By Alice Feilden on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
QuickBooks – best for fast-growing businesses
Parent company Intuit was founded in 1983 and the QuickBooks brand was introduced in 2002, with QuickBooks Online following two years later. Today, QuickBooks has 2.2 million users across 225 countries.
Getting your head around small business accounting software can be tricky. Many small business owners fret about whether they will understand the software, whether it is worth the cost and if they really need the added security. This handy guide will explain some of the reasons QuickBooks is worth its salt for multi-tasking entrepreneurs.
What is QuickBooks and what is it used for?
QuickBooks is an accounting software designed to be used by small businesses. It is one of the most popular software of its kind. Businesses often use it to keep track of their finances and manage income and expenses. It can also be used to invoice customers, pay bills, generate reports, prepare taxes and track cash flows. QuickBooks accounts tend to either be managed in-house by business owners themselves, while others outsource to a bookkeeper. Whatever your choice, QuickBooks offers a number of products to suit any business, from one-man-band freelancers to mid-sized enterprises.
What’s so good about QuickBooks?
1. Easy to use
One of QuickBooks’s best features is its ease of use, allowing any small business owner to become an accounting wizard in no time!
One of the reasons QuickBooks is so user-friendly is because its parent company, Intuit, has been developing tax and accounting software since 1983. Although QuickBooks was introduced to the UK market in 2014, it isn’t an entirely new product, so many of its idiosyncrasies and problems have already been ironed out.
Helpfully, the software provides a clean interface for users. The home screen displays a visual overview of a business’s financial position, which allows owners to take the measure of their financial health at a mere glance.
The software itself is relatively easy to use and can be set up quickly with just a few tutorials.
2. Cost
Although a QuickBooks subscription will cost more than muddling through the finances single-handedly, you’ll doubtless make up the cost in time saved.
In fact, QuickBooks is a relatively accessible product in the market. Interested parties can even sign up for a free trial period so you can try before you buy! What’s more, subscriptions can be scaled up and down with optional added extras. This means there’s a plan to suit every business. Not only do businesses therefore have the option to personalise their purchased accounting solution, but they can do so while keeping expenses to a minimum.
3. Show your working
The QuickBooks template has been designed to be easily shareable, which means fewer headaches for small business owners. The software offers easy integration with third-party apps and plug-ins, so you can further customise your programme as you wish and share financial information with external parties if you need to do so.
Given that the software was designed for small businesses, it has been made so financial information can be added and accessed by any member of the team with the relevant permissions.
Helpfully, the online software also saves your work as you go – meaning internet crashes aren’t the disaster they used to be – and users can access an audit history of all changes made to the finances at any time.
The software also comes with an online portal. Here, clients can access their invoices, pay them and address any concerns they may have.
4. Security and the cloud
The cloud-based nature of QuickBooks Online means financial information is stored securely online, with security specialists working to continuously protect sensitive data. Employees and other users can be granted custom roles and permissions which will minimise the chances of a security breach.
Running a small business can sometimes require unorthodox hours and a hectic, changing schedule. The beauty of QuickBooks’ cloud accounting system lies in its ability to accommodate round-the-clock access to financial data. Rather than having to wait for Monday morning to call your accountant or worrying about bothering them too late into the evening, subscribers can log in anytime and, granted they have an internet connection, from anywhere. There’s even no need for a desktop – a phone or tablet with internet connection will suffice!
5. Support network
For the times when watching a video tutorial just won’t cut it, QuickBooks provides customer support. Perhaps even more appealingly, however, there is a large support network where you can interact with other users via QuickBooks forums. As one of the more established small business accounting software tools, you certainly won’t be alone in using the software and will in fact find yourself part of a community.
Is QuickBooks worth the cost?
Given QuickBooks accounting software’s ease of use, security, ability to be accessed anywhere, anytime and by numerous members of a team, it is certainly worth the money. While subscribing to the Online version will cost more than using a spreadsheet to manually input data, it will save you time, money and stress in the long run. The model can be scaled up and down to suit individual business needs and budgets. With so much on offer, what’s not to love?
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