Summary: Choosing the right accounting software system for your business can seem like a daunting task. But, with these five questions, you can quickly weed out the weakest vendors, identify those that can best meet your needs, and make the smartest accounting software purchase possible.

How to Quickly Identify Viable Vendors

So many vendors, so little time. Selecting and purchasing the right accounting software package for your business can be one of the most time-consuming, yet important endeavors your company ever takes on.

It won’t be easy.  But, the following five questions can make the evaluation process a bit simpler, helping you to quickly identify the most viable accounting software vendors in the bunch.   

What key features do you offer?
Before you begin evaluating the available solutions on the market, you should have a detailed requirements list compiled and documented. So, naturally, the first thing to do is to compare those features and functions you must have, with the ones that come standard with each accounting software solution. Any accounting software system that does not provide all the capabilities you require should be immediately removed from your short list.

There are plenty of solutions out there – don’t settle for one that can’t meet all your needs.

How scalable is it?
Growth is a part of every business’ long-term strategy. And an accounting software system should be considered an investment – one that can be expanded and leveraged as needed to meet your company’s requirements as they change and evolve in the future. 

Ask each accounting software vendor several pointed, targeted questions about scalability. For example, how easily can the system handle additional user capacity? Can it manage increasing complexity in financial transactions and related processes? Will it allow for external access, such as partners, vendors, and suppliers? Will it support globalization strategies?   

How compatible is it?
Integration – its one of the most important buzzwords when it comes to accounting software systems. Your financial operations impact every corner of your business.  So, how well your accounting software can tie into and share data with other applications across your organization, such as sales forecasting and inventory management solutions, could mean the difference between the success and failure of your initiative. 

Can it be customized?
No two companies are exactly alike, and financial procedures will vary greatly from one business to the next. 

That’s why flexibility and customizability are key when it comes to accounting software systems. This is particularly important in the area of financial reporting – where a solution’s ability to generate accurate balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and other documents, in spite of unique or highly complex transactions and processes, is critical.  Remember, the true purpose of accounting software is to enhance your existing financial operations – not force you to change them radically to suit the structure of the system. 

Can I speak to some of your customers?
Nothing will give you a more accurate picture of what it will be like to use a certain accounting software solution, or how reliable a specific accounting software vendor truly is, than to speak directly to existing users. 

Ask each vendor under consideration to put together a list of three to five current customer references. Accounts within your industry, with similar company profiles would be able to provide the most insight. And, be sure that the contacts on the list have been using the accounting software package for at least 13 months – you want to make sure you speak to someone who has used the application to get through a year-end closing.