Accounting Software Packages Australia Computer Application

Question: Describe about the Accounting Software Packages Australia for Computer Application. Answer: Introduction: Accounting software is such a type of computer application through software which has the ability of recording and processing of accounting transactions through the application of module which functions in the domain of accounting elements like accounting receivables, accounting payables, other transactions with special features of payroll and conclusive trial balance. Present set of accounting software provides the facilities in the form latest Accounting System for information. This Accounting System for information is enhancing defined scopes of work in the domain of collection, storage and process of data related to financial and accounting functions to generate MIS for the management in relation to accounting to enable them to take different strategies as per the objectives sent by the company in compliance of accounting standard followed by the respective country. This is possible through the successful implementation of process regarding accounting for the corporate which can be possible through the use of good accounting software(Romney, 2012). Before Y2K, the small and medium size businesses were accustomed to manual accounting which causes lots of unjustified uses of paper works and man hour. To avoid such occurrence, respective governments had intended to introduce computerised accounting software for the SMEs which can ensure perfect level of accuracy with minimum occurrence of inherent risks related to accounting which happens for material misstatement of accounting by the executor. In this article, the discussion will be made on the merits and demerits of computerised accounting software which the SMEs normally follow: Merits: Easy to use- The offline or online versions of accounting software are designed to match the current requirement of accounting with generation of reports which are normally mandatory for the companies presented in the conventional form of balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, etc. It is beneficiary for the entrepreneur to feel comfortable with the accounting software as this module of service is providing the ultimate level of deliverance so far the requirement from accounting packages are concerned. This software can be made static through desktop application or mobile through laptop use. Moreover, this package has the features of multi-level authority fixation which can ensure the secrecy of the data for access to the unintended users(Investopedia, 2015). Sophisticated mode of output- The accounting software package provides the facility of entering the respective data in the system and the package takes care of the balance job by doing the internal calculation and producing the desired level of reports as output has asked for by the accounting norms as per accounting standard. The enhanced version of accounting packages normally provides the utility of codification of different heads of accounts which are determining the destination of those inputs and finally it is finalising the reports which is based on the conventional concept of reports as specified by the accounting standard(Leech Grabski, 2015). Output efficiency in real time factor- The output generated by the accounting packages are aimed at providing the most possible real time feature enabling the users for taking most practical decisions related to the output revealed. The reports generated through accounting packages help the users to decide about the vital strategy making in terms of revenue, cost control and other related aspects to ensure more earnings from the business. Security- As the accounting software run on either offline or online module, the concern for security of data is going to be a major concern for the users. Normally for online accounting package, data is getting stored in online server of the provider which is locked through password by the user. Hence security is ensured for online packages, for offline application of accounting packages, the security is being devised in tailor-made process to enable the user fixing their security measures they wish to implement. Proximity of expanding- the accounting software packages can be used as connected to different types of online software related to business in easy manner. The same can synchronise the customers with the concept of marketing through mails by a standardised program which is contributing to the concept of e commerce business with necessary records to be kept available for the users or the customers to such extent which should be availed by them. Demerits: Costly affair- The normal concept of adopting accounting software is not one time affair so far procurement is concerned. Normally the process of procuring accounting software is with the concept of renting rather than one time purchase. This concept is costly as it incurs yearly expenses. Moreover any enhancement of accounting package as upgrading related to application also attracts extra cost as per the demand of the vendor. It also attracts more obligations on the part of user as the online packages need more involvement on the part of training to the users and maintenance of the package by the vendors. Speed- The demerit related speed of accounting package is low when it runs on online through internet. It is due to use of internet with several fascia of same accounting package accessed by different users for the same organization. This problem creates unbearable hazards in using the package. Hacking- It is commonly believed that hacking may occur for the online accounting package which is in use through internet, as the data stored of the company is more prone to the hackers. But in reality the security of the data is ensured through the software security system which enhances the use of locking system of the software for any specific user with the key accessible by the user only(Peavler, 2016). We have covered mainly three powerful accounting Software and Business Solution that are prevailing in Australia: MYOB Saasu Intuit MYOB: Christopher Lee and a team of developers at Teleware, Inc. had established Mind Your Own Business or MYOB during the early period of 1980. The have developed accounting software. The company was originally started it operation in the US and later it had started its operations outside of Australia and New Zealand since 2008. MYOB is with the status of Australianmultinational company which provides software support towards accounting, tax and different required business solutions for the target audience of SMEs with the added feature of providing consultancy about taxes and shares in an effective manner(Raik-Allen, 2015). Products: Accounting software. MYOB Essentials. MYOB AccountRight Payment and POS format of solutions. MYOB Kounta. MYOB PayDirect Mobile. MYOB Greentree. Accountants Partners Solutions for your clients, MYOB Essentials and MYOB Banklink.. MYOB AccountRight. ... For Small Business. For Accountants Partners. Shares: MYOB is maintaining its share in the market with the rise of $AU831.7 and $AU833.8 million with the price range of $3$4 a share in the offer of IPO that clearly describes the advancement of this Business Solution Organisation to the epitome of success. Important acquisitions: MYOB has acquired Solution 6 Holdings on 29 March 2004 MYOB has acquired BankLink 4 June 2013 MYOB has acquired Exonet on 5 January 2003(James, 2013). SAASU: Saasu was established by Grant Young and Marc Lehmann in the year 2000.since then, this Australia-based company has had over 80,000 users. It was matured from an allied project of a business in 2007. It was established mainly to ensure creation of an automated angle in business. The company was established on the objective of profit creation through won funding instead of raising capital from the market. It had fetched substantial following investments from Nominees of Pan Global authorityand Cooper Sydney(Saasu, 2016). Products: Products of Saasu are comprised of commercial elements like purchasing, sales, payroll, inventory, point of sale , CRM, , management of document and workflow, global tagging and search. Shares and Pricing: The company offers various packages to customers: Small: $15 Medium: $40 Large: $70 X-Large: $180(Only for Australia Users)(Saasu, 2016). Important acquisitions: The Company had strategic alliance with OZForex, the online platform for foreign exchange in Australia and other global payment gateway, PayPal. Saasu had announced in 2015 an partnership with exclusive in nature with renowned company Westpac. Intuit: Intuitwas established in the year1983 through entrepreneurs,Scott CookandTom ProulxinPalo Alto, California. It is originally Americancompany of accounting software. It has head quarter is inMountain View,California. The company is engaged in development of software related to financial andtax preparation with allied services, specially for small businesses,individuals and accountants. The company is also engaged in preparation of personal finance programsQuickenandTurboTax, along with small businessaccounting program namedQuickBooks(Intuit, 2016). Products: The company had made the development platform QuickBase which is with features of low-code and cloud-based. The company has the range of product known as SAAS which is web based version of QuickBooks known as QuickBooks Online (QBO) with multiple products of payroll, and also it provides options for processing for many small businesses. QuickBooks is holding up to 90% of the small business market with the existing user of accounting packages and posing threats to the other application software developed by competitors like MYOB. Shares: It earns revenue of US$4.20 billionin 2015 and is having a net income of US$365 millionin 2015. Important acquisitions: 1993, Intuit made acquisition of Chipsoft, a software company involved in tax preparation with its head quarter at San Diego. 1996, Intuit made acquisition of GALT Technologies, Inc from Pittsburgh, PA 1994, Intuit made acquisition of the division of tax preparation software of Best Programs from Reston, VA. 1994, Intuit made acquisition of Parsons Technology fromBob Parsonsfor $64 million. Comparative Study of these 3 Business Solution Organisations: Saasu has almost all the important features that an accounting software should possess except GST Audit Reporting GST Calculation Worksheet that enabled this software to have a crack in the Accounting Software market. It has the following advantages over MYOB: It can handle expense claims It has the feature to Purchase orders It also offers multicurrency functioning One of the most important feature of Saasu is Cash flow forecasting by an integrated tool called Forecaster the has made this software unique and the user interface also made this software to be much more user friendly than other softwares(Heber, 2015). Quickbooks online by Intuit is SAASUs main competitor in the accounting space, with the market share of up to 90% of small and medium businesses with the existing practice of using accounting sofgtware application However Intuits QuickBooks Online has seen a lot of success in the United States, but certainly doesn't have the market penetration like SAASU or MYOB in Australia. Conclusion: So Due to increased needs of the people and life being much easier for the people accounting software is spreading worldwide with its aspects and the increased demand has shown its progress in the 21st century. People try to be self-dependant so they tend to use these types of software packages especially for Small Business holders. Reference: Heber, A., 2015. The cloud accounting supremacy war in Australia. [Online] Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/charts-the-battle-for-supremacy-in-australias-cloud-accounting-market-2015-4 [Accessed 04 December 2016]. Intuit, 2016. About company. [Online] Available at: https://www.intuit.com/company/ [Accessed 04 December 2016]. Investopedia, 2015. Accounting Information System - AIS. [Online] Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accounting-information-system-ais.asp [Accessed 04 December 2016]. James, D., 2013. 7 accounting packages for Australian small businesses compared: including MYOB, QuickBooks Online, Reckon, Xero. [Online] Available at: https://www.bit.com.au/Review/344651,7-accounting-packages-for-australian-small-businesses-compared-including-myob-quickbooks-online-reckon-xero.aspx [Accessed 24 September 2016]. Leech, S. Grabski, S.V., 2015. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems. [Online] Available at: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-accounting-information-systems/ [Accessed 04 December 2016]. Peavler, R., 2016. The Business Owner's Guide to Accounting Information Systems. [Online] Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/accounting-information-systems-392953 [Accessed 04 December 2016]. Raik-Allen, S., 2015. MYOB Most Innovative Company in Australia. [Online] Available at: https://www.myob.com/au/blog/myob-most-innovative-company-in-australia/ [Accessed 01 September 2016]. Romney, M., 2012. Accounting Information Systems Australasian edition. [Online] Available at: https://www.pearson.com.au/products/O-R-Romney-Marshall-et-al/O-R-Romney-Marshall-Et-Al/Accounting-Information-Systems-Australasian-edition/9781442542594?R=9781442542594 [Accessed 04 December 2016]. Saasu, 2016. Liberating small business. [Online] Available at: https://www.saasu.com/about/ [Accessed 03 December 2016].