In Australia, bookkeeping is a legal obligation that all business owners must fulfil. There are many accounting programs for this purpose but the most popular ones are Xero, Quickbooks and MYOB. Each one of these programs is very useful with its own special features and functionalities. We shall try and compare these programs with pros and cons of each one to help you choose the software that is most suitable for your business.
Xero
Xero is popular accounting software that originated from New Zealand in 2006 and came in to use in Australia in 2008. This software is available as both online as well as cloud application for small and medium sized businesses in diverse industries
Pros of Xero
- Easy to use- Xero is loved by business owners as it does not contain technical jargon and comes with tools to easily understand and operate the software.
- Automatic updating- Xero is available as cloud application which means it gets updated automatically and there is no need to constantly update the program manually.
- Available as mobile app- Android and iOS versions of Xero are available to allow customers to keep a tab on their accounting requirements on the go.
Cons of Xero
- Weak software for inventory management- It is not a great program for a business with different payroll structures
- Most expensive– Xero is the most expensive of the three accounting programs
Quickbooks
Quickbooks is very popular accounting software from Intuit. This U.S based program is available as both cloud as well as online accounting software.
Pros of Quickbooks
- Variety of offerings- It has a great product mix to suit the requirements of different kinds of businesses.
- Lots of integration features- Quickbooks has most integrations among the three accounting software.
- Solid inventory management- Quickbooks allows easy inventory management such as entering customer data and information regarding orders.
Cons of Quickbooks
- Not very user friendly- The user interface of Quickbooks is most difficult among the three accounting software.
- Slow and buggy- It is slow and often experiences bugs.
MYOB
MYOB has been around since the nineties and it is regarded as the king of business accounting software. It is very popular among small traders as it allows making invoices and calculating GST very easily.
Pros of MYOB
- Single touch payroll facility- It can produce the payroll of an employee with a single touch. You can also create payrolls of various employees with an add-on feature.
- Great inventory management– MYOB allows keeping track of your stock and sales and also entering purchases and sales easily and quickly.
Cons of MYOB
- Mobile app not available- MYOB is still continuing with a desktop version making it difficult for business owners to keep track of their accounts on the move.
- Manual upgrading- You need to upgrade your program manually whenever a new version of the software is released.
Conclusion
All three accounting software described in this article are compliant with the GST and payroll requirements necessary in Australia. MYOB is the best if you are comfortable with traditional bookkeeping whereas Xero is wonderful for business owners having no knowledge about accounting. Quickbooks is excellent when it comes to integrations with other apps. You need to keep the unique requirements of your business in mind when choosing one of these accounting software.
