Buyer's guide · Philippines
Accounting software in the Philippines, a buyer's guide.
What an accounting system has to get right under Philippine tax rules, the questions to ask before you buy one, and what decides the price.
In one paragraph
The short answer.
Accounting software in the Philippines records a business's transactions in double entry, keeps the journals and ledgers the BIR requires as books of accounts, and produces the trial balance and financial statements. It is used by small and medium businesses, their bookkeepers and their outside accountants. A good one keeps the VAT and withholding tax figures each return needs, refuses an entry that does not balance, cannot change a posted entry without a reversing one, and is registered with the BIR when it is used as a computerised accounting system.
By Solomon Lee, Founder and Chief Software Architect, Tekhx. Updated November 8, 2026.
Part 1
What it must do day to day
Every peso that moves needs an entry, and every entry needs a document behind it: an invoice, a receipt, a voucher. The system's job is to make the entry once, check that debits equal credits, and carry it to the ledger and the reports without retyping.
- A chart of accounts that fits the business.
- Journal vouchers that must balance before they are saved or posted.
- Approval before posting, and reversing entries instead of edits.
- Sales, purchases, cash receipts and cash disbursements books.
- Bank reconciliation and month-end closing.
- Trial balance, balance sheet, income statement and cash flow.
Part 2
Books of accounts and BIR registration
The National Internal Revenue Code requires every business to keep books of accounts and register them with the BIR. They may be manual books, loose-leaf books or a computerised accounting system (CAS). A business that keeps its books in software registers the system with the BIR under the rules for computerised books and invoicing, and then prints or submits its books as those rules require.
Registration looks at what the system can do: keep a complete audit trail, prevent changes to posted records, back up the data and produce the books in the required form. Ask a vendor which of these their system already does, and what the business must still file.
Part 3
VAT, withholding and the returns
A VAT-registered business charges 12% output VAT and claims input VAT on its purchases, and files the quarterly VAT return. Since the Ease of Paying Taxes Act (RA 11976), the sales invoice is the main document for both goods and services.
Withholding agents withhold tax on compensation and on payments such as professional fees and rentals, issue BIR Form 2307 to suppliers, and file the monthly, quarterly and annual withholding returns. The system should tag each entry so the figures for each return add up from the ledger, not from a separate list.
Corporations and partnerships file audited financial statements with the BIR and the SEC each year.
Part 4
What separates a system from a spreadsheet
A spreadsheet will accept an entry that does not balance, and anyone can change last month's figures without a trace. A system refuses both. A posted entry stays posted, a correction is a reversing entry with its own date and author, and the trial balance always ties to the ledger. That is also what an auditor and the BIR look for.
Part 5
Accounting inside an ERP or on its own
A small business may keep its books on their own. When sales, purchasing, inventory or payroll already run in other systems, the books are best fed from them, so each sale or payroll posts its own entry instead of a bookkeeper typing it in again at month end.
Before you buy
Questions to ask any vendor.
- Can it be registered with the BIR as a computerised accounting system, and what documents do you provide for it?
- Does it refuse an entry that does not balance, and can a posted entry be changed or only reversed?
- Does every entry record who made it, who approved it and when?
- Which VAT and withholding returns can it produce the figures for, and does it print Form 2307?
- Can it close a month and stop entries from being dated into a closed period?
- Can our outside accountant or auditor get read-only access?
- Do we own the data, and can we take every entry out in a standard format?
Cost
What decides the price.
Every business is priced on what it needs. These are the things that move it.
Number of companies and branches
Each company or branch brings its own books, chart of accounts and reports.
Your chart of accounts and opening balances
Setting up accounts and bringing in balances and history is part of the work.
Tax set-up
VAT, percentage tax and the withholding returns you file each add tagging and reports.
BIR registration
Preparing the system and its documents for CAS registration is its own step.
Links to sales, purchasing and payroll
Feeding the books from other modules makes a larger job than the books alone.
Free tool
Philippine VAT calculator
Add or remove 12% VAT, with zero-rated, exempt and the 1% or 2% expanded withholding.
Tekhx accounting system
Libro, ready to use.
Double-entry accounting for a small business: vouchers, approvals, posting and the reports your accountant asks for.
Questions
Asked and answered.
What is the best accounting software in the Philippines?
The best one for a given business keeps proper double-entry books, refuses unbalanced and edited postings, produces the figures for its VAT and withholding returns, and can be registered with the BIR. Compare vendors on those points.
How much does accounting software cost in the Philippines?
It depends on the number of companies and branches, the set-up and opening balances, the taxes you file, BIR registration and the modules linked to it. A vendor should price it after a meeting on your books.
Do I need to register accounting software with the BIR?
If the software keeps your books of accounts, it is a computerised accounting system and the business registers it with the BIR under the rules for computerised books and invoicing.
Can accounting software file my BIR returns?
It produces the figures and schedules for each return. The return itself is filed and paid through the BIR's own electronic channels or an accredited agent bank.