The Software Advice Blog

Accounting software blogger Chris Thorman recently got in touch with me about The Software Advice Blog.  They have a nice post about how "horizontal" accounting software is dying.  You can read the article, but I will go ahead and let you know horizontal means that one generic software package can be used across multiple industries.  You probably guessed that the opposite vertical packages then tend to be more industry specific.  The vertical parts just means that the accounting software will integrate "up and down" with packages that may be specific to an industry.  Think job costing module for a construction company accounting package.

The concept ties in well with the SaaS or Cloud based software services, I have talked about before on here.  For example look at Outright.com which integrates with multiple other web based services, so the business owner gets to pick and choose those tools that he wants and needs.

Guess what, this means choosing an accounting solution for your business is at some level getting more difficult, because you Mr. Business Owner will have to take into account more options.  The good part is that extra time spent on the front end will pay off long term because you may be using an accounting solution for years to come, so "choose wisely".