Sole proprietors are independent business people with drive and ambition. If you’re one of them, you'll need sole proprietor accounting software that fits in with the way you do business. Here’s how to find it.
Technology drives a lot of this optimism and growth. For example, you may already be using:
Office tools like Microsoft Office 365 or Google Apps
Email services like Gmail
Cloud-based file storage
Social media to market your services and keep in touch with customers
Video conferencing to talk to clients and friends
Websites to reach new clients.
What's left for business? Your accounting software. It simply makes it easier to stay on top of tax, revenue, expenses and cash flow of your business.
It might be tempting to use a spreadsheet for your accounting data. But spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel weren’t designed to be a substitute for accounting software. You can quickly run into difficulties if that’s the way you’re using Excel.
Here’s why:
It’s hard to see an up-to-date picture Spreadsheets don’t automatically update – they show you the static numbers, and not the meaning behind them. Accounting software helps you see your cashflow in real-time. Reports and graphs give you clear information and a sense of the big picture.
Spreadsheets can be riddled with mistakes It might be easy to start with a simple spreadsheet doing manual data entry and simple sums. But if you want your business to run efficiently, manual copy and paste techniques are no way to thrive and grow.
Spreadsheets aren’t scalable Sole trader accounting software is designed to grow as you do. It will help you with tasks like payroll and direct payments. And you’ll be able to share data with your accountant and bookkeeper remotely. No spreadsheet can do all of that.
There’s no audit trail Accounting software keeps track of every entry and who made it. This is called an audit trail and it’s a vital part of accounting. But anyone can change a spreadsheet, leaving no record of what was done or who did it. This leaves your business open to fraud.
You’ll know from running your own business that it makes sense to use the right tool for the job. So get this right the first time – and avoid problems later. Find out what MYOB accounting software can do and use this guide to help find the right package for your business.