How to choose the right accounting software

This is a challenge for all sized businesses.  It is such a big decision with on-going consequences if you get it wrong.  I have worked with many businesses over the years, almost starting all over again because they find the package is just not right for them.

What do you need it for initially?

Write down the reasons for having an Accounting package.  It could be that you are you simply tracking your income and expenses, do you need full inventory control, budgeting, payroll, customer relationship management, taxation return preparations?  Determining why you need it will help guide you to the type of package will be the most suitable for your business.

What will you need it for in the future?

This is where you need to start thinking ahead.  Will you need multi-user, perhaps you want to add inventory and payroll later.  I suppose the big question to ask yourself is where do you see your business in 3 years and 5 years.  Having to start again, retrain and re-enter all your data is expensive and time consuming.

How much support will you need?

If you are well versed in accounting procedures and IT savvy, you may need little assistance.  If not you may need on the job training and ongoing support (a person at the end of the line to answer your questions).  Most software providers offer support contracts and pay as you use assistance.  Make sure that this is readily available in whatever format you need, be it over the phone, internet or site visits.

Only pay for what you need.

Just like buying airline ticket, some software packages come with many features that you are will pay for but will never use.  Consider a package that you can add a module when you feel the need for it,  this keeps the costs down but minimises the risk of having to purchase and adapt to completely new software in the future.

Seek advice

Ask others in similar businesses to yours.  Find out what package they use and why, are they happy with it, support issues, has it grown with their business etc.  People are often the best providers of information.  Search the internet, including business forums for a broad range of information.  Ask your Accountant as they work with many businesses with differing needs.

There are many packages available, if you need any assistance please feel free to contact me personally.  I am happy to help.

Kind Regards

Andrew Valentine

                                           

 www.perthcrest.com.au

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What would happen if your computer was stolen, lost or damaged?

While your computer can easily be replaced, the lost data may be critical to the future of your business.  If you have a back-up, you may be able to retrieve the information from there, but more often than not the data is incomplete or the backup storage device is lost along with the computer.   

After helping a colleague who's business was on the brink of collapse due to this very problem, I began researching for better backup options.  Sure, we all know that it can be kept on an external hard drive in a remote location, but how often do you remember to back it up and how safe is the drive from possible corruption?  All my research pointed to a remote back-up solution, but there were so many available and I was worried about security.

In the end, I came back to Evolve Remote Backup.  I had used other Evolve software packages, so to me it was already a name I could trust.   My findings were:

• It was the easiest package to manage and use.  
• It allows you to keep copies of individual emails and attachments (most email types).  
• It has a rapid upload speed with up to 500GB of data uploaded overnight.  
• The data is encrypted and password protected, but you can access it from anywhere in the world.

Evolve Remote Backup is a reliable, secure, off site backup solution, giving you total peace of mind.....

If you have any questions regarding Remote Backup, please feel free to contact me personally.

Kind Regards

Andrew Valentine

                                           

 www,perthcrest.com.au

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What will happen when you want to step back from your business, have an extended break, take a back seat or retire?

Will the business go on without you?

The answer to this problem facing many business owners is documenting your system  - making sure that everyone knows what they are doing, how they do it and who to liaise with.  By documenting your business, you will ensure that everything happens as it should, regardless of who is there on the day.

While documenting your system is one of the key ways to future proof your business, you will also reap immediate benefits.  Imagine when a new employee starts, you can show them their job description, company policies, who to go to for what they need, who is responsible for each area etc.  Then as they are trained in the role, you have procedures on hand for them to work with, laying out how each task is done

There are various ways of documenting your system, you can pay “experts” to come in and write it for you.  In my experience they don’t really understand your business and you just end up with a generic, mostly irrelevant set of documents.  An external person never goes down well with the staff either.  Another option is to compile it all in-house with regular software such as Word and Excel, but you don’t know where to start, it tends become disjointed, you have different files all over the place, no-one knowing which it the current issue etc.

Without a doubt, the most effective way to document your system is through purpose built software.  This way you can still do it all in-house, giving your staff  a sense of ownership, you can update it whenever necessary and best of all you have a basic platform to start on.  

I have found the best software for this purpose is TKO (Turn Key Operation).  With TKO, you can write a policy and procedure manual, identify roles, write job descriptions, define key performance indicators, record performance appraisals and create a complete business manual.  All this information is kept in one location for easy reference, it can be viewed, printed or published as required.

TKO will ultimately enhance your lifestyle as a business owner.  You can now take that little trip you've been promising yourself, happy in the knowledge that things will be ticking over smoothly without you.....

Please visit the Perth Crest Software Solutions website for more information or contact us for a free trial login.

 www,perthcrest.com.au

sales@perthcrest.com.au

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Do want a better way to manage your projects?

Easy Projects is the answer....

Easy Projects is a web based software package for managing and tracking all kinds of projects.  It allows users to communicate each facet of a project, ensuring everyone is “on the same page”

Easy projects not only maintains all project information and communication in one convenient place, it allows for you clients and/or suppliers to be involved at pre-determined levels.  The inclusion of external parties will raise your professional image and minimise confusion.

Features and benefits:

·         Efficiently manage your projects in one software package

·         Improve team collaboration

·         Track and record times

·         Custom reports

·         Task and Resource Management

Easy Projects is intuitive and easy to use, however training and support is on hand from the expert team at Perth Crest Software Solutions. 

Please visit the Perth Crest Software Solutions website for more information or contact us for a free trial login.

 www,perthcrest.com.au

sales@perthcrest.com.au