Accounting software suitable for photographers

Dec 17, 2006 3 Replies

Hi There,



Hi,



I have been handling my small photography business accounts manually, and I am looking to take the plunge into a proper accounting package.



I'm looking for some advice into what software is going to help (not hinder) my business, and I value the diverse audience here (rather than just talking to one accountant who may have a bias).



It appears as though some of the software packages at the low end of the spectrum (Simply Basic, Quicken Pro, Peachtree etc) do the basics, but don't have nice integration into the rest of our lives (email, MS office etc)



Aside from doing basic accounting, I would like to have the facility to email invoices (let's save some paper!), prepare tenders and quotes, and perhaps integrate with my current online shopping cart.



Does anyone have experience helping photographers with this sort of thing? Is there anything else I should be looking at from a photography perspective? (So much of our work is on the computer these days, I imagine a solution for photographers could be all-encompassing, but that would be pretty custom software!)



I trade in Australia and Canada, and I'm happy to keep the accounts completely separate or use separate copies of the same software, but it would be nice to use the same type of software so I don't need to learn more than I need to!



Any suggestions?



Cheers Tom Studio One Photography



You are correct in that a "all-encompassing solution for photograhers" would be expensive so your best option may be a package like Quickbooks, Peachtree's First Accounting, MYOB, etc., -- they all offer free trial downloads to check various features and you don't need separate copies of the software if you use different currencies. But unless you have good financial skills you should work with a local accountant in transitioning from manual to PC based systems. this can save you in taxes as well because most the low end packages are designed to work with tax preparation.

Thanks for your suggestions folks.

I guess I will book in to chat with the accountant!

Cheers Tom

Beverly wrote:

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