Accounting software: compare quotes and prices

Define the software assignment

Establish whether you need a new solution, are replacing a system or want to extend the current setup. Buying and implementing software is separate from doing the day-to-day bookkeeping. Involve your accountant early if they work on the accounts.

List essential processes: invoices and reminders, supplier bills, financial accounting, VAT reporting and management reports. Payroll and stock functions may need additional modules. Request a demonstration of your essential tasks rather than relying on a general feature list.

Count users and businesses separately

Count people who actually need access and the businesses or client entities that need separate accounts. Viewing, entering and approving require different permissions. Check access for external specialists and how it is treated under the licence.

Compare cloud and local operation

For cloud software, agree responsibility for operation, updates, backups and exports. Local operation also requires infrastructure and internal ownership. Neither option is automatically safer or cheaper simply because of its label.

Clarify Internet dependency, data location, restoration and handling of a prolonged outage. Ask which exports you can produce yourself and what remains available after termination. Having a backup is different from having a tested recovery procedure.

Test connections and Swiss accounting workflows

Do you need bank reconciliation, payment orders, a till, an online shop or payroll integration? Check the actual connection to your systems, supported functions, fees and responsibility for errors. Merely listing an interface is insufficient.

Test a representative invoice, incoming payment and correction using neutral data. VAT processing must suit your actual reporting method and receive appropriate configuration. Automatic suggestions should remain understandable and open to review before approval.

Plan and reconcile the data migration

Distinguish master data, opening balances, open items and full transaction history. An export from the old system may not be fully importable into the new one. Agree a cutover date, scope, trial import and responsible person.

Reconcile totals and open items after import. Check whether document links survive or require a separate legacy archive. Do not delete history prematurely: an import-success message does not prove that the accounts are correct.

Include retention and permissions

Swiss accounting records generally require ten years of retention; specific requirements depend on the documents and circumstances. Readability, integrity and traceable changes are separate requirements. A simple cloud backup does not guarantee an appropriate archive.

Request a permissions plan, logging of important changes and a process for removing access. Tasks, user numbers and context are enough for the initial enquiry. Credentials, bank statements, personnel files and complete accounting datasets belong in a later agreed secure exchange.

Compare total costs over the same period

Separate recurring charges from implementation work and internal effort. Ask about the licence model, minimum term, price changes and exit costs. An entry price may exclude necessary modules or third-party connections.

Use an agreed comparison period and the same user numbers. Include testing, training and data cleaning. Quotes should identify assumptions and exclusions: ranking prices for different scopes offers little useful guidance.

Agree the demonstration and acceptance

Before a demonstration, describe typical transactions with anonymised examples and select a small, verifiable test scenario. Agree responsibilities, launch timing and accessible support. A date alone does not make the data or team ready.

For acceptance, test permissions, invoicing, bank reconciliation, a report and handover to the responsible specialist. Record open issues and corrections. For comparable quotes, state the project stage, functions, access, businesses and known integrations.