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Software functionality - good accounting software should:
Have high functionality
Have the functions included within the software, rather than as add-ons
Perform the accounting functions:
- required by your organisation
- the vendor claims the accounting software performs
- required by statute / regulatory authorities
Provide the following accounting and system wide functions (depending upon your requirements)
Accounting software functions:
- general ledger
- accounts payable
- employee expenses
- purchase order processing
- accounts receivable
- sales order processing and invoicing
- job order processing
- job / project costing
- inventory
- cash book
- fixed assets
System wide functionality:
- fully web enabled, to operate over the internet / intranet
- employee self service (ESS) / manager self service (MSS)
- employee portal
- workflow
- alerts
- document image processing (DIP)
- euro compliance
- accounting standards / IFRS / Sarbanes Oxley compliance
- multi company, country and currency
- support multiple Windows versions
- VAT / Sales and purchases taxes
- SMS text messaging
Be a fully 'open system'
Be written in a widely used programming language
Be fully integrated, or easily / seamlessly integrated with other relevant systems (if stand alone modules)
Provide links to other systems eg payroll, logistics, manufacturing and desktop software
Have the scope to grow with the business
Be flexible to accommodate changing user or business requirements
Have a chart of accounts structure that is flexible to accommodate your current and future requirements
Support good accounting practice
Management information - good accounting software should have:
Full online enquiry and drill down / around capability
Multiple search and select facilities
A suite of ready-to-use standard system screen enquiries and reports
Standard reports that can be tailored to the user requirements, saved and then reused when required
Interactive graphics
Reporting across modules
E-reporting and documentation ie reports and documents that can be prepared, reviewed and sent over the internet
Easy to use, flexible report writer either from within the accounting software or provided by third party software
Business intelligence tools eg
- advanced analytics
- OLAP
- data warehouse
- data mining
For additional ‘key software criteria’ visit: Software efficiency criteria / Vendor criteria or for the current accounting software trends visit: accounting software trends
For other software criteria, click: CRM software criteria / HR software criteria / Payroll software criteria
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