If you are new to the world of day trading, the one thing you’ve probably noticed is that everything seems to happen at the speed of light! With so much to keep in mind, and so much going on at the same time, you may be at a loss as to how to keep track of what you have already traded and how to improve your trading style. Someone may have suggested that the best course of action may be to use accounting software. Not only will this help you track your trades, but it will also come in handy in several other areas as well. So, do day traders need accounting software? The best answer is probably yes. Here is why.

Staying Ahead of the Taxman!

Many people have asked whether or not day trading is legal and that, too, is easy to answer. Yes, day trading is most definitely legal, however, staying ahead of the taxman might not be as easy! Bear in mind that all your trades happen so rapidly that to omit one gain or one loss can upset your taxes immensely. If you want to keep track of literally every trade to keep your gains/losses up to date, you would certainly benefit from the best accounting software on the market used by savvy day traders. You can do a comparison of various software platforms suitable for day traders on the piesync.com website. Here they compare two extremely popular programs – FreshBooks and QuickBooks – so that you can see which is easier for you to use and has the necessary features to keep your trades current. You will certainly want one that allows for seamless integration with your day trading software!

More Time to Trade

Also, you may want to consider using accounting software because the right platform will give you more time to focus on learning to trade. Some accounting software packages are so difficult to use that you will spend more time figuring out the program than you spend trading. With day trading, this can be your worst nightmare. Remember, you need to track all your trades, especially for the IRS, but to spend a long period of time recording them would be counterproductive. With the right software, you will have more time to spend analyzing the market because it will be able to pull outcomes as they occur. So, here again, yes, you need accounting software. However, you need the right accounting software for day traders.

When Less Is More

What all this boils down to is that the less time you can spend on bookkeeping, the more time you will have to focus on your trading style. New day traders find that they are better able to focus on trading when they do not also need to work on keeping records. Remember, in terms of time for day traders, less is always going to be more – and so much more! From having accurate figures come tax time to allowing you to focus more on trading, accounting software can be the missing link you have been searching for. Do you need accounting software? You absolutely do.

By Taylor Wilman