To choose the right accounting software, start with your country's tax requirements, define the operations you cannot do without, test two or three products with your real invoices in a demo, and work out their cost over three years. The order matters, because software you like the look of will not help if it cannot connect to the tax authority.
Most "best accounting software" lists are written by companies that sell it, and they put themselves first. You will find no ranking of names here. You get criteria to apply yourself and a script of seven transactions to ask for in front of you. We checked the official sources in November 2026. Tax requirements change, so confirm them before signing. This article is not tax or legal advice.
Start with the tax requirements in Egypt and Saudi Arabia
This is the first filter. A product that fails it leaves the list, whatever else it offers.
| Item | Saudi Arabia | Egypt |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) | Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) |
| Issuing invoices | The generation phase has applied since 4 December 2021, through a compliant electronic solution | The e-invoicing system, which taxpayers join in phases set by the authority |
| Integration | The integration phase began on 1 January 2023, in waves | Published APIs for connecting ERP and point-of-sale systems |
| What is new | Wave 25 covers taxpayers whose VAT-subject revenue exceeded SAR 187,500 in any year from 2022 to 2025, integrating by 1 February 2027 | Expansion of the e-receipt for consumer sales, as specialist sources report the authority's decisions |
Do not settle for "e-invoicing compliant" on a product's website. Ask the vendor to issue a test invoice in front of you that reaches the official platform, ask for clients in your sector who use the integration today, and ask who pays for changes when the requirements move. The details are in what e-invoicing requires of your company.
Define what you need before watching any demo
Write these answers on one page with your accountant. If you watch demos first, you end up comparing the features sellers like to show instead of what you need.
- Monthly invoices and purchases, and the number of users.
- The number of branches, and whether each needs separate accounts.
- If you hold stock, how you value it.
- The currencies you deal in.
- Software it must connect to, such as point of sale, your online store or payroll.
- The reports you want to read each month. Our article on the financial reports that help an owner decide helps you pick them.
Ten criteria for choosing accounting software and how to test each one
Score each product from 1 to 5 on each criterion, then apply a weight that suits your business. An online store weighs integration and stock more heavily, while a service company cares more about project tracking and recurring invoices.
| # | Criterion | How to test it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tax compliance | A test invoice that reaches the official platform |
| 2 | Easy daily entry | Your employee records a transaction without the seller's help |
| 3 | Arabic support | Print an invoice and a report, and check the text and direction |
| 4 | Stock | Make a sale and a return, then compare quantity and cost of goods |
| 5 | Permissions | Block an employee from certain figures, then log in as them |
| 6 | Audit trail | Edit an entry and ask where it shows who changed it and when |
| 7 | Reports | Pull the income statement, receivables aging and cash flow |
| 8 | Integration | Ask to see the working connection with your software, and accept no promises |
| 9 | Data export | Export the general ledger, trial balance and customers to a file |
| 10 | Support | Send a real question during the trial and time the reply |
Many buyers ignore criteria 6 and 9. The audit trail protects you from errors and manipulation, and data export decides if you can ever leave the product without losing your financial history.
A demo script of seven transactions from your company
Do not ask for a general demo. Send this list before the meeting, ask them to run it with your figures, and bring your accountant.
- Issue a sales invoice with tax to one of your real customers.
- Record a part payment from the customer, then show the balance left.
- Issue a credit note for a return, and watch the effect on tax and stock.
- Record a supplier invoice and pay it in two installments.
- Transfer stock between two branches, if that applies to you.
- Record a foreign currency transaction and show the exchange difference.
- Close a month, then try to edit an invoice in the closed month.
Note how many steps each transaction took and where the seller stopped to look for the way. The last one matters most, since it shows whether the product blocks changes to a closed period or allows them easily.
Cloud, installed software or an ERP
The choice depends on where your team works and how many departments need the same data.
| Type | Suits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud subscription | Most small and mid-sized companies, and spread-out teams | You pay as long as you use it. Check data export and where data is hosted |
| Installed on a device or server | Organizations that must keep data in-house or have weak connectivity | Backups, security and updates are on you |
| ERP | Several departments on shared data, such as production, purchasing and stock | Implementation is a full project. See when your company needs an ERP |
Building your own accounting system rarely makes sense, because the tax burden falls on you alone. Development may be worth it for an operational part connected to the product, while the accounting stays in the product. Our article on off-the-shelf or custom software shows how to decide.
Questions that reveal the real cost
The subscription price on the first page leaves a lot out. Ask these questions, get the answers in writing, and add up the total over three years.
- How many users and branches does the plan include, and what does more cost?
- Are e-invoicing, point of sale and stock in the plan or paid add-ons?
- Are there limits on the number of invoices?
- What do data migration and training cost?
- Does the contract set a yearly increase?
- If you stop paying, how long does your data stay available, and in what format can you get it?
How to move your data to the new software cleanly
Pick a clear start date, ideally the start of a financial year or quarter. Then follow these steps in order with your accountant:
- Clean duplicates from your customer, supplier and item lists before moving them.
- Close the old books up to the start date and pull the trial balance.
- Enter opening balances and confirm the new trial balance matches the old one.
- Enter open invoices so receivables aging works correctly.
- Run both systems for a month if you can, then compare balances at the end.
- Keep a full copy of the old data, and check the legal retention period with your accountant.
Your next step
Sit with your accountant for an hour and write the needs page. Pick only three products, send them the seven-transaction script, and fill in the criteria table after each demo. You will likely end up with one or two that pass the tax filter, and the difference will come down to ease of use and three-year cost.
If your operations are more complex than ready-made products cover, or you need them connected to your operational systems, PlanKit's accounting systems team can review that page with you before you decide.