Tip of the Day: Choosing a Financial Software Program

Oh my! How confusing is it to choose the best software program for your company? Clients ask me all the time, "What do you recommend for my business?" This is somewhat of a hard question to answer because of many various factors in the equation.



1. How much money do you want to spend?

This is typically my first question because if you only want to spend $100 or so on software, then many products are automatically ruled out. Though this is the first question, this is definitely not the most important.



2. What type of data do you need to generate?

Don't let this question confuse you. All this means is, what type of reports do you need daily, weekly, monthly and annually? If you simply need a basic profit and loss statement or balance sheet then you could use a cheaper software and get everything your company needs.



3. What key features are you looking for?

Do you need to generate custom invoices? Do you need to be able to customize reports or spreadsheets? Most financial software come with basic accounting functions (money in/money out) but some companies may require a bit more for their needs.



4. Does size really matter?

Can your software keep up with the demands of your company? For most small businesses a basic accounting software will work just fine. But you need to ask yourself-how quickly do I want to grow? The answer will directly affect the functionality and scalability of the software. Can you software grow with you? Are there various versions that handle more data or more effectively sort data to suit your needs?



5. What do others think of the product?

Do your research. Find out what others are saying about the product. How does it function in daily tasks? How long has the software been around? What about customer service or tech support?



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Software Comparisons

http://accounting-software-review.toptenreviews.com/



Now for me and my company, we specialize in QuickBooks. I am a QuickBooks Pro Advisor and know many tips and tricks to customize this software to suit your business. You will see on the review that QuickBooks Pro did not fair as well in inventory or fixed asset management. This is true. Although, QuickBooks Premier (next level up) does a pretty good job in both areas. Many of my clients do not have an inventory or many fixed assets (other than houses) so the Pro version is more than enough for them.

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