Types of Accounting Packages — Readymade, Customised and Tailor-made Software

Businesses do not all need the same kind of accounting software — the size, nature and specific requirements of a business determine which type of package suits it best. Accounting packages are generally classified into three types.

1. Readymade Software. This is off-the-shelf accounting software, already fully developed and sold to any buyer without modification — a small trader, a shopkeeper, or a small firm can purchase it and start using it almost immediately.

• Advantages: low cost, quick to install and start using, widely available, and easy to find trained operators for since many businesses use the same package.
• Limitations: cannot be modified to match a specific business's unique requirements; may include features a small user never needs, or may lack a feature a particular business specifically wants.
• Suited to: small and medium businesses with fairly standard accounting needs.

2. Customised Software. This starts from a readymade software package, which is then modified (customised) to suit the specific requirements of a particular business — for example, adding a special report format, or a specific voucher type the standard package does not offer.

• Advantages: combines much of the lower cost of readymade software with the ability to match some specific business needs; usually faster and cheaper to obtain than a fully tailor-made system.
• Limitations: customisation has its own cost and takes time; it can only go so far, since it still starts from an existing package's underlying structure.
• Suited to: medium and large businesses whose needs are mostly standard but have a few specific additional requirements.

3. Tailor-made Software. This is developed from scratch, specifically for one particular organisation, built entirely around that organisation's own processes and requirements, rather than starting from an existing package.

• Advantages: precisely matches the exact requirements of the organisation; can offer the highest level of security and control designed specifically for that business.
• Limitations: very high cost of development; takes a long time to build and test; ongoing maintenance and any future change also needs a specialised developer, making it expensive to maintain.
• Suited to: large organisations with unique, complex requirements that no standard or customised package can adequately meet.