You may already have an existing accounts software package such as Sage, QuickBooks, or the now discontinued Microsoft Money or Quicken (USA only now). These various offerings are often perceived by accountants as all you might need to run your entire business - however he or she is probably sat behind his or her desk when you are immersed in taking orders, packing parcels and dealing with carriers - not to mention processing credit cards - so with the best will in the world - he or she will probably not be familiar with the bottlenecks that these Accounts packages do not cover.

Sage Line50 is probably the most common first class package we come across and I have to say that I often find that the businesses owners tend not to use perhaps 60% of what this software might do - simply because it seems to need a degree to use - and that is time that many business owners do not have - nor might they want to spend the time to train seasonal helpers to use it too, quite so quickly. I have met one lovely bubbly lady who does use almost all of it - but she admitted she had a fair number of training sessions!

There are some newer boys on the block and one that appears to be quite reasonable is Mamut  (Incorporates MYOB)- and I have the feeling that it will become the popular choice of smaller businesses - but I have yet to give myself an afternoon to get to grips with it!