Many of you would ask, what is the role of accounting software in the agricultural farming business? Well, we are here to tell you that around 18-19% of India’s GDP comes from agriculture. Moreover, the market size of agriculture will be worth 227,059 billion INR in 2032.
Looking at the numbers, we can say that the rise in the agricultural business is imperative. And so is the need for accounting management for the same businesses. For those of you who are involved in a farming business, good accounting software can help you track and manage your expenses easily.
For farmers looking for accounting software for agriculture in India, check out this blog!
Key Features to Look for in Agriculture Accounting Software
While closing in on accounting software for your farming business, here are some things that you need to consider!
- Inventory management: Whether it is your machinery, crop, or stock in your godown, real-time inventory management ensures a smooth supply chain oversight.
- Weather Data Integration: There are some advanced accounting software that integrate weather forecasts and historical data that help farmers plan better.
- Operations Management: There are several farm operations, such as labour management, work order management, equipment maintenance, etc. Features to manage these operations and track their financials should be in the software.
- Loan and credit tracking: Many agricultural businesses rely on loans or credit. Features to monitor repayments and interest rates should be there in the software.
- Financial reporting: Make sure that the accounting software you choose has dynamic reporting features. It should provide real-time insights about cash flow, profitability, and equity.
- Dedicated customer support: What if you face any issues with the tool? Look for an accounting tool that has dedicated customer support to assist with any questions.
Benefits of Using Accounting Software for Agriculture Businesses
Now that we know about the key features to look for in accounting software let’s understand what benefits we will reap!
- Real-time tracking: Whether it is expense tracking, crop sales, livestock sales, or expenses related to labour or machinery, real-time tracking of this data helps in making proactive decisions and strategies. This can be increasing production or adjusting pricing.
- Labour wage calculation and management: Your labour is an indispensable part of the farming business. And accounting software can help manage their wages. With the help of attendance data, hours worked, job role, and wage structure, the software can help calculate wages accurately.
- Farmer data management: This is the benefit best for contract farming businesses. Accounting software for agriculture in India can help in managing contracted farmers’ data, including their details, crop varieties, and payment terms. Some tools can also evaluate farmer data, such as crop growth, harvest dates, and expected yields, to check performance and make timely payments.
- Easy financial reporting: For businesses operating on a large scale, the accounting software can help in consolidated financial reporting. It can help in handling the financial data of multiple clients and convert currencies automatically to provide a unified view of the reports.
- Effective asset management: Besides crops, accounting software can also help in managing and tracking the usage of machinery, and land-related expenses and monitoring the growth and performance of biological assets like livestock. It helps in making smart decisions for resource efficiency and cost saving.
Top Accounting Software for Agriculture in India
When it boils down to accounting software for agriculture in India, there are limitless choices on the market. But we have listed the best ones for you!
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Mocha Accounting
Mocha accounting is an easy-to-use software packed with a number of features for budgeting, tracking, and invoicing.
- Get detailed and personalised invoicing options. Put your farm’s name on the invoice while also taking care of GST compliance automatically.
- Fully controlled and optimised inventory management with a close check on the crop-in and crop-out quantity with automatic restock reminders.
- Easy bill management with bill tracking, overdue bills, scheduling recurring bills, vendor credits management, etc.
- Comprehensive reporting of data related to sales, expenses, bank accounts, etc., along with the facility to share reports via secure links.
- Simplified GST for farm businesses, including GST compliance, easy GST calculations based on the latest GST rates, and more.
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QuickBooks Commerce
QuickBooks Commerce is another great accounting software for agriculture in India. It is packed with remarkable features, including a user-friendly interface, finance management, inventory management, etc.
- The mobile companion app allows farmers to get secure access to financial information, attack receipt photos to bills, and make cost estimations.
- Faster and automatic invoicing for on-time payments and simplified tax compliance features for easy preparation and submission of activity statements.
- Accurate cash flow management via customised reports for profit and expense tracking and predicting future cash flow.
- Easily record profit and loss, view bank transactions, and categorise expenses with the bank feeds feature.
- Get all the inventory management features, including livestock, machinery, crop quantities, orders, etc.
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Folio3 AgTech
Not just accounting features, but the Folio3 Agtech also has the advanced management tools to streamline the concerns of the farm’s financial oversight.
- Crop and livestock management for real-time insights into crop yields, livestock health, planting schedules, breeding, and feed usage.
- Access the farm data anytime and from anywhere with seamless accessibility and cloud scalability options.
- Automatic payroll and expense tracking with minimum errors and compliance with tax regulations.
- Make faster and more informed decisions based on detailed reporting, showcasing cash flow, profitability, and operational efficiency.
- Operations management features, such as planning, scheduling, and work order tracking, improve productivity and efficiency.
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FarmBooks
FarmBooks is an exceptional software that is ideal for those who are new to accounting and do not have much experience in handling accounting operations. But don’t take it the other way; it has the required functionalities.
- Manage the payroll process easily with the help of features such as automated payroll calculations and on-time disbursements.
- Monitor all the financial aspects, such as inventory levels, equipment depreciation, and cash flow, to make informed farm decisions.
- Enjoy uninterrupted access to farm data at all times, even without internet connectivity with offline accessibility.
- Easy to control and intuitive user interface for farmers of all expertise.
- Affordable pricing structure fit for budget-conscious farmers.
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UnCommon Farms
UnCommon Farms is an invaluable asset for farmers as it makes it easy to track financial operations. It is a cloud-based platform that makes operations management simpler from anywhere and at any time.
- Farmers can keep a tab on all the financial aspects, including cash flow, income, and expenses, with comprehensive and up-to-date financial reporting.
- The tool makes the categorisation and tracking of farm-related income and expenses accurate with the farm-specific chart of accounts.
- This accounting software for agriculture in India helps farmers track multiple input costs, such as seeds, fertiliser, and labour, for accurate cost production analysis.
- Simplified tax reporting with automatic report generation while ensuring compliance with agricultural tax laws.
- Keep track of sales and stock in real-time with inventory management. Manage seeds, chemicals, and harvested crops.
How to Choose the Right Software for Your Farm?
When there are so many options for accounting software for agriculture in India in the market, it becomes tricky to decide which one is good enough for you. So, here are some crucial things that you have to consider
- Ease of use
Check if the software is easy to use. Most of the farmers may not know how to operate the software. Therefore, while choosing software, keep a check on the following!
- It has an intuitive interface and easy navigation.
- It is easier to learn, including entering data and generating reports.
- Learning does not require extensive training.
- Features
Second, you need to check the features of the accounting software. There are several features that form a part of the accounting software, such as inventory management, reporting and analytics, expense tracking and payroll management, income tracking, and more.
- Cloud service
Ideally, it is best to go for cloud-based accounting systems as they can be easily accessed remotely from anywhere and at any time. But, if you are managing a farming operation in a remote area with internet connectivity issues, on-premise software is recommended.
- Scalability
Every farmer plans to expand his business in the future. Hence, picking a tool that can be scaled with the rising needs of the farmers is the best. Scalability should be analysed in terms of additional features, higher transaction limits, and crop yield.
- Cost
Buying expensive accounting software is not the best decision, not everytime. You will not need all the features it offers in the beginning. Go for an accounting software that balances your feature-to-cost ratio. With some providers, you can get add-on features as your requirements change with tiered pricing models.
Real-Life Examples and Case Studies
Several farming businesses have leveraged the power of accounting software to enhance their business operations.
- Guentzel Family Farms used accounting software to effectively manage their farming business. The farm accounting management software brought several benefits to them, such as time-saving efficiency, better relationships with financial advisors, fast and easy tax preparation, etc.
- Northern Livestock Services also started using accounting software in 2016. Since then, its owner has saved at least 10 hours a week on accounting.
Conclusion
Any small mistake in the accounting process can lead to an exponential loss in the future. In the farming and agriculture business, it becomes more critical due to a diverse range of parameters. But, with accounting software by your side, it becomes easier to manage every aspect of it.
For you, there are multiple choices for accounting software for agriculture in India that have cutting-edge features. But, if you are looking to try the software before use, there is nothing better than Mocha accounting. You can check all the features of the software by scheduling a demo!
FAQs
1. I have a large farm, which is the right software for me?
Well, first of all, check if the software has the advanced features that you need and if it is available at an affordable cost. Ideally, software like this will be the best and Mocha is one of those software.
2. What security features should I look for?
Multi-factor authentication, secure data backup, and data encryption are the security features you need to look for.
3. Is there a limit on the number of users and transactions?
Yes, every software has limitations like this. But you can increase these limits by upgrading the plans.
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