How to choose multi-currency accounting software

A client approached me recently. He was setting up a new business and wanted an accounting solution that could cope with multiple currencies. He also planned to have a small amount of stock on hand that could be sold at various prices depending on the customer, so he needed the software to sell stock at multiple prices.

The first option I suggested was MYOB AccountRight Premier www.myob.com.au for a recommended retail price of $1840. MYOB Premier is a PC based product and allows processing in multiple currencies, monitoring currency exchange gain or loss. MYOB AccountRight Premier has a pricing matrix that allows inventory to be sold at 6 pricing levels versus the quantity sold. The features met all of the client’s requirements. Other considerations are if the client wanted to use this MYOB AccountRight Premier for payroll, they would need to pay annual charges for the upgrade and the new payroll tax tables on the 1^st of July every year. Also as the solution is PC based, it can only be accessed on the PC it is installed on and data needs to be manually entered.

The second solution I suggested was the subscription based online accounting software XERO www.xero.com.au which offers a Multi-currency version at $64 a month bit.ly/onmMEJ. XERO would then need to integrate, with a solution like Unleash software which offers 11 net pricing tiers that can be assigned to a customer. Unleash also offers foreign pricing and costs $35 per month. So together with the XERO monthly charges, this combined solution would cost $99 per month. Other considerations are as the solutions are online, or in the clouds, they can be accessed wherever the client can access the internet, and if bank feeds are set up data entry will be minimised. The client is also dealing with two software providers rather than one, which may complicate matters, though I am not suggesting it would.

What accounting solution would you choose and why?

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