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Posted on September 16, 2009 by Alex Jacobson | Posted under Accounting
How to Choose the Right Accounting Software by a Chartered Accountants in Liverpool
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Keeping your accounts can be a tricky business. It is necessary to do so not only to comply with legal obligations but to help you manage your business. ¦Some businesses will get their chartered accountant in Liverpool to do it. ¦Some keep accounts manually using pen and paper and special accounts books. ¦Some will use a computerised version of this such as excel spreadsheets to help with all the adding up and so speed up the process. ¦Some use accounting software which can be the most efficient method of keeping accounts if used correctly. Advantages of using Accounting Software ¦Only having to enter information once, The software does the double entry. ¦Management of your debtors and creditors. ¦Automatic sales invoice generation. ¦Provision of financial management reports of all types to help you manage the business. ¦Automatic calculation of VAT Returns ¦Easy production of final accounts. ¦They can integrate with other software such as stock control and payroll. Disadvantages of using Accounting Software These include... ¦The learning cost and time of using and setting up the software. ¦The cost of purchase, support and maintenance although they are several low priced packages on the market suitable for small businesses. ¦Whilst a general package will work with most businesses, the package may need adapting or not be suitable to some particular types of businesses. How to Choose the Right Software You need to compare the needs of your business against what different packages offer. Of course the software must enable you to meet your legal tax and accounts obligations but it is usually your own commercial needs that help decide which is the right package for you. A cash business will have different needs to a non-cash one. Choosing the right package can be a complex business and getting it wrong can cause you major headaches. Talking to your chartered accountant in Liverpool is a good place to start. A consideration of what other support is available for the software is also a critical consideration. Sometimes it is necessary to adapt how you work to meet the software but ideally the software already matches how you work. You need to consider factors such as... ¦Do you have employees and so need a payroll package to go with the software and if so is it accredited by HMRC? ¦Do you have enough transactions to warrant using accounts software? ¦Do you need a number of people to be able to access the software at the same time over a network? ¦Do you need to monitor debtors and creditors? ¦Do you need it do invoicing and tailor the appearance of the invoices and be able to print in the format you want, perhaps on multi-part forms on a dot-matrix printer? ¦Do you need it to keep track of VAT and do your VAT Returns? ¦Do you need it to produce management accounts? ¦Does your accountant also have the software to allow easy production of your end of year accounts and sharing of data? ¦Do you need it to deal with a particular type of vat scheme such as cash accounting, the flat rate scheme or a particular retail scheme? ¦Does it need to handle foreign currency - these packages tend to be more expensive. Implementing the accounting software requires some planning and consideration of the following... ¦Training - staff will need to be trained in use of the package. ¦Initial setup details - apart from your business details, year end and type of vat scheme one of the important factors to get right from the start is your Chart of Accounts. These are the headings in your accounts and it is sensible to discuss this with your accountant. Often it is simpler to start the package at the beginning of an accounting year and in a quite time for the business. ¦Support - most packages can have a support agreement purchased with them and this is often a good investment, particularly for the first year of use. About The Author: Alex Jacobson is staff writer for a number of websites inlcuding for chartered acocuntants in Liverpool and chareted building surveyors in Limverpool |
Tags: CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS LIVERPOOL, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS LIVERPOO
