How can I do my accounting online? Advice and software

By Maëlys De Santis

Published: 22 October 2024

Doing your accounting online: don't see this as a contradiction. Accounting is also affected by the digital transformation of businesses. In short, it's about modernising a company' s bookkeeping using online accounting software.

Why do your accounting online? To automate, simplify and, ultimately, save time!

How do you do your accounting online? That's the question answered in this article: advice, choice of software and selection of accounting tools.

See all software Accounting

What is online accounting?

Definition

Online accounting is becoming an increasingly important part of the software market. Simply put, it's a tool that lets you keep your company's accounts online, in SaaS mode. In other words, you don't need to install accounting software on your local computer. All you need is an Internet connection to access it.

The main features of online accounting software

An online accounting tool lets you :

create and configure your general chart of accounts,
create journals
enter your accounting entries (debits and credits),
monitor your cash flow,
centralise all your entries,
reconcile your bank accounts,
manage your invoicing, etc.

Online accounting, ideal for small businesses

These accounting management solutions are particularly popular with self-employed entrepreneurs and very small businesses for a number of reasons:

they are inexpensive. Free solutions may even be sufficient for the self-employed, because their scope is limited;
they are very easy to use, and you don't necessarily need an accounting degree to use them;
They can be accessed on the move, at any time, which is a great advantage for entrepreneurs who are often on the move;
They provide simple, clear reporting;
they facilitate communication with your accountant.

The advantages of online accounting

There are many advantages to using online accounting software, whether for CFOs, chartered accountants, accountancy firms or entrepreneurs.

Save time

Forget about the time-consuming data entry required for accounting in Excel, for example. Your data is recorded and the tool automates tasks. You don't have to re-enter all your data for each new financial year.

Eliminate the risk of errors

Less data entry also means less risk of errors. You get rid of all those time-consuming micro-tasks that increase the risk of irregularities in your accounts. Cutting and pasting and manual data entry, for example, will be a thing of the past.

Secure your data

Online accounting solutions guarantee the highest levels of security for your data. You can carry on with your accounting activities in a simplified way thanks to a SaaS solution, without having to worry about the issue of security.

Ensure your accounting is compliant

Accounting software incorporates current regulations, so you can work within the law at all times. This is particularly the case with the anti-fraud law that came into force on 1 January 2018.

How do you keep your accounts online?

Step 1: anticipate your accounting management

Accounting requires you to respect deadlines and the nomenclature of accounts set out in the General Chart of Accounts (PCG). Your financial accounts, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and reports must follow precise accounting rules.

If accounting is not your area of expertise, don't wait until the last moment to look into the matter, otherwise you could find yourself in a bad position with the tax authorities.

Step 2: Determine your needs to choose the right accounting software

Not all businesses have the same needs , and the same applies to the tools they use. Their size or sector of activity are two determining factors.

💡 Later in the article, we suggest a list of questions to answer to narrow down your search and find the software that suits you best.

Step 3: Adopt software that suits your business

Some accounting software is designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses or the self-employed. They can also be adapted to your business to take account of specific situations.

Mobility and collaboration requirements can be decisive factors in choosing the tool that will best help you.

Step 4: Set up and customise your online accounting software

To make the best use of it, your online accounting software needs to meet your expectations. Not only in terms of the functions you choose, but also in terms of the interface:

fill in all the fields relating to your company: company name, legal form, SIRET number, opening and closing dates of the financial year, tax status, etc.
define your chart of accounts and customise your accounts,
define and customise your sub-ledger accounts,
set up accounting journals such as the purchase journal and the sales journal,
choose your input mode: input by the kilometre, traditional input, assisted input and pre-configured input, and save time,
if the tool allows, configure the interface so that, for example, you have access to personalised dashboards on your home page and clear visibility of your accounts and cash flow every time you log on,
create user profiles, adapting access rights (read, write, comment) if necessary.

Step 5: Share your accounting data with your accountant... or not

Companies can opt to outsource their accounting to a chartered accountant. However, this is not compulsory.

Online bookkeeping is an ideal solution for entrepreneurs and small businesses to reduce the cost of outsourcing to a chartered accountant:

you can manage your accounting independently using an online tool;
you only need to call in a chartered accountant to present your annual accounts.

👉 The chartered accountant then acts more as a consultant, advising you on tax, accounting and strategic issues.

Online accounting software gives you direct access to your chartered accountant to facilitate communication and the exchange of information and documents.

How do you choose the right accounting software for your needs?

To help you make the right choice, ask yourself these questions:

what functions do I need?
- cost accounting only,
- estimate and invoice management
- expense report management,
- cash management,
- annual accounts, balance sheets, profit and loss statements, etc.
what is the status of my company? Self-employed entrepreneurs and associations, for example, have different accounting obligations.
what is my budget?
how many users does the accounting software have?
do I need my accounting software to interconnect with other tools (invoicing, CRM, HRIS, ERP, etc.)?
do I need to be able to give access to my chartered accountant?

Which online accounting solution is right for you?

Free online accounting software

Azopio simplifies the management of accounting documents: it lets you import, sort and classify your accounting documents to bring order to your accounts. Document dematerialisation made easy.
Compta.com offers all the accounting functions you need to manage your business: accounting printouts with the option of exporting in several formats, fast data entry, data logging, import and export of the general ledger, etc.
Kiwili is a 100% online management solution for managing your business, including accounting: adding expenses (one-off and recurring), tracking income and expenses, monitoring due dates and cash flow, administration of expense items, quotes and invoices, etc.

Professional online accounting programmes

iPaidThat automatically collects your invoices directly from your email inbox and from your suppliers' websites, then extracts the data (date, amount, VAT, etc.), performs the bank reconciliation by synchronising with your account, identifies outstanding invoices or transactions with missing documents.
Itool Compta is an online management and accounting software package that offers general accounting functions (expenditure and income tracking, real-time budgeting, etc.), quotation and invoice management, and tax return calculation.
Numm is a Salesforce-compatible accounting tool that manages: accounting entry, bank reconciliation, forecasting using dashboards, cash flow and fixed asset management, etc.

Accounting tools for self-employed entrepreneurs

Are you self-employed and looking for inexpensive, or even free, online software to help you with your bookkeeping? Here are two alternatives to Zefyr:

Clic & Tag takes care of bookkeeping, invoicing, dashboards and statistics to keep track of your company's finances.
Indy eliminates the need for manual data entry, synchronises with your bank and automatically classifies your bank entries in the appropriate accounting accounts; for self-employed professionals under the BNC regime.