Gone are the days of doing your accounting via paper journal entries, and processing your payroll by following printed tax tables by hand. The time and suffering you save yourself, make any money you spend on accounting software well worth it. But plan your strategy out carefully. Once you start with any accounting system, you need to commit to it 100%. While you still can change, it is much easier to do your homework first to see which ones will meet your needs today, and will serve you well as you grow into the future.