By Robin Owens 24 days ago, Hardware
The best laptops for accounting from famous brands.
For an accounting job, you have to spend many hours in front of your computer working with large tables, numerical simulations and presentations. You will need a portable laptop that can be used on the go. It should be powerful enough to handle a huge amount of data and calculations.
Also, it has to be fast because you don’t want to wait long for each task. This will add a lot of extra time to your work and you don’t need that.
Accountants deal with lots of calculations and computations. They use special accounting software, which records accounting transactions and stores data about accounts payable and receivable, journal, general ledger, payroll and trial balance.
Besides, it can be used as an accounting information system. For such difficult tasks, specialists should get the best laptop for accounting.
CPU: Intel Core | GPU: Intel Iris Graphics | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 256GB | Display: 13-inch | Weight: 2.96 pound
This laptop for accounting has been widely expected for a long time. Apple hasn’t launched new models in 2 years, and it stopped producing the 11-inch Air in 2016.
In the future, the company may also discontinue the 13-inch MacBook in favor of a slimmer and more expensive 12-inch one. However, as long as the MacBook Air is on the market, it’s a great choice for accountants.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 4500U | GPU: AMD Radeon Graphics | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 256GB | Display: 14-inch | Weight: 3.63 pound
This is the best laptop for accounting as it provides amazing computing performance, which is better than some other twice more expensive models offer.
Besides, it boasts good connectivity options, has a firm, well-designed chassis and a convenient keyboard. Even though the device is quite heavy, and its 14-inch display is a bit dull, it’s still a great value for the money.
CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: Radeon Pro 5300M | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB | Display: 16-inch | Weight: 4.2 pound
This 16-inch laptop for accounting became a real star in 2019 when all the top Windows laptops upped the ante in the Ultrabook category. This device boasts an upgraded keyboard and some changes in the internal structure. Its size is 13.7x9.48x0.61 inches (34.92x24.07x1.55), which is pretty much the same as the previous model had and a bit smaller than the size of the MacBook Pro before the 2016 update.
Just like the previous model, this laptop weighs 4.02 pounds (1.83 kg). The keyboard isn’t much different. Probably, it’s a bit softer than non-membrane keyboards, but it has conveniently big keys.
CPU: Intel Core i5-9300H | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 512GB | Display: 15-inch | Weight: 3.31 pound
This laptop for accounting students looks like any other modern 15-inch model. It has a good build quality, an IPS display, a convenient keyboard and the latest generation hardware, which lets users easily carry out all types of tasks, from everyday ones to FHD gaming.
It’s inexpensive because the manufacturers eliminated some of the features. Besides, it is more affordable than the previous two options.
CPU: Intel Core i7-1065G7 | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce MX230 | RAM: 8GB | Storage: 512GB | Display: 15-inch | Weight: pound
This laptop is nothing special at all. However, if you want to get a cheap laptop without fancy features, it will be a good option for you. It has a Whiskey Lake-U CPU, a 1080p IPS display and a PCIe SSD. Besides, it costs just $500, which makes it a good deal. This device is a decent mid-range consumer laptop, created to be one step below the flagship XPS line.
The Inspiron series consists of the cheap Inspiron 3000, mid-range Inspiron 5000 and the higher-end Inspiron 7000. I tested the 15.6-inch Inspiron 15 5584 suitable for users who are looking for a simple device for browsing, sending emails, multitasking or occasional schoolwork.
CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: Intel Iris Plus Graphics | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB | Display: 15-inch | Weight: 4.08 pound
This is the best laptop for accounting as it is quite affordable and boasts premium features. It features decent components and a modern design. This model is a replica of the HP 15-dy1036nr, which was launched at almost the same time. However, it’s a bit heavier (4.08 lb) and thicker (0.7 inches).
Due to its micro-edge Full-HD display and 1920x1080 resolution, this model produces a bright and sharp image. It utilizes IPS (in-plane switching) display technology that accounts for amazing viewing angles. However, the screen gets a bit dull when you’re looking at it from the sides, top or bottom.
CPU: Core i7-1065G7 | GPU: Intel HD Graphics | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB | Display: 14-inch | Weight: 2.9 pound
This laptop for accounting students is not super fast but due to its Intel Core i7 Comet Lake CPU, it provides good performance and has a solid 2-in-1 design. Besides, this device features a bright Full-HD display with superb viewing angles.
LG has several versions of the Gram 14Z90N. All SKUs have a glossy FHD display and a Core i7-1065G7 Ice Lake-U processor. RAM and SSD may vary depending on the vendor.
IMAGE | NAME | FEATURES | |
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MacBook Air
Our Choice
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CHECK PRICE → | ||
Lenovo Flex
Affordable
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CHECK PRICE → | ||
MacBook Pro
Stylish
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CHECK PRICE → |
If you’re going to use such applications as Microsoft Excel, Quattro Pro, Peachtree, Lotus, then 4 GB of RAM will suffice. However, if you are planning to run multiple applications at the same time, I recommend getting 8 GB of RAM. Today, it’s not much and you can easily find a cheap laptop with such memory. Of course, you can get more memory, but do you need so much for accounting tasks? If you don’t use any graphics editing or modeling software, you won’t need more than 8 GB. If you choose a laptop with more than that, you won’t see any big difference in its speed.
Storage capacity doesn’t matter as tables don’t take up much space. However, that doesn’t mean that 128 GB storage will be enough since the software and Windows will take most of it. So what kind of storage do you need to have? When choosing a laptop for accounting, pay attention to the fact that there are 2 types of drives in modern laptops, SSD and HDD. You can use the latter for a long time, and it’s rather cheap. SSD is more expensive, but it’s faster, lighter, more powerful and less power-consuming.
If you have a laptop with a Solid State Drive, then when you open applications, they will load a few times faster. Also, you can quickly find data or a line of code in a large Excel file or database. The battery will serve longer and the laptop will be lighter. Compared to regular HDDs, the booting process will be lightning-fast.
The size and quality of the keyboard are essential for accounting work because you’re going to type and fill in tables and documents very often.
Numerical Keypad
This is a very important part of such keyboards as tables are mostly composed of numerical data. Many programmers also prefer a dedicated numeric keypad for faster and more efficient work.
The color gamut, contrast ratio and brightness level aren’t very important for laptops. However, pay attention to the resolution when choosing the best laptop for accounting. High resolution will create a sharp image. Windows will be smaller, so you will be able to multitask more effectively. Opt for a Full HD screen. It’s affordable and will serve you well.
Now, what about the perfect size of such laptops? You might think that the larger the screen is, the more tables you can see without scrolling. However, it’s not the case. Laptops with big screens are very heavy, which is not convenient if you have to carry them with you. If you use a laptop in the office, then you can select any size you want. A 13-inch screen is the best option, in my opinion, but don’t get a screen smaller than that, especially if you have to work with numbers a lot.
What about portable laptops?
Portable laptops don’t have any dedicated numeric keypad because. However, you can find many good external numerical keypads that can be connected via a USB port. Thus, you can select a lighter laptop instead of a 14-inch or 15-inch one if you need to use it on the go.
MacBook Pro is the best because it has all the necessary features to perform accounting tasks. It features 8 GB of RAM and is equipped with Quad-core Processor.
It’s no use talking about MacBook performance, especially in terms of accounting software. All MacBooks will cope with any software and task. All of them come with at least 8 GB of RAM and a Core i5 CPU.
Sage isn’t supported on a Mac, including emulator software like Parallels Desktop or Wine. However, you can use Sage One, as this cloud-based software can be used by Mac and PC users
QuickBooks for Mac is accounting software created particularly for business owners using Mac computers. You can buy it as a one-time purchase for $299.99 and use it to keep track of all of your business finances. This software contains many features to help you manage your income and expenses.