Posted: 12/28/2009 11:56:08 PM EDT
| Anyone have any recommendations for small business oriented software such as accounting software or client tracking? |
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x2 on QuickBooks.
It is probably one of the more common that you will see out there for sure. Because it is very important to get organized well from the get-go, be sure to take a few days, if necessary, to think through setting up your accounts. Done properly, this will save you a ton of time come tax season, and your books will be spotless, drastically reducing lag time or (hopefully not) the chances of a negative audit, etc. Feel free to let me know if you could use any help when you get to that point. EDIT: How "small" is small business? Depending on how small, you very well could be fine with a journal/ledger book (like those made by Capitol, I believe) if you can keep good records. The majority of small business taxes I have done, virtually none used software, and some of these companies made a decent little chunk of change. Oftentimes, if you wouldn't have entries but every couple of days, your tax preparer would likely electronically compile your entries at the end of the year but this really depends on the size of your business. |
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EDIT: How "small" is small business? Small as in tiny. Transactions would be no more than 5-10 a month. Hmm. Well, I suppose it just depends how organized you want to be. I, personally, like the tangibility of a receipt book in combination with deposit slips and an accounting journal ledger, but I may be in the minority, I don't know. I do believe you are better off keeping and tracking your numbers than turning in everything at tax time and letting them tell you what you balance sheet, income statement, etc. look like. I would either go the old fashioned route, which is plenty capable for this few of transactions, or give a free or inexpensive software a try. I still wouldn't say don't use QuickBooks though, as a lot of tax preparers have this software and you can e-transmit your file, which can save you time and money on that end. It allows you to look through tons of financial statements and has a reasonable ability to search or sort through data and time periods, which can come in very handy sometimes. I would probably use a physical journal and ledger (like a Capitol(?) accounting book) and use software that I can enter in the files to at the end of every month. This way, you have a daily entry, tangible format and a computer format that can double check one another if needed. It's really up to preference, but even the basics aren't unacceptable here for a business with such few transactions. Just depends if you mind calculating your numbers or if you want a computer to do it all for you. Let us know what you decide though, for sure. |
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EDIT: How "small" is small business? Small as in tiny. Transactions would be no more than 5-10 a month. Hmm. Well, I suppose it just depends how organized you want to be. I, personally, like the tangibility of a receipt book in combination with deposit slips and an accounting journal ledger, but I may be in the minority, I don't know. I do believe you are better off keeping and tracking your numbers than turning in everything at tax time and letting them tell you what you balance sheet, income statement, etc. look like. I would either go the old fashioned route, which is plenty capable for this few of transactions, or give a free or inexpensive software a try. I still wouldn't say don't use QuickBooks though, as a lot of tax preparers have this software and you can e-transmit your file, which can save you time and money on that end. It allows you to look through tons of financial statements and has a reasonable ability to search or sort through data and time periods, which can come in very handy sometimes. I would probably use a physical journal and ledger (like a Capitol(?) accounting book) and use software that I can enter in the files to at the end of every month. This way, you have a daily entry, tangible format and a computer format that can double check one another if needed. It's really up to preference, but even the basics aren't unacceptable here for a business with such few transactions. Just depends if you mind calculating your numbers or if you want a computer to do it all for you. Let us know what you decide though, for sure. Spending $200 is a non-issue; I think I'd like to stick with a program that can be upgraded or exported if the need was identified. So what you guys are telling me here is that Quickbooks would be a wise decision, correct? Never heard of the Act software. link? |
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So what you guys are telling me here is that Quickbooks would be a wise decision, correct? I believe every small business I have worked for and the accounting firms, as well, all used or had QuickBooks because they either used it or some of their clients did. With your size, you have absolutely nothing to worry about by going this route. Just remember, a lot of stuff can get transposed incorrectly on computers, especially if you are rushing through entries. I would definitely consider using tangible check/receipt book to log in sales, etc., as they happen, because a key entry error cannot be traced back correctly without supporting documentation. Just a QuickBooks entry may not hold as much weight, as well, in the event of audit and such. |
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So what you guys are telling me here is that Quickbooks would be a wise decision, correct? I believe every small business I have worked for and the accounting firms, as well, all used or had QuickBooks because they either used it or some of their clients did. With your size, you have absolutely nothing to worry about by going this route. Just remember, a lot of stuff can get transposed incorrectly on computers, especially if you are rushing through entries. I would definitely consider using tangible check/receipt book to log in sales, etc., as they happen, because a key entry error cannot be traced back correctly without supporting documentation. Just a QuickBooks entry may not hold as much weight, as well, in the event of audit and such. gotcha thanks! |
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Never heard of the Act software. link? your google fu is weak. www.act.com I usually have about 6-10 tabs open at once, posting on several different sites at once, you see I didn't need to google it because I had you do it for me. lol kidding thanks |
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That tiny - hell Quickbooks would be fine.
I prefer Peachtree as it has better features, some better accounting analytics, and much better inventory and reporting, but just a few transactions might justify the lesser software. Peachtree can be a bit user unfriendly if you aren't accounting savvy. |