Where can you find free accounting software?

The obvious place to look when trying to find free accounting software is to search on the internet using Google or Yahoo. Alternatively you can go to one of the many software download websites and browse through many - potentially hundreds - of software titles.

The vast majority of shareware or freeware directories break their listings into standard categories. For accounting software you will need to open the top level Business category and then the Accounting & Finance subcategory.

Most software download sites allow you to sort listings based on title, size, author, and - perhaps most importantly – popularity, i.e. the total number of downloads for the software package, and rating. The software rating can be most important since it will indicate that the software package has been reviewed, either by the shareware site’s editorial staff or by the shareware site’s users. The better shareware sites will also allow their users to post reviews of software packages. If you find a package you think you like, take a look at the package’s listing on a number of sites and see if there are any unfavourable reviews.

Shareware sites come in all sizes from the very large, such as Softpedia to the smaller such as SoftwareLode. A large list of shareware sites can be found at: http://padsites.asp-shareware.org/.

Read Pros and Cons of Free Accounting Software for the up an down side of using free software.

Free Accounting Software- Merits and De- Merits

Accounting is one of the main tasks of any business organization. Yet one has to look into so many matters in the field of accounting that the task becomes quite overwhelming to an ordinary person. Only the best accountants will be able to cope up with the job of such a nature. And to pay these accountants the company will have to pocket extra money. But now with the advancement of technologies there have been much innovation in the production of high breed accounting software. This accounting software has been developed to help companies in each stage of their development so that they are not hampered by the lack of good accountants and prosper by the nature of their hard work.

Definition of Accounting Software

Accounting software is application software whose purpose is to record and process accounting transactions within the functional modules like payroll, trial balance, accounts payable and accounts receivable. Thus the accounting software functions as an accounting information system. Different Accounting Software has been developed to use in different fields. Hence, we have specialized Accounting Software for banking, for construction jobs, in medical fields, in non-profit organization, in points of sale (that is Retail), and in Daycare Accounting.

Advantages of Free Accounting Software

♦ Free of cost: The first and foremost merit of free accounting software is that it is free of charge! Hence it encourages start ups and micro businesses to use this product. These small businesses will not get hampered due to a lack of accounting software and they could start up immediately.
♦ Simplified creation of company: It is easier to set up a company with the help of free accounting software
♦ Saves time and energy on everyday jobs:
The free accounting software gets started in minutes.
The company can create invoices and at the same time track time and expenses.
The user had to enter data only once, and this data gets shared seamlessly with others.
One gets to use Office System Programs.
One can easily manage payroll in his office accounting.
♦ Get a complete overview of your business:
With the help of free accounting software you can see suppliers, customers, financial and employee datasheet at one place.
You get business insights
♦ Grow your business online:
You can email your entire invoice and get a faster result by way of prompt payment.
You can have a seamless communication with your customers.
♦ Streamlined online banking: The banking gets streamlined.
♦ Budgeting: Customers can create online budgets and track how they compare with the actual results thus, having a better control over their finances.

The Drawbacks of Free Accounting Software
1. Generally free accounting software comes with a reduced availability of support so as to encourage customers to buy the product.
2. Free accounting software is generally available for a short time trial period, after which it expires.
3. Unless you buy the license key you do not get multi-user access to the SQL Server Express database.
4. The free accounting software hides much of the feature like online tax calculator, Payroll data, etc.

Hence taking into account all the advantages and disadvantages of Free Accounting Software an individual can decide best whether it is suitable for him or not.

See also Pros and Cons of Free Accounting Software

Tracking Invoices and Payment

An invoice is a bill of payment issued by the seller to the customer. It contains the details of the services provided along with the amount due to the company that is payable by the customer. In the case of small companies preparing invoices and tracking payments is not that big a deal, but when the company is big and it has to keep an eye and track a large number of invoices then difficulties arises. No body wants to part with their money easily and this happens with the customers too who often delay in making their payments blocking the cash flow to the company.

In the age of internet most of the transactions occur on the net. Due to this a customer place an order for a product and pays for it after he has received it. The suppliers usually ship the product, issue an invoice and collect the payment later. This creates a cash conversion cycle that is a period in which the supplier has already paid for the raw material but is awaiting the final payment from the customer. If this cash conversion cycle accumulates then the company suffers losses even though it is showing profit in its chart. Hence it is very important to track the invoice and demand a prompt payment.

Generally tracking of invoices deals with invoicing customers and chasing for payments. It also records who has paid, how and when.

In large companies dealing with a large number of customers with outstanding bills become very difficult. Now there are many software packages that are available which makes preparing and tracking of invoices very easy. With these ready to use software you can create invoice in just a few minutes. These software keeps a track of all the out due payments, current balance, etc, so that you know the exact cash flow status of your company. The software makes a database of the customers with general information. Some also store the history of the customer interaction, like the dates when the customers were contacted their response, etc. Some software also make a list on priority basis like who has the most outstanding bill and who must be contacted first to clear the cash flow problem. Mostly this software automatically creates a status report and prompt the customer contact to contact the customers. Thus, with the help of this software keeping a track of invoice and payment becomes easier, and the company feels better equipped in managing all its accounts.

The Role of Book Keeping In Small Businesses

Book Keeping is the recording made of all financial transaction including the inflow and outflow of money in a business or a private institution. Book keeping is perhaps the most important part of any institution with the help of which it gets a correct picture of the financial situation of that institution. But the time and effort involved in maintaining books makes many small businesses to neglect it. But, if they understand the true importance of book keeping then they would take extra care to maintain their books and keep them in perfect order.

Book keeping involves lots of entries including the classifying, analyzing and reporting of financial data. Book keeping is said to be the first step towards accounting process. The book keepers records in a chronological manner all transactions, sales and purchase reports, cash receipts, cash disbursement, and others in a maintained journal and regularly post the journal entries to a general ledger of accounts. The accountants of any company use this ledger to prepare their monthly financial statements. Hence keeping a good book of records is mandatory for good and accurate accounting work.

Any company especially a small business enterprise will need outside funds to meet their various needs and also to grow their company into a bigger enterprise. But, the lenders and investors will want to look into the company’s book before deciding to part with their money. An accurate and complete book will give them a better idea of the company’s status and convince them of your company’s potential

Book keeping is important for generating all the information that you will need to manage your company. The financial records in your book help you to anticipate and thereby avoid problems related to cash flow.

You need to know your company’s accurate status of income in order to calculate the amount that you owe to the IRS. Again, the records of cancelled financial drafts and receipts helps a company in backing up whatever deductions and tax credits that it can get.

A good record keeping protects you from penalties and fines at the time of an audit.

Thus, it is evident that book keeping plays a very vital role in small businesses. With the help of book keeping the company tracks all the inflow and outflow of data. It helps in managing the company. It helps in generating loans; and is also needed at the time of audit.

Pros and Cons of Free Accounting Software

If you search on the internet, you can find many free accounting packages. These range between:

• Totally free accounting software
• Accounting packages which are free for a limited period
• Packages which are free but require you to use other non-free software or services

Examples of each type of package are:-

1. Totally free accounting package - GnuCash.
2. Free trial period - MYOB.
3. Free with other purchases - Microsoft Accounting Express - you need to purchase Microsoft Office 2007.

The following pros apply to free accounting software:-

1. The software is free, so startup costs are reduced.
2. Since the software is free you can evaluate copies at your leisure and there is less financial cost/ loss in moving to a different package.
3. Free software is often open source. This means it is possible to modify the source to suit your specific needs if desired.
   

The following cons apply to free accounting software or, at least, the following points need to be considered when thinking about using free software:-

1. Although the purchase cost of the software is free, is support free? If you experience problems with the software who will you ask for help? Often, third-party companies will offer support but you will need to find out how much they charge.
2. The software may lack key features, or be crippled in some way, to encourage you to purchase the non-free version.
3. What future or development roadmap exists for the software? If your needs change in the future, will there be an upgrade route?
4. Since the software is free, what guarantees do you have that it will continue to be developed?

In some ways, the best accounting software packages are those which have a free trial period. During the trial you can evaluate the features provided by the software with next to no financial outlay. Ideally the trial period should allow you one month's use or more, allowing you enough time to do one month's invoicing or bookkeeping. If you are considering using free accounting software, take the time to do your research online and find out other people's experience with the software.

Accounting Software for Small Businesses

Starting a new business is not easy, especially if it's your first. You'll find that not only will you have to develop and/ or sell products and services, you'll also need to be on top of the marketing of your business. Getting to grips with all the angles of running your own business can be daunting. If you are selling products, your business is growing and money is coming in, it can be all too easy to forget that you also need to be on top of the financial management and accounting side of the business.

For a small business with limited finances, organized accounting is essential to control cashflow and understand if there will be a problem in the weeks or months ahead. Just because money is coming in now, doesn't mean that next month when there are bills to pay, you'll have sufficient cash. Choosing the correct accounting software can help you manage your business finances.

Even simple software for invoicing or recording expenses can help - it's all too easy to lose paper notes and receipts - recording things in a software package will help you to organise yourself. The benefits of getting a good report of where your business is financially will soon pay dividends.If you try to do everything by hand it's all too easy to make mistakes. Using an accounting software package will also save you time and allow you to spend more time in selling products and making your business a success.

These are typical benefits small businesses see from using appropriate accounting software:

• Managing your finances takes less time, allowing you to spend more time on profitable activities.
• Accounting software provides reports that can help you when submitting accounts either to your professional accountant or the inland revenue/ IRS.
• Managing and predicting cash flow is much easier.
• Finding out where your biggest costs are is much easier.

There are numerous accounting software packages on the market. In a future article, I'll write some guidelines to help you decide which package to purchase. In fact there are a number of free packages available and I'll also discuss the pros and cons of free accounting software.

Analyzing Invoiced Amounts Outstanding & Cashflow

Money is that important commodity which nobody likes to easily part with. This has resulted in companies offering credits to their customers to buy their products. The companies send out the products first along with the invoice and demand that they are paid later- that is on the delivery of the product. Though this helps in boosting of their sale but sometimes they also result in accumulation of overdue cash.

It is seen that generally the customers delay in paying their credits. If more number of customers delay in paying credits then the cash outflow of the company exceeds the cash inflow. This results in a shortage of adequate cash with the company. In this situation the company could crash or fail even when it is showing profit because the company has a shortage of liquid cash. Hence it is very important for a company to keep track of the various invoices and payments. By analyzing the report on invoiced amounts outstanding the company can use the report to analyze its cash flow.

A cash flow analysis is the study of a company’s inflows and outflows of cash so as to maintain an adequate cash flow for one’s business and to provide the basis for cash flow management. This cash flow analysis is done to evaluate the performance or state of a project or business venture.

With the help of cash flow analysis you can examine each and every component of your business that involves and affects the cash flow of a company such as inventory, credit terms, accounts receivable and account payable. Thus, you will be able to easily identify the cause of a cash flow problem and take adequate corrective actions.
The importance of analysing cash flow

♦A cash flow statement is one of the major financial statements of the company.
♦It is used to determine the short term sustainability of the company. That is if the company is showing an increasing or sustained inflow of cash then it is a healthy company.
♦A cash flow analysis allows the company to detect a cash problem which other financial statements alone could not provide.

Thus, with the help of cash flow analysis the company can look into the problem area and make an effort to rectify it.