The ins and outs of accounting software for small businesses

It used to be that small business accounting meant spreadsheets. Lots and lots of spreadsheets.

These days, accounting has gone digital – but what does this mean? And what software is out there to help make your accounts easier to manage?

What is accounting software?

Accounting software refers to an online digital platform which allows a business owner (and their accountant) to interact with company finances in real-time – offering an instant overview of the financial status of the company at the click of a button.

Various accounting software is available – with business owners having the choice to subscribe to software independently or access it through their accountant.

Why do I need accounting software?

While static Excel workbooks used to be the gold standard for small business and sole trader accounting, the latest accounting software is cloud-based, meaning instant, dynamic access from anywhere in the world.

Further, business owners benefit from instant calculations, remote uploads, automatically generated reports, and pre-populated data, making it easy to manage time-consuming tasks like bookkeeping and day-to-day accounts.

What does digital accounting software incorporate?

Accounting software incorporates most functions of traditional accounting.

These include:

• Daily bookkeeping
• Payroll
• Business income
• Expenses
• Inventory and stock
• Accounts payable & receivable
• Balance sheets – up-to-date reports
• Tax liability records
• Asset management

Do I still need an accountant if I have accounting software?

In short, yes. Accounting software isn’t designed to replace the services of a professional accountant.

Instead, accounting software complements your accountant’s role within your business. It saves you serious time on tasks like bookkeeping, as well as making reporting to your accountant much easier. Real-time accounting which allows accountants to receive live updates as to your business’s financial health helps them forecast and plan for business growth, too.

Despite the time-saving advances in digital accounting software, businesses should always have a good accountant on side. Skipping paying for an accountant is false economy – as even with accounting software, accounting tasks would most likely take up too much of your time if you were handling them alone.

Will my accountant provide software?

A good online accountant may provide a subscription to digital accounting software as part of the accountancy package they offer you – although this isn’t always included, so watch out for hidden charges!

The accountancy software itself is usually provided by a third-party software platform – big names include Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent among others.

Why choose QAccounting?

At QAccounting, we know that self-employed business owners must understand their bookkeeping and finances in order to operate successfully. This is why we offer our QAccounting customers the ultimate accountancy software solution in the form of our own in-house software. Our user-friendly, expertly developed software offers full visibility of company financials, tax liabilities, income, expenditure and much more.

Our in-house QAccounting software is straightforward to use, but in case our customers need any extra guidance or support, our agents are always on hand.

At QAccounting, we also work with our partners at Xero to offer a Xero subscription and integration as standard within all our monthly accounting packages – giving customers the choice to choose the system that suits them best.

If you’re already up and running using a different accounting software, relax! QAccounting can plug-in to any existing accountancy software e.g. FreeAgent or QuickBooks for seamless interfacing.

At QAccounting, we believe that software shouldn’t be a hurdle that customers must overcome, but a tool to make their lives easier. We offer accounting packages for:

• Limited companies
• Self-employed individuals
• Self-Assessments
• Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)
• IR35

So, whether you’re a limited company director, a sole trader, a freelancer, start-up or any other kind of self-employed individual – get in touch today to find out how our accounting software can make your accounting simple, straightforward and effective.