My favourite definition of a business is that it is a system of processes. This system is organised in a way that delivers a product (good or service) to a customer for monetary compensation. While we can point to obvious things like sales, delivery, production as processes in the system others often go ignored. One important one is your accounting and record-keeping system. A cumbersome job but thanks to technology we can handle even complex businesses with simple accounting software. Here are some great suggestions for accounting software you can use for your business.
Pastel
Pastel is one of the most popular and well-supported accounting software packages for businesses in Zimbabwe. It is somewhat of an industry-standard in Zimbabwe. Providing all-around accounting solutions from invoicing all the way to reporting. While they have made adaptations to the modern environment, Pastel is still better suited to SMEs and larger businesses.
Quickbooks
Pastel is big and Quickbooks is just as big worldwide but not quite as widely supported in Zimbabwe. Quickbooks offers a full suite approach as well. For the smaller businesses and younger minds it also offers a very good mobile application available on both iOS and Android. In other territories established software like Pastel and Quickbooks are loved because of their integration with banks and procurement software, this is not a benefit we have.
Freshbooks
Freshbooks is accounting software that was really made with the small business in mind. Its presentation is such that business owners with limited knowledge of accounting or administration would still find it very comfortable to use. The same cannot be said for most of the other packages on this list. Freshbooks is internationally recognised and quite easy to configure.
Xero
Xero is popular accounting software that is making headway in the industry. Xero is completely cloud-based and in theory, goes wherever you go. The accounting software is easy to use, agile and very well built. However, being cloud-based with the myriad of challenges we have in Zimbabwe between power and internet connectivity go some way to mitigating the benefits of Xero being cloud-based.
Wave
Wave accounting is truly free accounting software. The package contains the accounting, receipting and invoice scanning functions completely free. Wave is also really well adapted to mobile uses so it feels almost native on your mobile device whether iOS or Android. It will be better suited to many small businesses and also for the younger, mobile-first generations who are stepping into the business.
Workzuite
It pleases to mention a Zimbabwean solution amongst the accounting solutions on this list. Workzuite is the brainchild of The Brand Guy Associates. It provides accounting functions such as invoicing, accounts and reports amongst many other functions. It is cloud-based which as we mentioned can be a bit of a hindrance in Zimbabwe.
Picking the right accounting software is about matching the requirements of using the software to the requirements of the business. It’s no use getting software made for accountants if you are not adept and will be the one handling the software. In the same breath, it is not worth your effort to get software that the accountant desires if it is not what your business needs. All the packages mentioned here save for Wave accounting are offered on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis meaning you pay a monthly subscription fee to use them. This is something you will also have to consider because it is an ongoing cost.
