Accounting Software – List of Accounting Software Packages in India

With the rollout of GST, the government requires even small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to maintain financial transparency and uniformity. This makes them look to CAs to provide an efficient and robust accounting system and comply with GST laws. To maintain such an accounting system, having accounting software becomes imperative.

A business accounting software helps keep an enterprise’s financial data organised and prepares and presents accounts and financial statements according to issued standards. It is the computerised systematic measurement, verification, interpretation, summation and classification of financial data of a business.

CAs must have good accounting software to generate tax invoices and create and manage GST levied at different levels (CGST, SGST & IGST).

Additional Read: Impact of GST on small and medium businesses

Financing your software requirements

Bajaj Finserv Flexi Term Loan for Chartered Accountants is a smart way for practising CAs to manage their finances. An industry-first facility allows you to make multiple withdrawals per your financing need and repay as and when you have extra funds. A Flexi term loan saves you up to 45% of the amount you repay in Term Loans.

A Flexi Term Loan helps you expand your working capital and your firm’s client base. A Flexi loan can meet expenses and costs like hiring contractual or specialised personnel and training existing ones, paying rent and subscription fees, and all other unforeseen expenses.

Here are five recommended accounting software packages, along with their pricing and features.

1. Tally.ERP 9

Considered the market leader in business accounting software, Tally helps firms prepare and manage journal(s), ledger(s), debit and credit notes, trial balance, profit and loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow, and more an organisation.

Pricing:

Silver (Single user edition for standalone PCs) – Rs. 18,000 (online price)
Gold (Unlimited multi-user edition for multiple PCs on LAN environment) – Rs. 54,000 (online price)

Features:

• HR and payroll management
• Multiple company support
• Financial management
• Inventory management
• Invoicing and billing
• Taxation

2. Profit Books

ProfitBooks is a popular cloud accounting software that lets you create invoices, track expenses and manage inventory, helping you save time and manage your finances more efficiently. Since ProfitBooks is a cloud-based solution, information can be accessed remotely, thus ensuring mobility.

Pricing:

Professional plan (Good for service-oriented businesses): Rs. 5,999 per year
SMB plan (Good for resellers and traders): Rs. 8,999 per year
GST Company plan (Good for busy business owners who want to outsource): Rs. 1,999 per month

Features:

• GST invoicing with payment gateways integration
• Expense management
• Inventory management
• Warehouse management
• Multi-currency support

3. Zoho Books

Zoho Books is user-friendly online accounting software designed for small and medium enterprises. Its key features include automatic bank feeds and payment notifications, online collaboration with customers, time tracking, inventory management, invoice tracking, reconciliation and automated workflows. It helps businesses manage all their accounting operations effectively on a single platform.

Pricing:

For One Organisation – Rs. 2,499 per year
Zoho Finance Plus – Rs. 2,999 per organisation per month / Rs. 19,999 per organisation per year

Features:

• Files GST returns
• Creates estimates and invoices
• Tracks bills and expenses
• Connects to secure, automatic bank feeds
• Creates projects and timesheets
• Creates sales orders and purchase orders

4. BUSY

BUSY is an integrated business accounting software for Micro, Small and Medium businesses. It helps companies in multi-currency financial accounting, GST invoice and report generation, TDS and TCS compliance, and MIS reports and analysis.

Pricing:

Basic edition (micro & small businesses) – Rs. 6,400
Standard edition (small & medium businesses) – Rs. 12,000
Enterprise edition (small & medium enterprises) – Rs. 17,600

Features:

• Inventory management (multi-location)
• Production and bill of material
• Sales and purchase quotations
• Sales and purchase order processing
• Fully user-configurable invoicing

5. Quick Books

QuickBooks is online accounting software with an easy-to-use interface and tools. It offers more than 40 reports, including profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow statement. It helps manage day-to-day transactions, billing, invoicing, inventory and budgeting. It comes with mobile support for iOS and Android users.

Pricing: Rs. 4,999 per year

Features:

• Creates and sends professional GST invoices
• Generates GSTR1 and GSTR2 reports
• Designs and create quotations
• Tracks sales, invoices, supplier bills and payments
• Tracks cash flows with P&L and balance sheet
• Imports transactions automatically with online banking

Good accounting software can provide insights into your business and its financial health, helping you make well-informed decisions. With GST requiring periodic filings, every business needs to maintain proper accounts of their sales and purchases. Efficient and streamlined accounting functions would thoroughly comply with the GST laws, enabling the right accounting software.