While very small businesses with only a few transactions can keep their financial records manually if there are more transactions the possibility of making an error greatly increases. Larger businesses in Malaysia usually have more employees, who are involved in taking decisions related to business sales, expenses, and payments so it is important to keep accurate financial records for compliance and taking the right business decision. Hence some of the important factors which should be considered while choosing the right accounting software in Malaysia are discussed to help business owners and management.
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Inputs required
One of the parameters which should be considered while evaluating the accounting software is the level of automation. The best accounting software will only require a few inputs manually as the payments received, expenses paid, invoicing information and all the other records will be generated automatically. The business owner should be able to get all the financial information he requires, like the payments received, payments which are due to others, cash flow, bank balance, debtors, and creditors quickly using the software, no manual intervention should be required. This information will help the business owner to take business decisions quickly
Banking features
Most businesses usually have multiple bank accounts, and entering the bank transactions manually in the accounting software is time-consuming and can often lead to mistakes. So it is advisable to use accounting software that automatically integrates with the internet banking services provided by the major banks in Malaysia so that all the banking transactions are automatically updated in the accounting software. In some cases, the business can also make payments directly to their vendors using the accounting software. This will greatly reduce the time and effort for reconciliation, especially if there are errors.
Invoicing and compliance
Invoicing can be a time-consuming and tedious task for small businesses, especially if invoices have to be sent monthly or periodically. Better accounting software will allow the users to generate professional-looking invoices quickly using the templates available and automatically send them to the email address specified. In Malaysia, businesses are expected to keep accurate financial records and file their returns with the government depending on their turnover and other parameters. Most of the better accounting software will generate all the financial records which are required for compliance automatically, greatly reducing the effort required for filing the tax returns.
Inventory management
Most businesses invest a large amount of money in acquiring equipment, stock and business supplies, which are essential for the business. However, after some time, it is often difficult to keep track of the assets that the business has manually. Hence it is always advisable to use accounting software that also integrates an inventory module so that the business can get accurate information on the stock and other inventory which is available at a particular time. This feature will also help the business in inventory management, especially if it is selling products, and has stock or assets at multiple locations. If the stock levels are low, the business can arrange to procure more stock, placing orders on suppliers.
