Accounting software is an application software that records and processes accounting transactions within functional modules such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and trial balance. It functions as an accounting information system. It may be developed in-house by the company or organization using it, may be purchased from a third party, or may be a combination of a third-party application software package with local modifications. It varies greatly in its complexity and cost.
The market has been undergoing considerable consolidation since the mid-1990s, with many suppliers ceasing to trade or being bought by larger groups.
Modules
Accounting software is typically composed of various modules, different sections dealing with particular areas of accounting. Among the most common are:
Core modules
Accounts receivable—where the company enters money received
Accounts payable—where the company enters its bills and pays money it owes
General ledger—the company's "books"
Billing—where the company produces invoices to clients/customers
Stock/inventory—where the company keeps control of its inventory
Purchase order—where the company orders inventory
Sales order—where the company records customer orders for the supply of inventory
Bookkeeping—where the company records collection and payment
Non-core modules
Debt collection—where the company tracks attempts to collect overdue bills (sometimes part of accounts receivable)
Electronic payment processing
Expense—where employee business-related expenses are entered
Inquiries—where the company looks up information on screen without any edits or additions
Payroll—where the company tracks salary, wages, and related taxes
Reports—where the company prints out data
Timesheet—where professionals (such as attorneys and consultants) record time worked so that it can be billed to clients
Purchase requisition—where requests for purchase orders are made, approved and tracked
Reconciliation—compares records from parties at both sides of transactions for consistency
Drill down
Journals
Departmental accounting
Support for value added taxation
Calculation of statutory holdback
Note that vendors may use differing names for these modules.
