For many small businesses and start-ups, managing payroll, bills, and taxes can be exhausting. The truth is, not everyone is accounting-savvy or has extra hours in the day to pour over each financial transaction.
Luckily, there’s accounting software. It helps business owners like you keep track of and optimize their financial records. One of the most popular types of software among smaller businesses is Quickbooks®, a program that features customer invoicing, sales tracking, and more to simplify accounting practices for the everyday business owner. It’s a valuable tool for many people like you, but how do you know if it’s the best option for your business? Here are a few things to consider:
Budget
If you own a small business or have just started your company, Quickbooks is an affordable accounting tool. With several different versions available for download, this software allows you to choose packages with the services and features that will best serve your business (and budget). This means that you can avoid purchasing a larger and more expensive bundle built for larger businesses if you only need a few of Quickbooks’ features. Also, Quickbooks offers subscriptions with monthly payments, to make costs a little easier to manage. If you own a larger business with extensive payroll or tax obligations, hiring an accounting firm or developing an internal accounting department may be a better option.
Accounting Knowledge
Although Quickbooks streamlines the difficult task of accounting and managing finances, we still suggest that you or a staff member have a basic knowledge of accounting practices. This software is very helpful in simplifying concepts like accounts payable and receivable, however, it is still important to understand what these terms mean and when they are applicable with your business. Without some knowledge of accounting principles, trying to learn Quickbooks can become quite confusing. If you are concerned about lacking in this area, Pine & Company offers Quickbook training services to help you and your in-house staff fill in the gaps of your fiscal management and accounting knowledge.
Tech Skills
Being tech-savvy in a world that is becoming increasingly online is a major advantage, and this is also the case with Quickbooks. Of course, you don’t have to be a computer science professional to operate this software, but it is slightly more advanced than the average program like Microsoft Office. Taking the time to learn the ins and outs of this software is one of the most beneficial investments you can make for your business. Often, there are time-saving shortcuts and tools in Quickbooks that can save you several hours each month! If technology isn’t your strong suit, don’t fret; there are many online tutorials and reference guides to help you navigate with confidence. Pine & Company also offers a Quickbooks set-up service if you would prefer to have a professional get your software up and running for you.
Bookkeeping
Diligent and organized bookkeeping is key to maximizing the capabilities of Quickbooks. If your records are unorganized or are missing important data, it will be difficult to make use of the helpful services your software offers. Poorly kept records can cause your business to suffer from unexpected expenses during tax season, or even lead to fraud charges in extreme cases. Quickbooks can help small to medium-sized businesses be proactive during tax season to avoid these situations, but your organization must have well-kept records. Without that, accounting software can do little to help your business.
In a market full of different accounting software and financial management options, considering these factors and doing more research on your own is the best way to determine if Quickbooks is the right fit for your business. If you feel that you are a suitable candidate for this program and are in need of some extra help, we can help! Pine & Company offers QuickBooks services to fit different business needs. We can help you manage your account or simply give you the information and training you need to manage it for yourself. Our CPAs are QuickBooks-certified which means you will receive the best accounting services possible.
An Important Tip
The easiest way for any business to simplify their bookkeeping and accounting function is to use one bank account and/or one credit card per business. That way, all transactions for the business go through one account. We recommend that you do not utilize these accounts for personal transactions. With Quickbooks, you can then import all the business account transactions simply by linking your account information to the software. You can further categorize each transaction, or better yet, let us do so for you! Our clients tend to save dozens if not hundreds of hours by following this simple practice. Additionally, clients who pay us to do their bookkeeping save hundreds, or thousands, of dollars by saving us time. When we don’t have to dig through multiple accounts to determine which transactions were for business and which ones were personal, it means cost-savings for you.
Visit our Quickbooks services page for more information on how we can help or contact us today.
