Choosing the Right Bookkeeping Software
Being a bookkeeper is hard work, and each day is filled with a lot of decisions. As an employee, you have to decide:
How to record transactions
When to file returns
How to present the latest numbers
And on, and on
As a freelancer or business owner, you have even more decisions to make.
What type of clients should you work with
When should you hire some help
Who should you hire
Choosing the right bookkeeping software
When you’re just starting out on your own, one decision that’s hard to make is the bookkeeping software you use with your clients. You may not have enough experience with one to have a preference. The one client that responded to your ad may not want to switch away from what they’re using. This is totally understandable. You may spend a while jumping between different apps in order to keep enough work to pay the bills.
The benefit is that you get exposed to a lot of options. The hours spent on any piece of bookkeeping software are better than any course in the world. As you gain experience as a bookkeeper, you’ll develop a system of your own. You’ll have a certain way of doing recurring tasks that’s unique to you. You’ll also discover things you love and hate about each program you use. Maybe you love the way QuickBooks handles bank reconciliations or hate how Google Sheets displays a Pivot Table. Once you start to notice this, you will start to favour one program over another. It may not be something you’ve said out loud, but you naturally find it easier to get work done when you’re in your favourite app.
When you’ve got enough experience under your belt, you get to be pickier about who you work with. Clients will see your expertise and will defer to your best judgment. This is especially true when you’re working with a client whose business is new, and they haven’t got an established system for their finances. When you find yourself in this position, I believe this is the time you make a choice. Instead of jumping between 2-4 different options, pick the software you feel is the best fit for you and your clients, and stick with that one.
Why should I just choose one?
There are only so many hours in the day, and you need to make the most of them. Whether you are growing a business on your own or you manage a small team, efficiency is the way to take your business to the next level. You’re an amazing bookkeeper, and you could balance your client’s books with nothing but a dollar store pen and a dirty napkin, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. Jumping between QuickBooks and Xero and Freshbooks and Sage and Wave is fine when you don’t have a choice. Standardizing your work on one platform is the best decision you’ll make.
When you’re solo, you will get the work done faster because you’re using the same tactics and the same keyboard shortcuts. When you have a small team, you’re training them on one program with one set of instructions. How much easier does that sound?
Which bookkeeping software do I choose?
I’m afraid you’re on your own on that one. I have worked with all of the programs I mentioned above, and they’re all great. There are clients and bookkeepers that are ideal for each one of them. And, I’m sorry to tell you, they all have flaws, major ones. Each one of the programs I listed has a feature missing that drives you nuts. It’s ok. If you take a minute to really think about it, you already know which one works better for you. Picking one and standardizing on it will save you so much time that those flaws won’t bother you as much.
My only advice is to choose a well-established brand. New software shows up every week and disappears just as quickly. QuickBooks and Xero are unlikely to go away next week.
For more on this topic, I highly recommend listening to Episode 49 of The Bookkeeper Basecamp Podcast. It was a great episode where Kemberli and her guest Joyce M. Washington discuss how Joyce decided to focus solely on Xero for her business.
Don’t stop there.
Setting up standards and routines should apply to your entire business, but we’ll talk more in a future post. Until then, good luck, and go do some amazing work!
