Choosing the Best Accounting Software
Bookkeeping is a necessary activity for all businesses from giant corporations to sole proprietors. Keeping track of income and expenses is required for tax reporting, but tracking other aspects of your business such as cash balances, receivables, payables, and debt help paint the full picture of your business and can be of great help in making decisions about the future.
Many growing businesses are not experienced in choosing accounting software. One option many business owners have chosen for years is QuickBooks. QuickBooks has designed their basic product (QuickBooks Pro) with entry level users in mind. QuickBooks is a versatile software for tracking most areas of business. QuickBooks excels at tracking cash, receivables, payables, balance sheet, and profit & loss. It also supports inventory and payroll functions. QuickBooks Pro is priced around $220 online. Costco and Sam’s Club usually have the best prices for physical stores.
QuickBooks Online (QBO) is another option for entry level users. QBO is available anywhere you have internet access and is a capable accounting system for small businesses. QBO has several subscription levels, the two most common are $27 and $40 per month. QBO is not as polished as QuickBooks Pro, but Intuit has been working hard to bridge the gap and make QBO as user friendly as possible.
QuickBooks also provides a product for larger businesses, QuickBooks Enterprise. Enterprise supports up to 30 users and supports a larger volume of transactions than QuickBooks Pro and Online. Pricing varies based on the number of users and is an annual subscription. QuickBooks Enterprise helps bridge the gap between small business accounting with QuickBooks Pro and moving to a large accounting system such as Microsoft Dynamics (Great Plains) or SAP.
Copeland Buhl provides full bookkeeping services and assistance on QuickBooks, Sage 50, and Microsoft Dynamics, among others. If you are looking for more information on an accounting system or need assistance to better utilize your current accounting system contact me to discuss your needs. Each situation is unique and I look forward to finding a solution that fits your business.
Jason Kindseth
952-476-7185
jason_kindseth@copelandbuhl.com