The Pros and Cons of Desktop Accounting Software

Desktop accounting software involves directly installing accounting software onto your desktop or laptop. Since it resides on your personal computer, desktop accounting software lets you have your data and business accounting log right within your personal computer. Suppose you maintain a traditional approach to logging your and your business’ accounting data. In that case, desktop accounting software is the right fit, as accounting software was traditionally based on a desktop. 

Desktop accounting software is one of the highly functioning accounting tools that help businesses efficiently log their accounting data and numbers, providing them with steady growth. Desktop accounting software comes in various shapes and sizes and can be tailored to the requirements of your business. However, a set of standard features manufactured within a well-developed desktop accounting software guarantees your enterprise success. 

Here are five essential features that your desktop accounting software offers.

Accounting Functions & Integrations

Desktop accounting software allows your company’s accountants to keep track of complex data and information, such as invoices, payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and tax regulations. Four core accounting functions integrated into desktop accounting software are calculating payroll and salaries, managing payables, tracking accounts receivables, and processing transactions. 

Speed and Accuracy with Automation

Since accounting requires a variety of repetitive tasks such as calculations or data entry, desktop accounting software lets you automate these tasks, ensuring accuracy and speed. Companies with complex operations may also choose to invest in ERP accounting software to centralize operations and finances in one system,

Reporting & Analytics

With your own desktop accounting software, you can easily keep track of all the numbers and their analysis. These reports help track the items you need to restock and discuss the in-demand products, profit margins, performance rates, and productivity morale. By implementing this feature in your desktop accounting software, you get a clear view of your enterprise’s finances, budgets, and standing in the relevant industry. 

Desktop accounting software and cloud accounting software perform the same jobs but with different approaches. This is due to their unique hosting. Desktop accounting software is hosted directly onto your desktop or laptop. On the other hand, cloud accounting software is said to be hosted on the cloud. This means that with cloud accounting software, your enterprise’s data and all the accounting information are stored on the cloud, i.e., the internet.  

Comparing the two, with their hosting situations in view: you can see that desktop accounting software is more secure since it is located directly on your personal computer and can only be accessed by you. At the same time, a cloud computing accounting system allows your data and accounting logs to be stored on the internet, which is not as secure. However, this can be debated with advancements in encryption and security methods for internet technology. Although, with desktop accounting software, you do not need the internet to use it, and you can just take your personal computer on the go with you and keep doing all your work as usual. 

Keeping your company’s budget in mind, desktop accounting software pricing is less expensive than cloud accounting software. This is because desktop accounting software does not demand internet use, and thus the cost is lower. On the other hand, cloud accounting software is more costly and requires a fast internet connection to ensure efficient working. 

As accounting software was traditionally manufactured to be based on desktop, they have standard features that best integrate within desktop accounting software. The most significant advantage of desktop accounting software installed on your personal computer is that you do not require an internet connection to access desktop accounting software. Thus, your desktop accounting software will be the least of your worries whenever you are traveling or working in an environment with a poor or unstable internet connection. 

Another significant advantage of using desktop accounting software is its adequate security. This is because you are not required to connect with an internet connection to use your desktop accounting software. This leads to another popular benefit regarding the cost of desktop accounting software. Due to its simple yet practical features, the price of desktop accounting software is lower than other accounting software. 

With its excellent benefits, desktop accounting software also comes with its disadvantages. Since it is installed directly onto your personal computer, it does not allow multiple people to work on it simultaneously as cloud accounting software or open source accounting software does.

Moreover, since it is based on your desktop, you cannot access the identical version on another laptop or desktop, even if you want to switch between the two. With desktop accounting software, you are always at risk of losing your data if your personal computer crashes. To deal with this risk, you must manually back up your information regularly to avoid losing your important data. 

Since many offer the same core features, comparing the best desktop accounting software is not as simple to compare. However, you can differ and compare them based on what your requirements are. Three tips that can help you select a good desktop accounting software for your enterprise are as follows:

• Your budget can determine a simple range of desktop accounting software.
• Your level of knowledge and training on how to use desktop accounting software.
• The features required by your enterprise.

Desktop accounting software is a secure, flexible, and efficient tool that provides ease and less complexity when dealing with your enterprise’s accounting demands.