Have you made the decision to switch to the use of accounting software for your small business? Good idea! It’s totally worth it. Accounting software is essential for running a healthy business. The benefits of using accounting software for your small business are far too many than the cost.
For every business owner, particularly a small business owner, choosing accounting software without thoughtful consideration is never a good idea. It is critical to have the right accounting software.
Why? You do not want to invest in accounting software now, only for you to realize later on that the accounting software is unable to perform certain tasks it should ideally perform.
Without thinking far, you already know the implication of such action – it’s either you end up struggling with the software or you incur more costs by switching to different software.
Choosing the best accounting software for your business may seem like a bit of work for you. Hence, to help simplify the process and assist you in making the right decision, we have put together key factors to consider when choosing accounting software for your small business.
Now, let’s dive into it.
Scope of Business
Before anything, your needs matter. Make a checklist of the core accounting tasks your business needs and see if the software can perform the required tasks. It’s good if the selected accounting software ticks all the boxes. But it’s even better when you factor in growth and expansion as well.
In a couple of years when your business begins to expand, with higher volumes of transactions involved of course; would this software still be able to handle the accounting tasks perfectly? So It’s best to check what upgrades you will need in the near future and choose the software that can grow with your business.
Accounting software such as the BMAC Cloud Accounting Software was built and designed to meet the needs of any business size and any business industry. What this means is that BMAC Cloud Accounting Software can handle your small business accounting needs, and will still perfectly handle your accounting needs when your business starts to expand.
Ease of Use
Ease of use is a must. No one likes complexities. Let’s come down to your business – I mean, one of the major reasons you are considering accounting software in the first place is so you can run your business with ease. Accounting software should make your life easier, not difficult.
So the question is, how do you detect easy-to-use accounting software?
- Simplicity: with zero accounting knowledge, you should be able to navigate through the software features, and perform the basic accounting tasks as fast as possible, without any problem.
- A dashboard feature: that allows a new or existing user to access any feature at a click. You should also be able to know how your business is performing financially, at a glance.
- Receipt/Payment feature: you can easily see the cash inflow to the business, or outflow over a period of use.
- Ability to invoice customers and track sent invoices.
- Financial reporting in a detailed, yet easy-to-understand format; and can be generated at the click of a button.
One software that remains friendly and easy to use for business owners with little to no accounting knowledge is the BMAC Cloud Accounting Software.
User security
If you have employees or planning to expand, then you need to consider user security. Here’s why – you will have a number of employees using the accounting software, and you should be able to define what each user can see or do.
Bank Compatibility
Not all accounting software allows integration with your bank. The standard ones will allow integration with your bank. For instance, BMAC Cloud Accounting Software allows you to download transactions from your bank. You can even add up to 3 bank accounts.
This way, you can save a lot of time doing bank reconciliations.
Cloud-based Application
Outside of business, you have your personal life to worry about. At the same time, you want to make sure your business is performing well.
This is why you should look out for accounting software that offers you easy access to your business financial information on the go.
Additionally, cloud-based accounting software is a great way to collaborate with your employees or accountant/bookkeeper to speed up business operations. Your access to your business’s financial data on the go will let you make better business decisions.
Price
Of course, at this stage of your business, price should be a determining factor.
Would you prefer a cheap software with very limited functionalities or a priced software that provides you with all the features your business actually needs?
At this point, you can do a price comparison to see which of the potential software you can afford. In all of these, be sure to look into the features as well. Don’t get carried away focusing on the price that you forget to check if the potential software will satisfactorily meet your business accounting needs.
Data Security
If you are finally saying goodbye to the outdated and insecure book & pen lifestyle, and embracing the use of accounting software, then it is only right that such software can be relied upon to protect your financial information. Right?
This is why it’s important to consider accounting software that stores your business’ financial information in the cloud. That way, you never have to worry about losing your business financial records.
BMAC Accounting, for example, stores all your financial records in the cloud, making them accessible to you only. This means no external person, not even BMAC, can access your financial records.
Customer Support
What happens when you get stuck while using the accounting software? Would you get the needed assistance? This is why support is a crucial factor to consider when choosing accounting software.
No matter how easy an application is, a time will always come when you will need IT assistance. So you should opt for an accounting solution that offers adequate and quality support.
If a software company claims to offer adequate support, a simple way to assess the quality of support is to reach out to the customer support number, and see how your inquiries are being attended to.
Take Your Time Before Buying Accounting Software
Clearly, deciding to use accounting software for your small business is a big step. The list of considerations that needs to be factored in in order to select the right accounting software may be overwhelming as well. To be factual, you just need to take your time.
And if you don’t have the luxury of time, BMAC Cloud Accounting Software, Nigeria’s #1 simplified accounting solution, comes highly recommended.
Hundreds of businesses (including small businesses) prefer and trust BMAC Accounting Software to handle their accounting for every reason, ranging from simplicity & ease-of-use to a robust offering of features and functionality, to security.
You do not have to take our word for it though, you can try it out for free for 30 days, and see if it’s right for your business needs.
Do you have questions or comments about this post? Please leave them in the comment section, we would be happy to hear from you, and respond accordingly.
This is great content. Thank you!