Before your new business even makes its first sale, you need to know how you’re going to meet your accounting needs. You should select a system that will suit you in the early days of your venture and will also allow you to handle growth. 

You have a few options. Some small businesses take the most familiar path: manual bookkeeping. You can do much of what’s required using Microsoft Office applications, primarily Word (for invoices, receipts, promotional materials, etc.), Excel (for reports and customer lists), and Outlook (for email and scheduling). 

There’s a big problem associated with that method: It doesn’t provide tools for recording and automatically tracking sales and expenses. You might be able to cobble together such a system in Excel, but you would probably find that task even more difficult than designing a report.  

Further, finding specific data, like a payment or a bill, can take a long time. So can matching a payment with an order or reconciling accounts. As your business grows, you’re likely to find that you’re spending so much time on your accounting chores that you’re not planning and managing and creating.  

Software Can Help 

These drawbacks have prompted many small businesses to invest in accounting software. QuickBooks is the most popular; it was designed to be used by small business people who have little or no experience with financial bookkeeping. Using QuickBooks, you can connect to your online accounts (checking, credit cards, etc.) and import transactions so you don’t have to wait for a statement. 

The software allows you to create and email sales and purchase forms, record and manage incoming payments and outgoing bills, and generate dozens of reports by simply choosing one of the templates provided and letting QuickBooks fill it with your own company’s data. All of your customer and vendor data is stored neatly in records, and you can find the smallest detail anywhere in the system in seconds by using the software’s search tools. 

There are other advantages over manual bookkeeping. You save time. All of your financial data is in one place. You’re more likely to stay current with your accounts receivable and payable. And, your accounting records can be easily backed up off-site. 

Getting Expert Assistance 

As transformative as QuickBooks can be, some small businesses still struggle with its operations and the time it takes to maintain their financial books. Even those that don’t face a bigger problem: understanding what this neatly-organized data means for their future. How can they make better decisions based on an analysis of it? 

We can help in both areas. Our accounting specialists can help you get started with QuickBooks and use it more efficiently. We can even take over the accounting tasks that vex you and eat up the time you need for more pressing managerial responsibilities. Our team stands ready to meet with you and determine where it can fit in to lighten your load and provide expert insight on your finances. Contact us, and we’ll schedule a consultation.