Exploring the Level of Awareness and Usage of Accounting Software Among Small Businesses in Nigeria.

Abstract:

The advent of accounting software has the potential to help small businesses keep accurate financial records, streamline accounting processes, provide real-time financial data, and enable them to have good financial management practices. However, despite the benefits of accounting software, most small businesses seem unaware of accounting software and its importance to their financial management practices. This study, therefore, explored the level of awareness and usage of accounting software among small businesses in Nigeria. 54 respondents were selected from small business owners in the South West of Nigeria. The study used primary data collected through questionnaire administration on the respondents. The study used descriptive analysis. The findings of the study showed that there is a low awareness of accounting software among small business owners. Also, most small business owners are not currently using accounting software in their businesses, as they are still using manual methods of recording. Additionally, those using accounting software cited improvement in their financial management practices. The study recommended that there should be awareness about the availability of accounting software for small businesses and software developers should consider creating cost-effective, localized software to reduce the dependency on foreign solutions with high subscription fees, especially for Nigerian small businesses.