely that, like most small businesses, you are currently using some sort of small business accounting program that was purchased off-the-shelf or online. You set up the software yourself and trained yourself how to use it. What’s nice about this software is it was very cost effective and handled the basic needs of the business. These relatively easy to use, intuitive systems are good for many companies as they start but are not industry specific and have other performance limitations.
2. Manual accounting. Perhaps you are currently doing everything manually. Using a paper chart of accounts or checkbook, handwriting sales orders, and tracking inventory on a notepad or through Excel spreadsheets. When sales volumes and outgoing expenses are low, this can be the easiest and most effective approach. As transactions increase and business picks up, this setup very quickly can become both prone to errors and inefficient.
3. Outsourcing accounting to a provider. Outsourcing can be attractive because it allows you to focus on your business and pass the duties to an accounting/bookkeeping firm. What better way to do accounting than have an actual accounting or bookkeeping firm do the accounting for you? Outsourcing the bookkeeping allows you to focus on your customers rather than worry about your books. However, the data you are receiving from the accountant is not real time. Plus, you are not free from all of your responsibilities. You still need to track your inventory, your job costs, your daily sales and provide that data to the accountant. As your business picks up, outsourcing accounting can become increasingly more expensive and prevent you from exercising a stronger measure of control on your company’s financial performance.