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Choosing software · 7 min read

How to choose accounting software for your business

The questions that reveal a system before you pay, and the differences that surface after six months rather than in the demo.

The short answer

Judge a system on three things the demo never shows: whether it stops you editing a document already issued, whether you can get all of your data out whenever you want, and whether it understands how your trade works or expects you to change how you work. Price and features come after that — software that holds your data hostage costs many times its price the day you decide to leave.

The steps

  1. Ask: can an issued invoice be edited?

    The right answer is "no — you correct it with a credit note". Software that lets you edit an issued invoice lets you rewrite the past, and that costs your books their value in front of any reviewer. Ask to try it yourself during the demo rather than hearing the answer.

  2. Ask to export all of your data

    Not a report — your data: customers, items, invoices and journal entries in an open format. Software that will not hand your data back is software you cannot leave, and you will discover that at the worst possible moment. Try the export during the trial and open the file it produces.

  3. Run your own cycle, not theirs

    Demos are built to succeed. Take one real transaction from your own trade — quotation to sales order to invoice to payment, or purchase to receipt to supplier bill — and run it yourself end to end. Whatever feels awkward in the trial will feel awkward every day.

  4. Check the language, direction and currency for real

    An "Arabic interface" existing is not enough. Print an invoice and read it: are the numbers where they belong, does an Arabic name sit beside an English one without flipping, is the amount in words correct, and do the currency and rounding suit your country. These show up on a document that reaches your customer, not on an internal screen.

  5. Ask about the real accounting behind the screens

    Does a sale post to the ledger by itself? Does stock move with the invoice or by a separate entry? Can a period be closed so nothing can be posted into it afterwards? Plenty of systems produce handsome invoices and no books, and you find out at year end that the accountant will key everything a second time.

  6. Look at what has not been built yet

    Ask plainly: what does this not do today? A vendor who answers clearly deserves more trust than one who says everything is possible. And check the dates: a "coming soon" that has been repeated for two years means no.

Common mistakes

  • Choosing by feature count. A hundred features nobody opens are worse than ten used daily, because every extra screen lengthens the training of the next person you hire.
  • Leaving migration until later. Moving opening balances, customers and items is real work, and discovering that after you subscribe costs a month.

Common questions

Cloud or installed on a machine?
Cloud means backups, updates and access from anywhere without running a server, and it also means depending on your connection and on the vendor continuing to exist. Installed gives you more control and hands you backups, updates and security. In both cases ask: where is my data kept and how do I get it back?
Do I need software approved for e-invoicing?
It depends on your country: some impose specific requirements on the software and some do not. Verify with the authority itself rather than the vendor’s advertising, and be wary of any claim of "approval" that comes without a document behind it.

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