Basic Accounting Info

[GMKK]

Hai friends
I wish to develop a software for Travel agengies & Private transport company. So I should know the manual accounting procedure for this kind of business. From where , i get this info. Is there any site which gives this kind of information . If so, pls inform. Thank you

[szlamany]

Usually you visit the customer and pull apart the manual and computer procedures in place now.

There is no one fixed answer to a software solution.

Do you have a specific customer in mind? Can't you find one that would be willing to work with you in producing a prototype - maybe with the offer of the application for free after development?

[Hack]

szlamany is right. Even if you had a degree in accounting you would still need to get together with you client and find out what specific needs they have and how they want them to be addressed.

If they do have written procedure manuals, then after speaking with them at length, reading those manuals would be step number two.

[GMKK]

Thanks for your reply. I don't have much knowledge in accountancy, after a short look up of that kind of business accounts, i have planned to meet the accountant of that specific concern.Duing a short period i have to clarify my doubts it seems. For that, i should have basic knowledge on that.That is why i am asking this.

[Al42]

I had the same problem in writing an accounting package with no knowledge of accounting (which has now changed, since I spent over a year designing that package). I found that the best way was to have the company's comptroller write out exactly what they needed in English. Then I just made the program do what he had written, including using the account codes that (I found out later) are pretty industry standard, where and how each entry had to be offset by the other entry (double entry accounting), etc.

Let your customer "write" the program - you just translate it into a language the computer can use. If you translate it correctly it'll be exactly what he was thinking of.