Suppose you are an entrepreneur who has recently stepped into a new venture. In that case, you are most likely to need proper accounting software that will help you with the recording of data as well as projections regarding revenue generation and the preparation of budgets.
Given the volume of transactions and payments to be recorded for small businesses, you might not have to spend a fortune or purchase the right and most apt accounting software. A basic software with essential functionalities such as invoice creation ability, general ledger, inventory details, and purchase history is enough for an SME to run its operations smoothly.
Most basic accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses comes with guided help features that help run operations with a step-by-step guide and act as tour guides for the software, helping understand controls and highlight any possible errors.
Here are a few ways guided help boxes in accounting software can help small business owners run the accounting software themselves or make it easier for new accountants and bookkeepers.
Highlighting errors: One of the most crucial functions of the guided help box is highlighting potential mistakes in the finance sheet. Suppose any figure has potentially compromised the balance of your finance sheet or your income or expenses are more than your total. In that case, the guide feature in accounting software quickly highlights any such entries that could have crucial errors impacting your entire finance sheet. Additionally, it highlights any mistakes in inventory management and helps you maintain your product stock to better cater to your customers.
Budget allocation: Guided help boxes make budget allocation easier. Suppose your allocated budget or the percentage of funding allocated to a particular part of your business exceeds the rate you initially decided. In that case, the built-in feature of accounting software will highlight the areas of concern, helping you plan your budget efficiently. If your business is new and your revenue is comparatively lower, your expenses are expected to surpass your income. Guided help from the accounting tool helps you check your costs and thus keep track of your budget.
Inventory control: If your business involves buying and selling many inventories, manually checking your stock can be quite a hassle. Guided help in software highlights is when the supply of a particular product is low, intimating you that you must restock. Additionally, any articles with a restricted shelf life also appear highlighted in your software, securing you from potential loss by helping you identify products with nearing expiry and thus putting them ahead of the rest of the stock.
Payment intimation: Proper accounting software includes built-in controls for expense management, payroll, taxation, balance sheet, fixed assets, and cash flows, as well as inventory, sales, and customer management. With all these features, it becomes easy to track and schedule payments. Any payments due or are due to receive are highlighted, allowing you to inform your payer or schedule your payment in time. Good accounting software with guided help assists adequately in managing the payroll.
Tax calculation: Guided help in accounting matters is a great help when it comes to resolving the tax matters of SMEs. Business owners or accountants can easily create income tax statements, calculate the Value Added Tax (VAT), and prepare a comprehensive financial report, including the taxation on all transactions. It helps you understand business taxes better and allows you to file your taxes on time.
Tutorial functionality: One of the essential tasks that guided help boxes perform is the tutorial functionality. A dialogue box at every step of the accounting and bookkeeping management helps accountants/bookkeepers/SME owners better understand the software’s functionality and thus perform finance management tasks with great precision and efficiency. This tutorial functionality makes it easy for a bookkeeping novice to record the data and carry out bookkeeping tasks.
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