Software options for your business

When running a business one of the key factors you need to be concerned with is your payroll. Your payroll plays a big part in your company, if your employees can't be paid correctly and on time, your ability to do business will slow down. And of course, you can forget to pay the government. If you neglect to pay the government on time, you will be fined for any problems that occur. Then again, you also need to consider social security, Medicare deductions, state and local taxes, unemployment insurance, retirement plans, health insurance, and other payments. So how can you find a solution for all of your business needs? Finance software.

So how do you start finding the right business finance software to suit your needs? We will go over a few tips below:

Your Needs
Before you even start looking for finance software, you need to find out what your company needs are. If you currently track all your sales on paper or in an Excel document, look at how effective it is. Are you missing payments due to lost receipts? Do you mail out statements on a monthly basis? How do you think finance software can help your company? Are you looking to improve the way your finances are organized or just want a program that will track all your clients' information? Look at the time it takes to run your current financial software or however you are tracking your finances and ask yourself those questions.

Tax Purposes
Many times finance software comes with tax reporting so you don't have to take the time to fill out those tedious quarterly tax reports, it will do it all for you. How about those W-2's? Have you been hiring those out to a tax preparation company? Would it be easier for you to have a business finance program do it all for you? Many times software for business finances has alerts and reminders so you remember to file your tax reports on time. This is a great way to keep organized and stay out of debt with the IRS.

Payroll
Would you like software that automatically deposits money into your employee's accounts? Do you prefer to hand your employee's checks on a weekly or monthly basis? How much time do you spend calculating each employee's paycheck? Look at different finance software that can solve this headache for you and save you time.

Once you have listed all your needs, wants, and wishes out you need to select the right type of business software for your company. Ask yourself the following questions when shopping for business finance software:

• Is the program easy to use and flexible? Can you change withholding rates and change existing data?


• Are the instructions easy to understand? Will tech support be available for help when you need it? If you had to replace your accountant or payroll coordinator, will the new person be able to learn the software quickly?


• Will the software work with other programs you have to import data smoothly?

One of the most popular business software programs available is QuickBooks. The reasons many companies choose to run QuickBooks are as follows:

• It is designed to help small businesses succeed by getting them organized


• Automatically generates monthly statements


• Tracks all your customers information (Name, phone, address, e-mail and financial information)


• Generates checks from your bank account


• Deposits money to your bank account from credit cards


• Tracks inventory and sales


• Does payroll in minutes


• Does your taxes

Before you invest in business finance software, compare it with others. Some companies will allow you to try their software free for 30 days, this is a great way to gain first hand experience with the program to see if it will fit your needs.