Financial accounting packages

 

Financial accounting packages available commercially

Accounting software provides information about and report on the financial viability of a business. Before deciding upon which software package to use, it's important to know the various sorts of accounting software, and under what circumstances all should be used.  Classifications of accounting software are as follows:-

Spreadsheets

Quite a small business are often run just using an electronic spreadsheet for its accounting software. The spreadsheet software is less expensive and the system can easily configure it in any way. However, spreadsheets are susceptible to error, since information could also be entered within the wrong place, incorrectly, or not entered in the least , leading to inaccurate financial statements. Consequently, spreadsheets are typically only employed by organizations that have very low transaction volumes.

Commercially-Available Software

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software is a accounting software used throughout the world.It  contains multiple layers of error detection to prevent the entry of incorrect information.There are COTS packages that are specific to certain industries, with extra features to address the needs of their target markets. COTS software may require the services of consultants to install, and can require a lengthy installation process, as well as on-site staff to maintain the software. A variation on this concept is accounting software that is available as an online service, which requires users to log into the vendor's site to access the software.

Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)

ERP software provides the informations from all parts of a business into a single database. This approach eliminates the problems associated with having independent department-specific software that does not share information. However, it's also painfully expensive and should require quite a year to put in . This software is typically only needed by the most important and most complex organizations.

Custom Accounting Software

This software is custom developed for an organization. This approach is typically only taken when an entity's needs are so specific that they can't be met by a COTS or ERP package. However, this approach is never taken, since custom software tends to be buggy and requires more maintenance than commercially-available packages.