So.. the number one question we get asked is what is the best accounting software to use. The next question is what is the cheapest. For some start up companies who cannot afford high end accounting programs we recommend using a free program. It may be limited in some areas but will keep your overheads down as you start to grow.
Trust us this is a good move. Companies who have a high outlay of expenses in the first year struggle.. HARD. Check out the accounting software below.
WAVE
Wave is fantastic for small business’s that offer services or sell products but don’t have the need to track inventory. If needed tracking inventory tracking can easily be done with other accounting programs. (Please let us know if you need help with this) Apart from that Wave is our number one recommendation!
You bank account can be connected for you to access bank feeds. From here you can allocate your transactions which is very similar to Quickbooks and Xero! This can also be done through your mobile phone using their App. Handy!
On the dashboard you can see your account balances and a snapshot of where your income and expenses balance is at. You can also see what money you are owed and the bills that are due to be paid.
The greatest thing about Wave is that you can upload your receipts directly to the program! We love this feature as it makes bookkeeping 100 times easier and less hassle for our clients. Our clients that purchase materials especially like this. We cant tell you the amount of Bunnings invoices we chase every month. This feature gets a gold star from us!
As well as many other features that are great about Wave, they have great financial reports available.
There are some disadvantages as with all programs. The payroll system is not available in the free version and there is a lack of an efficient inventory system. If you don’t have any employees or need to track inventory Wave is the way to go!
Manager
The second program we recommend is Manager because, most importantly its user friendly and very simple. The main screen shows a summary of how well the business is doing due to the layout and functionallity . The bank balances, money owed in and money owed out and the profit and loss are all in clear view
This program conveniently allows inventory recording which is a downfall in Wave. Financial reports are readily available for users. There are also a number of plug ins that can be added to suit your business. A good one is the Tax compliance plug because it updates you of your tax obligations.
Express Accounts
Express accounts consists of a cash book in its basic form. A cash book is a recording of money gong in and out of your account. Pretty easy to get your head around. You can customise your accounts easily using the chart of accounts and also import your bank statement to match your transactions. If you need help importing you can contact us for assistance. Our team will be happy to help!
Creating a sale invoice is also a simple process and very efficient due to the fact that inventory items can be included for tracking. There is also a huge range of reports available including the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow reports, aged receivables, the trial balance… and a whole lot more.
LedgerLite
Last on the list is LedgerLite. Their accounting program is $50 which is a one time fee. You can download it immediately and then pay this after 30 days if you like it.
This program is a cash book similar to Express because transactions can be entered from your bank statement. You can export the profit and loss report, balance sheet and cash flow statement.
We hope this has been a great resource for your start up business!
Check out our Facebook page as we offer free support to those who simply Like our page. You can then send through a message or question any time! We offer so may tips and tricks for small business’s similar to this article. Happy Learning!!