subject: Accounting Software - Most Requested Features For Growing Businesses [print this page] Using a basic, off the shelf accounting software program can work great for your business for many years. But where do you go when you start to outgrow it? A great next step for businesses in this situation is to check out mid-market accounting software programs. Mid-market programs are designed for those outgrowing starter or basic accounting software packages, but aren't yet ready for the complex, custom-designed accounting software systems. Here are some of the popular features typically offered by mid-market programs and requested by growing businesses.
Multiple companies and users
If your company has grown to be more than one entity, you may want to do the accounting for each entity separately. Managing them separately allows you to get an accurate picture of each company's financial status. Likewise, as you grow, you will need to have more than one person accessing the accounting software simultaneously. Basic systems tend to limit the number of companies you can manage, and they also limit the number of users who can access the system. Moving up to a mid-market program can offer you the freedom your growing business needs, with the ability to track multiple companies, and to allow multiple users access to the accounting software system. Other popular features that can help manage multiple companies include multiple warehouse management, tax reporting for multiple states, and increased data storage capacity.
Better financial tools
Once a company grows, it becomes difficult to pull out the financial information you once did with your basic accounting software. Since your accounting software is meant to help you understand the financial status of your business, you should be sure you can get the information you need, not only for yourself, but also for your bank, advisors, and others who request this information. Taking a step up to mid-market software can help. There are more options for tracking your data, such as departmental reporting, profit center tracking, and more. Drill down is another popular feature, offering you the ability to click on data within your system and view the source entries that make up that number. Having a double entry accounting system and a tight audit trail are both also a must.
Enhanced reporting options
If you've been settling for the reports available in your basic accounting software system, you are in for a nice change when you make the move to a mid-market software package. Not only do they usually offer a wider variety of standard reports, but also the ability to add, edit and delete fields of information. This means you can customize your reports the way you like them, and save them for later use. Why settle for the reports made for the masses, when you can get the information you really want and need?
These are just a few of the tools that mid-market accounting software programs have to offer! Moving to a mid-market program can really streamline processes and give you the information you need about your growing business.
