If you don’t want to be your own accountant, but need an efficient system to manage your business’s finances, an accounting software is for you.

Software Features

This kind of software offers a bevy of technical functions and capabilities to help you manage your finances. However, many of the business owners we spoke to said ease-of-use and time-savings are two of the top features they look for in an accounting software.

Accounting software should also be able to cater your business’s needs to help you see the big picture. Michelle Devereux, owner of Back Office Support Services (BOSS), an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) company that helps businesses manage their finances, said tailoring solutions to a client’s unique needs helps the client better understand its business and plan for the future.

Here are just some of the features accounting software have to offer to help you save time and better manage your finances:

• Basic accounting tasks. Most small businesses can make do with accounting software that offers basic functions like invoicing (both by email and snail mail), tracking income and expenses, generating financial reports, and client and vendor management.
• Automation. Things like automatic billing, recurring payments, past-due notifications and other automated processes save you time since you will not have to manually do them yourself.
• Quote and estimate creation. Use customized, pre-made templates to create quotes and estimates for clients, then automatically convert them to invoices.
• Tax preparation. Make both your life and your accountant’s life easier with an accounting software that can help you with your taxes. Features include automatic tax calculations, multiple tax rates and tax reporting, as well as the ability to instantly email all necessary data and files to your accountant at the click of a button.
• Multiple user access. From your staff to your accountant, most accounting software gives multiple users access, so you don’t have to do everything on your own.
• Payroll processing. Enter time sheets, calculate pay, print checks and pay your employees — without all the legwork.
• Mobile access. Use your accounting software anytime, anywhere on your mobile phone or tablet. This is particularly useful for business owners who are always on the go and too busy to sit down at a computer and manage the books.
• Third-party integration. Accounting software can make running your business easier by integrating and automatically inputting data in real-time from apps and tools you use the most. This includes POS systems, inventory, e-commerce, ERP, credit card processing, CRM and Google Apps.