Once you have decided how to structure your business, you need to start managing it affectively. The first part of doing that is separating your personal and business finances and keeping separate records. For most businesses, QuickBooks is the accounting software of choice. More importantly, QuickBooks is the software of choice for about 90% of accountants out there. Why is that important? Well, even if you use the software you should always have your finances reviewed by a professional before filing taxes. It makes it that much easier if you’re both using the same software.
I know a lot of small business owners are usually low on cash flow, especially when they’re just starting out. But QuickBooks now offers a free edition of their accounting software. Yes, it’s completely free. Of course the free Simple Start version doesn’t have all the bells and whistles as some of their other (priced) editions, but for a small business owner that is just starting out it should have enough to fill your needs.
Below is a chart (taken from the QuickBooks site) outlining some of the features of the free version of QuickBooks compared to those of other editions. It’s pretty easy to see that the Simple Start edition has everything a small business needs as long as the financial situation isn’t too complicated.
At the very least, the free version of QuickBooks will give you an opportunity to try out a full version and decide whether or not it’s the solution for you. It’s a good idea to talk to your accountant and see what advice he would give you for organizing your financial records. There’s a good chance he’ll tell you to use some version of QuickBooks, so this could be a free option to do so.
You can download the free version of QuickBooks Simple Start here.
