Best Calculators For Accountants – Our TOP 5! The best calculators for accountants offer special functions and features that help accountants do their job more easily, more quickly, and with no mistakes. These things are great if you’re running your own business and you want a clearer idea of your business financial situation. This post, it’s photos and table include links to products on other websites. If you purchase something through these links we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. CLICK To Our FULL Product Reviews They’re also great for many households trying to determine their budget and taxes. If you’re an accountant or an accounting student, then a calculator like this will truly help immensely. However, not all accounting and finance calculators are of the same quality. Some are much better than others, and we’ve listed down 5 of the best you can get for your money. Factors to Consider So, how do you know which of the best calculators for accountants will suit your needs? Here are the factors you have to take into account before you buy an accounting calculator: Features and Functions This may be the most crucial factor. After all, without the accounting functions then you don’t really have a proper business calculator at all. The best calculators for accountants will have all these functions. It’s up to you if you also want a printing calculator, and we’ve mentioned 2 of those on our list as well. Price Of course, the more functions you have, the more money you have to fork out. The most basic of the best calculators for accountants won’t cost you too much (maybe the price of 2 movie theater tickets). But go with more advanced built-in functions, and the cost will double. A printing calculator will also cost maybe 10 times that of a basic business calculator. Portability It’s great if it’s small, which means you can use it for class. A bigger calculator is great for home or office use, as the heavier weight also stabilizes its position on your work table. This can also be powered by an electrical cord or a power adaptor, though some models are dual-powered. Keyboard Layout and Proper Keys The keyboard should allow for quick work, with keys you can use comfortably. The labels should be clear and legible, while it shouldn’t take a lot of force to press the keys. All the keys should be arranged in some logical order, so the various functions are easy to find in sequence. Legible Display Most of the modern displays use LCD screens though some still use the traditional fluorescent display . It’s up to you which is more to your liking; it’s better to have larger digits. Some may display 10 digits, but if that’s not enough then you can go with a 12-digit display. Top 5 Reviews: Calculators for Accountants If you’ve even done a cursory Google search, you must have quickly realized that there are actually a lot of calculators that may fit this classification. After all, these aren’t just for accountants or accounting students, or even for small business owners. It helps with budgeting while paying your taxes, mortgages, credit card bills, and other loans. It’s a very popular type of calculator, and the number of choices may be rather overwhelming. So, do yourself a favor and start by just checking out the top 5 options: 1. Texas Instruments BA II Plus “Great Value for Money” Our Rating: 4.5 Buy From Amazon The Texas Instruments brand has long been an icon in the calculator industry, so you know you’re getting good quality. The BA II Plus model is a consistent bestseller and its affordable price is just one of the reasons why. This is legal to use for both the CFA and FRM tests. It also offers a long list of features, which is why so many users consider this the best “bang for the buck” accounting calculator. Design This offers a basic design, battery-powered with an automatic shutdown feature that activates if you forget to turn it off after you stop using it. The display is easy enough to read, with up to 10 digits displayed. The buttons only need to be pressed softly, and pressing the buttons don’t produce any distracting sounds. You may find it a bit of a different experience at first, if you’re used to the buttons of other calculators. Some people find it difficult to use the calculator without keeping their eyes on it, until they get used to it. Still, this comes in a standard compact form that makes it easy for you to just put it in a shirt pocket. Standard Mode With this mode, you can do all the common math operations. High school students will also find it useful for subjects like trigonometry, as it has the functions for that math subject. But you will also find the standard mode useful for certain types of math calculations. In standard mode, you can use it for mortgages and other types of payments when you’re paying the same amounts of money at regular time intervals. Worksheet Mode However, this is most known as a popular financial calculator for accountants, business professionals, and finance students. That’s because this calculator offers financial worksheets, such as tables for compound interest, depreciation, bond, and amortization. This lets you store 24 uneven cash flows, up to 4-digit frequencies. You can then input different figures to check out how the changes in the variables make a difference in your finances. Depreciation Calculation This also offers several different methods for calculating depreciation, along with the book value and the remaining depreciable amount. You get interest rate conversions and depreciation schedules, and convert between the nominal (or annual) interest rate and the effective interest rate. Manual Included Just bear in mind that you will have to invest some time and effort in learning to use these worksheets effectively. At least it comes with a rather easy-to-understand manual, which can guide you through the specific steps. You’re also able to store the worksheet values in the calculator memory. That way you won’t have to keep entering the same figures for the cash flow analysis or bond maturity. What We LikeTime-proven design and featuresCompact and easy to bring everywhereOffers both standard and advanced financial functionsExtremely cost-effectiveNot So GoodTakes time for newbies to learnButtons don’t register sometimesPoor user friendliness 2. Casio HR-100TM “Fast, Simple, and Practical” Our Rating: 4.5 Buy From Amazon Yes, the price here is quite substantial compared to the eminently affordable TI BA II Plus that was listed first. You can probably buy 8 of those TI calculators for a single one of these Casio calculators. On the other hand, this is actually a printing calculator. Its price is actually much lower than what you’d find with other printing calculators out there. This is also among the most popular calculators on this list, with thousands of satisfied customers over the years. And this calculator is popular not simply because of the price. Portable For a printing calculator, this is actually quite compact and lightweight. A lot of the other adding machines and printing calculators out there are larger and heavier. It shouldn’t add too much when you put it in your bag when you bring it along. You do have to remind yourself that it’s a lightweight calculator. So it may not stay in place on the table if you press on the keys heavily. Dual Power Source It can be powered by battery, and you’ll need 4 AA batteries for it. It didn’t come with batteries when we got this, and it’s best if you use 4 Polaroid AA batteries. The good news is that our purchase did come with a power adaptor. That means we can use this at home or at the office without having to burn through lots of batteries over time. Easy to Read Display This offers a nice and large display, capable of showing up to 12 digits. The display is about 33% bigger than the display in other similar printing calculators. A quick glance is all you need to check your figures on the screen. The display isn’t backlit, but it’s clear enough anyway. Convenient Keys The keys are also larger, so you won’t have to worry too much about your huge fingers while pressing on the keys. The keystrokes are just easy and smooth. The design lets you press the keys you want, without accidentally pressing on adjacent keys that can slow down your work and lead to costly mistakes. Simple Functions This isn’t an advanced machine that offers specialized functions for math wizards. Instead, it offers simple functions like check price that just about everyone needs. You can do your tax preparation with this without too much hassle. It offers cost-sell margin functions and currency exchange functions, with markup and markdown keys. Printing This prints out paper with a width of 2.25 inches, with 2 colors (black and red). A small roll of paper comes free with the purchase. The printing speed is decent enough, as it’s able to print up to 2 lines per second. You can also enter the date and time manually, so you can print these things too. You can also just store the date in its memory when you’re using this for the day, so you won’t have to re-enter the date every time. What We LikeEasy to read displayKeys allow for larger fingersBattery-powered, but comes with an adaptorLightweightAllows for fast work for practical applicationsPrints fast enoughNot So GoodDisplay isn’t backlitToo lightweight and unstableExtremely sensitive buttons 3. HP 10bII+ Financial Calculator (NW239AA) “Does All Common Financial Calculations” Our Rating: 4.5 Buy From Amazon This is even more affordable than the TI that appeared first on this list. Yet, you do get a lot for your money and you can also use this for your CFP Certification Exam. In fact, students can also use this for the SAT and AP tests. It’s not really designed for professionals, but it works for lots of financial scenarios. It also works for various science and statistics math, along with banking and real estate calculations. More than 100 Business Functions You’ll get your hands full here, as you have functions here you can easily access so you can quickly compute for whatever financial calculation value you want. These can include the internal rate of return (IRR), the net present value (NPR), and the time value for money (TVR). Key Layout The keys here have a nice logic to the design. They make doing things like cash flow calculations a lot easier on the whole. For many equations, the calculation steps here are more intuitive, and thus easier to remember. It’s true that these keys aren’t really all that large, but then again, it’s a compact calculator that measures 5.7 inches long and about 3.2 inches wide. There isn’t that much space to work with. Display This comes with a 12-digit display, and it also stores 22 numbers in its memory for later use. For large numbers, you get convenient commas every 3 digits, so you can quickly determine whether you’re looking at a billion or 10 billion. What We LikeLogical key layoutVery affordableGreat for examsPrecise calculationsVery intuitive calculation stepsEasy to learnNot So GoodRather tiny keysDoesn’t have scientific calculator functionsSeems to be cheaply made 4. Sharp EL-1801V “Fast and Simple” Our Rating: 4.5 Buy From Amazon Okay, we’re back to the printing calculator, and this one is a bit bigger. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you generally use this at the same place like your office or home study. This also isn’t something designed for heavy-duty everyday use, but it’s great for use every now and them. Easily Readable Display This comes with a fluorescent display, which seems a bit old-fashioned. But there’s no doubt that it works, and you can read it without any issues. The blue numbers don’t strain your eyes, and it helps that they measure 12 mm. The display also gives you up to 12 digits. Usage This is very easy to use, especially with the professional-grade keyboard layout that you don’t really find often even in the best calculators for accountants. It helps that it also features 1-touch change calculation, and it quickly displays and prints the change you need to return. If you’re running a small business and you need to print the receipt, this works out nicely. You also have cost-sell-margin keys here so it doesn’t take too long to do your profit margin calculations. There are also the keys for calculating the average and the taxes. The Print Option Annoyingly, you do have to use the print option when using the AVERAGE feature. The printer here uses 2 colors (black and red), and it’s able to print very quickly at 2.5 lines per second. Fast Work You can do your taxes and receipts very quickly with this machine, which is the point of picking from the best calculators for accountants for most people. Press the keys and you get a nice confirmatory click, so you can hear that you’ve pressed the keys properly. You don’t even have to press all that hard on the keys. Even loading the tape doesn’t take too long at all. The very simplicity of the functions and designs means that you can basically use this almost right out of the box. Durable This can probably last for many years, as it’s really built to last. Even the ink wheels last a long time, and you also get plenty of free printing paper with your purchase. What We LikeVery easy to learnKeys offer fast calculationsQuick printingLots of free printing paperAll the usual functions are hereVery affordableNot So GoodNo date and time featureDoesn’t work on batteriesLacks check and correct function 5. HP 12CP Financial Calculator “The Classic Financial Calculator” Our Rating: 4.5 Buy From Amazon This battery-powered calculator is another time-proven model, and it’s been used by professionals for years. It offers a lot of advanced features that an actual accountant might need. But it’s not all that expensive, and it doesn’t even cost a fourth of what you’d have to spend for a printing calculator. Versatile This offers more than 120 built-in functions for business and finance, along with other math subjects like statistics. You can calculate for the grand total, cash flows, IRR, NPV, TVM, and A bunch of other acronyms. You can work with currency conversion and interest rates, and calculate your loan payments in a jiffy. This even features time and date management with date arithmetic. More conveniently, it comes with the handy backspace and undo buttons so you don’t have to start from the top when you make a mistake. Readable Display The LCD screen here offers 10 digits, which should suffice for most small businesses. The display is very easy to read, even when you’re glancing at an angle. Quick Work This allows for RPN and algebraic modes of entry. You also have an impressive memory capacity for keystroke programming. It offers up to 4 times more memory, so you can store up to 400 steps. This also has enough memory for 30 cash flows. The calculator does its thinking and calculating very quickly, for things like standard deviation, loan payments, and TVM. Its calculating speed can go 6 times faster than with other models. Great for Tests You can use this for your CFP and CFA Certification tests, and also for the GARPFRM test. What We LikeCompact and very portableLong battery lifeVery legible displayImpressive keystroke programming capacity andVery fast calculationsMore than 120 built-in functionsComes with undo buttonNot So GoodMay be a bit hard to learn to use RPNMay be overkill for simpler tasksButtons prone to wear and tear Best Calculators for Accountants: Conclusion Some millennials might argue that using accounting calculators (or any calculator for that matter) may be a bit too old-fashioned. There’s some logic to this thinking, as it’s true that there are plenty of apps that can offer the same features. Yet the popularity of these calculators also proves that apps may not be the best alternative. These calculators have been designed with proper keys and functions that really make it easy to work with. Sometimes you better use a specialist tool, rather than just rely on your versatile smartphone, which explains why the calculating industry continues to thrive to this day. With the best calculators for accountants, you can figure out your business, budget, and taxes in a jiffy and without too much hassle!
