Can accounting software replace accountants?

This is a question that often strikes business persons, especially small business owners – can they simply use accounting software to handle all the accounting for their business, to the extent that the position of an accountant is rendered redundant?

Broadly, as we look to understand this aspect, we find that the answer is largely in the negative; in other words, you can’t really expect software to deftly handle all the work that an accountant does. In fact even the best accounting software such as QuickBooks, Peachtree Quantum, QuickBooks Enterprise, ACT, ACT Software, Sage Software, MAS90 Software, and so on too cannot replace human functionality.

At the same time, without a doubt, accounting software certainly makes an existing accountant that much more productive and deft with his or her work. In other words, accounting software serves to complement the work that an accountant does and not necessarily replace that person and the position that he or she is handling.

In understanding this aspect, you need to appreciate the fact that the work of an accountant goes way beyond that which any accounting software does; for instance there is a lot of human communication involved. There is also a lot of documentation to be taken care of as well as physical note making with regard to diverse transactions, both payments receivable as well as the ones that are to be made. With so many different tasks and responsibilities that an accountant is entrusted with, it is obviously no surprise that even the very best accounting software really cannot replace an accountant.

At the same time, when it comes to small businesses which probably see lesser volumes of business transactions than the bigger businesses do, one possibility is to have the owners or proprietors themselves undertake all of the accounting, using diverse accounting software. Of course they need to have rigid training in that software; for that, they can always go in for top notch business accounting software training which is often provided by specialized entities who not only work on deploying accounting software such as payroll software, ERP software and so on, but also provide all of the perfunctory training related to that software.

Thus, with these singular entities, you will actually be able to obtain the software, have it installed on the desired machines, and then subsequently receive training for running that software as well.

In summation, going back to addressing the question of this post, software can certainly complement accountants but not necessarily replace them altogether.

Let software take over all your accounting needs!

When it comes to accounting for and managing the outflow and inflow of money, both from and to your small business respectively, doing the same personally can be immensely taxing. Further, this holds true, irrespective of whether you do the same yourself or hire an accountant for the purpose.

It is for this reason that small and big businesses alike are increasingly opting for accounting software that can easily handle all of the various inflows and outflows of money, into these businesses is concerned.

Further, talking about business and accounting software, there are various companies out there who also provide the requisite training as far as the usage of this software is concerned. After all, most of the software vendors are well aware that without the requisite training, users will never be able to use the software they offer, or be able to maximize the benefits that can be drawn from the same.

As far as functionalities of this software is concerned, you could possibly use it for payroll management, inventory management, barcode reading as well as a wide range of purposes at any given point of sale. If we are to look at the software itself, it includes offerings such as Quickbooks, Peachtree Quantum, Quickbooks Enterprise, ACT, ACT Software, Sage Software, as well as MAS90 to name just a few. Broadly, these software can easily be categorized under the broad heads of Accounting Software, Business Software, and CRM software.

An aspect that is noticed with a large number of small businesses is the fact that they have relatively smaller number of personnel, who are often handling many more tasks and responsibilities, than employees at larger firms. At the same time, cost remains an integral factor that every small business needs to be wary of and ensure that it cuts down on all avoidable costs. It is in this regard that business and accounting software prove to be especially useful – while on one hand, the need for hiring additional accountants is negated, the proprietors themselves can easily handle the accounting, once they have familiarized themselves with the software interface and its functionalities.

With regard to small businesses, we also need to keep in mind the fact that everyone is hard pressed for time, particularly the proprietors. In such a scenario, it is but natural that accounting software of this ilk proves completely invaluable!

5 VERY Basic Peachtree Tips

Once you've been working in Peachtree Accounting for a while, it's difficult to understand how you could have possibly remained stumped for days on how to enter a new vendor, or change somebody's pay rate! However, when everything's new and you’re in the middle of learning, small misunderstandings and little annoyances like hard-to-see buttons and missed checkboxes can hamstring your small business accounting software work for days. Today we go through a few very basic Peachtree procedures that often confuse new users.

Adding new customers
You can either select the field in the transaction dialog box, then double click on it to get to Maintain; or simply select the field and then press + on your number pad.

Setting up a job
Jobs have to be associated with customers, so once you have entered a customers to assign the job to, simply

• Choose Job Costs : Jobs under Maintain
• Assign the customer ID
• Fill in the tabs General, Estimated Exp/Rev and Custom Fields
• If you are entering more than one job for a customer, click Save before repeating steps 2 and 3
  

Insert payments from customers

Remember that this process within Peachtree Quantum or any Peachtree product is only for receiving invoiced amounts. Any other deposits have to go under Miscellaneous Deposits (instructions below!).

• Go to Tasks> Receipts
• Enter your customer ID
• Enter the check number
• Enter the date
• Enter the payment method
• Enter the business account to be credited
• Enter the Amount
• Importantly, remember to click 'Apply to Invoice' so that you don't bill them again!
• Click the pay column
• Click post, then either enter another invoice or close the screen

Merging old and new data

If you've had to restore your Peachtree file from a backup, and have new data to put into it (from another computer),you can export the data to merge it. The Rebuild section in Peachtree help will give you detailed instructions.

Entering invoices

You'll assign each invoice to a particular job - entering your invoice will increase both the sales account and your accounts receivable. Here's how to enter a new invoice:

• Go to Tasks> Sales/Invoices
• Enter the customer ID
• Enter the invoice number, the date, the item, description and the unit price and amount per unit.
• Click Post.

Simple! Once you have been using Peachtree for a couple of months, you'll be amazed at how simple it becomes. In the meantime, Peachtree business software training is available all over the country at very reasonable rates.

Peachtree User Problems Solved]

Peachtree Quantum, and all the other Peachtree Accounting programs, are very comprehensive offerings. There is a lot that they can do, many different ways to do the same thing ... and sometimes even little errors that slip past the eagle-eyed developers! So today we check out some of the recent problems and queries that people in the Peachtree business software user community have been experiencing, and the solutions to them.

Paying a company owners without a payroll

Having a payroll is not only a headache with few employees, but a massive extra training and tax expense. Some users have recently been asking about how they should pay themselves within Peachtree software without setting up a payroll. Of course, owners' equity accounts can be set up within Peachtree, but really this question is one for an accountant that has your full financial details rather than the software developer.

Disappearing quotes

One mysterious problem that Peachtree's internal support was actually unable to answer has been solved by the intrepid and expert small business accounting software user community. The problem occurs in Peachtree Quantum 2009; some quotes are not disappearing after they are converted into sales invoices, they remain in the quote list. The short-term solution is to simply manually delete it from the quote register. However, some people have been able to get their quotes to automatically convert by switching from SMART POSTING to REAL TIME POSTING. As a note, though, in the 2010 release, quotes will not disappear from the list after they have been converted - this is a deliberate change.

Printing issues with journal entries

Some users have had problems printing journal entries, with the problem occurring in both the sample and real company, and when the journal entry is dated. This appears to be a symptom of corrupted data or files - running data verification and reinstalling the program has fixed it for some Peachtree Accounting users.

Accounting Software Keeps Businesses on Track

I
was so excited when my small bakery started to grow after only two years in business. I knew that I offered some of the best baked goods in the area and had the market cornered on cookies alone. The only problem I had was keeping accurate books. Trying to do it without the right small business tools was almost impossible.

After researching several of the accounting software on this site, I chose the Peachtree Accounting software for many reasons. The first reason is because they software can be installed by one of the many Peachtree professionals. By not having to install the accounting software myself, I knew that it would be installed on my small business computer correctly. The second reason I chose this software is I was also able to take classes on how to use this particular type of accounting software. The classes are taught by professionals that are certified in the all of the Peachtree family of accounting software products. They can even help with trouble shooting when running this software in a small business.

A great feature about using this type of Accounting Software is that it comes with many security features that help to protect your small business information and can help if any data might become lost. Peachtree products are designed to create a secure setting with its accounting software for all your business data.

Since I have been using this software, it has helped me to spend less time doing bookwork and payroll. I can now focus on making my famous cookies and cakes instead of spending most of the workday in the office. By using the Peachtree software has also helped me to not only save time, I have also saved money by keeping my own books.

By using the Peachtree Complete software in running my small business, has helped me keep more accurate records. This type of software is perfect for all my small business needs. I now have an accurate record of the money coming in and going out of my small business.

Accounting Software for an Ice Cream Shop

Owning my own ice cream shop has been very rewarding. Not only do I get to make ice cream all day, I also get to eat it. The only thing I hated about owning my small business was doing the bookkeeping every day. Trying to keep up with the accounting and payroll seemed to take up most of my business day instead of interacting with my customers all day.

My wife suggested that I get new accounting business software for my ice cream shop. Not only would it be easier to keep track of all my accounting needs, it would also cut my time spent in the office so I could spend more time up front with all of the customers.

By buying Accounting Software it can help people that own a small business like mine, simplify the accounting part of their small business. Since purchasing the Sage software, it has become a valuable piece of equipment for running my small business efficiently. This is because the Peachtree Accounting software offers training to help understand and run their computer programs in a small business application.

The training that is offered by the Peachtree Company is always complete and comprehensive. They can help to show small business owners and their employees how to apply their software to help simplify bookkeeping and save time, such as using the MAS200 software. The certified instructors are always able to help small business owners choose the right accounting software for their specific needs.

Once the software is purchased and installed a small business owner and their employees can attend classes at a Peachtree facility to learn how to use these small business tools. The certified Peachtree software specialists can also be hired to help install the software programs on to the owner’s computer or computers.

Purchasing one of the many great Peachtree products is a great investment for any small business owner. When questions or concerns arise Peachtree is always their to help trouble shoot. That is why many small business owners become repeat customers of their many accounting products.

Small Business is Still Big Business

No matter if you have a small home office out of your den or have a medium to large business employing many, it is imperative that you not open up the door for business until you some kind of accounting software to keep track of your daily business. Even if you are a one person business, you still need to have a way to keep up with billing, invoicing, inventory, and banking. If you think you can do without it just because you are very small, you might be losing money that you didn’t even know about.

Running a business is much more than just selling your product or providing your service; you have to account for your income to report to the IRS. Software, such as Quickbooks, can help you keep track of this very important information and make tax time a whole lot less stressful. If you have a log of expenditures and inventory as well as income brought into the business, this will help your tax account figure out what deductions you qualify for and how much tax you will pay come April 15.

There are many types of small business accounting software programs on the market so you will need to research them to find out which one is best suited for your business. Many of the programs keep track of payroll, inventory, and billing, which are three of the most important parts of running a successful business. There are programs that will grow with your business and expand to meet all of your business needs. It is crucial that you start your business on the right foot because it doesn’t take long to have stacks of bills and invoices piled up on your desk which leads to more work than you really need to do.

Running a small business takes a great deal of time and effort and if you are spending too much extra time on bookwork you are taking away from the time you could be building your business. Quickbooks and other accounting programs like it are designed to support small businesses and are simple to use and easy to understand. Other programs require some extensive training so be aware of these qualifications before you purchase the software for your small business. You can research all the different accounting programs online or call a professional accountant to get a recommendation for a program that is just the right fit for your business.

Getting Started on the Right Foot

When I decided to open a penny candy store in my town I knew I needed to have the best office and business software available. I needed to be able to keep up with inventory, payroll, and billing issues. I wanted software that would work in the office and on my register so that I could just scan bar codes to ring items up. I did a lot of research before I made my decision.

Before I decided on what software I wanted I asked a lot of other business owners what they use in their businesses. I also did some Internet searching to find out which software companies had the best ratings. I wanted to make sure that I covered all the bases before making my purchase. The most important aspect of the accounting software that I was going to pick was that it needed to be able to grow along with my business; I didn’t want to buy software the first year and then need better software as my business grew.

So many people don’t anticipate all the aspects of running a business. They think the most important thing to do is stock the store with the product and get the doors open. It’s only later that they come to realize they hadn’t started out on the right foot and are dealing with problems with payroll, billing, and inventory. I wanted to be covered for everything right from the start plus I anticipated the growth of my business. The business accounting software I purchased has me covered for many years down the line; even if my business grows tenfold.

My inventory is all coded which means I can scan it into inventory when it arrives at my store and when somebody purchases something I scan it into my cash register which also removes it from my inventory. At the end of each month I can do a full store inventory by scanning each item and then checking that data with what the software projects I should have. This is just one of the great small business tools that help me to keep my business running profitably. All of my employees are comfortable using the inventory software in doing monthly inventory counts as well as bi-weekly ordering. My business is growing quickly and luckily I picked software that continues to grow as my business grows.

Pre-Installation Checklist for All Peachtreee Software Products

In the same way as you wouldn't build a house without first clearing the site, packing down a foundation and laying a concrete slab, installing even the most robust business accounting software is useless if you don't have the correct resources. Of course, the system requirements will vary per program, from Peachtree Complete to Peachtree Quantum - but this checklist of qualifications to install Peachtree Accounting packages applies to all the versions. Run through the list to save yourself a lot of time and annoyance in the future!

Check your hard disk space, your RAM and your processor speed

This varies for every program, but it definitely worth taking the time to check that you have at least the minimum requirements (and ideally, the 'recommended' system requirements) for whatever your version of the product is. Your trainer can help you determine this, or you can find it on the Peachtree website.

Are you logged in as the administrator?

In some companies the system administrator might not necessarily be the person responsible for the accounting function. You'll need the system administrator rights to be able to install Peachtree Accounting on any computer.

Disable antivirus and firewalls

Many antivirus programs can cause 'hiccups' in the installation process that make things very difficult for you later on. Disconnect your computer from the internet to ensure that there are no security issues with turning your firewall and antivirus off, then completely disable them before installing your business software.

If upgrading, do you know where your company data is?

If you are upgrading from another version of Peahctree, you might not have a chance to find your company data in the middle of the installation process. Before you start, go to Maintain > Company Information and note the location listed.

If installing on a server, do you have the folder shared and permissions set up properly?

If you're installing Peachtree for multiple users on a server, you'll need to ensure that you have the folders shared on the server, and the permissions set up properly. They can conceivably be added later, but it is far more difficult to do it retrospectively.

Peachtree User Problems Solved - May 2010

Sage software has been one of the foremost accounting programs worldwide for many years now - so thankfully, when you have an odd problem with the software, there are plenty of people that have an answer for you! Today we check out some recent Peachtree Accounting user problems, and the solutions to them. Some are easy, some are a little trickier. Check here first!

Shrunken sales order window

In Peachtree Complete 2010, some people have been finding that upon opening a sales order or purchase order, the entry window takes up quite a small space relative to what it used to. You need to maximize and then minimize the window to take it back to its usual size. Unfortunately this isn’t something that has a quick fix within your setup - it is simply a minor software bug. Expect one of the updates to correct this issue.

Maximum amount of vacation hours

Some new users whose employee vacation setup allows for a maximum number of vacation hours to be accrued have had trouble finding how to make vacation hours stop accruing once they have been earned. If you check the formula for Medicare deduction, you'll see how the MAX parameter is invoked in the business accounting software formula.

Federal deductions coming up incorrectly

An unusual but fairly pressing problem has hit a couple of users - the federal deductions ar not coming out correctly, though the formula entered is correct. The expert advice currently is to do the following:

• Check that your tax tables are correct
• If the company is new, check that there are no hidden tables held over from a previous version
• Check your pay frequencies

If you keep having trouble, try calling a registered Peachtree software support consultant.

Dashboard doesn’t match aged report

A couple of users are finding that the total amount on the main dashboard for accounts receivable doesn't match the data in the accounts receivable aged report. The solution in most cases has been to check the system date, which affects entries on the dashboard, or to run data verification to see if there is a database problem.

Software for Your Computer

Entrepreneurship is the new way of doing business. No one wants to deal with big corporations who are too busy to get personal with their customers. This is exactly why we do what we do. Peachtree Quantum Software caters to small businesses who are trying to improve their work operations. We believe in the small companies and want to support them as best we can. Our programs are perfect for any small business out there. We have been around since 1989. With that much experience under our belt topped with our willingness to serve there is no job we cannot do. We gladly hold the title of small business specialists. We evaluate and select the right type of software for you company as well as train your employees to manage the software properly. We provided consulting services for any future problems with our software that may arise.

A few of our products include: MAS 90, MAS 200, Timeslips, Sage Software, Crystal Reports, and ACT Software. We do not simply want to sell you these products. Our desire is to make you masters of them. Our training classes are offered at all of our many locations around the United States. A few of those locations are Michigan, Illinois, and Florida. Peachtree Quantum provides training classes so that everyone is on the same page. We also have certified consultants waiting for you to call with any questions or concerns you may have. We give you our guarantee that you will not walk away confused. Please visit our website for reviews on a number of our products. You can also check out our features section to find out what all of our QuickBooks and software can do. A few of our features include payroll and inventory management systems. There are also barcode tracking and point of sale management systems. It is an asset to any small accounting business.

Our prices are not unreasonable at all. We have online coupons to save you even more money. When you weigh the value of our product with how much you are getting in return the price seems highly unimportant. You are actually saving money by buying software from Peachtree Quantum rather than spending countless hours recording payroll and inventory by hand. We set up a neat dashboard for you to store everything you need for daily processes. Please visit our website for more information on how to improve your small business. You will be glad you did!

Software Perfection

Are you looking for software to run your small business? Peachtree Quantum QuickBooks has the business tools to bring your business to success! We provide many software tools for your companies that are guaranteed to make running your business easier and more efficient. And now that Peachtree has come up with our new 2010 upgrade, there is no reason to use that same old software program you purchased 10 years ago. The times are changing and those that do not change with it are going to be left in the dust! Building your company up is our goal.

A few of our features include: Automatic Backup, which protects all of your system information; Business Analytics, which allows you to view other companies’ progress; Customer Manager Center allows a dashboard of all customer information; Employee Manager reduces errors so that no problems halt your business’ success; Inventory Management, which is a great way to keep track of all of your products in one organized location; and last but not least our Transaction History feature, which keeps all records together for you so that no scattered shoeboxes of receipts take up space in your office. Our payroll and accounting software are great additions to our family of programs. They are excellent features to your small business.

Along with all of our features we offer assistance for your employees to learn more about how to use our products. We do not simply want to send you out into the business world not knowing how to run your newly upgraded company. We also offer training locations all over the United States so that training conferences are available to you. Our locations include California, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and Missouri. We have highly qualified trained professionals that know our software available 24/7 to help you and your company out. We are just a phone call away. You should check out the deals and discounts on our website as well. We offer many coupons for you to use when buying our products that are sure to get you a head start. Our aim is not to rip your business off. We want to knock out any hindrances that come in between you and your company’s success. So the next time you are in the market for small business software then look into Peachtree Quantum QuickBooks. We have the solution to any of your upgrade problems!

Do it Right the First Time

When starting your own business, it’s important to have a plan. You should write down everything you will need to get that business running smoothly so that you won’t have to lose time and money on things such as poor bookkeeping. Keeping detailed accounting is one of the most important things about starting a new business and without software like Quickbooks you could get lost before you even really get started.

Even if your business is a very small business and you are the only employee, you still must keep accounting records that are easy to understand and in a convenient location. Too many people think they can keep all their accounting data written down in a ledger or even just a plain notebook but when it comes to having a business, no matter how big or small, you should have accounting software installed on your computer. It’s not only for your benefit but when it’s time to pay taxes all that information is easily and quickly attainable.

I’ve used a couple of different programs over the years; Peachtree accounting is one that I really liked a lot. It was simple to use and helped me to keep a good record of my over-head spending as well as what I was bringing in.

Many small businesses use Quickbooks which is also a very good program. It is probably the most used accounting software on the market because of how easy it is to install and use and the amount of details the program has. This program will actually expand to suit the needs of small businesses that have outgrown the family home.

The most important thing to remember when starting your own business is to make sure you have all your ducks in a row. You wouldn’t go out in a boat without a sail or oars and you shouldn’t start a home business without some kind of accounting software.

Putting my Office in Order

When I began my own business three years ago I had not prepared for the overwhelming duties of keeping my accounts in order. I figured since it was just a very small business I could handle it without having to use a professional accountant or even accounting software. I was very wrong. It didn’t take long for my books to get out of hand and I knew tax time would be a nightmare if I didn’t bring some order to this mess.

I began with buying Quickbooks, which was very simple and easy to use. I was able to take care of all my home office needs just from that one program. I was able to print checks, automatically keep my bank balance, and print invoices without any problem at all. I had detailed legers of all my business payments and bills.

There are many different business tools that were at my disposal and I tried many of them just to see which ones were perfect for my needs. I made sure that everything I tried was related to small business accounting software as I didn’t need anything that is designed for big corporations; it was just me and my office. I didn’t have any accounting knowledge so the programs I tried had to be easy to understand and easy to work with. I really didn’t want to do any kind of math on my own; I needed a product that would do it all. That’s why I finally decided on Quickbooks because it did everything I needed it to and nothing I didn’t need it to.

I highly suggest that anybody starting a home business to start out with some kind of accounting software to keep your books in order. Don’t wait until you become over-whelmed with a desk covered in invoices and notes; start your business clean and easy and you won’t have sleepless nights wondering which bills were paid and which ones weren’t.