Accounting made easy

Posts Tagged ‘Balance Sheet’

List Of Top Accounting Software For Your Business

January 30th, 2010

Simply put, accounting is the lifeline of a business. Accounting deals with summarizing, analyzing and reporting the financial data and information about a business. An accounting software records and processes the accounting transactions of a business within its functional modules. Financial statements consisting of the balance sheet, profit and loss account, and statement of changes in financial position can be easily prepared with an accounting software.

An accounting software is all about the various functional modules that it has. Some of them are- General ledger which takes care of the company’s financial dealings; Accounts Payable where the company enters its bills and pays the money it owes; Accounts Receivable where money received is entered.

The different categories or types of accounting software are as follows:

a) Small business/personal accounting software which are mainly meant for home users. They are simple and inexpensive with simple functioning such as management of budgets.

b) Low end accounting software are for small business markets that are capable of serving a single national market. Such software are characterized by ’single entry’ products.

c) Mid market accounting software are for companies with large businesses. These software are capable of serving the needs of multiple national accountancy standards and facilitate accounting in multiple currencies.

d) High end accounting software are complex and expensive business accounting software that are also known as Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP software.

However, you have to keep certain things in mind before buying an accounting software, like the prices of the software, its different features, its after-sales support and alike. Most of the accounting software include all the important accounting modules. The more specialized features a software has, the more expensive it becomes. Your software features must be compatible with your business. Also, the after-sales support is important like FAQ package, local service center and others.

There are a lot of top accounting software available in every category. So, it is not easy to select the best ones. Below are top five accounting software in every category.

A. Small business/personal accounting software:

1.ePeachtree (Best Software)

2.MYOB Plus for Windows (MYOB Software)

3.Peachtree Complete Accounting (Best Software)

4.QuickBooks Online (Intuit)

5.Small Business Manager (Microsoft)

B. Low-End Accounting Software:

1.BusinessVision 32 (Best Software)

2.MAS 90 & MAS 200 (Best Software)

3.QuickBooks Pro 2003 (Intuit)

4.ACCPAC Pro Series (ACCPAC International)

5.Vision Point 2000 (Best Software)

C. Middle-Market Accounting Software:

1.ACCPAC Advantage Series Corporate Edition (Best Software)

2.Great Plains (Microsoft) MAS 90 & MAS 200 (Best Software)

3.Navision (Microsoft)

4.SouthWare Excellence Series (SouthWare)

5.SYSPRO (SysproUSA)

D. High-end accounting ERP Market:

1.Axapta (Microsoft Software)

2.e-Business Suite (Oracle)

3.MAS 500 (Best Software)

4.Solomon (Microsoft)

5.ACCPAC Advantage Series Enterprise Edition (Best Software)

In compiling the above list, a variety of factors such as feedbacks from customers, scalability of the software, and after-sales support are used. Also, the different attributes for different categories have been considered like for ERP software, attributes such as manufacturing solution, supply chain solution and database solution. The above compilation may not be all inclusive and some people might choose to differ with it but it is almost near to perfect list.

By: Joann Grant

No comments »

Posted in Article

Tags: Balance Sheet Budgets Business Accounting Software Business Markets Enterprise Resource Planning Financial Dealings Financial Statements Functional Modules General Ledger Home Users Lifeline Mid Market Profit And Loss Profit And Loss Account Single Entry Software Accounting Software Features Software Records Statement Of Changes In Financial Position Top Accounting Software

Introduction to CLEP Exam in Financial Accounting

January 1st, 2010

The Financial Accounting Exam was set up by the US College Board in a bid to test the skills of individuals in the subject area at the undergraduate level. It is one of the CLEP exams that give credit in about 3,000 colleges, which has the advantage of making it possible to forgo the introductory lessons that are required when joining college.

There are a number of subject areas that you will need to be proficient in if you would like to pass the Financial Accounting Exam. These include: preparation, analysis, and use of both external and internal accounting & financial reports; basic accounting concepts & terminology; the rationale behind widely accepted procedures and principles of accounting; as well as the use of accounting techniques in problem-solving circumstances.

The Financial Accounting Exam is divided into a number of categories as follows:

* 30%-40% – the balance sheet
* 20%-30% – the income sheet
* 20%-30% – General principles of accounting & the accounting cycle
* 5%-10% – The cash flow statement
* Below 5% – Investments & contingent liabilities

The Financial Accounting Exam takes a maximum of one and a half hours and is composed of 75 questions with multiple choices.

After taking the exam, an unofficial report of score is issued, which is made up of the total score in a grade of between 20 and 80. In order to be eligible for credit, you need to have a score of at least 50, which is calculated from the raw score that is adjusted depending on how difficult the exam is. It is recommended that you complete every question since some are pre-test questions that do not add to the total score, and you will not know which ones they are. These questions are used in the development of later exams.

There are more than 1,000 centers in various parts of the world where the Financial Accounting Exam is taken. For registration, visit the College Board online.

By: Joju Paul

No comments »

Posted in Article

Tags: Accounting Concepts Accounting Cycle Balance Sheet Basic Accounting Cash Flow Statement Clep Exams College Board Contingent Liabilities Financial Accounting General Principles Half Hours Internal Accounting Introductory Lessons Multiple Choices Principles Of Accounting Raw Score Subject Area Test Questions Undergraduate Level Unofficial Report

Accounting – The DIY Way

November 6th, 2009

Adpoting proper accounting record keeping is a must for any business. Using good accounting practice make the overall management of the business very easy and also help in complying with regulatory authorities. Accounting is based on certain basic rules and principles. Adopting these rigid rules and principles make accounting practice consistent for all business transactions. There are seven major books of accounts. They are as follows :

1. Cash Book – Records all cash related transactions for a specified period.

2. Bank Book – Records all bank related transactions for a specified period.

3. Journal Book – Records all transactions, which are not cash or bank related.

4. Purchase Book – All purchase related transactions are recorded here.

5. Sales Book – All sales related transactions are recorded here.

6. Accounts Receivable Ledger – Records all transactions that your customers owe you money.

7. Accounts Payable Ledger – Records all transactions that your business owes to your suppliers/vendors.

Based on these books, a Trial Balance is prepared which shows the accuracy of accounting transactions involved. A Trial Balance has two sides, Debit and Credit sides. If the sum total of Debit equals the sum total of Credit side, then it shows that all transactions are recorded properly. These two sides equal only when the double entry concept is followed. Double entry concept stipulates that for every Debit amount, there must be a Credit amount.

From the Trial Balance, an Income Statement is produced. This is a statement to show the results of your business in numeric form as to how much profit or loss in a period of time (usually one year) your business has made.

A Balance Sheet is also produced. This is again a statement in numeric form showing business financial situation or standing as at a point in time, usually as at the end of the financial year end.
Nowadays, Accounting software is used to record these transactions. These are commonly known as Accounting Software. These Accounting Software are built on the Accounting principles. These accounting software make the whole accounting process very simple, fast, easy to use and integrated as one. One or more persons can work at a time in a computerized network system. A data entry operator may be entering the data and his superior can approve it. Thus, the management can analyze the whole accounting process with ease and thus helps in managing the business effectively.

By: Roger Fok

No comments »

Posted in Article

Tags: Accounting Practice Accounting Software Accuracy Balance Sheet Business Transactions Debit And Credit Financial Situation Income Statement Major Books Period 2 Period 3 Period Of Time Point In Time Receivable Ledger Record Keeping Regulatory Authorities Rigid Rules Sum Total Trial Balance Year End

Back to Top