9 Reasons To Start Off With Accounting Software
Spreadsheet? Nooooo! Don't even think about it!
You could be tempted, when you start out, to record all your business transactions in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. After all, there aren’t many transactions at the outset, are there?
‘Investing in accounting software isn’t just about keeping better records, it’s about giving yourself the freedom to focus on what you do best: running and growing your business.’
ANZ Banking
Yep. Spreadsheets are super attractive, given you get these tools thrown in with your Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 subscription.
But I don’t recommend it. What I do recommend is:
Use an accounting package!
Start with an accounting package, right from the get-go.
Here in Australia the product of choice is Xero. But it could be MYOB, Freshbooks, Quickbooks, Zoho Books, or whatever. I’ve only used Xero so far (and so do all but one of my clients) and it ticks every box for creators like you and me.
Yep. Xero works good for creators.
There are dragons down the spreadsheet path. Here are a few of the biggies:
No bank feed integration (this is a huge time saver)
No audit capabilities (saves hours for you and your accountant when things go awry)
Tax time complexities (quarterly tax returns, like BAS, are generated automatically)
GST is tracked (both received and paid)
Invoices are stupidly easy to pop out
Transaction matching (makes reconciliation a breeze)
Reporting (PNL, balance sheet, cashflow, others)
Chart of accounts (great for expense tracking)
Access for your accountant (for annual and quarterly tax payments).
I know. Accounting software costs money you don’t have, and you’ll move things over when the cash starts coming in.
Yeah, right.
Xero costs AUD 35 a month for the most basic plan, which is good enough for use creators. And the last thing you want to spend time on is figuring out your financials.
It’s money well spent. Trust me on this.
P.S. I have no affiliation with any of the products I mentioned above.
P.P.S. No AI megajoules were burned in the creation of this article.
