PDF with scoring sheet
Accounting Software Selection Guide
A structured guide and scoring sheet for comparing accounting platforms against your real requirements, statutory needs and total cost of ownership.
Who this is for
Owners, finance managers and anyone tasked with selecting an accounting platform.
What you get
- A requirements framework covering functionality, statutory fit, usability, cost and risk.
- A scoring approach to compare three to five platforms consistently.
- A total cost of ownership worksheet covering three years, not just the subscription.
- Vendor questions that surface what a demonstration will not.
What is inside
The full contents are set out below, so the resource is useful whether or not you download the file.
1. Define the decisions
- What five questions must management answer each month?
- Which must the system answer directly?
- What happens today when the system cannot answer one?
- Is this an accounting need or an operational need?
2. Build the requirements list
- Core accounting and reporting requirements
- Sales, purchasing and stock requirements
- User count, locations and concurrent access
- Approval and permission requirements
- Multi-currency, multi-entity and consolidation needs
- Integration requirements with existing systems
- Data export and exit requirements
3. Statutory and local fit
- VAT recording and reporting capability
- Withholding tax recording for deducted and suffered amounts
- Payroll deduction handling and what must be done separately
- Records capable of supporting a return
- Local support availability and responsiveness
4. Test the awkward cases
- Part payments and credit notes
- Customer overpayments
- Multi-currency purchase and settlement
- Period lock and post-close posting attempts
- Dimension-based reporting
- Restricted user attempting a prohibited action
- Full ledger export in a usable format
5. Total cost of ownership
- Subscription for every user across three years
- Add-ons genuinely required
- Payment processing fees
- Implementation, configuration and training
- Ongoing support and internal administration time
- Cost of the manual workarounds the platform does not cover
6. Vendor questions
- What is excluded from the quoted edition?
- How is data exported if we leave?
- Which local bank feeds work in practice?
- What is the support response commitment?
- What changed in the product in the last twelve months?
- Who else in our sector and size uses it?
7. Scoring and decision
- Weight requirements by essential, desirable and irrelevant
- Score each candidate with evidence, not impressions
- Record the reasons for rejecting each option
- Agree and document the decision before purchase
These resources are general guidance, not advice on your specific circumstances. Where a topic touches on statutory requirements, confirm the current position with a qualified adviser.
Discuss your software requirements
The resource explains the method. A consultation applies it to your business — and costs nothing.