Details for Taking to the Clouds: Simplifying Bookkeeping and AgExpert Analyst Data Transfer

The complete answer almost always starts with "It depends . .." in this case it truly does . . .it depends on what you are attempting to accomplish . . .i.e. what level of financial sophistication are you aiming for. Relatively simple cash basis (read tax) accounting . . .look at QuickBooks Online. Be aware that the cheapest version doesn't allow for use of classes. I became aware of Ambrook at a recent FFSC Annual Meeting . . .looks interesting. Higher levels of ag-centric, robust accounting . . .Red Wing Software and FBS Syrems to name a couple. 'Hope this is beneficial.

We use QuickBooks Online (QBO) on our farm, and I like Dext to scan, parse and extract invoice & bill information to minimize typing / manual entry work and then automatically import into QBO. (QBO also has invoice scan, parse, extract tech but I haven’t tried it) Xero is another equivalent to QBO. If you want ag focused bookkeeping software, AgExpert Accounting in Canada, Traction Ag in the USA are the main ones I know. (If you want to manage grain accounting - think inventory + contracts / load tickets / settlements, check out Combyne Ag. If you have a bit of time to spare, our software team is looking to understand the bookkeeping/ accounting work around grain marketing as integrating Combyne into farm accounting software is a highly requested feature we are now starting work on but want to make sure we understand it well first)

There are a lot of different kinds of bookkeeping! Are you looking for - compliance only (just enough to do your taxes) or - management reporting (so you know what makes you money and what doesn’t? What other features do you need? Will you be invoicing customers or recording a payment after your coop or elevator sends you a check? Will you be paying bills as you go or setting up a weekly check run? It’s soooo worth planning for the features you need before you demo any system. Asking for recommendations can be a way to get started, and remember everyone is biased - either I love my system because it does what I need it to do (on my farm which is not the same as your farm) or I only tolerate it because it’s not the right tool for the job I need it to do but my neighbor used it. Consider what features and options you need - just like you would on any other piece of equipment! And once you have that down, then we match the right tool to your job. If you need a hand figuring out the features you need, we can do that too!

Anxious to learn about the AgExpert uploading.