Thursday, May 1, 2014

A Modern Guide to Small Business Accounting Software

Pam Baker for SmallBusinessComputing.com writes: In the ultimate irony of business, counting your money is fun but accounting for it isn’t. Fortunately modern accounting software takes most of the pain out of accounting and makes a fast up-to-the minute money count for you too. The problem: how do you pick the program that’s right for you?
First you need to decide whether you want to use cloud-based accounting software or traditional, on-premises software. Online accounting software updates automatically (at no extra charge), and you pay a lower monthly subscription, which reduces your up-front costs and makes predicting expenses easier. You buy traditional, on-premises software outright and install it on your network server or PCs. Although you own it forever, it becomes outdated pretty fast.
Yes, it’s a twist on the lease-versus-buy argument, but when it comes to software, there’s no equity and resale value to consider in the equation. It’s simply a matter of either paying a little every month for the rest of your business’ life or paying a lot at once and owning the software outright—until you pay a lot again for the next upgrade version.

Accounting for Hidden Fees and Hidden Savings

But that’s not the only cost to consider. You may need an actual accountant too (be honest, you know you do), for tax filings and such. And, if you grow big enough, you may need a comptroller too. Gee, who knew having money cost so much money?
If you do use an accountant, check with her first before you buy to see if she has any software preferences. If she does, you might have to fork out a little more cash to play the match-the-accountant's-software game, but you could score big in savings on accounting fees as a result.
However, you may find some accounting software offers more bells and whistles than you can use or afford. What sense does it make to spend more money on software than you earn? None, right? But choosing the cheapest accounting software doesn't make sense if it won’t scale as you grow or, worse, leaves you sitting in an IRS auditor’s office.
The moral of the story here is that you really can’t afford to choose your accounting software based on costs alone. Take a serious look at your business accounting needs now, consider what they might be in the future, and then decide on the software based on that information. If you’re unsure what those needs are, seek guidance from your accountant.

The Lowdown on Free Accounting Software

Let's say you’re a freelancer, or you own a company that’s a money drain at the moment; or maybe you own a startup in the phase before start or up. In those cases, free accounting software may be your best or only alternative.
Just be aware that when you do start making real money, you might have to bail on the freebie and move to something with more accounting muscle. Or you might not. It depends entirely on your needs. For example, if you own a dead-broke startup and an angel investor shows up with a pile of cash, then you might want to switch to another accounting system first.
If you're in the market for free accounting software, take a serious look at these options.

1. Adminsoft Accounts

This multi-user, multi-company, and multi-currency double-entry accounting system has a sales ledger (accounts Receivable), purchase ledger (Accounts Payable) and a general ledger. It also offers inventory, purchase order, sales invoicing, human resources, and payroll processing. Free vertical modules, such as for the retail and restaurant trades, make it easier for people in those trades to process and pull numbers specific to their operations.  

2. TurboCASH 5

This open source accounting software is easy to use even if you don’t have an accounting background. It's available in 25 languages and covers more than 80 different tax regimes. It contains standard accounting features, and its user-community numbers more than 100,000 strong and counting.
TurboCASH 5 free accounting software
Figure 1: TurboCASH 5 small business accounting software.

3. Manager

This accounting software is highly customizable, offering a hundred possible combinations in customization. You can even turn on and turn off features so that you end up looking at only the information you need and not a lot of empty fields instead. It contains standard accounting features.

4. xTuple PostBooks

This very comprehensive accounting program also offers customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) capabilities. A number of modules allow you to build the system to your liking.

5. Wave

You can link this software to your banking, Paypal, or other money accounts, and it will automatically fill in the appropriate accounting field for you. It can also generate accounting reports as well as perform standard accounting.
Wave free small business accounting software
Figure 2: Wave small business accounting software.

6. GnuCash

This one is just about as easy to use as a checkbook register. You can track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses on this software. It is a double entry system with lots of powerful tools and report generation capabilities. GnuCash even has tools to help you find wrong entries and errors.

Premium Small Business Accounting Software

Premium accounting software—as in software you have to pay for—generally, but not always, comes with more accounting muscle than the freebies listed above. Some of these options are available only as software-as-a-service (SaaS) or cloud-based, meaning you use them online and pay a monthly fee.  Others are available both as SaaS and as a buy-outright and own-it-forever version. You get to choose which type you want.
Plus, most of these small business accounting software programs let you share your records with your accountant online and include secure mobile apps that let you see your books when you’re away from the office. 

1. Intuit QuickBooks

If you haven’t heard about this one before, you’ve been living in a cave or on a desert island without Wi-Fi. This very mature and stable accounting program comes with all the bells and whistles, although said bells ring and whistles whistle differently depending on the version you select. Online prices vary from $12.95 to $39.95 per month, making it affordable for most businesses, even one-person shops. Desktop version (on-premises, you own it) prices range from $249.95 to $399.95. You can also take QuickBooks for a spin on a free trial to see if you like it before you subscribe.
Intuit QuickBooks small business accounting software
Figure 3: Intuit QuickBooks small business accounting software.

2. Sage

Yet another mature and stable product that offers tons of accounting and business features. The basic online, small business version is called Sage One, and pricing ranges from $9 to $24 per month depending on which package you select. The desktop, on-premise version for small businesses is a beefier, more-advanced version called Sage 50, and it comes in four versions ranging from $299 to upwards of $5,000 for extreme users. Not sure which version—online or on-premises—you want? Test them in a free trial and then decide.

3. Xero

This great, full-featured accounting program offers plenty of add-ons—from CRM and inventory management to invoicing and job systems—for easy customization. You can try it out in the free-trial version first, but after that costs range from $9 a month for a one-user starter package to $180 per month for up to 100 users.

4. Zoho

This software has matured and offers many features standard to accounting along with many extras, too. And all of it is available for a flat monthly fee of $24 no matter how many employees you have working on it. You also have the option of a free-trial period before you subscribe.

5. Freshbooks

This software was one of the first available online, and it's a running favorite for independent contractors and professional service providers. If you haven’t looked at it lately, look again because it packs more features now than in earlier years—but it’s still simple and intuitive to use.  If you need more functionality, boost the system with integration add-ons for more than 70 software and service offerings. Pricing starts at $19.95 a month.
FreshBooks small business aaccounting software
Figure 4: Freshbooks small business accounting software.

6. Outright

This accounting software aims to please sole proprietors who are typically online sellers and freelancers. It offers accounting and related services, many of them conveniently automated. Pricing is $9.99 per month.
Take advantage of the free trials and give several programs a test drive to see which one works best for you. But whatever you do, choose one soon. Every day that you delay is a tax day crunch in the making. After all, you need to know what’s happening to the money in your business—otherwise you're in for some nasty surprises ahead.

Posted on 6:17 AM | Categories:

Get a Tax Break for These 4 Wedding Expenses

Rebecca Lake for SmartAsset.com writes: After the April showers come May flowers which means the summer wedding season will soon be in full swing. Tying the knot is an exhilarating experience but planning your nuptials can leave you feeling frazzled, especially if you’re worried about going over your budget. With the average cost of a wedding hovering around $30,000 it pays to look for ways to keep your costs down.
Fortunately, Uncle Sam makes getting hitched more affordable by allowing couples to claim deductions for certain expenses. If you’re walking down the aisle this spring or summer, here are a few things you may be able to write off on your taxes.

1. Church and Venue Fees

Unless you’re planning a backyard wedding, you’ll likely have to pay a fee to secure the church or other venue for the big day. For example, if you’re getting married at your church, you may be asked to pay a ceremony fee. This fee may be deductible if it’s considered a charitable donation. If not, you could still score a tax break by making a larger donation in exchange for a waiver of the fee. As long as the place of worship you choose meets the criteria for a tax-exempt organization, the donation should be deductible.
You may also be able to write off the fees if you hold the ceremony at a non-profit venue, such as a museum, state or national park or another historical site. Any fees you pay may be categorized as a deductible charitable donation but the site must meet the IRS tax-exempt guidelines. Just keep in mind that any fees or tips you pay to individuals, such as the officiant, don’t qualify for a tax deduction.

2. Decorations and Flowers

Things like centerpieces, candles and flowers can put the finishing touches on your dream wedding but what do you do with them once the reception’s over? If you don’t have room in your closet for 500 tea lights or dozens of glass vases consider donating them to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army. Under the IRS guidelines, you can write it off as a donation up to the fair market value of the items. Just make sure you get a receipt, especially if you’re dropping off several hundred dollars’ worth of wedding gear.
Those bouquets of roses or hydrangeas can also be donated to a local charity, such as a women’s shelter or another non-profit. Not only will someone else get to enjoy their beauty before they begin to wilt, you’ll be able to claim the contribution on your taxes.

3. Leftover Food

One of the biggest expenses associated with planning a wedding is the food. While it’s always better to have more than you need rather than come up short, you could literally be throwing money in the trash if you end up dumping the leftovers. Donating those extra hors d’oeuvres or a few trays of chicken wings to a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter cuts down on waste and allows you to help those in need while taking advantage of a tax break.
If you’re planning to donate any extra food items from the wedding to charity, make sure you coordinate with your caterer and the receiving organization beforehand. If you just show up with a carload of food, your donation may be turned away so you want to get approval prior to the big day.

4. Wedding and Bridesmaids’ Gowns

For the bride-to-be, choosing the perfect dress is one of the most important aspects of planning a wedding. While it can be tempting to spend thousands on a gown, it could be a waste if it’ll eventually end up in the back of your closet collecting dust. Unless you want to hold on to it so you can pass it down to your daughter one day, it may be worthwhile to consider donating it.
Organizations such as Brides for a Cause and Brides Against Breast Cancer accept donations of used wedding gowns as well as accessories, including veils, tiaras, slips and headpieces. These organizations sell the gowns and use the proceeds to fund charitable causes. If your bridesmaids aren’t crazy about their fuschia chiffon concoctions, you can also donate them toThe Princess Project or a similar non-profit which re-purposes the gowns to provide prom dresses for high school students who otherwise couldn’t afford them.
These are just a few of the wedding-related expenses newlyweds may be able to deduct at tax time. If you’re planning on snagging any of these write-offs, be sure to get the proper documentation to prove your claim. The IRS has specific guidelines about what you can and can’t deduct so you need to make sure you’re prepared.
Posted on 5:56 AM | Categories:

CrunchBoards partners with Xero and launches at Accountex / CrunchBoards is fast, effortless financial intelligence.

CrunchBoards is fast, effortless financial intelligence. It's your accounts package, on steriods. What is your future cashflow? When will you see ROI? What’s your customer acquisition cost? CrunchBoards is ‘what if’, supercharged. On-demand beautiful instant management accounts today, and an effortless tool to forecast into the future. 
Who's it for? For business owners and accountants that want to eliminate admin, time delay and guesstimates. Unlock the information within your accountants package to use today and plan for tomorrow.  

CrunchBoards, the newest Xero Add-on, has chosen Accountex for its official launch (Xero Village, Stand A330). The cloud-based software transforms Xero into fast, effortless Financial Intelligence.
CrunchBoards is designed to make accountants’ and clients’ lives easier. It eliminates admin and brings Xero’s financial information to life, visually.
The invention of ‘Boards’ allows accountants to interpret and automatically monitor their Xero clients’ data as well as collaborate with them in a totally unique way. Traditionally, accounts analysis requires the extraction of information from Xero and then the use of spreadsheets to create custom formulas and calculations.
This manual process is time-consuming, repetitious and prone to formula loss. It’s also difficult to work in real-time or collaboratively.
CrunchBoards produces instant management accounts. An Accountant can create as many Boards as they need to monitor, analyse and assess, one, or many organisations.
A Board is made up of ‘Cards’, which are fully customisable, beautiful reports pulled from synced Xero data. These monitor KPIs or display a visual snapshot of the business.
For example, for the Accountant’s personal use, they can create a Board that monitors all Xero clients’ in one place. This makes analysed account management easy: logins to separate instances of Xero is not required. Equally, they can create Board(s) that monitor core KPIs for clients, which can be shared with them, their team or stakeholders.
CrunchBoards includes powerful user permission rights and these empower businesses and accountants to expose or protect as much, or as little, of the financial information synced from Xero with CrunchBoards as they want. You perhaps wouldn’t give a Sales Manager access to Xero but, with CrunchBoards, if you want them to view revenue only, a Board can be created with metrics and alerts against just that Account Category.
Like Xero, CrunchBoards allows accountants to leverage the tools and time-saving capabilities of software in order to maximise the time spent interpreting the data and working with their client ie/ create a Card once and copy it to multiple Boards. Re-size, re-order, drag and drop, CrunchBoards works effortlessly on any device.
Amy Harris, Co-Founder of CrunchBoards said: “CrunchBoards is effortless Financial Intelligence. For management accounting, our mission is to do what Xero and other cloud-based players have done for financial accounting. When we researched the accountant/client relationship it was clear they wanted they same thing – effortless collaboration, analysis and alerts.”
Hannah McIntyre, Co-Founder of CrunchBoards said: “We’ve been using Xero for three years and we loved its simplicity but we agreed with our research. Features such as Bank Feeds for example give you a real-time view of your business but reflective or future predicting management accounting was still a challenge as the only option is time-lagged spreadsheets.
"If you want an auto-pilot for your business, this is it.”
CrunchBoards will appear with 13 other Xero Add-on partners at Xero Village on stand A330. Pricing is per Xero organisation synced with CrunchBoards, per month and unlimited users are included as standard.
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Posted on 5:55 AM | Categories: