<s>
Accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
that	O
maintains	O
account	O
books	O
on	O
computers	O
,	O
including	O
recording	O
transactions	O
and	O
account	O
balances	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
1978	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
then	O
,	O
the	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
has	O
revolutionized	O
from	O
supporting	O
basic	O
accounting	O
operations	O
to	O
performing	O
real-time	O
accounting	O
and	O
supporting	O
financial	O
processing	O
and	O
reporting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cloud	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
first	O
introduced	O
in	O
2011	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
allowed	O
to	O
perform	O
all	O
accounting	O
functions	O
through	O
the	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
typically	O
composed	O
of	O
various	O
modules	O
,	O
with	O
different	O
sections	O
dealing	O
with	O
particular	O
areas	O
of	O
accounting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
provides	O
many	O
benefits	O
such	O
as	O
speed	O
up	O
the	O
information	B-Library
retrieval	I-Library
process	O
,	O
bring	O
efficiency	O
in	O
Bank	O
reconciliation	O
process	O
,	O
automatically	O
prepare	O
Value	O
Added	O
TAX	O
(	O
VAT	O
)	O
/	O
Goods	O
and	O
Services	O
TAX	O
(	O
GST	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
,	O
perhaps	O
most	O
importantly	O
,	O
provide	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
see	O
the	O
real-time	O
state	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
’s	O
financial	O
position	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Personal	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
simple	O
in	O
design	O
and	O
is	O
used	O
mostly	O
for	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
more	O
common	O
uses	O
of	O
personal	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
for	O
tax	O
preparation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
general	O
accounting	O
functions	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
may	O
include	O
integrated	O
or	O
add-on	O
management	B-Application
information	I-Application
systems	I-Application
,	O
and	O
may	O
be	O
oriented	O
towards	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
markets	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
with	O
integrated	O
or	O
add-on	O
project	O
accounting	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
an	O
SDK	B-Application
)	O
,	O
access	O
to	O
program	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
complex	O
and	O
expensive	O
business	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
frequently	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
extensive	O
suite	O
of	O
software	O
often	O
known	O
as	O
enterprise	O
resource	O
planning	O
(	O
ERP	O
)	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
cases	O
,	O
these	O
applications	O
are	O
simply	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
functions	O
which	O
require	O
significant	O
integration	O
,	O
configuration	O
and	O
customization	O
to	O
even	O
begin	O
to	O
resemble	O
an	O
accounting	B-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
freeware	O
high-end	O
open-source	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
are	O
available	O
online	O
these	O
days	O
which	O
aim	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
market	O
dynamics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
options	O
are	O
to	O
employ	O
software-as-a-service	B-Architecture
or	O
another	O
application	O
that	O
offers	O
them	O
similar	O
accessibility	O
from	O
multiple	O
locations	O
over	O
the	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
faster	O
computers	O
and	O
internet	O
connections	O
,	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
companies	O
have	O
been	O
able	O
to	O
create	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
which	O
is	O
paid	O
for	O
on	O
a	O
monthly	O
recurring	O
charge	O
instead	O
of	O
a	O
larger	O
upfront	O
license	O
fee	O
(	O
software	B-Architecture
as	I-Architecture
a	I-Architecture
service	I-Architecture
-	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cloud	O
Accounting	B-Application
Software	I-Application
is	O
where	O
financial	O
information	O
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
from	O
any	O
device	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
at	O
any	O
time	O
even	O
though	O
the	O
financial	O
data	O
itself	O
is	O
located	O
at	O
a	O
centralized	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
differs	O
from	O
more	O
traditional	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
as	O
it	O
is	O
restricted	O
to	O
a	O
certain	O
computer	O
or	O
system	O
of	O
computers	O
and	O
that	O
accounting	O
information	O
can	O
not	O
be	O
easily	O
accessed	O
from	O
other	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
reasons	O
cloud	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
preferred	O
by	O
users	O
is	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
need	O
to	O
worry	O
about	O
maintenance	O
or	O
hardware	O
system	O
upgrades	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
reduce	O
overall	O
costs	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
a	O
user	O
can	O
gain	O
access	O
from	O
multiple	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
primary	O
reasons	O
cloud	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
not	O
being	O
used	O
is	O
the	O
threat	O
of	O
the	O
security	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
more	O
common	O
examples	O
of	O
Cloud	O
Accounting	B-Application
Software	I-Application
include	O
Cloud	O
Elements	O
,	O
IBM	O
App	O
Connect	O
,	O
IFTTT	O
,	O
and	O
Zapier	O
.	O
</s>
