I often find people who don't want to incur the costs of Quickbooks Online and ask me if it is really worth it. Yes, it is! Read more to learn why!
What are your accounting software options?
There are several accounting software options out there. It can be very tricky to figure out what is best for your business. That is why I am here to help small business owners like yourself figure out what software is best for you and your business.
The best option is usually one of the online software available. They make frequent updates to keep up with tax and accounting laws so you don’t have to. They are also can connect to your bank accounts which is a high lifesaver. Being able to connect to your accounting software will save you a lot of time not having to pull transactions from your bank and upload them to your accounting software. The commonly used online software that small businesses use: is Xero, FreshBooks, Wave Apps, and QuickBooks Online.
What should you be looking for in your accounting software?
Now, you may be asking how do I compare these software options to best fit my business. There are a few things that you should look for in great accounting software.
Pulls your transactions automatically so you don’t have to manually enter the transactions or upload transactions regularly.
Reconciliation for all major accounts can be performed within the software. You don’t have to manually reconcile outside the software especially when there is an issue.
Has great report options. You are able to pull the P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flows, and have options to be able to customize the report to your need.
You can track and pay contractors and employees within the program. No need for an external way to pay your contractors or employees.
As your company grows you can upgrade to more advanced software without losing your data or having to transfer data that will lose some data.
Can track your inventory and allows you to invoice/bill for the inventory you have on hand. This is very handy to have all in one place so there is no need to manually enter data from another program to keep inventory numbers accurate.
When you decide it is time to hire an accountant, it is easy to find an accountant to help you and keep running the software.
What is the best software?
I often find people who don't want to incur the costs of QuickBooks Online and ask me if it is really worth it.
The answer is, yes QuickBooks Online is worth the monthly subscription and is still the best out there!
QuickBooks Online connects to your bank accounts saving you time not having to manually enter or download your transactions.
It has a reconciliation within the program. This is very important. I have personally found clients using Xero or FreshBooks and had major issues because of this feature not available.
The reports! The reports in QuickBooks Online can show you lots of different aspects of your business. This is important for planning and forecasting. Other programs only have the minimum reports and don't have the custom reports that QuickBooks Online offers.
QuickBooks Online has the best options for reports. I am often asked by clients to look up more details for a specific vendor, product, or line item. QuickBooks Online makes it very easy to look up the details that they want without having to do a bunch of calculations outside of the software.
As your company grows, QuickBooks Online grows with you! Just make sure you don’t choose the self-employed version. That version doesn’t offer an upgrade.
QuickBooks Online does help you track inventory as long as you’re willing to enter it itinually and then as you buy more of course add the additional inventory in, and as you sell goods, as long as you use the QuickBooks Online invoices or bills it will also help keep track of the remaining inventory.
When you do decide it is time to hire an accountant, there are a lot of accountants who love and use QuickBooks Online. In fact, I would say it is the easiest to use for accountants so there is a lot of us who solely only use QuickBooks Online like myself.
Do you feel like this is too much for your business and you don’t want to pay the costs of QuickBooks Online? Then I highly suggest using WaveApps. It is free accounting software but honestly, I would suggest you use it over Xero or FreshBooks. Here is why, it at least has reconciliation within the program. I can’t tell you how many times I have had a client come to me telling me they have been using Xero or FreshBooks and can’t figure out how to reconcile their accounts. It is a very common issue and they are wanting to reconcile because their books are off and they need to figure out why. This software is one of the most important steps in bookkeeping, the reconciliation. They are supposed to do reconciliation automatically but it does work right and it causes issues, trust me.
WaveApps does have its limitations though. I will warn you. It is not as user user-friendly or robust as QuickBooks Online. It also does not grow with your business, so if you choose WaveApps just keep in mind, that one day you may need to switch to QuickBooks Online so you can have more friendly robust software. It does work well for those who are just starting out and just need something to give them a Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet regularly for review and at the end of the year for taxes.
Still unsure which bookkeeping software is best for your needs? I made a easy to review the Pros and Cons of the Bookkeeping Software Table for free! Get your copy today!
How do I get started?
Are you ready to get started with QuickBooks Online but unsure how to start? I have the perfect solution for you! This month, I have an opening for my VIP Days! It is one day when I take your bank accounts and setup, your bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online. The best part is I will do up to 12 months of bookkeeping for you and I will even train you on how to keep your books going! VIP days combines all of my services into one! It is the best deal! Let’s meet to discuss your needs and see if VIP days are right for you!
Comments