Software Options for Business Owners

Dated: July 2006

The introduction of GST prompted many small business owners to purchase accounting software to help them cope with their GST and BAS obligations.

We are now six years down the track and many of those business owners are still coming to terms with the software and their records are best described as a "computerized shoebox."

Software selection is a critical business decision and to assist you we provide the following guidelines:

• Don’t buy software beyond your business needs. If you don’t require a fully integrated general ledger system or inventory, then don’t buy a sophisticated accounting program.
• If you don’t understand double entry accounting (debits, credits or journal entries) then avoid those accounting programs and consider a single entry bookkeeping program.
• If your business requires a double entry accounting system then you should undergo a training course at a local TAFE or college. The duration of these courses is usually 10-16 hours.

If you simply need a bookkeeping program we strongly recommend "Cashflow Manager". This program looks and operates just like a manual cashbook and requires no understanding of accounting debits and credits. Add-on modules for payroll and invoicing (debtors and creditors) are also available. At less than $250 this package represents excellent value for money. Demonstration CD’s are available (free of charge) from our office.

We urge you to consult Patison Partners regarding your choice of software because the wrong decision defeats the whole purpose of computerizing your record keeping.