Q.A small business with simple, standard accounting needs, wanting the LOWEST-cost accounting package with little customisation, should choose:
(A) Tailor-made Software
(B) Customised Software
(C) Ready-to-use Software
(D) No software at all, regardless of need

The Excel finance function for Straight Line Method depreciation is SLN — option (c).

Explanation

• A spreadsheet package (like Microsoft Excel) is one of the tools used in computerised accounting, and it offers ready-made financial functions.
• The SLN function returns the depreciation of an asset for one period using the Straight Line Method. Its form is =SLN(cost, salvage, life), giving an equal depreciation charge each year.
• 'SLN' is short for Straight LiNe.

Why not the others? …

Customised accounting software is suitable for large and medium businesses — option (b).

Types of accounting software

• Ready-made software — standard, low-cost packages suited to small, conventional businesses with simple, common needs (e.g. Tally).
• Customised software — a ready-made package modified to meet a firm's particular requirements; it suits medium and large businesses whose needs the standard package cannot fully satisfy.
• Tailor-made software — developed specially for a single large, typical/specialised organisation with unique requirements. …

Customised accounting software fits large and medium businesses whose needs go beyond a ready-made package but do not require a fully bespoke system.

Accounting software packages are of three types:

• Ready-made software — standardised, low-cost, easy to install; suitable for small, conventional businesses (e.g. Tally, Marg).
• Customised software — a ready-made package altered/modified to meet the specific requirements of a user; suitable for large and medium businesses whose needs are not fully served by a ready-made package. …

Tally is a ready-made (pre-packaged) accounting software, so the correct option is (d).

Accounting packages fall into three types:

• Ready-made (pre-packaged/off-the-shelf): developed for the general market and sold to a large number of users at a low cost; suited to small and medium businesses whose needs are common. Tally is the best-known Indian example.
• Customised: a ready-made package modified to suit the special needs of a particular user. …

Customised accounting software is tailor-made for a firm's specific needs, so it is economical only for large and medium businesses — option (a).

Accounting software is usually grouped into three types:

• Ready-made (readymade) software — off-the-shelf packages like Tally, suited to small and conventional businesses with standard needs.
• Customised software — a ready-made package modified, or a package built, to suit a particular firm's specific requirements (special reports, formats, controls). Development and modification cost more, so it is justified for large and medium businesses. …