Why Your Clients Should Use Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting

These days, most businesses are using at least partially computerized accounting, even if it's just a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and a shoebox of receipts. As you know, accounting professionals often influence the accounting software that their clients or employers use. This month we'll take a high-level look at which businesses should migrate to Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting - which includes any business that currently uses QuickBooks or Peachtree Accounting. Starting next month, we'll plunge into different user segments and tell you what works in Small Business Accounting - and why it might be better for your clients.

Paper-Based Accounting System Users

Any business that isn't using electronic accounting software should get started immediately with Small Business Accounting. Accounting software can streamline accounting processes and enhance cash flow management. Even basic tasks, such as tracking accounts payable and accounts receivable, are difficult or impossible with paper-based accounting systems. Fortunately Small Business Accounting's menus and screens are designed to help accounting software beginners quickly get up to speed.

Spreadsheet Jockeys

Businesses that maintain their accounting records in spreadsheets are also excellent candidates for Small Business Accounting. Spreadsheet-based accounting can be fraught with errors, such as overwritten formulas and incorrect cell references. In addition, a couple of stray mouse clicks easily can scramble a poorly designed spreadsheet. Fortunately, anyone already using Microsoft Excel to maintain their accounting records has a jump start. By design, the Small Business Accounting user interface is similar to Microsoft Excel's.

QuickBooks, Peachtree, and Other Small Business Accounting Software Users

For the most part, Small Business Accounting matches QuickBooks Pro, Peachtree Complete, and other standard small business accounting packages feature for feature in core accounting capabilities, but it has some unique advantages. For instance, Peachtree Accounting doesn't offer direct point of sale integration. QuickBooks Pro lacks the ability to create and track inventory kits. (Kits enable you to assemble and sell multiple inventory items as a single product, yet still maintain individual inventory quantities for the components of the kit.) QuickBooks also has a limited upgrade path that presently stops at the QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions level. Small Business Accounting has unparalleled integration with Microsoft Office, which means you can easily work with your accounting data your way.

Small Business Accounting also includes access to the services that small business accounting users have come to expect, including checks and forms, payroll through ADP, credit card processing, and online banking. In addition, Microsoft Small Business Accounting is significantly less expensive than QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and especially QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions.

Service Professionals

Service professionals that bill hourly for their time will find Small Business Accounting appealing. The Business Contact Manager add-on for Microsoft Outlook 2003 enables you to convert a meeting, task, or phone call scheduled in Microsoft Outlook 2003 to billable time in Small Business Accounting. This eliminates the need to maintain a separate time and billing application, as well as redundant data entry.

Retailers

Small Business Accounting isn't only for beginners. Retail businesses that use Small Business Accounting can link their accounting data to either Microsoft Point of Sale or Microsoft Retail Management. These applications enable retailers to manage the operations of their business while maintaining direct integration with their accounting records.

Growing Businesses

Any rapidly growing business should consider Small Business Accounting. The program is based on the desktop version of the Microsoft SQL Server database platform. This means your accounting data is less susceptible to data corruption issues that can plague accounting packages with inferior databases. In addition, Small Business Accounting offers a direct upgrade path to the Microsoft Dynamics product line of mid-range accounting packages. This upward migration path ensures you won't have to start from scratch with a new accounting program, or worse, lose valuable historical data.

Specialized Industries

Small Business Accounting is ideal for specialized industries, such as value-added resellers, e-commerce firms, manufacturers, construction firms, and more. Numerous industry-specific add-ons for Small Business Accounting are readily available. Other add-ons extend Small Business Accounting's functionality by enabling web-based time entry, EDI, credit reporting, and other business services.

Outlook Users

Microsoft Office Outlook users are in every business segment and many of these companies may stand the most to gain from using Small Business Accounting as their accounting system. The tight integration between Outlook and Small Business Accounting allows a business to track financial, customer and communications data across multiple employees in one central, up-to-date and easily backed-up location. Not only does this increase the speed of business, but also ensures your client's most valuable information is accurate and secure.