Elements of Accountancy · Ch 15 — Computers and Accounting
Types of Accounting Software
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Types of Accounting Software
Not every business needs the same kind of accounting software — a small trader's needs are very different from a large manufacturing company's. Accounting software is generally classified, based on how closely it is built around one particular business's own needs, into three broad types:
| Type | What it means | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-use software | A standard package built for a wide range of businesses in general, with a fixed set of features that cannot be changed to fit one particular firm's own way of working | A small business with simple, fairly standard accounting needs and a limited budget |
| Customised software | A ready-to-use package that is then adjusted or extended — new report formats added, certain features switched on or off — to better fit a specific business's requirements, without rebuilding it from scratch | A medium-sized business whose needs are mostly standard but has a few requirements a plain ready-to-use package does not cover |
| Tailor-made (tailored) software | Software designed and built from the ground up specifically for one business's own particular processes and reporting needs | A large or specialised organisation with unique requirements that no general package can meet |
Definition 1Ready-to-use Software
A standard, off-the-shelf accounting package built for a broad range of businesses, offering a fixed set of features at comparatively low cost, suited to a business with simple and …
Definition 2Tailor-made Software
Accounting software designed and built specifically around one particular business's own processes and reporting requirements, offering the closest fit at the highest cos …