Best Accounting Software for Your Business

A) Based on the Size of Business

1. Spreadsheet Accounting: Spreadsheet software is the most affordable and straightforward accounting solution and is highly preferred by businesses with low transaction volumes. The best accounting system seamlessly collects, organizes, and analyzes account data.

2. Personal Account Software:  Ideal for small business owners and start-ups. It helps you eliminate the need for manually entering draft amounts or balancing your checkbook. A personal accounting system automates the process of tracking significant transactions and allows you to take charge of your assets and investments, such as fixed deposits, mutual funds, etc. It comes with simple budgeting tools and an astounding array of features to simplify your financial life.

3. Commercial Account Software: Best software for accounting has been designed to handle the accounting needs of small and medium-sized businesses. It comes with a host of impressive features that automatically generate comprehensive accounting reporting and summarize data to portray the financial state of a business. 
   
   What’s more, commercial accounting tools can be easily customized to your organization's needs. It also has a robust error detection mechanism to prevent inaccurate data entry.

4. Enterprise Account Software: It is one of the most popular accounting solutions for managing the complex operations of larger companies. Enterprise accounting system in India comes with a simple interface. It offers multiple modules such as payroll, accounts payable/receivable, reconciliation, billing, invoice, inventory management software, etc., helping improve business workflows. 
   
   This accounting system also provides inputs into the corporate-level strategy. It also generates a graphical representation of accounting metrics, allowing CFOs and managers to evaluate financial information whenever required.

5. SaaS: Software as a Service) based accounting platforms are emerging as a popular choice for businesses looking to minimize overhead expenses. 
   
   Since SaaS solutions reside in a shared environment and are based on subscription models, the cost of small business accounting systems and hardware licenses is low compared with the conventional models.

6. Custom Accounting Tool: This is developed for businesses that want to customize their software to their accounting needs. Companies that want to tailor their report formats, recurring invoices, data fields, etc., generally opt for customized accounting solutions.

B) Based on the Deployment

1. Installed (On-Premise): This accounting system is first downloaded on your PC and hosted on its server. Installed accounting programs can be accessed only on the downloaded device.
   Locally installed accounting platforms are feature-rich, more secure than cloud-based applications, and do not require internet access.
    
2. Cloud: Cloud accounting software for small businesses is known for its scalability, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness. Cloud accounting solution sends data into the cloud, process it, and send it back to the users. The bookkeeping software with a stable internet connection can be used from your PC and mobile and tablet devices.  
   
   The most significant advantage of accounting software is that it eliminates the need for installing and maintaining accounting system on individual desktops. Having offices in multiple locations lets your team members access the same financial data remotely through the internet.
    
3. Hybrid: Hybrid accounting solutions include sophisticated features of hybrid accounting solutions at a reasonable price. They are ideal for small and mid-sized businesses requiring sophisticated accounting tools. 
   Like SaaS-based accounting solutions, this offers accessibility from multiple locations via the internet.

C) Based on Functions

1. Billing & Invoicing Software: Billing and invoicing software is essential for daily business tasks such as documenting financial activities, writing checks, and notifying customers about outstanding payments.
    
2. ERP Software: ERP software functions help to make businesses plan, do forecasts, and generate reports on a company’s financial results. The best ERP software comes with a scalable and comprehensive set of functionalities to help tiny businesses and multinational corporations streamline their accounting operations.
    
3. Payroll Management System: An efficient accounting system can perform various tasks such as automatic payroll calculation, depositing salary directly into your employee's bank accounts, generating payslips, tax forms, and reporting.
    
4. Time and Expense Management Systems: Time and expense management systems come with a time tracking module to help you keep tabs on time spent on different tasks by your employees. The small business accounting software also records the time, labor, and costs associated with other projects so that you can send invoices to your clients with solid evidence of time spent on their projects.

What Type of Buyer Are You?

The first step to evaluating your options is determining your buyer type. Most buyers fall into one of three types:

• Entrepreneurs with Small Businesses

  Small business owners are on their way to upgrading their basic accounting systems to more robust ones that support premium accounting management system features (such as demand forecasting, intercompany accounts, increased financial data storage, and users).

  Business growth leads to the upgrading of systems for a variety of reasons. For example, industry-specific functionality becomes crucial after a small business reaches a certain number of employees.

• Enterprise Buyers

  These buyers generally represent large organizations and businesses that need a complete enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite. In addition to international operations and foreign exchange, these systems are designed for managing multiple companies and global operations and other essential functions for large organizations.

  It's usually more important to have seamless integration than specific accounting features; however, both areas are very competitive, and buyers should pay attention to both.

• The Best-of-Breed Buyers

  Businesses that perform fund accounting need easy accounting software specifically designed for nonprofit organizations. Moreover, in education, universities and colleges need software specifically designed for higher education, such as software for financial aid disbursement.

  The method allows different grant providers to view how funds have been used. Finally, for best-of-breed buyers, like construction companies and engineering firms, accounting features are usually more important than integration for a system that can analyze costs for each project and location.