How to choose the best accounting software for your business: questions to ask vendors

In this guide, a vendor is a company that sells accounting software.

Why a sales demo is not enough

An accounting demo uses a tidy sample company with a few invoices. The problems show up later, for example:

• the tax return or report your country requires isn't supported, or needs an add-on,
• the connection to your bank keeps breaking, so transactions must be typed in,
• your accountant uses a different program and can't work with your files,
• the price rises when you add a user, a currency or payroll.

So ask about these in writing, and ask every vendor exactly the same questions. Then you can compare their answers directly.

Before you contact any vendor

Write down your answers to these four points. They decide which questions in the checklist matter most to you.

• Where you do business. Your country, the sales taxes you charge (such as VAT or GST), and any other countries or currencies you deal with.
• What you need to track. Invoices, bills (invoices you receive), expenses, stock, projects, payroll, or several companies.
• Who will use it. You, your staff, and your accountant or bookkeeper.
• Where your records are now. Spreadsheets, another program, or paper, and how many years you need to bring across.

The checklist

The questions are in three groups. Must have means a problem here can make it hard to keep your accounts in it, or costly to leave. Nice to have means it makes a real difference for many people. Optional means it only matters to some people. When you open the checklist in NeutralPick, you can move any question to a different group to match your answers above.

• Must have
• Follows your country's tax and filing rulesOften required by lawDoes it handle the sales tax and filing rules of my country, including the reports or electronic filing my tax office requires?Tax rules differ by country, and some require electronic invoices or filing in a set format. Ask your accountant which apply to you.
• Reliable connection to your bankDoes it connect to my bank accounts and cards to import transactions automatically, and how reliable is that connection in my country?If the bank connection breaks often, someone has to type transactions in by hand. Ask other users with the same bank.
• Your accountant can work with itCan my accountant or bookkeeper log in with their own access, at no extra cost, and can they work with it or export what they need?Ask your accountant first which programs they work with. It can save time and fees at year end.
• You can take your records with youCan I export all my records, including transactions, invoices and attachments, in standard formats at any time, and for how long after cancelling?Many countries require you to keep financial records for several years. Make sure you can keep them if you leave.
• Help moving your existing records inCan you import my existing records from spreadsheets or my current program, including opening balances, and do you help with it?If an opening balance (the amount in each account on the day you start) is wrong, every later balance is wrong too. Ask what help is included.
• Nice to have
• Invoices and payment remindersCan I create and send invoices that meet my country's rules, accept online payments, and send automatic reminders?Saves using a separate invoicing tool.
• Reports you can understandDoes it show profit and loss, cash flow and money owed to and by me, and can I build my own reports without help?Reports are only useful if you read them. Try them in the trial.
• Other currencies, if you need themCan it handle invoices and bank accounts in other currencies, with exchange rates, on the plan I'd buy?Only matters if you buy or sell abroad. Often only on higher plans.
• Capturing receipts and billsCan I photograph receipts and bills on my phone and have them recorded, and are they kept with the transaction?Saves paper and typing. Check whether scanned receipts are accepted as records in your country.
• Access you can controlCan I limit what each person can see and change, for example staff who only enter expenses?Matters as soon as more than one person uses it.
• Optional
• Payroll, if you pay staffDoes it include or connect to payroll for my country, and what does that cost?Only matters if you pay employees. Payroll rules are country-specific.
• Stock, if you sell productsCan it track stock levels and the cost of the products I have sold?Only matters if you hold stock.

Answers to look at carefully

Vendors often answer the points below in vague terms. When you get a vague answer, ask the follow-up question shown here. A vague answer often means the honest answer is "no" or "only partly".

• "Tax compliant". Ask: for which country, which taxes, and which reports or filing formats exactly?
• "Connects to thousands of banks". Ask: does it connect to my bank in my country, and how often will I have to log in to my bank again to keep the connection working?
• A price per month. Ask for the yearly price for your number of users, including your accountant, extra currencies, payroll and filing add-ons, after any first-year discount.
• Leaving later. Ask: what can we export, and for how long after we cancel?

What to do with the answers

1. Put all the vendors' answers side by side.
2. Look at the Must have questions first. If a vendor answers No to something you marked as a must-have, remove that vendor.
3. If a vendor answered "Partial" to a must-have, ask them exactly what is missing.
4. Show the shortlist to your accountant, and try the ones left with a month of your own transactions in a free trial, if there is one.

Why use NeutralPick to compare accounting software vendors

• Every vendor answers the same questions. Each vendor gets its own private link to your checklist and answers in writing, so you can compare their answers question by question.
• All the answers in one table. You see every vendor's answer to every question side by side, instead of searching through emails and call notes.
• No vendor can pay to influence it. There are no adverts, no paid placements and no "featured" vendors. No vendor can pay to be shown to you or placed higher.
• Free, with no account. You don't need to sign up or pay anything.

Start with this checklist See an example comparison