Start with the real buying job
A small service business may start by asking for accounting software, but the actual job is often broader: quote work, collect approvals, send invoices, track payments, organize documents, review cash flow, and answer owner questions.
Compare categories, not just brands
QuickBooks is usually evaluated for accounting familiarity. 17hats is evaluated for client workflow. Puzzle is evaluated for AI-native accounting and close workflows. FIRMA should be evaluated when the buyer wants finance review and client operations in one connected system.
Decision checklist
Ask whether each platform supports review-before-posting, accountant access, migration discipline, client records, contracts, invoicing, banking review, document evidence, multi-entity control, public AI boundaries, and useful owner reporting.
Use this as a buying checklist.
A serious financial software buyer should ask how the platform handles source evidence, approval before posting, accountant access, migration review, role-based access, exportability, and comparison with the tools already in use.
FIRMA should answer those questions with product workflows, not unsupported compliance, tax, savings, or customer claims.