Choosing Accounting Software

3. Ease of Use

When purchasing software, the main trade-off is between ease of use and functionality.

3.1 Can the software interface be tailored to suit your needs?

Features to look for include:

• The ability to add new fields and controls. For example, do you want your sales ledger to contain additional information, such as the name and contact details of the person who placed the order?
• The option to set defaults for fields. For example, do you want your payroll software to add a list of standard benefits automatically each time a new employee's details are entered?
• The option to define a range of values. For example, can you minimise data entry errors by defining entries in advance?
• The option to customise screens. For example, do you want the screen layout to look like your working documents?

3.2 Can you paste information from other programs?

This saves time and allows you to make the best use of all your software.

• Ensure you can import and export information between the accounting package and any word processing packages, spreadsheets and databases.