Comparative Analysis Of Computerised Accounting Software

Sage 500

Sage 50 is a computerised accounting software that is designed to assists firms when managing finances, overseeing the rate of sales, profits and expenditure that the business must go through. It is also useful for the analysis of business performances by using a variation of reports that can aid the businesses to review and make business decisions. Using a Sage 50 Accounts, provides the information that’s needed for a business to manage and control internal factors and allowing future business plans to be clearer.

With sage 50, manage finances has never been easier because it allows you to control any account at any time, whilst also enabling a firm to have an accurate understanding of their financial position (cash flow) and can help keep track of bank. For internationally trading businesses, the use of Sage gives the ability to trade internationally and use multiple currencies which is a huge benefit for internationally operating businesses.

Spread Sheets

Excel

Microsoft Excel allows the benefiting of managing and analysing data in aiding critical decision making as well as making accounting operations far more understandable in a professional format in any type of use such as if you’re using Excel for business use or personal/home use when managing expenses and data, Excel provides the necessary tools for the completion of any spreadsheet.

Microsoft Excel is an easy version of spreadsheet to use, because it is effective in effective in terms of use and comparison of data. Microsoft Excel lets you focus on various types of data to assist in the discovery of trends which further links to the influence of business decisions. The benefit of an Excel spreadsheet is backed up by the use of very powerful tools which can be used to speed up the process of using spreadsheets with Budgeting, cashflow and income statements, measuring and calculating performance data.

Database

A database is a computerised accounting system but in general terms, it is a series of organized data currently being collected by a firm. A database is powered by an electronic system which allows accessible data in a faster format, which can be updated, changed and adjusted. It uses an organizational method for managing, storing and retrieving back business data.

Comparison

When comparing Sage 50 accounts with Spreadsheets and Databases, you are likely to encounter similarities with these systems. This is because they all have the same purpose which is to manage and control data. Databases and spreadsheets are almost equal in comparison and are used as electronic systems fit for accounting as they contain and hold information critical towards business functions, with the differences being little, they only manipulate data in a slightly different method.

Spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel display data in a unique format which consists of columns and charts, with many tools for extra additions such as 3D models, shapes, special types of charts, different formulas, which can all be modified to ensure it is unique to your business. However, Databases use tables more commonly when arranging data, this is because it helps with dealing with much a much larger quantity of data than Excel would as the use of spreadsheets are more effective for short term strategy.

Sage is an incredibly useful computerised system which many businesses would use because it is effective for internal and external factors of the businesses such as managing finances and assisting in making important business decision as well as future planning. On the other hand, when compared with a spreadsheet system, it allows a firm to experience realistic data with proper business insights. Supporting this, Sage 50 can be entered in manually and controlled manually with the assists of automatic functions, this reduces the chances of facing errors in the accounts which could lead to many problems.

Benefits of using computerised accounting software to produce good quality information to interested parties

There are many benefits towards the use of computerised accounting software when producing information regarding the business, such as;

A computerised accounting software is capable of operating with speed and accuracy, at the same time combined with the power to focus on the ‘real-time state’ of any businesses financial position. Multiple reasoning for using a computerized accounting software is because of the many time saving attributes it consists, such as:

1. On-screen input and printout of sales invoices
2. Automatic updating of customer accounts in the sales ledger
3. Recording of suppliers’ invoices
4. Automatic updating of suppliers' accounts in the purchase’s ledger Recording of bank receipts
5. Making payments to suppliers and for expenses
6. Automatic updating of the general ledger
7. Automatic adjustment of stock records
8. Integration of a business database with the accounting program
9. Automatic calculation of payroll and associated entries.

The benefits of using Sage to produce good quality information involve the use of the software tool it provides. Sage50 manages information for the business such as VAT for the financial side of the business, as it automatically and accurately calculates the VAT returns as well as sending it off to HMRC which saves so much time and excludes out the submissions. Sage can also benefit in managing customers and sales departments, so it enables a firm to access customer details much faster and easier. The accounting software can store basically anything ranging from product details and service information, and most importantly ‘raise professional looking quotes and invoices or record sales at the click of a button. The software system allows you to understand the businesses performance as it provides a variation of reports which you can review and check to getter better knowledge of your business position. When using Sage to display to interested parties, it allows you to see an overview of the business’s finances in clear section, or if it’s a more technical matter, you can enter a more detailed analysis containing reports. However, because Sage can be modified to be personalised to the businesses own needs, interested parties could face difficulty in understanding the information unless explained, because the format and methods used in the accounting systems would be specific to the user business so outside parties could potentially find it tricky when extracting data to review. Linking with this issue, having a complicated format could result in key information missed due to the difficulty of understanding the system so interested parties may not see a potential deal breaker within the data and thus decide to find other reasoning making the data almost useless if not extracted carefully.

The training needed to use Sage50 , in order to achieve the maximum output of the software, firms may require seeking to employ trained professionals or people with high experience in using such a powerful software system, but the downside of this is that it could prove to be relatively expensive but less time consuming than training up employees which could take time depending on the employees skills as well as the cost to train. The benefit of this accounting software is that you have the option to regularly update the software to the latest version or maintain the previous version, to suit the business needs. Upgrading could provide more benefits such as newer tools and new functions which could aid interested parties when reviewing the firm.

Sage50 produces and summarises the analysis of accounting information because it allows the business to enter its accounting data and review the very specific, they look for at a glance. When entering in data to Sage 50, the software collects and records all data transmitted within its system which allows the business to easily access their financial documents which include balance sheets, income statement and any other financial statement. These statements are automatically produced once the user has entered in the data, and once its complete, the user can then see the final recorded statements in full. This type of software is typically used by firms who regularly require checking financial information that relates to their day to day business operations, this may include reviewing income and expenditure on a weekly basis to ensure they are on right tracks. With the help of Sage50, the software is designed to manage any accounting information to support the business.

Sage50 has various functions within its software and the key benefits of using it to show case accounting information;

1. Manage the summary of income and expenses
2. Sage50 allows easy access to the work from anywhere
3. Can send professional and personalised invoices to customers
4. •Can keep accounts accurate with easy bank reconciliation’
5. No limits to the number of transactions made
6. Sage5o can automatically calculate and submit VAT returns securely to HMRC, which saves time and effort

Sage50 can also produce summaries of financial information by exporting PDF & Excel files. The effect of this is that financial data can easily be transferred in various formats to interested parties or within the businesses users, allowing them to gain a visual of the statements provided by Sage50 of the business, and then further enables other users to review and analyse the key statements.

Comparison and evaluation of presentation features on Sage and Excel to communicate financial information

In Microsoft excel and Sage, when comparing the two software systems, you can find they both consist of presentation features. Microsoft Excel has presentation features that can be used to communicate financial information, this includes the various charts methods including bar, pie and column charts, as well as graphs and diagrams. These presentation functions are there to be used for any required reason and provides a more professional look. These tools are very advanced but does benefit in communicating with financial information. However, Microsoft Excel graphing variation is very limited, so the choice for options of graphs are quite low and looks basic but presentable, but you can customise the charts to your own preferences and make it look how you want it to look. The problem with using this, is that its very likely to deter larger businesses from using such a basic software, so it’s more likely to be used by smaller firms. The disadvantages of using Excels presentation features is that by attempting to make it look more professional, there is a chance it could become difficult to interpret the charts and graphs therefore it is much easier to keep it simple rather than overusing its capacity for producing financial information.

For a more advanced accounting software, Sage50 offers a much deeper insight to financial information’s and produces top of the range visualised reports with its state-of-the-art software system, which is a more preferred choice for big firms who like to use complex computerised accounting systems like Sage. This is because Sage offers more choice and styling for customisation of the creation of financial information making it more unique to every business during use. Sage50 automatically collects financial information and creates a graph or chart to display the information selected. Sage50 produces the best reports at the highest expectations towards businesses so is a very sought-after accounting system.

For communication with financial information, Excel has simple methods with means of a bar chart, pie chart, line graph etc… Can all be used with any size organisation as well as schools and fit for training information so it’s a very commonly used presentation feature. The benefit of this, is that it’s so easy to use that it is often taught how to use in schools for young people to learn in IT lessons and Maths, because it is known as a basic IT function skills which would come to use in any work place that requires the use of IT. Other presentation features on Excel have been kept simple, because the more people who understand how to use it, the more popular the software becomes, so firms who just want a basic principle of their financial information, can very quickly access or create an excel spreadsheet to analyse. Whereas Sage 50, is a much more complex system used in accountancy and is ideal for highly important businesses scenarios where professionalism is at its maximum, or an interested party would like to review the businesses financial data, then using sage 50 can be a very good method to communicate data with.