When choosing the right accounting software there will be a number of key accounting processes you will want to take into consideration. Three of the most important of which are billing and invoicing, expense management and bank reconciliation needs.
However, not all accounting software solutions are capable of covering all three of these processes properly. That is why we have identified 5 popular applications that do a good job on all them.
But before looking at these, let´s consider what accounting software can do to make these processes more efficient.
Billing and Invoicing
Chasing overdue payments can be tedious and time consuming, software that can track unpaid invoices and set up automatic payment reminders allows you to better utilise your time with other tasks.
Furthermore, the improved tracking of invoices means an increased likelihood of getting paid faster and less likelihood of losing track of money that’s owed to you.
Creating invoices is another great capability of accounting software, automatically calculating sales tax and discounts along with generating recurring invoices. Invoices can also be customized and branded to improve professionalism and can be exported, emailed and printed.
Most applications also handle multiple payment options, allowing you to record payments made both online and offline and notifying you when payments are made.
Expense Management
Keeping on top of continuously piling bills and various outgoings can be a challenge. This is where expense management tools in accounting software can help.
These tools allow for the better organization, categorization and overview of both billable and non-billable expenses. They can also streamline the reimbursement process of employee expenses.
Automatic recording of expenses leads to enhanced accuracy and efficiency, saving you time and hassle. This also reduces the room for error and enables you to keep a closer eye on your spending at all times.
By providing detailed reports on expenses, accounting applications can provide valuable insights into ways to reduce expenses and keep track of expenses that are tax deductible.
Bank Reconciliation
Accuracy is one of the key factors that must be ensured when preparing bank reconciliation statements and accounting software can be essential in helping with this. Bank reconciliation tools help to speed up the entire process from start to finish, saving a huge amount of time.
These applications allow you to detect discrepancies more easily, avoid errors, and keep on top of company cash flow. They also give clearer and neater overviews of transactions. This increased visibility allows for the easier detection of missed entries.
With features such as automatic bank feeds, bank statement imports and automatic categorization of transactions such as PayPal and credit card, the process is made significantly less complex.
5 Popular Accounting Software That Make These Processes More Efficient
Netsuite is a unified business management suite offering a range of accounting and financial services among their multifaceted product list. Services this software provider offers include expense management, recurring revenue and revenue recognition management, order and billing management, tax management as well as the ability to easily integrate with all their other products.
Zoho Books offer a range of accounting services including invoicing, expense tracking and automated banking, along with generating profit and loss reports, balance sheets and cash flow statements. You can access all your accounting data from anywhere using various devices. You can also share and track all your financial reports with your accountant online.
Intacct is a financial management and accounting application that offer multiple capabilities. Along with the aforementioned features, Intaact also offers revenue management, multi-currency management, general ledger and accounts receivable and accounts payable functions, along with sales tax management, project accounting and advanced, streamlined cash management.
Quickbooks is an accounting solution for small to medium sized businesses. Among their services is the ability to accept payments, scan receipts, track sales and expenses, pay employees and easily share information with accountants. Quickbooks bookkeeping software also offers reconciliation of accounts payable and receivable, audit trails, balance sheets and reporting.
Xero is accounting software geared towards small businesses. Key features include the sharing of business figures with your accountant, automatic bank feeds with the ability to connect bank accounts, along with online payment, payroll, fixed assets, purchase orders, financial reporting and multi-currency tools.
You can compare these applications further on the GetApp market place.