7 Low-End Accounting Software Products

Hey, guys Did some research on a few software packages that might be of some value to you. "Depending of course on your needs". These specific packages were rated as the best om the low-end side of accounting software... But, have a lot of bang for the buck. Just wanted to give you this short list before I head-out for the day. Go check them out for yourselves if you have the time... Later :-)

Here's the list starting with #1

(1) BusinessVision 32 from (best Software)

(2) Small Business Manager (Microsoft)- This is the one I use..."Love it!!"

(3) M.Y.O.B (M.Y.O.B software)

(4) Peachtree Complete Accounting 2004 (Best Software)- Recent Update 2005

(5) Quickbooks Pro 2003 (Intuit) - I believe my mom has this one and says it's not bad.

(6) Simply Accounting ( Best Software)- I guess the name says it all..."Not Bad for the price... But I'll stick with what I have.

Finally, the last one:

Vision Point 2000 ( Best Software)- Been around for awhile, but still carries some avid users.

Well, there you go! Hope this helps... I'll post some of the higher-end stuff tomorrow when I get a break. Have a Great Day! :-)

Managing your Books

Hey, Everyone I just found this article on tips to help you with managing your books the "daunting task" a lot of us face... It's by Daniel Kehrer and from what Iv'e read it has already helped me stay on top of things. I hope it does the same for you guys. "Talk to you soon"



10 tips for managing the books

Next to "selling more," the skill many business owners say they'd most like to improve is managing their business finances. From basics like banking and billing, to more complicated money matters involving financial reports and balance sheets, there's much to know about setting up and managing the money side of a business.

It's tempting for many entrepreneurs to focus on making sales, closing deals and pumping up the P.R. while putting off mundane chores like bookkeeping. But tending to financial basics is critical to keeping a business on track.

Here are 10 keys to keeping your bookkeeping and general finances under control:

1) Get the right software. Don't even think about keeping your books manually or with spreadsheets. Low-cost, easy-to-use financial software for small business such as QuickBooks, or the free version QuickBooks Simple Start (both at www.intuit.com) are perfect for keeping everything in order. New Web-based solutions such as Netbooks (www.net

books.com) are also great.

2) Automate your invoicing, too. Online billing services that can effortlessly issue your invoices and keep track of everything are one of the most helpful Web-based small-business services to appear recently. Check 'em out, and put 'em to work for your business. Look at Bill.com and FreshBooks.com in particular. The services are cheap and can help clean up a billing mess in an instant.

3) Separate your business and personal finances.






Many new business owners, and especially sole proprietors, fail to set up separate banking, bookkeeping and other systems to keep track of their businesses, causing confusion and potential tax headaches. Using money from your business to pay for personal expenses, for example, can get you in legal hot water, and at a minimum complicates your record-keeping.
4) Don't delay; do it daily. If your business finances change daily, you should have bookkeeping systems that update daily as well. This should include daily sales, purchases and other transactions, and especially any cash transactions.

5) Hire a bookkeeper. You don't need to pay an accountant's higher professional fees to handle routine bookkeeping chores. Many small businesses have part-time bookkeepers to help keep things in order. The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers offers helpful information on how to evaluate a bookkeeper before you hire one. Visit www.aipb.org and click on "For Employers: Free Bookkeepers Hiring Test." Or consider an outsourced solution that combines online convenience with professional accounting and bookkeeping services. Balance

YourBooks.com is one such choice.

6) Reconcile. No, I'm not talking about making up with a spouse you've neglected due to business demands. Rather, review your bank statements and balance your accounts regularly. Don't just toss statements into a stack. If you let days or weeks pass without updating records, you'll soon be lost and errors may go unnoticed.

7) Use calendar month timing. Most business owners find it helpful to account for money on a calendar month basis. But things don't always line up. For example, if your bank statement isn't based on a calendar month, ask for it to be changed. Most banks can make that accommodation.

8) Be proactive with your accountant. One reason you need to keep good books is so you can provide accurate and timely information to an accountant to prepare your business taxes. Get their advice on how best to set up your books and organize your financial information. You might also ask them to periodically check your books, adjust entries or prepare financial reports for your review.

9) Use a payroll service if you have employees. Once your business has employees, your finances take a quantum leap in complexity. Outsourcing to a payroll service such as Paychex, Sure Payroll or ADP places the record-keeping burden on them, and makes your end vastly easier.

10) Keep it simple and consistent. Bookkeeping is all about columns, and by keeping the same column headings all the time, you will avoid the frustration of mismatches. And if you avoid over-categorizing income and expenses, you'll also save yourself time. Often it's just not necessary to break things down into great detail.

Daniel Kehrer (editor@business.com) is Editor of Business.com, the No. 1 business search engine, and Work.com, a "how-to" site for small business.

Accounting Software- Entry Level " The Real Cost"

Can Microsoft break the barrier?
Web sites are buzzing with information on the new Microsoft Accounting Software.

One challenge for all the entry level vendors is their ability to price and deliver adequate support to their user base. Even though Microsoft’s latest entry level offering is free, users may well struggle to get the software up and running without some face to face training – which can cost several hundred pounds a day. There is a UK discussion forum on the Microsoft site which includes questions about VAT handling which highlights this problem.. More information at




Most accountants will agree that regardless of the tool, users need a reasonable level of accounting skills to use any product. Many small charities do not have these and rely on helplines to slowly work their way through the problem. Helplines cost money to staff and charities ultimately have to pay for this. For an entry level system to really take off this issue needs to be addressed. It will be interesting to see whether Microsoft develop a new approach to this that might work – for example via interactive training/support. If they can tackle this they may make it in the entry level accounting software space.

Step By Step Guide For Purchasing the Right Accounting Software

Buying accounting software can be quite a cumbersome exercise at times. There is a never-ending list of the companies offering such software and each one of them comes with a specific consumer group in mind. Therefore, if you do not fall in the group the company in question has aimed its product at, it is very likely that the product would not suit your needs to a very large extent. Therefore, while choosing an accounting software, one needs to go step-by-step so that the search is organized and one ends up getting the best deal. Here is how you should go about it:

1.Always start with jotting down your needs. What is your purpose and what features would suit your needs best must be the key aspects of your search.

2.Ignore product reviews and do not be fascinated by what the press or the media says about a product because there is no point in buying the best in the market without having any need for most of its valuable features.

3.Instead of looking at the top few products, have a good look at the entire range of software available and carefully examine their key features in view of your needs.

4.Make a list of all the software available and then start the process of elimination on the basis of key features of each of them. Remove those that either do not meet your needs well or are a little too expensive as compared to the others.

5.Once you have found a software that meets all of your needs, look for other options in the same price range and see what they offer in addition to the necessary features. If there is a software that offers all that you need and some more for the same price, go for it.

6.There are companies that might offer cheaper products and also some additional features for the same price. However, it is better to go for a product by a reputed company than settling down for something cheap made by an obscure establishment. Cheap products might work at times, but mostly they turn out to be heavy on maintenance and are a source of bother day in and day out. It thus makes sense to purchase an accounting software by a known company even if it is a bit expensive and is not very high on additional features.

7.And lastly, you are going for an accounting software to ease your burden. So, if a software adds to your burden, the whole exercise itself is futile. Therefore, be careful and discerning while choosing an accounting software.

Review for- Retail Business Accounting Software

Imagine your favorite little retail shop. Think of how many people come in and out of that business establishment in an hour. Now think of the number of people that look at the shop's products. Take into consideration the variety of products they buy, as well as the amounts they buy.
If you think about it, such numbers could reach hundreds, or maybe even thousands, during busy days. And the figures could double or triple easily if you take into account every single purchase made at the store.
To assist the owners and accountants of such retail businesses, computer techies and number wizards have come up with a great idea: retail business accounting software.
What is retail business accounting software? This kind of business accounting software has been specifically designed to make the numbers game much easier for business owners and accountants to play. For retail businesses, it is important to keep track of the shop's stock and how many products are being sold. By identifying these factors, businesses are able to determine which products are the most profitable and which ones are draining them of resources. With retail business accounting software, processing these important figures becomes fairly easy.
Especially integrated into the program itself are important business criteria that are taken into consideration by the retail industry. All a person has to do is key in the required figures as well as other information or business data. Retail business accounting software does the rest of the work. The next thing that the user of the software needs to do is simply understand the statistics that have been summarized for him by the software. There is no need to manually tally laborious computations.
If you are interested in using retail business accounting software for your own retail business or for the company that you are working for, you can easily find one of these through the internet.
Business Accounting Software provides detailed information on Business Accounting Software, Best Business Accounting Software, Free Small Business Accounting Software, Small Business Accounting Software Reviews and more. Business Accounting Software is affiliated with Small Business Accounting Software.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_Morgan

accounting software

Accounting Software: Reviews on Top 3 Payroll Tax Software for Small Business

If you have a small business you know that you have to keep all of your financial records as organized as possible to ensure that you can make payroll accurately as well as file an accurate and timely tax return. There are many different programs for you to choose from, which can make the process of getting organized a bit overwhelming. Most programs today are very easy to use, and once you get the hang of it you can make payroll as well as tax payments very easy to deal with.
If you need help with payroll taxes you might want to look at a program such as QuickBooks. This program is manufactured by Intuit and is one of the leading programs for small businesses that need accounting software. There are several different versions available such as QuickBooks Basic, the QuickBooks Pro, as well as QuickBooks Premier. This online tax program has time tracking software that is nice, and the program is available for both Windows and Macintosh based computers. Many find that this has all of the features that they need because it allows them to do tracking, banking, invoicing, statements, and more all in one program.
Another great small business software is Small Business Money by Microsoft. This software has been created with business in mind and allows for users to create invoices, track spending, manage cash flow, handle payroll and so much more. There are different versions of this software available so that small business owners can find the version that best suits them and their specific needs. Many report that they like Money because it is very easy to use, without all kinds of extra bells and whistles that simply get in the way.
If you need help with payroll taxes and accounting you may also want to check out Peachtree. This is a great accounting software that will allow you to track spending, handle payroll, and do basic account management very easily. The software is meant to be used by small and medium sized companies and works much like Quicken and QuickBooks, though some prefer this program and its small differences that it has.
As you can see, there are many different programs on the market today that can help small and medium sized companies handle their payroll taxes and other day to day business maintenance. Many find that trial and error is the best way to find the program that works for them. Making a list of your basic needs will help you find the program that is best for you.
Caitlina Fuller is a freelance writer. There are several different versions available such as QuickBooks Basic, the QuickBooks Pro, as well as QuickBooks Premier. This online tax program has time tracking software that is nice, and the program is available for both Windows and Macintosh based computers. Many find that this has all of the features that they need because it allows them to do tracking, banking, invoicing, statements, and more all in one program. Option is to file tax onlne without using software.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Caitlina_Fuller

Accounting Software-What to look For...

Here's a good article I found to point you in the right direction when choosing an accounting software program!

With all the accounting software available, it's hard to know which program is the best fit for your business finances. Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate small business accounting software.
Ease of Use – We look for finance software that is simple to install, set up, and understand. The best accounting programs make navigating intuitive, so you never have to guess where you are or what to do next.

Accounting Modules – Accounting modules are categories required to successfully maintain your business finances (such as accounts payable and Accounts Receivable). Does the accounting software have all the basic accounting modules you'll need? All the bells and whistles of the software aren't relevant if the basics aren't covered.

Will the finance software grow with your company? We look for accounting software that lets you grow and customize your system to fit your individual business needs.
Reporting Categories – Consider accounting software that offers a wide range of reports. You should be able to print at least one kind of report for every module. Reporting features are often built into each section, but it's better if you can create reports from anywhere in the program.
Customizable reports save you time; look for accounting software that will let you set your own criteria. With detailed financial reporting, you can analyze what is and isn't working for your business.

Help Documentation – Look for email and phone support; toll-free phone and live support, online help is a bonus.

Online, we look for indexed help topics that can be searched easily. You'll want quick access for both technical help and accounting help for your software. Accounting software companies should have qualified people (both technicians and accountants) answering these tough questions.With the right accounting software, you will be able to manage your company books quickly and easily.