Small Business Accounting Software

Initially, you don't need small business accounting software—unless you are going into a bookkeeping service business. As I pointed out in the Starting a Small Business module, a simple hand-written sales and expense sheet is all you need to begin with for a basic small business accounting system. You do not need accounting software for very basic businesses.

Furthermore, I recommend you outsource your bookkeeping as you grow into a larger operation, because your time is much better used in building your business than in doing bookkeeping.

I want to caution you against getting so involved in the technical aspects of your accounting software that your daily business operation suffers. Moreover, when you grow large enough to require an on-site bookkeeper, you will want to provide the small business accounting software they are most familiar with.

However, if your new business has inventory that must be tracked, or you use point of sale data collection, and you need specialized reports at month-end that would be costly to prepare manually…then you will likely need to install small business accounting software that is a bit more advanced

In addition, there are always taxes to be paid, from sales tax to income tax, and there are several forms of accounting software that can prepare the tax data for you. Of course, a part-time bookkeeper or an accounting service can oversee these aspects of your business better than you can.

Note: All small business accounting software packages require some bookkeeping knowledge to get the most benefit out of them. So, I will repeat here that your time is much better spent running your business and making it successful than it is in researching, installing, setting up, and using accounting software to keep your own financial records. Learn what your financial statements can tell you, and learn what additional information your bookkeeper or accountant can provide you—but don’t get caught up in the minutiae of everyday bookkeeping.

At the same time, I know that most of you will not heed this advice, and will only go somewhere else for information on accounting software. So, here is a short list of the most popular software providers from the over 100 small business accounting software packages available today:

• Quickbooks/Quickbooks Pro
  This is, without a doubt, the most widely used small business accounting software available today. This is a complete accounting software package (detailed inventory control requires upgrading to the "Premier" edition), and is the easiest of all packages to set up and use. It also has a Mac version. Click here for additional information.


• Peachtree Accounting by SAGE
  This software has been around for some time, but is quite comprehensive and easy to use. There are several different editions of this software available to handle most small businesses, including more advanced bookkeeping.


• MYOB Accounting Software
  This company provides accounting software for both Windows and Mac. They also have several editors for different levels of complexity in your bookkeeping requirements.


• SAGE Business Works Accounting
  This is a more comprehensive software package for the larger small business. It has integrated modules and is network capable for multiple users.


• Cougar Mountain Software
  This is a more complete accounting system where different modules can be purchased according to the needs of your business.


• Mamut
  This appears to be an excellent accounting software package for the small to medium size business. There are three editions available: startup, standard, and professional.


• Free Software
  There are also many “free” accounting software packages available—simply Google “free bookkeeping software” and you will have your list. Just note that these packages offer only the bare minimum of capability…but a number of them can be upgraded—for a fee.

10/5/11