Choosing an
Accounting Program
Karisha Devlin
Agricultural Business Specialist
A Good Accounting System
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Works for you
Right info at right cost
Good internal control
Keep it simple
Test run a program
Help/support
Pencil and Paper
 Simple and inexpensive
 “Trust”
 Missouri farm business record book
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Receipts
Expenditures
Cash flow summary
Profit and loss
Balance sheet
Enterprise forms
Pencil and Paper
 Missouri farm tax record
 Income and expenses
 Depreciation schedule
Why use a Software Program?
 Less time consuming than manual
bookkeeping
 Generate reports
 Keep track of inventory
 Simplify payroll
 Tax time
What are your needs…
 What functions do you need the
system to perform?
 What are other farming operations
using?
 What resources are available and
what are needed?
 Will your accountant be able to
read/open files at year end?
Tips When Purchasing Software
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Hardware requirements
Ability to modify
Support services
User friendliness
Training
Annual support
Subscription services
Tips When Purchasing Software
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Reports & documents
Consult your accountant
Review or test run the program
Exporting data to other programs
Payroll
Personnel
Cost
Disclaimer
The University of Missouri Extension is
not recommending or endorsing any
of the following products or
companies, we are simply interested
in helping you with your search for
tools to help you run and manage
your business better.
Software Packages
 Quickbooks
 Quicken
 PC Mars
Quickbooks
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Built for small business accounting
Easy to learn
More features and options
Single or double entry
Extensive reporting capabilities
Cost - $100 and up
Trial version
Quickbooks
 Training
 Website FAQ
 Standard features
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Payroll system
Inventory
Invoicing
Customer statements
Accounts receivable
Online banking
Quickbooks
 No investment tracking features
 Farm accounting
 Quickbooks is nice for farmers with side
businesses
 Seldom useful for farm inventories
Quicken
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Built for personal finance
Very easy to learn
Flexible
Features for tracking investments
Training
Cost - $40 to $80
Trial version
Quicken
Reports
No inventory system
No payroll system
Limited support for invoicing,
receivables, etc.
 Simple income and expense records
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PC Mars
 Single entry accounting program
 Cash or accrual
 Reconcile with bank accounts and
loan balances
 Relatively easy to operate
 Allows you to divide farm into
separate enterprises
 Payroll option
PC Mars
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Inventory capabilities
Built in budget and cash flow feature
Several different report options
Demo versions available
Prices
 $225 – Members of IFBA
 $350 – Non-members of IFBA
Websites
 http://agebb.missouri.edu/mgt/mofar/
 http://agebb.missouri.edu/mgt/mofar/quicken.htm
 http://www.iowafarmbusiness.org/PCMARSv2.
0.htm
 http://agebb.missouri.edu/mgt/mofar/quickbook
s.htm
Questions
Karisha Devlin
devlink@missouri.edu
573-633-2640