If you are one of the Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), you are probably taking care of the finances for dozens of people. Fortunately, there is something that might facilitate your job-related tasks. Consider using accounting software which is designed to help with payroll, expense, and reporting for plenty of clients. In addition, this software also includes multiple tools which can assist with tax preparation and time-based billing.
What are the benefits of CPA accounting software?
Accounting software which is designed for mortgage companies, banks, and financial services institutions will include numerous features and those below will be the most valuable ones:
Multi-company accounting – As you already know, the job of a professional accountant is to keep records for a big number of clients (companies). Having that in mind, designers of the software made a solution which can help you a lot. It will allow you to keep all their data separated which will be easy to view and manipulate.
Tax preparation – Every tax code is hundreds, and even thousands of pages long, and its writers are updating it annually. Since tax preparation is one of the most important tasks you as CPA must address, using accounting software will help you with specialized data meant for preparation. It will also provide you with updated tax tables, electronic filing, and automated calculations.
Time and billing – This refers to the feature which will easily track the time spent on projects of choice, and then bill clients after it calculates hours spent. Every accounting software will most certainly have time and billing feature.
Regulation compliance – When purchasing this type of software, remember the to ask the manufacturer if their system complies with federal, state and local regulations and statutes. Keep in mind that system without this feature won’t provide you with desirable results.
Financial reports – In case you are a freelance accountant, this feature will help you a lot. Go ahead and find a software which will be able to provide you with executive reports, summary statements and charts. Some of them have a really intuitive interface and can create customized reports as well.
What are the costs of accounting software?
There are two ways of charging for this service, and you as a CPA will have a chance to choose between subscription and perpetual licensing. If you decide for the first option, you will be paying a monthly fee which will be calculated based on the number of users. There might be a different paying system for organizations and they might be charged annually.
On the other hand, if you prefer perpetual licensing, you will need to buy the software of choice and you’ll own it forever. The amount you’ll need to pay will also be based on a number of users or the size of the organization. Keep in mind that as an organization you will still need to pay for annual maintenance, support, and updates.
Which type of software should you choose?
Get informed about three types of accounting software so you can choose the one that meets your needs fully. The first one is the cloud-based software which became very popular among CPAs, bookkeeping and accounting companies. Fullstack accountants state that with this version of accounting software you will be able to do everything in your browser, and its main advantage is that you can access your data from any device and from any location. The only thing you’ll need will be the internet connection.
The second option is the best fit for organizations. This on-premise software will be installed into the accounting company system. It will be on all computers and servers. The last option is, as you probably guessed, a hybrid of first two. It will include best features of both cloud-based and in-premise types of software.
Final thoughts
While thinking about purchasing the best software for you, keep in mind data-security. Some professionals wouldn’t choose the cloud-based version, although its designers claim it is as secure as on-premises one. Before you buy any accounting software, make sure to get well informed about all its features, good and bad sides. This information is easy to find online, where you can read different testimonials written by your colleagues CPAs.
At the end, after you learned everything you think is crucial, go ahead and acquire accounting system that meets all your professional needs. It is always safe to buy it from a big player since they have a lot of experience in software development and strong and reliable customer support.
Hannah Thomas is an expert in business innovation and management with a love for writing. She is always eager to learn new things and to share the knowledge she acquired along the way.
