• > Home
• > Company
• > Products
• > Support
• > News
• > Contact Us

Choosing accountancy software

Where do you start when it comes to choosing a new accountancy software package?

Whether you're implementing accountancy software for the first time, or you're replacing a system that's no longer viable for your business, you need to take the time to assess exactly what you need and choose a system that meets your requirements.

Before you start

Before you go looking for accountancy software, make sure you know what your needs are. This doesn't just cover your current requirements, but also your estimates of what the business will need over the next 5-10 years. Your new accounting software will need to be able to cope with the growth and expansion of your business, including increased orders, new product lines and additional employees. Decide what you want your accounting system to cover, including:

• Purchase orders
• Invoices
• Receipts
• Payroll
• Banking
• Cash management
• Stock control
• Annual accounts

Talk to the experts

There are many accountancy software packages available - some with well-established brand names and others that are newcomers to the market. If you can talk to someone with expert knowledge, you can turn your list of needs and wants into a specification that can be matched with one or more packages. They may be able to help you with issues such as:

• Existing hardware - will your current system support a new accounting software package? If not, what upgrades or new purchases need to be made in order to allow you to run the software you choose?
• Customisation - do you want a system that you can run as it stands, or will you need some form of customisation to make sure that it works more efficiently for you? Not all accountancy software can be tailored to your needs, so a requirement for customisation may reduce the number of solutions available to you.
• Interoperability - do you want a system that can work alongside, or can be integrated with software that you already operate? If you are running several different software systems, including accountancy software, you might want to consider replacing them all with a single system, such as Enterprise Resources Planning software, which handles a number of business processes, helping to make your business more efficient.
• Security - you need to be confident that your accounting software has built-in security features that make sure that transactions are not lost, and that only those with authorised access can gain entry to the software. It should have clear, frequent back-up procedures so that you don't lose records in a power-cut, for example.