Understanding Accounting Programs And 10 Uses

An accounting program is an application program specifically designed to manage the recording of business transactions. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Along with the development of technology, all work can be done faster. No exception with accounting matters which have now been made easier by the existence of an accounting program. With this software, accountants will be helped and work more optimally.

So what exactly is meant by this accounting program? To find out more, just take a look at the reviews below about the meaning of accounting programs and their functions. Here's the full review:

Getting to Know Accounting Programs in General

An accounting program is an application program specifically designed to manage the recording of business transactions. This program is indeed used by company accountants so that data about transactions can be more easily managed. Some of the data that will be recorded by this program include data on purchases, sales, payment of salaries, reports, and other data related to the company's financial reporting.

The accounting program itself has various features which you can choose according to your needs. Because this software is a paid application, the price level varies, depending on how complex the program is in carrying out its functions. The more functions and features it offers, the more expensive it will be. So you should be wise in determining the right accounting program for the company.

10 Benefits of Using an Online Accounting Program

In recent years, cloud technology has revolutionized everyday life. Paying bills online, using a smartphone to check email to saving photos online.

This also has an impact on businesses and offices, programs on online accounting software offer all the functionality and reliability of the system that businesses must try. Here are the benefits of online accounting software that you must know.

Access Anytime

With an online accounting program, business people can access business accounts and finances anytime, anywhere. Unlike the case with the manual method via excel, accounting and finance are very much tied to certain documents or even laptops.

Software can also store business data and restrict data access according to its role in the business. Data is also encrypted and stored securely with cloud servers. Via a smartphone or laptop is not a problem as long as there is an internet connection. So, no matter where the business is, the status of the business can always be checked in real-time.

Save Cost

Working online reduces IT costs. While manual based systems like excel require IT hardware investment as well as maintenance, need a server for the software and pay the IT team to maintain the data, of course, this can be a very expensive overhead.

Repetitive tasks such as invoicing, budgeting to reporting also increase employee work time, indirectly, businesses spend money on things that could actually be more strategic.

Saving time

According to a study conducted by Xero Blog on 230 accountants, finance directors and staff in South Africa, accounting software can save accountants up to 3 hours per day. How could that be?

79 percent of accountants who still use manual systems spend between one and three hours per day entering data into the system. Meanwhile, 57 percent of accountants who use software only need less than an hour a day.

Accountants with manual systems are twice as likely to spend more than an hour managing email and other documents than accountants who already use accounting software.

Sustainable Financial Monitoring

In manual accounting systems, most of the work is done at the end of the year when records are prepared for tax administration and assessment purposes.

But with computerized accounting, business people can create and manage financial records continuously and get reports whenever they want.

This allows business management to monitor business financial records and resolve issues early before they develop into major problems.

The accounting system also provides detailed reports on business processes and helps users monitor the cash flow of the business, thereby helping users calculate profits and learn which customers are generating the most revenue for the business.

In short, financial reports in software help users make decisions and operate businesses more efficiently and productively.

In fact, according to a study conducted by FreshBooks, the process of monitoring finances using software can save you about 30 minutes per month.

Due Reminder

With online accounting programs, businesses can record and track accounts payable and receivable. This allows every business to know the current condition of cash flows as well as forecasts in the future.

For example, the software can enter invoices along with customer invoices and due dates so that users get reports or notifications about when the receivables should be paid by customers. Of course, this greatly avoids delays in entry.

This is also reinforced by a study conducted by FreshBooks, when using manual, the checking process in excel takes up to 1 minute 30 seconds, whereas when using software, it only takes less than 1 minute.

Imagine, when there are 20 billings every month, of course it can save almost half an hour per month.

Minimizing Errors

Manual accounting systems increase the possibility of errors in their calculations. However, one of the benefits of accounting software is that it notifies users if there are calculation discrepancies.

Not infrequently, accounting programs that can be reconciled with the bank so that the balance contained in the software must be the same as in the business account.

According to accounting web, more than 73 percent of accountants have started looking for and choosing accounting software to automate manual accounting tasks to reduce errors and workload.

Monitoring Business Inventory

According to recent accounting software trends, many software provide features such as product inventory management and provide up-to-date details of available stock.

It even automates inventory while a product order is being processed. Estimates of the possibility of out of stock can also be notified so that there are no more stories of suddenly running out of certain products.

Focused On One Central Data

Accounting software provides benefits for users to centralize key business processes and management tasks such as financial reports, purchasing processes, to inventory management.

Users can leverage one piece of software for all tasks, instead of investing in separate channels or software.

Facilitate Tax Compliance

Accounting software can calculate the amount of tax to be paid on each invoice. Plus, users have detailed reports on the amount of tax paid by the company over a certain period of time.

Improving Business Financial Data Security

Financial data is certainly confidential information of a business and must be highly protected so that it does not fall into the wrong hands. With accounting software, company financial data is more secure because it is stored in the cloud and only designated people can access the data.

Thus the benefits of accounting programs that make it easier for business owners to manage financial processes, complete financial tasks correctly and quickly. There's nothing wrong with trying accounting software, let valuable time focus on other strategic things so that the business is more optimal.