Best Online Accounting Software for Retailers

Online accounting software contains smart inventory management tools or lets you import data from external inventory software. It lets you see your cashflow and the auto-created reports at a glance, create invoices, bills etc. with a few clicks either in your office or on the go. Furthermore, you don’t have to say goodbye to the other software you used so far: just integrate them to the accounting solution and you will not have a software, but a companion who helps you make your business streamlined.

Features

Online accounting solutions have a lot of features that are useful for every type of business. However, if you are working in the retail business, you won’t need all of them.

So, without further ado, here is a non-exhaustive list of features you need for your business:

Cashflow at a glance

Accounting solutions display your cashflow in your main dashboard, which you just have to take a quick look at in order to see how your business is doing. Furthermore, as data syncing happens in real time, your dashboard will always be up-to-date.

Invoicing

With this software you can customize your invoices, create recurring ones, set different due dates, and automated reminders with just a few clicks. Furthermore, thanks to handy mobile applications developed by online accounting companies, you can create invoices on-the-go as well.

Expenses

Inventory

This feature allows you to record the quantity and price of the items you are selling, and even track said items. Moreover, an inventory accelerates the process of creating an invoice: just select the item, type in the quantity you are selling and let the rest be done by the software.

Automated reporting

Don’t let those pesky reports ever bother you again; accounting software automatically prepares reports like profit and loss, balance sheets etc. for you. Just give access to your accountant to view these reports and consider your job done.

Payroll

If the software has built-in payroll, you can calculate and file taxes with a few clicks, instantly pay your employees who can record their own time using a mobile app.

Integrating other software and services

Do not worry if a feature you need is missing from an online accounting solution. If the company supports and offers an API, you can be sure that many third-party applications can be integrated to your software. From e-commerce software to those that track inventory and manage POS transactions; you have a variety of integrations to choose from. All you have to do is give access to the online accounting software to sync the data of the other software or services and let the accounting solution do the rest for you.

For instance almost all accounting software integrates with PayPal: once connected your PayPal transactions are imported to your software. The PayPal integration is especially handy if you also subscribed to a pay-as-you-go fast payment service which allows your client to pay with credit/debit cards and e-wallets by being directed to a client portal.

There is other software that could be integrated too: Square which allows you to accept credit/debit cards from a mobile device; BigCommerce, online store software with automatic payments and automatic credit notes; Insightly CRM, which captures relevant details about each of your customers, suppliers etc.; and even eBay.

Online accounting solutions recommended for you

There are so many different online accounting solutions on the market, it is almost impossible to choose therefrom. However, let us recommend you two strong competitors anyway: Xero and QuickBooks Online.