Best Accounting Software – Evaluation Guide for SMEs

Gone are the days when accounting books were maintained on paper. 

For every company, including small businesses, accounting software is the core of its success. 

An accounting software solution records and processes all financial transactions, acting as an accounting information system. It drastically reduces the potential for human errors and allows you to access critical information in just a few clicks. 

However, choosing the right business accounting software from a never-ending list of vendors is a tedious task. But fret not, this article will give you a quick business accounting software selection and implementation tips to help you evaluate. 

How to Choose Accounting Software?

Whether it is handled by a sole accountant or a team of CFO, a business software should easily let users access and analyze data, manage efficient budget processes, ensure regulatory compliance, and distribute financial reports.

Here are the following factors to consider: 

i. Data Accuracy and Security

The information and business data generated by the system must be precise and secure. 

Look for solutions that offer high-level security such as two-way authentication sign-in, admin-based control, and more. It will protect your data from falling into the wrong hands and keep your important business information confidential. 

Besides, the system security level should be strong enough to not fall into the hands of hackers easily. 

Always enquire where the data is stored and who has access to those data. 

ii. User Interface and Complexity

The UI/UX design plays a significant role in choosing the accounting system for small businesses. 

The main purpose of the accounting system is to make the whole process of maintaining and accessing data easy. The system should have a well-designed interface with easy navigation so that your employees can access it even without much technical knowledge. 

In other words, go for the system that has a clean interface, allowing you to focus on the important task while reducing the learning curve. 

iii. Functionalities Requirements

Make a list of all the essential features you need in your small business accounting software. You don’t want to burden the system with unnecessary features that will only slow down your process and cost you extra than required. 

Some of the features to look at — 

• Track expenses and reimbursements
• Maintain account payable and receivable
• Create journal and ledger account
• Create and manage tax
• Ensure tax statutory compliance
• Support for multi-currency transactions, & much more. 

iv. Scalability

You may start your business small, but you aim to grow your business with time. Without realizing this, most businesses buy an application that suits their needs at the time of purchase.  

But later, when the business starts to grow, the accounting system fails to accommodate more users and features alongside. Thus, it requires them to switch to a completely new solution that can be a painful process. Plus, it’s a waste of time and money. 

So select a small business accounting software that scales with your business. You will find vendors that offer entry-level as well ad feature-rich versions for you to upgrade to once you start growing. 

Now that you know how to evaluate accounting software, let’s also look at one of the global-level accounting-related events that you should attend. 

Global Accounting Events

Accountex 2022

National Accountancy Exhibition and Conference London (11th – 12th May 2022)

This upcoming year, Accountex will offer 200 CPD (Continuing Professional Development Accreditation) certified seminars and 25+ workshops offering advice, education, and interaction opportunities for accounting professionals. For vendors and individuals looking to network with the thought leaders and topmost accounting vendors, this is a must-go event.

The participants get exposure to the latest advancements, trends, solutions, and traditional technology dominating the accounting ecosystem. Major products are launched in this expo and the participants get hands-on experience of trying out various accounting solutions.

If you need any help choosing the right accounting software for your business, we can assist. Please feel free to reach out to us.