Treat your business to new accounting software this Valentine’s Day

Treat your business to new accounting software this Valentine’s Day – and fall in love with your accounts. Make doing your books a breeze from anywhere. Still using spreadsheets or old, outdated software? Do yourself a favour. Update it to make your life easier. Dump your old accounting partner for a new love affair. What do you need from your software? To find the best accounting software, consider what you need it to do. There is no point in struggling in a relationship that just does not give you what you need. You need a great love affair with your accounting software to achieve success in your financial affairs. Here are some things you may want to think about when choosing new software:

• A new business. Getting the right software when you start a new business sets you up for success from the beginning. It can save you hours of time and money in the long run.
• Regulatory compliance. You may not know a lot about financial regulatory compliance, accounting or the tax laws. Good software packages can guide you to ensure you and your business comply with relevant legislation. You cannot get this sort of guidance using spreadsheets or notebooks.
• Simplify your accounts. Simplify your accounts with the right love affair. Everything from everyday tasks like paying staff, connecting the point-of-sale system to your bank accounts and credit cards to setting your accounting software to automatically update your books and track expenses is possible.
• Immediate, easy access. Easy instant access to your accounts from home, at the office and while you are on the road. You may need cloud storage options to take your new partner with you everywhere.
• Fast business growth. Is your business growing quickly out of control? Well, a good accounting package will make this a breeze. Automate your accounting processes to suit your business needs.

What features do you need? Accounting software can include functionalities and capabilities that help you manage your business finances. But, you may want software that is simple to use, portable and saves time. After all, time is money. Especially when in business for yourself. Choose accounting software that best suits your business and helps you see the bigger financial picture. Here are some features included in accounting software packages:

• Everyday accounting tasks. Do you need accounting software that only offers basic stuff like automatic invoicing? Or, do you require more complex features such as tracking your expenses and income, managing client and vendor accounts, and generating financial reports on demand?
• Automate your processes. Automating recurring processes like payments, invoice generation, reminders, and quote and estimate creation are huge time savers. Doing this will always give you a glimpse at real-time data. You are always up-to-date with the truth.
• Be prepared for the taxman. A love affair with your accounting software brings joy to not only your life but to the life of your accountant at the end of the financial year. Set it upright and your software will generate automatic reports when you need them for the tax department.
• Maybe you need accounting software that integrates into the tools and apps most used for your business. Things like your inventory and point-of-sale systems, and credit card processing make your business life easier every single day. So, dump your old software for a new lover that can give you the benefits you need. An easy to use accounting software (like Colibri) can make you love doing your accounts.

Elicia is the Senior Consultant at Colibri, the easy to use online accounting software for micro, small and medium-sized businesses.