Buying accounting software is a major investment. It's an important decision and you need to be sure of all the facts before you buy.

You certainly wouldn't want to get accounting software and then find a few months later that the software can't handle your growing business.

You also don't want to be fooled into buying low priced software and then finding out that you have to make multiple upgrades to get it to the level you need to effectively run your business.

And worst of all you don't want to get software with little or no support.

Our research lead us to a website that has compared some of the most popular small business accounting packages released in 2005.

Software Prices

The cheapest software cost US $89.99 and the most expensive software cost US $1,499. It was interesting to note that the top 3 ranked websites were not the most expensive and cost between US $250 - US $300.

Software Features

Each accounting software package has been thoroughly analyzed and there is a detailed breakdown showing the features of each. Most packages offer all the most important accounting modules. It was interesting to note that the most expensive software did not offer some of the modules offered by less expensive alternatives. The breakdown is very detailed and you'll be able to see for example if the software offers e-mail invoicing.

Software Support

The most important feature in our opinion is the support. The top 4 accounting packages include toll free support and FAQ's.

Hopefully you now have an idea of what to look for in an accounting software package and how much you should pay. If you would like the link to the website we researched to compile the above information please visit our website.

Ryan Hough is an accountant with Ernst and Young. He advises small business owners on how to cope with the accounting and financial issues they will face when growing their business.

Accounting Software For Small Businesses