By YOUNG MONEY Staff
16 November 2010

Anyone bootstrapping their own business has plenty to worry about - and too little time to learn the ins and outs of a desktop accounting program like QuickBooks. That's where WorkingPoint, a web-based accounting software company, comes in.

As reported recently in the New York Times, WorkingPoint - which is based in San Francisco - is a small company itself. It has only five employees, so it knows the challenges that a small business faces.

And it was with those challenges in mind that the company's developers made an accounting program that streamlines the entire practice of bookkeeping. All the actual number-crunching happens in the background; the user only sees invoices and profit-and-loss statements.

Other kinds of web-based accounting software are available. The Times tested one program called FreshBooks; another offering from a company called Wave Accounting debuts this week. And there are desktop stalwarts like QuickBooks and Xero.

But, the Times concluded, nothing matches WorkingPoint's program for ease of use. Already, 50,000 small businesses have signed up to use it, so the company must be doing something right.

Different firms will have different software needs, and it may be smart to try out a number of options (including, yes, QuickBooks). But for entrepreneurs who are less than savvy when it comes to accounting, WorkingPoint's program looks like a good bet.