Lecture 7- Accounting software for smaller businesses

One advantage of maintaining accounting records manually is that of may be perceived as &

Another advantage of maintaining accounting records manually is that it is than

The primary advantage of using accounting software over manual records is the of &

One feature & function you might expect to find in accounting software designed for smaller businesses is . This includes , , , , etc

Another feature & function you might expect to find in accounting software designed for smaller businesses is . This includes &

Third feature & function you might expect to find in accounting software designed for smaller businesses is . This includes , , &

Three ways of how smaller businesses can maintain their accounting records are , using & using traditional

There are several legal business forms such as: , & . of an economy will influence what is

From operations perspective, small businesses focus on number of business sector/s, accounting is done by /small accounting team, are unlikely to have complex & tasks, routine accounting is done by accountant & keep records to meet as it's more important than planning for them

Considering of their operations is in understanding what they need in terms of accounting information

Use of accounting software is impacted by which includes of either purchasing software & employing an accountant or engaging services of an external accountant. also has element or opportunity cost as many business owners may find they do not have to invest in maintaining accounting records

Reasons for maintaining accounting records manually is that manual of transactions takes , of software & hardware may be , may be to technology & easier when business is more (e.g. plumber, carpenter)

One disadvantage of maintaining accounting records manually is that it is to error. Therefore, there would be information

Another disadvantage of maintaining accounting records manually is that there is no of records. Therefore, there would be no basic information

Third disadvantage of maintaining accounting records manually is lack of by preparer. Therefore, will be & accounting information & fundamental

Fourth disadvantage of maintaining accounting records manually is . Therefore, cannot apply basic

Advantages of office suite applications include: mundane tasks can be (e.g. adding up figures), office suites are available on which make records , some available (password protection), , sorting & searching of & some suites are available (OpenOffice, Lyx)

Disadvantages of office suite applications include: not automatically (expertise required to do so), no of accounting & preparation of decision-relevant

Accounting software- There are products that focus on supporting . They have ability to basic business transactions & standard financial reports from these

Other factors to consider when talking about specialised accounting software applications include: of company, jurisdiction & design

records & applications do not offer much data integration compared to

Four advantages of accounting software include: data integration from to , supports accounting & (e.g. double-entry system), includes financial reports & includes standard/sector-specific

Another three advantages of accounting software include: include some functionality (e.g. budgets), specific accounting not necessarily required (built into software) & may be than full

Greatest advantage of accounting software is of data from recording of through to

Fourth feature & function you might expect to find in accounting software designed for smaller businesses is processes daily . This includes sales, , returns, , print customer invoices & process

QuickBooks has different with increasing (offline & online versions)

QuickBooks has navigation using icons & graphical representations of . Navigation is designed with smaller business in mind rather than . Interface is designed to be & reflect how business works

One function QuickBooks has is . It is for goods or services sold, entering received when customers pay & customer & credits

Another function QuickBooks has is . It is for recording (termed ‘Bills’), paying these & generating returns

Third function QuickBooks has is . It is for recording (allows grouping of cash receipts into bank deposit), writing (business can enter (or electronic) payments which have not been entered using Suppliers option) & (allows business to its bank records with bank statements on regular basis)

Fourth function QuickBooks has is . It is for paying on basis of time sheet or fixed salaries, software will all relevant figures such as net pay & payroll taxes due & facility to pay electronically is also available

Fifth function QuickBooks has is . QuickBooks reports can be distributed in ways. There is some level of report & it can be exported to program such as . Reports menu classifies reports according to or

Net worth graph report shows compared to on monthly basis in graphical & net trend

Security features of QuickBooks include: user options to & data files, prompts users on basis to perform data , protected user accounts with different levels of to selected areas of software & provides useful option called (creates backup copy of company’s data files for use by external accountants)