Some argue that off the shelf accounting packages aren’t as good as Excel spreadsheets to manage your finances. Although Excel can be customised to a way that could work for you, there are multiple reasons why software ranks supreme over the Excel spreadsheet method.
Ease of use
A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet is basically a blank slate on which you can store important financial figures. You can type in any numbers and use simple calculations to create the figures you want to tally. However, if you aren’t an Excel expert, then you won’t know how to tabulate your finances.
A safer option is to use accounting software, like Pegasus Opera 3 or Sage 200. This is more powerful software is just as easy to use as an Excel spreadsheet, with an added benefit of built-in analysis and automating features. You don’t need an accounting degree to keep your books when using accounting software.
Visibility to your economic health
Your financials may seem easy to track in Excel at start-up, but after years of experience, you begin to generate a much larger volume of figures.
Tracking and analysing important financial data becomes harder and more time consuming. With accounting software, it can provide you with balance sheets, income statements, profit/loss statements and reports on your products or services. A few clicks of the mouse and you can share reports with regulatory agencies or review the data that you need to make the quick business decisions that drive business.
Improve productivity and profitability
Accounting software can offer visibility into business operations that can improve productivity and profitability. Monitor supply chain, manufacturing operations, project or service management, human resources, and other business elements in this single software platform. Learn what products or services are your most profitable, streamline operations, and keep on track with your strategic goals. Excel simply can’t provide this type of insight.
5 reasons to use accounting software vs spreadsheets
Hit the ground running
An easy-to-use dashboard is one that you don’t have to set up yourself and it will give you confidence from the get go. When you have a clear financial view from the start, you don’t need to worry about making uninformed business decisions.
Your data is accurate
Your company’s real-time financial data is kept in one central place – online, in the cloud. Bank statement lines are fed into your software – it’s automatic, and reduces the amount of data entry and potential mistakes.
Out-of-box reports
Get most of the reports you’ll ever need, with a few clicks – no need to wait for month end. Real-time reports and budgets are easy to view and share. Tasks like sales tax returns can be completed quicker than if you did it using Excel.
Up-to-date information
Create the information any of your employees might need at a moment’s notice. Your SME will be equipped to manage its finances better and more accurately. This is especially important around tax time when data will be shared. Financial tax information is always up-to-date and ready to share.
You’ll have a clean audit trail
All of the historical information that your employees may need is available at their fingertips. A proper audit trail ensures your data cannot be compromised. It also records every business transaction. This includes sales contracts, payments to employees, and more. Having a complete audit trail reassures employees about the validity of the company and meets the tax department’s needs.
Conclusion
Excel is a great program for storing small amounts of simple data and it can provide basic levels of accounting functions. As your business grows and you have more data to track and monitor, you’ll find greater productivity and profitability with an accounting software solution.
Please contact us for more information about accounting software options that can improve your bottom line more effectively than Excel spreadsheets! Either call us on 0191 500 8150 or email info@monpellier.co.uk
Comments are closed.
