How to Choose Accounting Software for Your Business
Finmark Solutions
Look, it's a fair question. There are dozens of accounting platforms out there, and picking the wrong one early on can cost you real time and money to undo. The good news is that if you think about it systematically — starting with your business, not the software — you'll cut through the noise pretty quickly.
Start With Your Business, Not the Software
Before you open a single comparison website, ask yourself two questions:
- What am I actually selling or producing for customers?
- What do I need the software to tell me — and when?
Map those answers to the available solutions and you'll have your shortlist. Simple in theory, but most people skip this step and end up buying on price or brand recognition — then spending 18 months fighting the software.
What Type of Business Are You Running?
Your business model is the single biggest driver of your software requirements. There are four broad types, and each comes with its own non-negotiables:
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Manufacturing / Production
You're turning raw materials into finished goods. You need a bill of materials (BOM), production tracking, and ideally manufacturing cost accounting. Stock management is critical, and you may need to track work-in-progress inventory between stages.
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Buy, Stock & Sell
You're purchasing product, holding it, and selling it — whether that's a retail shop, a trade supplier, or a wholesaler. Inventory tracking is essential, and if you're doing any volume, barcode or QR code scanning will save you enormous amounts of manual effort. If you run an online store, seamless integration between your eCommerce platform and your accounting system isn't optional.
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Project-Based Businesses
Construction, engineering, IT projects, fit-outs — anything where you're billing against a specific scope of work. You'll need job costing to track what you're spending versus what you quoted, and ideally work-in-progress (WIP) accounting to accurately value what's been earned but not yet invoiced at month end. Progress billing capability is a big deal too.
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Service Businesses
You're billing for time and expertise. Timesheet integration is often critical here — either built in or tightly connected to your accounting platform — so that hours flow directly into invoices without a manual re-entry nightmare. Think consultants, accountants, agencies, and trades.
Think About Integrations Early
If other software is already producing data your accounting system needs — a POS, an eCommerce platform, a job management tool — you've got two options:
- Live integration: Data flows automatically between systems. Ideal, but adds cost and occasionally adds complexity.
- Scheduled imports: You export a CSV from one system and import it into your accounting software periodically. Works fine for lower transaction volumes, but don't underestimate the manual effort at scale.
Neither is inherently right or wrong — it depends on your transaction volume and how much you value real-time visibility versus cost.
Cash Flow Forecasting: Inside or Outside?
Most accounting platforms include some form of cash flow forecasting, but honestly, for most growing businesses it's often better handled by a dedicated tool — something like Fathom or Float that layers over your accounting data and gives you proper scenario modelling. The built-in forecasting in most platforms is functional but shallow. If cash flow visibility is critical to how you run the business (and for most businesses it should be), consider this a separate decision from your core accounting software.
Use the MoSCoW Method to Sort Your Requirements
Once you've mapped out what you need, run it through the MoSCoW framework — a practical way to stop yourself getting distracted by shiny features:
Must Have
Without this, the software is a no-go. These are your hard requirements — non-negotiable.
Could Have
Genuinely valuable but you can workaround it or live without it in the short term.
Won't Have (Yet)
Nice one day, but not relevant now. Don't let these inflate the price you're willing to pay.
