Automation of accounting. Review of effective tools for automating your enterprise

How to choose an accounting program

Demushkin Yu.V.
Choosing a computer program for an accountant in full compliance with the requirements of accounting, tax and labor legislation is not easy.

Moreover, one brand, 1C, as a monopolist in the accounting software market, seems to “overshadow” all other, sometimes quite successful, developments.

Let's remember how accountants worked in the late 80s and early 90s of the last century. Not all accounting departments have yet acquired personal computers, but wherever possible, spreadsheets have already been introduced: SuperCalc, Quattro and Excel. They successfully replaced large paper statements and reports.

In these spreadsheets, all transactions were sequentially entered into the so-called business journal. Information about the date, Debit, Credit, amount and content of the transaction was entered there. In the future, it was possible to obtain samples from the journal to fill out regulated accounting reports.

But everything has its limitations, and this convenient technology for entering and outputting accounting documents began to be transferred to separate accounting programs written by enthusiasts. The very first were Ukrainian programmers with a product called “ Finance without problems”

(1990, Mariupol).
Soon the programs 1C
(1991),
Turbo-Accountant
(1991),
Info-Accountant
(October 1992) appeared, and “everything started to happen...”.

More than twenty years have passed since then. The author of the article, working as an accountant in commercial companies, as a leading IT specialist at the State Research Institute for Development of the Tax System of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, during this time he tested in practical work most of the accounting computer programs presented on the Russian market.

All of them are designed for comprehensive automation of accounting, tax, management, personnel, warehouse and operational accounting. At the same time, the following almost opposite paths taken by accounting software developers are very clearly visible:

BEST

The program has been running for more than 20 years. It appeared a little later than 1C and Info-Accountant. It is an advanced accounting and tax accounting management information system for various types of enterprises and business industries.

Includes several programs:

enterprise management system "BEST-5";
small business management system “BEST-5. My business";
free! management system for small businesses "BEST-OFFICE";
"BEST-Marketing"

Pros:

the program is divided into convenient functional blocks (finance, logistics, production, personnel);
all blocks are unique and developed by the company itself;
blocks can work both autonomously and jointly;
convenient navigation;
full automation of accounting;
good technical support and training.

Minuses:

late updates (you will have to redo the documents yourself if there are changes in legislation);
closed platform;
You won’t be able to customize the system to your liking.

What is the price

Tariffs vary - on average from 9,000 to 30,000 rubles.

Franchising trade (trade and innovation network)

Sale of programs through a network of organizations certified under one brand, very widespread and promoted. The most striking example is a trade and implementation network for the provision of comprehensive services for automation of accounting and office work, operating under the very well-known 1C brand (1C: Franchising)

. The largest of the companies included in the franchise network are 1C-RARUS, 1C: First BIT, 1C: Accounting and Trade, 1C-Business Architect and others. They operate under a single brand and provide consulting services in choosing programs (more precisely, choosing from various configurations made on the same 1C platform), as well as delivery, installation, implementation, after-sales service and training.

This is the so-called INDUSTRIAL QUALITY OF SERVICE, when 1C stands behind small companies that deal with the specific needs of a particular client. At the same time, the 1C company itself sells some of its “boxed” software products, but in the basic configuration, which has significant limitations, through the head office in Moscow and a dealer network in Russia and the CIS.

For full-fledged work, end users still have to contact franchisee implementers on a paid basis, which greatly slows down the process of implementation and the beginning of full use of accounting programs.

In-house software development for accountants

Sales of programs by the developers of their own software.

Sales are carried out through an office and dealer network in Russia and the CIS, through online trading.

Let's take a closer look at the most famous and successful programs of companies following the second path, which have gained well-deserved popularity among accountants on the Russian market.

Info-Accountant

According to analysts, the Info-Accountant program is distinguished from others by its widest functionality, ease of learning, and amazing elaboration of the smallest aspects of the program. Ability to conduct all types of accounting for small and medium-sized businesses.

Info-Accountant is the main competitor of 1C, almost in no way inferior to it.

Programs of the Info-Accountant

, appeared on the market in October 1992. They make it possible to comprehensively automate accounting at enterprises of various forms of ownership and types of activity. They are easily customized to the features and specifics of the company’s activities and do not require modification by programmers.

At the moment there are two main versions of the Info-Accountant

, implemented on the Info-Accountant 8 and Info-Accountant 10 platforms.

Professional version of the program Info-Accountant 8. 8

is intended for comprehensive automation of accounting and tax accounting of companies of various types of activities (production, trade, services, catering, education, etc.) of any form of ownership.
All sections of accounting and tax accounting are already included in the standard delivery of the professional version. It is ideal for small and medium-sized enterprises
using ORN, simplified tax system and other special regimes, as well as for non-profit organizations.
And, according to users and many authoritative experts, it is considered the easiest to learn and use
among other accounting and tax accounting programs, so that absolutely any user who is barely familiar with accounting can master it.

It is for this reason that the Info-Accountant 8.8 program has been repeatedly recognized as the best development for accounting and tax accounting in numerous competitions.

Functional features of the Info-Accountant 8 8

full compliance with all requirements of the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Service;
all tax regimes (ORN, simplified tax system, “Vremenka”, etc.);
coverage of all accounting areas;
parallel maintenance of accounting and tax accounting;
automatic generation of all types of reporting;
accounting for several organizations in one program;
uploading reports for electronic submission;
regular free updates;
ease of learning and ease of use;
converting data from any accounting program.

Version of the Info-Accountant 10.2

based on the company's successful 20 years of experience.
This modern high-tech program allows for comprehensive automation of accounting, tax, warehouse, personnel, management and other types of accounting. Its flexibility ensures accounting in organizations of any form of ownership. It is most suitable for medium and large enterprises,
although it can also be successfully used by small businesses.

This version is distinguished by the widest functionality and powerful analytical tools. It works using client-server technology. At the same time, it has not lost the simplicity and ease of use that are characteristic of all programs of the Info-Accountant family.

By the way, a fully functional free version

version of the Info-Accountant 10.2 program, including all blocks: Accounting and reporting, Salaries and personnel, Warehouse, works and services.

You can download this version from the link:

https://www.ib.ru/downloads/ibw10/demo/ibw10-demo-ORN.exe

By installing this version, users can immediately work in it and appreciate all its advantages over competitors.

The only limitation of the free version of the Info-Accountant 10. 2

— the ability to simultaneously process up to
1000
business transactions. Each operation can have an almost unlimited number of transactions. This is enough even for a small accounting department.

This is the only and unique offer

among the accounting programs presented on the Russian market. The powerful functionality and perfection of all even the smallest details of the program amazes. And this is in the free version!

More information about the program can be found on the website https://www.ib.ru/

Oviont-Inform

The company is known primarily for its software package “Balance-2/Balance -2W”

, used to automate the preparation and submission of reports (to the Federal Tax Service, Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, Social Insurance Fund, Rosstat, FSRAR), preparation for reconciliation with regulatory authorities, preparation, storage and exchange of legally significant primary electronic documents.

The company offers separate independent programs, such as:

Salary (automation of payroll calculation).
Enterprise (comprehensive automation of the entire enterprise as a whole).
Entrepreneur (automation of accounting and reporting of individual entrepreneurs)
Simplified SNO (automation of enterprises using the simplified tax system).

They are designed for comprehensive automation of accounting, tax, personnel, warehouse, management and operational accounting at an enterprise in full compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Premium grade (BC)

specializes in the development and implementation of software to automate the activities of small and medium-sized businesses.

Releases programs:

VS: Accounting. This is a program for maintaining accounting records for small and medium-sized enterprises that apply general and simplified taxation regimes. It contains additional modules “Salaries and Personnel”, “Warehouse”, “Trade”; so-called “wizards” for step-by-step calculations and filling out reports. The program supports various taxation systems in one database. In addition, it allows you to create your own charts of accounts.
VS: Enterprise. This is a software package designed to automate business processes in small and medium-sized enterprises.
VS: Retail trade. A universal software product for automating the work of a retail network or one store.

Bukhsoft

Bukhsoft program

is a single program for all accounting tasks from entering primary documents to generating reports.

Main versions of the program:

STS: Based on the results of the reporting period, the program generates a cash book, a book of income and expenses and the balance sheet of the organization, and for the tax period - a declaration according to the simplified tax system.
OSN: Based on the results of the reporting period, the program generates tax accounting, income tax returns, VAT, purchase and sales books, cash book, balance sheet, reports to the Social Insurance Fund and the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.

The Salary block is integrated into the accounting program, where accruals are entered, and the program itself calculates salaries, sick leave, vacation pay, calculates insurance premiums and taxes, and generates personnel documents (orders, staffing tables, employment contracts, timesheets). At the end of the reporting and tax period, the program will prepare a report on personalized accounting and personal income tax, test it with verification programs before sending it to the regulatory authorities (IFTS, Social Insurance Fund, Pension Fund).

SKB Kontur

Programs Contour-Accounting Asset, Contour-Accounting USN, Contour-Accounting Budget, Contour-Salary

make it possible to solve all problems of automation of accounting and tax accounting at an enterprise, any form of ownership and any taxation system (OSN, simplified tax system, UTII).

In particular, “Kontur-Accounting Asset” is:

Accounting, tax and warehouse accounting
Work with documents and automatic generation of transactions
Deciphering reporting indicators down to the level of accounting entries
Intuitive interface
Formation of all types of mandatory reporting
Generating files for transfer to the tax office
Simultaneous accounting of several enterprises or separate divisions in one program
Multicurrency accounting
Regular program updates and prompt technical support

Turbo Accountant

Turbo 9 Accounting program

contains all the main sections of accounting and tax accounting. It is designed for comprehensive automation of such accounting at enterprises of any form of ownership and any taxation system.

Features of the Turbo 9 Accounting program are:

All system settings are combined in the accounting policy.
Unlimited number of analytical features.
Flexibility in reporting.
Possibility of multidimensional analytical and multicurrency accounting.
High speed of generating reports in real time.
Maintaining management, operational and accounting records in a unified information base.
Work with large volumes of data (up to 20 million accounting movements, i.e. records) without noticeable slowdowns.
Quarterly updates (if legislation changes, more frequent updates are possible).

The program is not demanding on resources - human, monetary, time and digital. The user does not have to invest in expensive equipment and hire a staff of programmers to maintain it in good condition.

BEST

Enterprise management information system System BEST-5

appeared on the market in 1995 and has all the necessary means for effective accounting and making verified management decisions in all areas of activity of a modern trading or manufacturing enterprise, service enterprise, state (municipal) institution: budgetary, state-owned or autonomous. For these purposes, there are basic functional blocks (application groups) that cover each area of accounting and management.

The company has developed and successfully implements a large number of application functional blocks. These applications can work both standalone and in conjunction with each other. They form a single information space of the enterprise.

The set of functional blocks is as follows:

Finance
A group of applications designed for accounting, tax and management accounting. Solve the problems of financial planning of economic activities, accounting for funds, maintaining contracts, settlements with partners and employees, accounting for property, generating financial and tax reporting for the enterprise
Logistics A group of applications for effective management of purchasing, inventory and sales. Implements full-volume accounting of goods, raw materials, materials, semi-finished products and finished products. Provides sales management in wholesale and retail trade, as well as in mobile trade. Solves the problems of accounting for the implementation of works/services and managing the work of the enterprise’s motor transport services
Production A group of applications for planning and accounting of production activities in assembly and complex industries (woodworking, dairy industry, meat processing, oil refining, etc.)
Personnel A group of applications that solves the problems of personnel records, timesheets and payroll settlements with personnel.

"Turbo Accountant"

The program is designed for complete automation of accounting and tax accounting. The Turbo line includes several products designed for different business sectors and functionality:

TURBO X platform;
TURBO EPR;
TURBO Business;
TURBO9 (the most popular, judging by the reviews).

Pros:

one of the main competitors of Info Accountant and 1C on the market;
Pre-project and project consulting available;
training at TURBO Academy;
support 24/7;
convenient storage;
flexible and fast reporting process;
the program does not slow down under heavy load;
is constantly updated.

Minuses:

difficult for beginners to master (the accompanying documentation alone takes up 5 volumes - almost “War and Peace”).

What is the price

The simplest tariff “TURBO 9. Accountant” will cost 990 rubles. Other versions - from 7,000 to 11,000 rubles, network tariffs (for 5 and 10 workplaces) - from 35,000 to 60,000 rubles.

Other accounting programs

The accounting programs discussed below have very little circulation on the market (according to the author’s estimates, less than 0.1% of the market), of which we can note, for example:

SIBUS

The SIBUS accounting program is designed for accounting at enterprises using a simplified taxation system.

For the first 30 days, all functions are available in the program. After 30 days, the program goes into restricted use mode. This means that all reports become unavailable. But your data will remain with you - all documents and reference books will work without restrictions. The installer also runs in update mode, so you can update the program regularly even in limited usage mode. It's very easy to start keeping records - just create a clean database.

Accounting for goods and services TradeSoft

This is a program developed by TradeSoft, which is aimed at a comprehensive solution to such problems as: warehouse/store automation through the introduction of accounting, payroll and taxation, as well as personnel training, employee performance assessment, analysis of product receipts and sales, etc.

Accounting program NMA

This project offers a free version of the NMA accounting program, designed to automate accounting in small and medium-sized enterprises. The program is based on automation modules for the main areas of analytical accounting: warehouse accounting of inventory items and finished products, combined with the sale and execution of the necessary primary documents, accounting for banking transactions, conducting cash transactions, settlements with accountable persons, accounting and tax accounting of fixed assets and MA, calculation of salaries and Personnel accounting, settlements with suppliers and contractors.

Paid accounting software

Automation of accounting is carried out to increase the efficiency of employees and improve control over the financial and economic activities of the enterprise. Properly organized accounting undoubtedly has a positive effect on the management of the enterprise and its development. As a rule, the best comprehensive systems for maintaining it using software are paid licensed products.

The most common platforms used by accountants in Russia are:

"1C".
"Parus-Enterprise".
"Galaxy ERP".
"BOSS".

This software not only has a wide range of actions, but also high-quality service and constant updating of databases. Let's take a closer look at each of the programs.

Online service or Internet accounting

All accounting programs listed up to this point belong to the type of software product that is now called Offline service.

Although without an Internet connection it is no longer possible to consider a software product as something completely professional. In this case, the program itself and the databases are traditionally located on the customer’s computer or network.

Recently, many of the listed accounting programs have had versions in the form of an Online service or Internet accounting, using remote access

– this is the ability to work with software products WITHOUT INSTALLATION on your own computer. Your data is stored not with you, but somewhere in the “clouds”, on the Internet. All calculations go there. And how long and in what quality they are stored does not depend on you. But companies providing such a service convince that they are doing everything to ensure that the risks of losing data from all kinds of hardware and software failures, “power” and unauthorized access are minimal.

But do you need to give others “weapons” against themselves and their cause?

It turns out that with the “discovery” of the Internet, this is exactly what we are doing...

Do you urgently need to submit a report, but you don’t have access to the Internet?

But it's up to you, the users!

Therefore, below we give a brief overview of such Online services, presented both by the companies already mentioned and by new developments.

BukhsoftOnline

The BukhsoftOnline service provides all warehouse accounting, comprehensive automation of the sales department, a full range of capabilities for maintaining accounting and tax records, personnel records and payroll, complete and timely reporting, and its sending to all authorities.

And all this is not on a separate computer or workplace, but on the BukhSoft website. Enter your login/password and you can already work in your accounting program.

All opportunities are provided online.

Accounting.Contour

Accounting.Kontour is a simple web service for simple accounting:

Primary accounting documents: invoices and service acceptance certificates, invoices, etc.
Support of basic business operations
Analysis of turnover and state of accounts, quantitative and analytical accounting
Invoices, automatic creation of purchase and sales books
Import of counterparties, goods, services, fixed assets from 1C at the start
Book of accounting of income and expenses for the simplified tax system, calculation of UTII
Employee accounting and maintenance
Calculation of accruals and deductions: the system itself will calculate wages, and all you have to do is approve the calculations or change what you wish
Automatic calculation of taxes and contributions
Quick calculation of vacation pay, sick leave, maternity benefits and travel allowances.

Premium grade (BC)

Features of the Higher Grade (VS) program in remote access:

You can use any desktop computer or laptop with Internet access
No more need to install anything
You can start working remotely in three clicks: “Start” – “Accessories” – “Remote Desktop Connection”
Login to the program in remote access is carried out using an individual login and password

My business

One online service, My Business, has everything you need to work with accounting: help desk, accounting systems, sending reports via the Internet and expert consultations. The program helps you maintain accounting records correctly, calculate taxes (contributions) and pay them on time, as well as submit electronic reports.

All the features of modern accounting in one service:

linked question-answer system
auto-filling of standardized and non-standard document forms with examples and tips
current database of regulatory documents with the ability to track changes
generation and submission of electronic reporting
professional expert advice

There is even My Business TV, where you can watch videos explaining how to work in the service.

AUBI Center

AUBI Internet accounting allows enterprises and individual entrepreneurs under any taxation system to maintain accounting records and submit reports via the Internet without purchasing an accounting program. Includes:

Accounting and tax accounting
Accounting for goods, finished products and materials (warehouse, trade, production)
Personnel records and settlements with personnel (salaries), settlements with accountable persons
Fixed assets and intangible assets
Exchange of electronic documents with counterparties and banks
Transfer of electronic reporting to the Federal Tax Service, Pension Fund, Social Insurance Fund, Rosstat, RAR
Teamwork in a unified information environment
Real-time consultations and technical support

We reviewed many of the most well-known accounting automation programs, both of interest in connection with their original solutions, and in terms of technical and marketing moves. This includes a network of franchisees, used honestly and brilliantly for the first time in Russia by Boris Nuraliev, and parodying other people’s names, similarities to well-known trademarks. This is also a kind of marketing move, although it may not be entirely marketing, but something else... Since copying part of someone else's name, as it seems to us, is far from the best move... Although it can bring its own commercial fruits...

If, after reading this article, choosing an accounting program is still difficult for you, the author strongly recommends that you pay attention to the well-known and most popular programs among accountants BEST, Bukhsoft, Info-Accountant and Turbo Accountant, and try them out before making a final decision. free versions.

How to choose the right software

Choosing an accounting program is an important issue that needs to be given a lot of attention. The choice is complicated by the fact that there are virtually no universal programs on the market that would 100% satisfy business needs. That is why solutions that can be configured for yourself and expanded with your own modules are popular. The most famous among them is 1C.

Consider the following factors:

Take into account the specifics of the business. Don't forget that sometimes the program needs improvements. Think in advance what tasks your software should solve and write down the requirements, or at least formulate them out loud.
Analyze the latest new products and the most popular options. The former may contain interesting functionality that has not yet appeared in more conservative solutions, while the latter are simply more convenient to use. When choosing unpopular solutions, remember that you will be hard-pressed to find a CPA, an edit programmer, or even an accountant with experience. Not everyone is ready to learn unfamiliar software.
Plan for risks. While you should look at current information when deciding what exactly your accounting software should be, don't forget that it's important to take perspective. Make sure the database is compatible with other solutions in case you need to expand.

For small businesses and small individual entrepreneurs, large solutions are unlikely to be suitable, since they require configuration and certain knowledge. If you don’t want to delve into this, but plan to simply submit reports in a couple of clicks, choose simple services and online projects. But do not forget that they are all designed for standard solutions: if the operation does not fall into this category, you simply will not be able to carry out it.

If you're looking to streamline your accounting with automated solutions, use the software that best suits your business. With its proper implementation, you can get many benefits and also avoid many mistakes when preparing accounting documents in the future.