Accurate, up-to-date accounts are a must for any business, and for small businesses there never seems time to to do the job properly. The right accounting software will streamline your record keeping, leaving you more time and energy to actually run your business.

Alternatively, free yourself from the day-to-day responsibility by running your accounts on my system.

The full bureau service I offer ranges from daily bookkeeping, payroll and VAT returns to preparation of management accounts and accounts for audit.



Home Page

Selecting the Right Software

Training and Support

Bureau Service

Fees

Contact

Selecting the Right Software

It may seem obvious to say that you need to ask yourself what you want your accounting software to do and find a package which meets your requirements.

For many people, the overriding factor tends to be price. Either they are looking to spend as little as possible, or they think that the more they spend, the better the package will be. Fundamentally, all accounting packages are designed to do the same job - but the one you choose needs to be able to cope with the particular requirements of your business. Often the manufacturer's specifications (or the sales assistant) may not offer detailed enough information to enable you to make the best choice.

The pitfalls of not spending enough money may be obvious:

you may end up without facilities you really need, e.g. extended reporting, exporting information to other packages, dealing in multiple currencies.

But it can be equally uneconomic to spend too much. You may end up with facilities you have paid for but will never need to use – stock control, for instance, if your business doesn't sell products. And nothing can be gained by buying something too complicated or time-consuming to learn and operate on a day-to-day basis, especially if it doesn't include a particular feature your business might need!

So you need to understand what your business needs and select a product that balances funtionality with price. This is where I can help, by discussing your needs and guiding you through your options.

David Lister MICB - David Lister Accountancy Services  100 Thanet Road  Ramsgate  Kent  CT11 8DY