What is Accounting Software? Analysis of Features, Types, Benefits and Pricing

Accounting software gathers under the same roof all systems and applications dedicated to managing and processing financial data. Accounting professionals and bookkeeping teams use these programs to govern accounts and automate systematic operations, while certain systems are also enabled to record accounting data, measure indicators, and report on the company’s financial activity.

Does your company need an accounting system as well? According to Forbes contributor Bernard Marr, the trend of accounting and bookkeeping technology becoming vital to corporations is orchestrated by accountants themselves to address time-consuming paperwork and cost ineffectiveness. Applied in a business setting, account software eliminates critical bottlenecks such as inaccurate audit information or noncompliance with internal and legal standards and requirements.

This article intends to answer the question “what is accounting software?”. Beyond the simple definition of accounting software, we will help you understand the purpose of accounting software in the management of your business and shortlist your options once you start looking for your ideal system. These are the topics we are about to discuss:

1. Examples of accounting software
2. Benefits of accounting software
3. Types of accounting software
4. Features of accounting software
5. Factors to consider
6. Pricing of accounting software
7. Potential issues
8. Latest trends

What are examples of accounting software?

• FreshBooks – A fully-featured and simple client invoicing and time-tracking system used by more than 5 million businesses around the world. Ideal for freelancers and small businesses looking to fast track their sales cycle, and keep their processes in line with standards and regulations. Well integrated and mobile friendly. If you need a reliable FreshBooks alternative check out our other comparison articles.
• Xero – A handy asset for managing different accounting operations, preferred by sole accountants and small business teams. A competent accounting management system that works in line with businesses’ rules and priorities, and manages money in and out of their budgets in a way that will coincide with their goals and long-term missions.
• QuickBooks – Available in several different editions, QuickBooks caters to the accounting needs of any company. Being a worthwhile Xero alternative it offers a vast array of insights and organizational capabilities which will help companies keep accounting data organized, including their overdue items, payable bills, accounting notes, and contacts’ data, and standard accounting operations. Also popular for great Profit&Loss reporting.
• Wave – Top accounting system for small and developing businesses that also offers a free package. A solid QuickBooks alternative that combines accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning into one compact and straightforward package, and you can integrate it with many third-party applications for seamless data migration. Wave is likewise fully-optimized for mobile usage.
• Zoho Books – The accounting app of a reputed software family, designed to help small businesses handle their finances and stay on top of their financial operations. It offers an array of unique accounting features, including cash flow statements, P&L, Balance sheets, and many more.
• Adra Acccounts – A powerful reconciliation management software that provides businesses with the platform to match their transactions in a blazingly fast manner without compromising accuracy. This transaction matching tool improves efficiency while bringing down costs and saving you and your business precious time that you can channel on other matters.
• Envoice – An automated invoicing software that simplifies your invoicing processes, making it easy and quick for you to generate and deliver invoices to your clients and get paid faster than ever.

There are many other examples of accounting software that are popular and reliable. For more ideas and alternatives, check out our list of top 10 accounting software solutions to consider in 2017.

FreshBooks, a very popular accounting solution

Why use accounting software?

It’s important that you ask yourself the question of why use accounting software at all. Well, finance professionals find accounting software to be the companies’ most valuable asset that cuts costs and drives productivity. With an appropriate system in hand, companies automate bookkeeping tasks and draft in-time tax-friendly reports, but what is most important, they can forecast expenses and develop a smarter investment strategy with this system.

These are the key benefits of accounting software:

1. Simplification. Accounting systems put finance control in the hands of a non-accounting audience, as they are designed to give numbers a meaning, and to perform automated calculations. With little to no training at all, the business owner can complete all accounting operations and comply with legal standards from his own computer (mobile device), and without paying an external party to keep his budget in the loop.
2. Cost savings. Accounting and finances systems automate core calculations and administrative procedures, and take control of your revenue framework so that you won’t have to outsource finance management to an external expert. In parallel, they also reduce costs related to printing and distributing documentation, and store sensitive data in secure and monitored locations.
3. Full financial transparency. From an accountant’s or an auditor’s point of view, the highlight of good accountancy systems is that they avoid costly and recurring human errors. In the business scenario, calculating inaccurate totals or failing to report data in time can lead to a crisis, and that’s where automating calculations is most useful.
4. Accurate forecasting. It’s one of the main advantages of accounting software. Understanding in detail the patterns and trends of your financial performance is something that would take ages to complete without a solid system. Accounting software gives numbers a meaning, helping you understand where to cut expenses or where to invest more. With a clear overview of your current financial state, you will find it easier to develop smart strategies and allocate resources the right way.
5. Productivity. Should a business owner have to choose a single suite of digitized services to improve performance, his first option should definitely be accounting software. These systems drill deep inside the most cumbersome, day-to-day tasks of companies, collect, organize, and analyze their most sensitive data, and what is most important, make smarter use of their money.
6. Tax compliance. Many of today’s top accounting systems are dedicated to payroll assistance and reporting, and adhere to tax regulations automatically. Once you’ve activated them, they become your number one source of tax and audit information; they store all the important details for you to maintain a transparent workflow.
7. Improved relationships with customers. One could argue that accounting software has little to do with how customers are served, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Most accounting systems nowadays (regardless of their main functions) work around effective billing and invoicing, and prevent all sorts of delays and miscommunication. They are also easy to personalize on the business’s behalf, and thus, make company performance appear more professional and credible.
8. Security. Financial data is the company’s most valuable information and must be prevented from falling into the wrong hands or getting lost by mistake. That’s exactly what accounting & finance systems do for their users, prevent accounting from being jeopardized in any way, and keeping an extra copy in case you need to retrieve them. In most cases, you will get to build your internal security structure, and decide who will have access to sensitive data.

A quick look at reporting in Zoho Books

What are the types of accounting software?

Depending on the type of operations, accounting & finance systems fall under four different categories. Note that there are also comprehensive accounting suites designed for enterprises that combine the best features of each category. Here is a brief overview:

Billing & Invoicing systems

Billing and invoicing systems complete companies’ basic, day-to-day tasks, including check writing and informing customers on their due payments. They are important to preserve control over the accuracy of accounting figures, and make service look more professional and credible to the end-recipient. On the company’s side, billing and invoicing tools help document finance activity and prepare it for authorization and validation.

Examples: FreshBooks, Zoho Books, and Zoho Invoice

Payroll management systems

If looking to preserve control over your account payables and account receivables, you should be looking for payroll management systems that will handle it all. These tools were developed to perform an array of different tasks, including calculating employees’ salaries, cutting deductions, depositing the salary directly into staff members’ bank accounts, producing tax forms and payslips and more. On the long run, they will secure your financial transactions, cut expenses, and help prepare detailed reports.

Examples: Xero, Zenefits, AccountEdge

Enterprise resource planning systems

This is one of the most important accounting software categories that combines all systems used for product planning, material purchasing, inventory management and control, distribution, accounting, marketing, finance, and HR. The latest ERP solutions also offer modules for CRM and business intelligence, so that the company can learn from its own practices and prepare better strategies in the future.

Examples: Intacct, Brightpearl, Odoo

Time & Expense management systems

These apps were designed to help expedite billing cycles and approve expenses on the go, and are usually configurable enough for any business to adjust them to its operation pace. The core rationale behind them is to help collect payments faster, and detect slow and ineffective practices that were not visible before. Their biggest advantage is being able to produce detailed graphical reports on how time and resources are being used in each company.

Examples: FreshBooks, Zoho Expense, Expensify

Xero offers its users a wide range of accounting features

What does accounting software do?

How does accounting software work exactly and what features does it offer? There are many different ways in which accounting software can optimize your business, depending on its main features and objectives. From simplified invoicing to complex tax reporting, accounting systems come with all sorts of extras that are not even feasible without an appropriate system.

So, what does accounting software do? Here are some of the features of accounting software:

1. Accounting – Accounting is the main component of each system in this category, and the one you should be looking for first when choosing a reliable solution. What we have in mind by ‘accounting’ is general ledger, fixed assets, accounts payable & receivable, and bank reconciliation. These are, of course, the basic and most important ones, while advanced systems have much more bells and whistles to offer to their users.
2. Billing & Invoicing – There are accounting systems exclusively devoted to billing and invoicing, but most of them still treat similar operations as an integral module of any finance operation. Thus, they let customers automate mundane collections, adjust operations to new and effective payment methods and industry standards, and prepare accurate and in-time invoices for their clients.
3. Budgeting and Forecasting – This is also a common bundled module in most accounting systems, which calculates and interprets finance performance for the current year and helps estimate the budget of the upcoming one. Using it, companies can prepare their estimates, and set up feasible and optimistic sales targets.
4. Management of fixed asset – Both as a separate tool or an inclusive module, fixed asset management helps manage financial data much more accurately. The module combines features such as audit history, cost records, depreciation calculation, resource allocation and many more.
5. Payroll management – With an array of payroll features, you will be able to calculate and process employee payments, prepare and print their checks without delays, and respond to all active legal and tax commitments without errors. There will be systems out there exclusively devoted to payroll management, used by enterprises and high-tier performers to remind them of their financial obligations.
6. Project accounting – Project accounting software is usually packed in separate systems that represent the accounting version of vertical industry software. They are mos welcomed by construction operators and software developers, where both costs and applicable rules differ from one project to the other. The main capability of this software is to estimate and handle overheads and costs related to labor, material, and equipment, in line with all other features frequently met in accounting systems.
7. Fund accounting – These features are to be found in accounting software designed for government agencies and nonprofit organizations, and include tracking donation expenditures, grant management, GASB (governmental accounting standards board) regulations, and a special suite of financial reports.
8. Inventory management – Inventory management is a specific toolkit developed for stock control, and where you will find all necessary tools to give your business a higher shelf-life product line. This means you will be able to control the availability and movement of your products, and avoid all sorts of delivery issues such as overstocking or understocking.

Wave is a reliable, and free, accounting solution

What should you consider when getting an accounting system?

Of course, the answer to this question depends mostly on the specific needs and priorities of your business, but there are several critical criteria each system has to meet to be worth the money you’re investing. Here are few thoughts on what you should be looking for:

1. An integrated invoicing module. Regardless of the core operations your accounting system should complete (inventory management, for instance), and if possible, you should always acquire a system that offers at least some basic billing and invoicing functionality. This way, you will spare yourself the trouble of purchasing additional software or migrating data to another system.
2. Customization. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ accounting system (in fact, this is one of the most diversely targeted software category), and the reason for that is that each company runs specific finance calculations and adheres to a different set of rules. If you’re unable to find a specific system that matches your business model (and that will hardly ever happen), look for a flexible program you can adjust to your operations, and which is able to grow in line with your business.
3. Ease of use. There is nothing simple about accounting procedures and calculations, so the least your new accounting system should do is to give you an intuitive environment to work in. This means information should be arranged neatly and functions should be available on a single dashboard, and you should complete operations within minutes following a navigation pattern you already know.
4. Security. As we already pointed out, accounting systems play around the business’s most sensitive data, namely the numbers it depends on. In order to ensure that making calculations and sharing data within the system is bulletproof, choose a reputable vendor, and check security mechanisms in advance.
5. Connectivity. At the point where you’re buying an accounting solution, you will already have an array of software pieces to put up with it. In order to avoid changing your entire software infrastructure for the needs of a single program, do things the other way around – get a system that integrates with the tools you have, or, in the best scenario, offers open API for you to connect it with any system you want.
6. Mobile usage. Mobile-ready accounting systems are no longer a luxury only enterprises can afford, so why not choose one for your needs? Most popular vendors nowadays offer native Android and iOS apps for their users, where operability is just about the same as with the desktop version of the system.
7. Pricing. The software logic applies again: The more a system can do, the more it will cost, so if you can afford a fully-featured and ahead-of-its-time suite, go for it! You should know, nevertheless, that quality accounting systems can be purchased on a fraction of that price, and some of them are even available for free.
8. Reliable support. Most accounting software vendors pride themselves with knowledgeable and fast-to-respond teams, but truth is you won’t know how efficient they are before you’ve actually had an issue to submit. To prevent some bitter disappointment for the money you’ve invested, test support in advance.

How much does accounting software cost?

Accounting is not exactly the cheapest and small-biz friendliest software arena you will come across. Much of its premium functionality and instant technical support is still reserved for enterprises, but that doesn’t mean a quality system cannot be found below that line.

In general, accounting & finance systems come with flexible monthly/yearly subscriptions or single time quote-based licenses, while some of them are also available for free (or offer an unpaid package for small teams or such looking for basic functionalities). The gaps between different plans are usually formed by differences in available features, number of users, available storage, and access to support.

Here are the cost of accounting software of popular vendors:

• FreshBooks – Offers three affordable plans in total, starting with the Lite ($15/month to bill 5 active clients), followed by Plus ($25 for 50 active clients) and Premium ($50 for 500 clients). Annual savings may apply to each offer, and a 30-days free trial is also available.
• Xero – Xero’s enterprise pricing starts at $25, the Starter Package where you get 5 invoices, 5 bills, and 20 transactions. The other two plans are Standard ($50/month) and the Premium Plan ($60/month).
• QuickBooks – QuickBooks offers a variety of payment plans, depending on the intended application and size of the business where it is going to be applied. Their main accounting suite is available at $10.36 (Simple Start for basic invoicing); $18.86 (Essentials, for billing and multiple users); and $23.97 (Plus for tracking inventory and printing 1099s). All plans offer annual savings and a free trial where you can test their features.
• Wave – Wave is one of the best accounting systems that can be acquired for free, as all basic accounting functionality is available at no cost, and the customer would only have to pay card processing and payroll fees in selected countries.
• Zoho Books – Its pricing scheme is similar to FreshBooks’, with a Basic plan for 1 user, 25 contacts, and unlimited invoices priced at $9/month; and followed by the Standard Plan ($19/month for 2 users and 500 contacts) and the Professional Plan ($29/month for unlimited users and unlimited contacts).
• Brightpearl – Brightpearl is a popular and very powerful accounting systems that charges users annually. Once you’ve selected the desired plan, you’ll have to pay some of the following annual licenses: £3,780/year (an Entry package for 3 users and 800 orders);  £9,600/year (High Growth package for unlimited users and 2000 orders); or  £16,800 (the Established package for unlimited users and 5000 orders).
• Intacct – Intacct is one of the currently most-popular ERP alternatives on the market, tailored to meet the needs of any business. The system is priced on quote basis, which means that you should contact the vendor, and get an individual package prepared to meet your needs and financial possibilities.

What are the potential issues with accounting software?

The trend of designing industry-specific accounting systems. If facing a choice between a general, standardized accounting solution and one that has been developed to meet the specific needs of your industry, choose the latter. Note, nevertheless, that in most of these cases you won’t be relying on years of reputation to support its quality, so make sure all features you need are there, and do so in advance.

Scalability and customization. Due the fact that accounting is a non-creative matter on its own, there is little developers can do to make the digitized process more engaging than the usual. Thus, accounting systems won’t be the most thrilling and open-to-configuration apps you’ve ever used. What could be a good course of action on your behalf is to choose a customizable solution, and make sure you can implement your rules and business specifications inside. This will also ensure that you won’t have to replace the system as your business starts developing.

Lack of integrations. When looking for a solid accounting & finance system, make sure it has an open infrastructure that supports third-party integrations, or at least that the connections you need are already taken care of. Don’t settle for nothing but the best, as developers nowadays are more than aware their tool has to work in line with sales software, business intelligence systems, CRMs, project management apps, and a variety of other services.

What are the latest accounting software trends?

A central position for workflow automation. Accounting software developers are now focused on what more can be done to facilitate accounting, basically giving accountants and finances experts a break, and getting more of the heavy lifting off their shoulders. In technical terms, this means that workflow automation is rising, and soon there will be no data entry of operation that won’t be automated.

Deployment no other than in cloud. It sounds almost incredible that all that complex accounting machinery companies took months to install will now become history, but that’s how it is. The new trend is cloud hosting, as it is a safer, faster, and considerable more affordable alternative.

Introduction to Optical Character Recognition. Optical character recognition is the newest of accounting technology’s fancy widgets, used to eliminate all boundaries and get rid of paperwork. Before you know it, all printed materials will be transformed into digital and operable data, and manual checks will be part of the past.

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