The accounts system is the financial heart of your business.

No matter what size your company is, you are legally obliged to report a certain amount of financial information. As soon as the company starts to generate any siginificant volume of transactions information can become hard to track and understand, a formal approach is required. This may start with an externnal book keeper but will quickly move on to a requirement for some form of computerised accounts.

What kind of system?

In determining what sort of solution to purchase (how big? how complex?) consideration should be given to the following:

• How many transactions per day are processed?
• How is the current system operating?
• Is it efficient and effective?
• Does it give you the information you require?
• What are other companies, similar to your company, using?

Research in this area is very important as it will enable you to make an informed decision.

Functionality

What functions do you need the system to perform?

• Bookkeeping?
• Payroll?
• Invoice generation?
• Bill payments?
• Inventory tracking?
• Bill of materials?
• Job Costing
• Sales Order Processing?
• Purchase Order Processing?

The Learning Curve and Support

The hidden factor with the ppurchase of any software is never the cost of the software or, indeed, of any associated training. It is the investment of time that you and your staff will make in understanding and learning to use the system. Changing it because you have outgrown i,t or because it doesn't perform as expected, can prove to be costly.

• Will an "off-the-shelf" software package (such as MYOB or Quick Books) meet your needs, or would a "customized" software package be best?
• Are system upgrades available?
• Is technical support available and useful?
• What resources are available and what are needed?
  • Consider computer hardware, existing system, personnel and finances.
• Who will be using the system?
• Have you consulted those who will be using the new system?
  • If they don't feel involved they may not co-operate and the project will be doomed to failure
• Who will have access to the system?
• Where will the system be maintained?
• What back-up methods or emergency procedures are necessary to keep the records safe?
  • Consider easy and frequent back-up of data, a fire-proof box to keep disks safe and off-site storage of the back-up disks.
• Does the company have competent staff to operate the system?
  • Consider an outside bookkeeper to keep track of your accounting needs.
• What type of "hard copies" are necessary to print?
• What type of information can be generated to aide in preparing monthly, quarterly, and annual reports and reconciliations?

All these and many more factors should be given serious consideration before even contemplating setting a budget or buying a system. We will be expanding on this advice in the coming months.