In this article
Banana Accounting Plus offers various templates to help you start your accounting efficiently. Choosing the right template saves time and provides a clear financial overview right from the beginning.
Each accounting year is contained in a file that includes the chart of accounts, the transactions table (movements), and other tables, depending on the type of accounting you need. Based on our experience, we have identified a few simple initial questions that can help you quickly find the most suitable template for your needs.
What do you want to manage?
Banana offers predefined templates that can always be customized based on your activity type: private accounting, associations or non-profits, small businesses, or microenterprises.
Private accounting
Household expenses, home budgets, children’s allowances (it’s never too early to start), health insurance costs, etc.
See available templates for private users
Association or non-profit
Small associations may find income and expense accounting sufficient, especially if the person managing the accounting has limited knowledge of bookkeeping. However, some associations may prefer double-entry accounting. If your association has bank accounts in foreign currencies, then a multi-currency accounting system is necessary.
See available templates for associations
Banana provides several other resources for associations, such as project management, donation receipts, membership fee tracking, etc.
Small business or microenterprise
If you manage a commercial activity, it is useful to clarify your needs with a few additional questions:
- What type of business do you have? See our templates for legal entities (SA, Sagl), for sole proprietorships or for partnerships
- Are you subject to VAT? See double-entry accounting templates with VAT. If your business is in Switzerland, do you know whether you are subject to VAT under the effective method or the flat rate method? See the differences between the two systems.
- Do you manage your accounting on an accrual or cash basis? See the difference between the two methods.
- Do you work internationally? Do you have bank accounts in multiple currencies? If yes, choose a multi-currency double-entry accounting template.
Important note: If you are subject to VAT, you need the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus to generate VAT returns.
Are you familiar with accounting?
Regardless of the activity you need to manage, an important factor in choosing the right template is understanding your level of knowledge of accounting principles:
📘 I am a beginner and want something simple.
📗 I have experience and need a flexible system.
📙 I am an expert and require advanced features.
If you are a beginner, we recommend choosing an income and expense accounting template. There are also templates with descriptive accounts and categories (words instead of account numbers) to make everything more intuitive. With Banana, you learn as you go, and when you’re ready, you can always convert your income and expense file to a double-entry accounting system.
If you have experience, you can jump into double-entry accounting. If you’re unsure about the theory, you can review it on our website, or check out the numerous example entries we offer within the templates or on our website for various cases.
There are double-entry templates with simplified charts of accounts, ideal for simpler bookkeeping needs. You can always add or modify accounts, groups, or subgroups throughout the year, rename accounts, etc.
If you are an expert and want advanced features, we definitely recommend double-entry accounting, especially with the Advanced plan. You’ll find features designed to save time and automate common tasks, such as entering automatic rules for completing transactions when importing bank statements, or using the Filter to quickly search, find, and modify texts, amounts, etc., within records. The Advanced plan is intended for those with multiple monthly entries who need speed.
How many transactions do you record monthly?
This is another important question to help determine the type of accounting and which plan to choose. A few transactions can be manually entered or managed using recurring transactions, included in the Professional plan. If you have many monthly transactions, the Advanced plan is more convenient, as it includes specific import extensions for various banks and credit cards (the Professional plan only includes the ISO 20022 standard format).
You can always start with one plan and upgrade to a higher one during the year, paying only the pro-rated difference.
Do you need to issue invoices?
If the answer is yes, Banana Accounting Plus offers several options, each with its own benefits. Below is a brief overview, but you can find more details on the How to generate invoices/letters with the Swiss QR Code page.
Manage your invoices separately from your accounting
Invoices are managed in a separate file using the Estimates and Invoices application. This is the simplest method. The various tables contain customer data, a list of items or services to be invoiced (which can be adapted during invoicing), and several options to easily create invoices, including adding your logo, colors, etc.
We recommend this method especially for those who manage accounting on a cash basis, want a multi-year client history, or want to issue quotes and convert them into invoices without rewriting them. There are various invoice customization options, including subtotals and even product images (only with the Advanced plan). There is no synchronization between invoice data and the accounting file.
Manage your invoices integrated into the accounting file
The integrated invoicing system is primarily recommended for users with double-entry accounting (with or without VAT) based on revenue. Invoices are created as transactions (in the Transactions table). The advantage is that reminders can be sent (the same document can be printed and sent as an initial invoice or 1st, 2nd, or 3rd reminder), and partial payments can be well managed. However, you cannot create quotes, and there are fewer invoice customization options.
Print a simple letter with a QR payment slip
The letter with QR payment slip is a super simple solution, used by individual businesses, condominium managers collecting occasional material or expense fees, etc. You can create a file for each person requiring a QR payment slip and customize it as needed (with the customer name, amount, or leave fields blank).
Print batch invoices using Excel data
Serial invoicing using data from Excel is perfect for associations, ski clubs, or organizations that already have a customer or member database in Excel and use Banana to create all invoices at once.