If you run a small business or are self-employed, doing your own accounts can be a headache but you may feel that an accountant is too big an outlay. Happily, there is a wealth of accounting software available for the small business and often these are cloud based services which allow your accountant to access them easily. You may want to do all of your accounting yourself, or use the services of an accountant as and when you need it, using accounting software to fill in the gaps and keep on top of things.

When it comes to choosing the best software for your business you’ll need to balance the cost (usually a monthly fee) with the features you need. Consider the scale of your business and whether you’ll be doing all the accounts yourself, in which case you’ll want something with plenty of features and good usability, or whether you’ll be employing the services of an accountant as well; which may mean you won’t want to overspend on the software. There are some free, no frills accounting software options and these could be useful for trying your hand at accounting without committing financially.