A question we are regularly asked by both clients just starting out their business experience and those who took the plunge some time ago is what is the best software/option for bookkeeping?
It’s a great question given the myriad of options. Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon, Saasu, Wave, Freshbooks, Cashbook Complete, excel spreadsheets, manual books. So which is the best?
Another question we are regularly asked is which software is best and which we use.
I’ll answer the question to which software we use first. This is a valid question almost always asked by new clients. The reason they ask is there plenty of accounting firms out there who choose to place their resources into focussing in 1 main software platform and then expect their clients to use that platform.
We understand why this is the case as emphasising just the 1 platform means team members only need to be trained on the use of that 1 platform, issues with working out which platform and version is used by each client is removed and there are often pricing benefits as far as what accountants are charged by providers.
However, at Clift Pearce Accounting, our view is the focus should be on you, the platform/s you like and you are most comfortable using. Ultimately, your business is your business so making bookkeeping as easy as possible for you should be the priority.
After all, we are supposed to be the experts so why shouldn’t we be flexible rather than trying to force you to do what suits us best?
Back to the main question at hand.
Generally, excel spreadsheets or manual books are often the best for really small businesses. This includes side businesses for people with salary and wage jobs, “one-man band” businesses and those with no or only 1 or 2 employees. This option is not normally well suited to anyone who wants to track debtors and/or creditors.
The larger a business is, the less likely these options are to be best as the number of transaction increases, the need to track debtors and creditors increases, the time to manually process payroll increases.
So, let’s assume your business is either too large or not suited to the more basic options. This means considering specialised software and you need to take into account various factors including
- The size of your business
- How your business operates
- Your support networks
- Which platform you find easiest to use
- How comfortable you with cloud computing and data security
- Your budget
At the end of the day, all of the computerised accounting and bookkeeping software are intended to essentially do the same thing. The end goal is the same, however, they all do it slightly differently and have different options, display differently etc. Some are more automated than others. Some offer more features and personalisation options which can be both a blessing and a curse.
Once you have chosen which platform you like, which version of that platform is best?
- Is their most basic version right for you?
- How many employees do you intend paying?
- How many people are involved in performing bookkeeping tasks and what do you want each to be doing?
The bottom line, the best bookkeeping option for you is whatever option/s makes things as easy as possible for you. Whichever option you are most happy with. In many respects it is a relatively minor decision to make but choosing an option which doesn’t work well for you can have a significant impact on your business.
To discuss the options and which is best for you, contact us to arrange a chat.
Some of the options you may wish to check out
