Buying guide, Software

What to ask before buying accounting software

Eight questions that decide the real five-year cost, and the answers that count as good.

By Marta Reiss, software analystLast updated November 20266 min read

The checklist

0 of 8 done

1. What does the price do at five users, not one?Per-seat pricing is where the quoted number stops being the number. Ask for the invoice at your real headcount.2. Is bank feed reconnection included or billed per feed?Feeds break. Some vendors charge per reconnection or per institution after the first three.3. Can you export the full general ledger yourself, in one file?If export runs through a support ticket, you do not control your data.4. Who holds the data after cancellation, and for how long?Thirty days of read-only access is the floor. Ask for it in the order form, not the FAQ.5. Does payroll run in house or through a third party?A resold payroll module adds its own per-employee fee and its own support queue.6. What does the implementation fee actually cover?Get the hours, the deliverables and the refund terms in writing before signing.7. How many closed periods can you reopen?Audit adjustments land late. A hard lock after one period creates journal workarounds.8. Is the renewal uplift capped in the contract?Uncapped renewal is the single most expensive clause in small business software.

What good looks like

Under $40 per user per month at five users
General ledger export in CSV and journal formats, self serve
Renewal uplift capped at 5% a year
Implementation complete within three weeks

Walk away signals

No sandbox or trial with your own data
Export only by support request
Renewal price not stated in the order form
Annual prepay required before migration starts

What to ask before buying accounting software

The checklist

What good looks like

Walk away signals

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