This is the first of multiple posts in a series on using QuickBooks. QuickBooks holds the largest market share of accounting software in the United States. Yet there are many other accounting software options available and we encourage you to explore the Best Accounting Softwares for your business.
This post discusses the benefits of accounting software versus manual accounting practices.
The thought of computerizing accounting activity can be a frightening one.
Clients often ask;
- "Will it be hard to get started?"
- "Will it take too much time?"I
- "What if it's too difficult to use?"
Luckily, today's technology is much more efficient than a manual accounting system. Converting to a computerized system or learning to use an existing computer system more efficiently, will save time and money.
Advantages of using accounting software
Save time:
- Print checks,
- enter invoices for your customers,
- and incorporate payroll information.
- Have instantaneous access to financial reporting.
- Print a profit and loss report in seconds.
Save money:
Manually creating your financial statements from business records (bank statements, check registers, loan statements, credit card statements) or extracting the information from a spreadsheet (i.e., Excel) is a time consuming, and tedious job.
Using QuickBooks enables your tax preparer to print your statements from your system. This reduces the cost of your tax return by making your tax preparer’s job easier.
Some businesses need bank financing or to comply with loan covenants. Computerized systems help reduce inaccuracies. Having more accurate financial statements aids these businesses with their loan compliances, etc.
QuickBooks Tips and Recommendations:
- It's relatively easy to install or maintain a computerized accounting system.
- If you decide to consider transferring to a computerized system we recommend switching at the end of a reporting period (at the end of a quarter or year).
- We advise that you consult your accountant. They should help you enter accurate beginning balances into the system (i.e. your bank account, any accounts receivable and accounts payable, loan and capital balances to name a few).
- We recommend using your accounting system more efficiently or converting a manual accounting system to a computerized system. This will enable you to focus your attention on running your business and making it more profitable, instead of spending hours on accounting tasks.
Coming Up:
Our upcoming posts will address tips and best practices to help maximize the productivity and benefits of using QuickBooks. QuickBooks is relatively inexpensive depending on the number of licenses needed. There are many versions which range from the most basic, which is like a check register, to a more sophisticated versions. The software can be tailored to your specific industry and there are even industry-specific editions such as construction, point of sale, and not-for-profit.
In our upcoming posts for this series on QuickBooks Tips, we'll be covering some of the following topics;
- QuickBooks Tips | Increase Your Business's Efficiency
- QuickBooks Tips | Which Version is Right for Your Business?
- QuickBooks Tips | Budgeting and Forecasting
- QuickBooks Tips | Using Class Tracking
- QuickBooks Tips | Memorizing Transactions
- Closing Your books
- Going mobile with QuickBooks
- Managing cash flow using QuickBooks AP Module
- Merging list items
- Preparing bank reconciliations
