Accounting software is useful to carry out the company’s financial management activities such as financial transactions, financial data, budgeting, reporting, inventory, fixed asset and expense management, and also payroll management.
The accounting apps have become an ultimate mobile payment solution in the contemporary digital world. Accounting is a moderately specific industry that needs an individual set of features for different types of business verticals.
That is why, despite a comprehensive range of ready-made accounting software tools, many media to large scale entrepreneurs turn to app development companies to develop accounting apps that would cater to their individual needs.
As a result, it has become essential to develop the best accounting app in 2021, depending on the current business needs.
Pricing Models
The accounting software primarily comes with two major pricing models, one being perpetual licensing and the other subscription hosting plans.
#1 Perpetual Licensing
Big companies and powerful conglomerates are desirous of hosting their data and, thus, prefer to purchase software licenses that last a software’s lifespan.
It is also called on-premise deployment, and the costs include purchasing hardware, servers, etc., and using IT resources for management and maintenance. The licenses are an attractive proposition for such large companies and also provide data security.
The cost factors, such as IT overheads, after-sales support, and potential breakdown, need to be considered, wherein maintenance, product up-gradation, and infrastructure costs are direct costs.
#2 Subscription Hosting
The companies smaller in size and budget allocations prefer this option of software hosting by deploying it in the cloud at annual or monthly subscriptions.
These are cost-effective software solutions that can be tailored or customized as preferred with specific features and support systems. We will dive into the factors affecting the cost of building an accounting app in 2021.
#3 Additional Costs
Feature and Module based Costs
There is software that comes with an implementation, support, and additional features combined in the cost factor, whereas, there are service providers who provide these features at an additional cost, such as payroll, accounting or multi-company mobile payment solution.
i. Implementation Process Costs
The implementation services also come at varying prices by different service providers. Some vendors may provide implementation specialists, installation, customization, data integration, and migration, inclusive of the software price. Some vendors may offer implementation specialists, while others may outsource consultants on hire.
ii. Training Costs
Some service providers include essential training components in the base price, whereas others may charge, especially for training undertaken at the client’s site.
Before developing the best accounting app in 2021, the criteria for training costs is a must to understand for any app developer.
iii. Support
The necessary support, including the knowledge base, is primarily included in the cost, but some service providers charge for advanced support.
In case of perpetual licensing, some vendors may provide product up-gradation for a certain initial period of service and may charge for such a support system beyond the stipulated period.
vi. Free Software
As far as the mobile payment solution is concerned, it includes only basic features being provided by some service providers. These are provided for small businesses, such as for accounting, invoicing, receipt scanning, etc. and other financial services come at a cost.
There are certain apps that the service providers give for free but generate revenue through fees paid by a specific company when the user uses that app for spending on a product or service. There are service providers who give free trial and software demo for a certain period.
Price Comparisons for Vendor Selection
After conducting all the due-diligence concerning the price quotations and decided to hire a specific service provider for software installation, the Service Agreement or contract needs to be executed. The various clauses or queries that can be put forth in cost to build an accounting app 2021 could include:
- The total comprehensive software development cost, including implementation, training, fees, etc.
- Hidden Costs
- Clauses about automatic subscription renewals (without approval)
- Can partial licenses be availed
The best cost-delivery adherence features may be included upon negotiations.
Software Pricing Options
i. Basic Software Fee
There are essential desktop solutions for any mobile payment solution that come with a one-time fee, including features such as ledger, sales, and banking.
Then, there are some advanced versions of the same software that provides services such as inventory and purchasing features, payroll, billing, etc., accommodating at least ten users.
There are optional payroll tax services for tax updates. There are options of monthly or yearly fee per license ranging from $21 to $399.
ii. Pricing Tiers
There is software that comes in varying pricing tiers ranging between $19 per month to $125 per month.
These apps offer services ranging from accounting, reporting project or time tracking modules, sales and purchase, and high-end tier include integrating to different platforms with several users per license. It becomes imperative to understand before deciding the cost to build an accounting app.
Different Pricing Plans
There are service providers who provide software in expense management pricing plans depending upon the size of the organization ranging between 25 and more than 200 employees for $7 to $9 per user per month.
The service range from basic features including multi-currency conversions, mobile app, chat, and email support, expense approval workflows and mileage tracking to receipt backup, integration of credit card, standard and custom accounts payable feeds, HRMS and ERP integration in several languages.
On-Premise – Cloud
There are options of on-premise software available for any mobile payment solution having different subscription plans ranging from $15 per month to $150 per month, but also offer discounts for initial short-periods of subscriptions. Some add-on features per employee are also available at a cost ranging between $4 and $13.5 per employee per month.
Then, there are options of perpetual license available with desktop and advanced features ranging between $300 and $1200, with discounts for the initial subscription periods.
Other software also comes in monthly subscription plans at a price range between $9 per month to $60 per month. The services include sending up to five invoices and quotes and reconciling of at least 20 bank transactions, ensuring multicity capabilities and project tracking to its users.
Conclusion
The cost to build an app in 2021 is based on the requirements of a particular organization for deployment, specific features, and modules of the software.
There is a need for identification of a service provider that transparently provides a maximum of services, separately identifying the services available at a price and that available free-of-cost to the client.
There is a need to conduct in-house research for the selection of particular accounting software as per the size and business requirements of a specific organization or company.
The add-on features, durations of the modules, complementary period of services, a track record of the vendor, and its market presence and viability to provide value for any mobile payment solution.
You May Like To Read:
- The Importance of Accounting Service for Small Business
- How Payroll Software Can Benefit Your Business
- Is Having a Business App Worth It?
Author Bio: Ittika Duggal has been writing exceptional content for more than four years. She has worked with reputed corporate arenas as a professional content writer. She is passionate about creating informative content for mobile app development and other technology-related write-ups. Also, she strives to indulge herself in developing and researching new ideas for content creation.
