Running your small to mid-size business doesn't have to be a chore. It's hard enough just keeping up with customers, orders, and doing your work. So, choosing the right software to administer your business is an important step to having a highly successful business.
There are two areas that you should focus on. The first is Operational and the second is Accounting. For accounting, most small to mid-size businesses will be able to use applications like Quickbooks or Peachtree Accounting. These applications have been engineered to provide real business administration solutions for the small to mid-size sector and they also provide operational features that would suffice for most small to mid-size businesses. However, if your business has a special or unique aspect, you will probably require additional functionality that these programs do not provide. You are then burdened with having to choose or develop software to handle these unique situations.
But there is no need to fret, since, Quickbooks and Peachtree both have opened their software so that independent software developers can develop software for these unique situations and have "Hooks" into accounting software, thereby eliminating their need to "re-invent" an accounting piece of software. This allows you to utilize a "Best of Breed" philosophy.
In either situation, having an experienced IT professional by your side during the selection phase will help ensure you choose the right solutions for your specific business needs. Remember, having an efficient and appropriate software solution adds significant value to your business. It allows you to be the best you can be while running your business and it increases the value of your business to potential buyers of your business if and when you choose to move on.