5 Interesting Accounting Software For Your Business

Whether you run a small business, a medium sized enterprise or a multi national corporation, businesses of all sizes need to ensure they have robust and versatile software packages available that can handle all the accounting and bookkeeping needs of the company if they are to stay on top of their accounting. For small businesses and start up companies, this is even more important, as staying on top of your finances at this stage is critical if you are to survive in business. Being able to see at a glance where your income and expenditure is happening and having the ability to identify trends and opportunities in your sales is key to the success of any company. To help you select a software package that can do everything you need, here are five of the best as recommended by small business owners the world over.

1. QuickBooks

A mature and proven platform, QuickBooks is a popular choice for many small business owners. The basic QuickBooks Pro package has been specifically developed with the small business in mind, and offers an easy way to track income, expenditure and sales. It also lets users raise invoices, pay bills, manage taxes and perform payroll duties. Because it has been around for so long, there are many add ons and downloads available to tailor the programme to your specific industry, making it a great choice for a range of business types.

2. Sage 50

Largely a rebranding of the popular Peachtree interface, this is one of the oldest packages around, but with some of the newest features added on. With the ability to invoice, pay bills, manage inventories and manage job roles, this is an all round great package with the scope to grow with the business. One of the best advances with this new release is the addition of closer interfacing with your bank, enabling quick reconciliation of accounts on a regular basis.

3. Xero

This is one of the most popular cloud based packages so far. Designed with the small business in mind, its target market is companies with sub 50 employees. It does away with accounting language and instead talks in terms people from the real world can understand. The modern interface and attractive layout makes the programme easy to use, and it has the flexibility to handle everything from invoicing to payroll. It also has a great mobile interface, making it easy to keep on top of your accounts on the go.

4. FreshBooks

This was one of the first cloud based accounting software packages introduced, and as such has developed a loyal and sizeable following. It features an online billing service, which is ideal for sole traders and micro businesses, and even let’s you track time to keep on top of various projects and clients at once. With add on's for more than 70 additional apps or services, including PayPal, Salesforce.com and ExpenseCloud, this is one of the more versatile and great value for money, with management of up to 3 clients for free and then $19 a month for up to 25.

5. Outright

This is another great tool for freelancers and sole traders, as it combines the best of time tracking, project management and billing with elegant handling of your expenses and tax bills. The package automatically downloads and synchronises all your accounts, credit cards and bookkeeping entries on startup, enabling you to see at a glance how much time, money and resources you have available. Best of all the base service is free, and should you need the enhanced service the price is just $9.95 per month.

This article is provided for PHS Hadjizacharias and Co Ltd, an independent firm with Chartered Certified Accountants, providing Cyprus Company Registration , International Tax Planning and Global Accounting services.