by Janet Meydam

Created on: August 14, 2008   Last Updated: August 20, 2008

Accounting Software Fixed My Small Business

I am the owner of a small internet based antiques business. Like many in this line of work, I started the business in 2002 from my own collecting hobby. My original accounting procedures included saving all my receipts and sales slips, recording them in a hand written cash flow ledger, and reconciling at the end of the year with a calculator. Now, accounting is a time consuming process for any small business. Imagine this process for me, a new small business owner, mathematically challenged, who had no idea what she was doing! It was a good thing those cash flow ledgers had directions in the front cover.

In 2006 I broke down and purchased my first copy of QuickBooks. After realizing I had the basic copy I could do nothing with, I upgraded my copy. I still had the wrong one for my business, but I figured out how to use it to record sales, inventory, and other expenses so that my accounting made sense. As with the cash flow ledgers, I entered everything in. As with the cash flow ledgers, I went back and corrected many mistakes when my numbers did not make sense. I still didn't know what I was doing.

Fortunately, the software did. The software did all the calculations so I didn't have to. The software cross referenced so I didn't have to. The software made all these nice little reports so I could check my inventory costs, expenses by category, sales, returns, or just about anything I wanted, just by clicking a few settings. By the end of 2006, I had an actual financial picture of my business. Wow! My taxes looked so much different! Why hadn't I done this from the start?

I am now searching for software that fits my particular business, but I will never again do my accounting by hand. Accounting software has saved me hours of manual ledger entries and math calculations. I can now complete my annual sales tax report in about an hour when it used to take half a day. My tax information is ready to go when I need it without days of slaving at the table to figure it out. I don't sit and wonder how much money I'm losing from math errors alone. The software shows me where all the numbers are.

If you own a small business and you are still cringing every time you see that keyboard, do yourself a favor and warm up to it. Business accounting software will save you hours in calculations and hundreds of dollars just in accuracy. The initial investment is not only worth it, but is a necessity for small business survival. Do yourself a favor, save your sanity and help your bottom line. Buy yourself some business accounting software like I did and watch your numbers change before your eyes!

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