The IT Zone guide to accounts production software

Accounts production software is hardly the most glamorous tool within an accountancy practice, but it lies at the heart of what the firm does. The concept is simple - you enter the data you need to produce a trial balance, and then make the end result look nice.

As Mark Palmer, product manager for Sage's Accountants Division puts it: "Accounts production applications are all doing same thing: writing data from A to B."

The software needs to get the job done fast, accurately and easily. What else is there to worry about?

For starters, the output - a set of accounts - is often the main product the client sees. Every firm has its own approach and house style. Some larger firms may want complete central control with full audit trails, while sole practitioners may prioritise speed and flexibility.

Although accounts production software is a very mature market, dominated by two main players (Sage and IRIS), the diversity of user needs is reflected in the variety of products available on the market.

Around 12% of AccountingWEB members have created their own systems with Excel, and in several cases the developers have offered their programs for sale. There are niches occupied by upmarket suppliers such as MYOB's Viztopia and CCH PROcap, as well as specialists such as CaseWare and VT.

Based on AccountingWEB user comments, IT Zone survey results and the vendors' own comments and descriptions, this article provides an introductory guide to currently available products. Thanks are due to Nigel Harris of Burton-Sweet and Alastair Harris (no relation) for their helpful comments. Responsibility for the published article remains with the editor, so please comment below or email the editor with your comments or additions.

The guide highlights several technical and technology issues that will affect the industry in the next few years, and software integration comes near the top of the list.