Accounting Software is a type of application software that helps accounts professionals in recording, analysing, and preparing reports of a business organization’s accounting or financial transactions in a proper way. It can be used to record all the accounting transactions such as accounts receivable, cash payable, tax-related functions, creating ledger, preparation of profit and loss account, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.
The business organization can understand the current financial position of the business and whether they are performing in a profitable way or not, plan and prepare the budget based on the reports created with the help of accounting software. It assists in the efficient and effective processing of a business’s accounting transactions.
Advantages of Accounting Software
The following are the advantages of a good accounting software
- Accounting software helps in reducing human accounting errors
- It keeps records up to date automatically.
- It is simple to use and record accounting transactions
- It assists in preparing financial statements based on the data recorded in the accounting software
- It reduces time due to the automation of the process
- It reduces the expense of manual accounting.
- It stores the important data of business firms safely.
- Provides accurate data that can be used by the business organization
- It helps the management in decision-making.
- Presents accurate and timely financial reports.
Importance of Accounting Software
Accounting is a very important part of the business which helps them to record and monitor sales, purchases, and other financial transactions. Hence, companies are choosing the right accounting software to manage their financial transactions. It helps in bookkeeping, recording business accounting. transactions, generating financial statements, and preparing financial reports based on available financial data.
With the help of free accounting software, the company can monitor the performance and financial position of your business organization. It assists the business organization in recording all the data that allow you to track whether your business is going in the right way or not.
Improves the accuracy of accounting
In the manual accounting process, there may have errors due to an incorrect calculation. Accounting software helps you to record the accounting processes accurately by minimizing the errors in calculations.
Minimized cost
The use of accounting software allows you to process financial activities timely and effectively. If the business firm has the right and effective accounting software system, there is only requires a smaller number of employees to handle the accounting process which results in reducing administration and payroll expenses.
Accurate and timely financial reports
It would be easier for the accounting department to prepare accurate financial reports of business on time. Hence, the management can use these reports in the decision-making process, planning, and formulating a future financial budget.
Greater speed of the process
Accounting software helps the business firm to process their accounting faster without a time-consuming process. The accounting process can be done on time and increase its efficiency by using accounting software.
Improves efficiency
There are many accounting software applications that assist you to process financial data in an easy and efficient way. You just need to record all the financial transactions of the business into the accounting software. You can easily access the accounting record from anywhere if you are using cloud accounting software by connecting to the internet.
Auditing
Auditing is the process of examining the accuracy of accounting transactions and financial statements of a business which is done in a systematic way. It helps the firm to know the financial position and performance of the business. If you have good accounting software, it would give you the accurate and required financial data to prepare a perfect auditing report.
User-friendliness
It is very important to make sure that the accounting software that you selected is designed in such a way that can be used by any employee in your finance department. It should have all the features and functionalities according to your business needs that help you work smoothly and efficiently.
Secured business data
The business firm needs to confirm that the accounting software has all the security features that help secure the financial data of the business. The accounting software can be used by only the staff in the finance department who have permission.
Recognize and minimize errors
You can choose such software that can be used by the team in the finance team to record the accounting activities by eliminating errors in the process. You can purchase software that has the functionalities to identify and prevent errors automatically.
Analysis and Reporting
Good accounting software has functionalities that can be used to analyse and report accurate data. It should assist the business firm to record and analyse the financial activities which can be used to know the profitability and performance of the business.
Functions of Accounting Software
The business firm should choose the right accounting software suitable to meet your business needs. You need to know the functionalities, capabilities, and features that your accounting software to have. The basic function of accounting software is invoice process, record income and expenses, GST/VAT return filing, track assets, and liabilities, and prepare financial statements.
Record income and expenses
Accounting software allows you to record the income and expenses of your business. Accounting software will show you the details about the amount you paid and received. Hence, it will help you to get a better idea about how much you have paid as expenses, and how your business firm has earned
Invoice information processing
The business firm can record invoice information using accosting software. You can generate and distribute invoices to customers and enter the supplier’s invoices with the help of software. You need to enter the information like the name of the customer who owes you money, invoice date, invoice number, quantity and price of product or service, and due date, and bank account details. You should enter into the accounting software the invoices that you received from suppliers.
Preparation of Financial Statements
Accounting software will generate financial reports like income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets based on the data you recorded in the software. It would be easy for the business firm to prepare financial statements by tracking a company’s financial data using accounting software
Tracking Vendors
Accounting software is storing all the vendor’s invoices into your software so that it gives you a better idea about how you owe to each vendor. It would be easier for you to make payments to the vendors you owe to by selecting the vendor from the accounting software, the amount of payment, date, and bank details.
Calculation of Tax
Good accounting software will help you perform tax processes like calculating the amount of tax payable to the government and preparing tax reports. The business firm can calculate taxes easily and correctly by using better accounting software that helps them to save time and money.
You need to consider many factors while selecting accounting software like the objectives and needs of the business. There is some online accounting software that provides services with various features and functions. You need to keep in your mind when you choose accounting software, it is good to select software that is easy to use, simple to manage your accounts effectively and efficiently, and helps you to focus on other activities of your business organization
