Accounting Software

Accounting software is a solution used by finance professionals and business owners to streamline and automate finance management processes. With accounting software you can, record transactions, manage customer and supplier contacts, create purchase orders, track stock levels, invoice customers, and monitor account balances.

Accounting software packages can vary in functionality, capabilities, size and integrations. Depending on the business requirements, accounting software can also include payroll processing, reconciliation, expense management and financial reporting. Additionally, some accounting software include sector specific features such as project accounting for professional services, or fund accounting for non for profit organisations.

Most accounting software is available online as cloud based software rather on-premise solution. Cloud based offers many benefits over on-premise, including allowing users to work from anywhere, at any time, automation of time-consuming manual processes and improves accuracy.

For more information, read our article What is accounting software?.

Cloud-based accounting software, also known as web-based or online accounting software, is software that is hosted on a provider’s cloud server and accessed online through your browser. Unlike traditional on-premise accounting software, which is installed and runs on individual computers. 

The real bonus that comes with cloud-based accounting software is the accessibility it offers. You and your team can access your accounts software anywhere, on any device – safe in the knowledge that you’re always working on the latest version and have the latest data to hand.

For further information, please read our resource on cloud vs on-premise accounting software.

Accounting software is important in helping businesses run day-to-day processes. It allows business and finance leaders to keep their finger on the pulse of their financial performance.

It can also help a business's run more smoothly by removing the manual, time consuming tasks and give instant, real-time information.

Accounting software is one of the most important tools in any business. It helps businesses manage their financial data and effectively track their invoices, expenses and inventory etc.

The best way to choose an accounting software is to find one that meets your needs as a finance user and works for your business’ needs. If your business turnovers more than two million a year, it will have different requirements to those businesses who turnover less than one million a year. There are many software providers that will cater for small-medium sized businesses.

Depending on your industry, you may consider software that supports businesses in your sector. For example Access Financials supports businesses in Not-For-Profit and Charities and Professional Services.

For more information read our blog on the 6 steps to help you choose the right accounting software.

Dedicated accounting software has multiple benefits over spreadsheets or other solutions including:

1. Instant financial reports - Accounting software have built-in reports that are automatically updated – easily download statements and insights. This will remove the need to spend hours compiling the month end report. Most software will also allow for customised reporting.

2. Sync all your key financial data - Financial data can be stored over multiple platforms, it can take hours going back and forth each system. Accounting software can sync data from different sources via API, to create a complete financial record.

3. Data accuracy - With accounting software, you do not need to enter values on excel spreadsheets, instead financial statements and reports will be automatically updated – ensuring data is free of errors.

The cost of accounting software is primarily influenced by the features it includes and the number of users that are given access to it.

The price of a business’s accounting software package will increase as its needs grow and change, but the value that the software is able to provide also goes up as it enables financial teams to stay on top of increasingly complex processes.

While the cost needs to make sense for your business, the cheapest option is unlikely to provide you with the most value in the long run. The best way to get the most for your money is to invest in future-proof features that your business needs to continue growing.

Read our full article on how much accounting software costs. This includes price comparisons, factors that affect the price, Access Group pricing plans and more.

Alternatively, go straight to our accounting software prices.

All medium-sized businesses need the ability to scale, with the best accounting software to meet your current and future needs. 

There are many providers in the market offering accounting systems such as us The Access Group, Netsuite, Xero and MYOB. 

Xero and MYOB are excellent solutions for small-to-medium-sized businesses, featuring user-friendly dashboards and all the key features you’d expect from accounting software. But as your business grows, the transactions add up and your needs become more complex, it could be time to move on.

Access Financials is designed for complex medium-sized organisations. Our solution provides everything you need to streamline and automate complex accounting processes, helping you eliminate duplication, improve controls, and enhance visibility.

Our article Best accounting software for medium-sized businesses goes into more detail about which accounting system is suited for which business type and the comparisons between them.

• Faster processing of key elements such as invoicing, forecasting and audit control
• More accurate thanks to the removal of repeated manual rekeying
• Efficient because of integration with other business areas and automation of key tasks
• Compliant with digital record keeping requirements for VAT for example
• Responsive – you can dig for data or pull off reports at the click of a mouse
• More secure – especially when compared to spreadsheets or outdated desktop software

For more information, read our article on the advantages and disadvantages of accounting software, which also delves into the advantages and disadvantages of Sage and Xero accounting software.

• Cost is obviously a key factor but bear in mind that there are multiple ways to proceed – a cloud-based subscription package might be more cost-effective than you think.
• Customisation might be required to ensure your accounting software fits perfectly with your business needs and how easy or expensive that is depends on the level of change required and the level of IT resource you potentially need.
• Data will need to be transferred from your existing package or system into the new one and this can be laborious. Bear in mind though that the quality of what you put in at the outset will impact the effectiveness of the new software from day one.
• Support for a new accounting software package is useful but you should expect to pay extra for maintenance cover from whichever provider you choose.

For more information, read our article on the advantages and disadvantages of accounting software, which also delves into the advantages and disadvantages of Sage and Xero accounting software.

Knowing how you will implement, train and future proof your finance team is a big consideration when implementing new accounting software. There's not a ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to ensuring your team are fully equipped to run the business.

There's 6 main considerations you need to think about when training your team on new accounting software, a few of these being; dealing with the resistance to change, format of the training and how to prepare for the migration. 

Read all 6 considerations in our article how to train your team on new accounting software.