Thinking of buying an accounting calculator but not sure which one? In this article, we discuss how to use an accounting calculator, which is the best calculator for accounting, where to buy a financial calculator and more.
Accounting calculator
An accounting calculator is a valuable device or software for Chartered Accountants and students undergoing accounting classes. Various financial calculations like profit margins, cash flows, expenses, interests, taxes, etc. are performed by an accounting or a financial calculator.
What is a financial calculator?
A financial calculator is designed and developed to perform certain mathematical and financial calculations that an ordinary calculator cannot. Unlike a basic calculator, it has specific standalone keys for financial functions like cash flow, interest (simple and compound) for faster calculations. Besides you can program and create additional financial functions required for the daily accounting activities. An accounting calculator can also graph certain financial calculations which are applicable for different industrial sectors.
Chartered Accountants are now hired in several diverse companies, and some are involved on a contractual basis. Accounting or business calculators aid them to perform complex calculations.
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How are financial-calculators different?
Let us now try to understand the difference between financial-calculators and regular scientific calculators.
- An accounting calculator can perform certain complex financial calculations like simple interest, compound interest, amortization, cash flow, gross profit margin, etc. These calculations cannot be performed by a regular calculator straightforward.
- A financial calc has standalone keys available to perform direct financial calculations unlike regular calculators
- A financial accounting calculator allows the programming of specific finance functions for storage and usage in future calculations. In regular calculators, you cannot program or create functions for accounting.
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Top 15 Types of an accounting calculator
In this section, we will be elaborating on the 15 key types of an accounting calculator for your reference and guidance. Depending on your needs for daily accounting activities, you can leverage their extensive features for faster, and accurate calculations.
1. Net income calculator accounting
Net income is calculated by subtracting operating expenses, taxes, and interest from the gross profit. Calculating net income is one of the top uses of an accounting calculator. The calculation of each of the elements of the net income demands time and effort; hence an accounting calculator comes to the rescue.
2. CPA exam calculator
Students appearing for the CPA exam have to perform critical calculations such as unearned revenue, retained earnings, profit on the sale of inventory, and many others. A Financial CPA exam calculator is thus a must need for them, provided they do not program any functions or formulas into it. One of the best ways of using a financial calculator
3. Small business or office calculator
Preparing the financial statements like Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet is the common requirements at month-end, quarter-end, and year-end for a small business and in an office. An accounting calculator used for calculations related to liabilities, assets, revenue, receivables, etc. is referred to as the small business or office calculator.
4. Accounting profit calculator
In the finance world, accounting profit is calculated by subtracting the cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and taxes from the total revenue. An accounting profit calculator performs the functions with ease and is referred by a majority of the Chartered Accountants while preparing financial reports and balance sheets.
5. BA II plus amortization calculator
BA II plus amortization calculator from Texas Instruments is a powerful calculator to calculate amortizations. Amortizations are mainly used for mortgages and loans, wherein the periodic payments for a debt need to be calculated for a certain date.
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6. Personal finance calculators
Personal finance involves managing your finance and wealth. You need to calculate your budget, income, expenses, insurance, mortgages, etc. for ensuring financial security and safety. Personal finance calculators serve the purpose and prove to be very effective in such calculations.
7. Average accounting return calculator
The accounting rate of return is calculated by dividing the average net profit by average investment. Such complex calculations require time and effort which can be easily resolved by using an average accounting return calculator. This helps in faster capital budgeting and forecasting decisions by an accountant.
8. Accounting problem solver
Accountants have to solve several challenges related to the financials and accounting domain of a company. Changes in the tax laws, cash flow calculations, analyzing and judging the financial well-being of the company, updating income and expenses at frequent intervals, etc. are the common ones. A basic financial calculator is the best accounting problem solver.
9. Accounting equation calculator
Accounting equations are the fundamental elements of a balance sheet and serve as the basic principles of accounting.
Assets = Liabilities + Shareholder’s Equity
The above is the basic equation and each element of the equation needs to be calculated. The financial calculator serves as the accounting equation calculator, aiding the process.
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10. Business finance calculator
Business finance involves calculating bank loans, shareholder’s equity, taxes, and rent expenses mostly. Besides budgets, forecasts, equity, and debt financials are also some of the critical components of business finance. Hence a business finance calculator is very much useful.
11. Financially programmable 12 c calculator
A financially programmable 12 c calculator is a type of accounting calculator that is capable of critical financial calculations. The key ones being loan payments, interest rates, standard deviation, Net present value, Internal rate of return, cash flows, bonds, etc.
12. Simple financial calculators
Simple financial calculators are used to perform accounting calculations that are beyond basic arithmetic operations. The calculations involve present and future value, payments, and interest rate. They provide standalone keys to arrive at the numbers.
13. Similar figures calculator
A similar figures calculator is specifically used for performing mathematical operations on significant figures or numbers. Complex calculations using the figures are often a need from the accountants. The calculator will help to resolve the dilemma.
14. BCE calculator
Business and Computing Examinations (BCE) help accountants for gaining additional qualifications and knowledge beyond the regular accountancy exams. A BCE calculator will help in the examinations and is the best calculator for accounting students.
15. Accounting ratio calculator
Calculating financial ratios like debt ratio, debt to equity ratio, current ratio, quick ratio, return on equity, gross margin, return on assets, etc are the common calculations for an accountant. An accounting ratio calculator helps in performing such a wide range of calculations.
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How to use a financial calculator?
In this section, we will discuss the different ways of using an accounting calculator. Accountants can refer to the sub-sections for quick guidance on the usage and leverage for their daily accounting activities.
1. Accountant calculator for financial ratios
An accountant calculator is best used for calculating and computing financial ratios. The prominent among them being the working capital ratio, earnings per share, debt-equity ratio, quick ratio, return on equity, and price-earnings ratio.
2. Professional calculators for budgets, forecasts, and cash flows
Professional calculators for accounting are used effectively for budgeting and forecasting. The inflow and outflow of cash are computed easily with accuracy through an accounting calculator. It’s a very efficient way to use a financial calculator.
3. Financial cal for personal wealth management
A financial cal proves to be very beneficial for personal wealth management. Financial planning, asset management, and investment management are some of the essential calculations and computations needed for individuals or private investors.
4. Business finances calculator
A Finances calculator for business has a wide variety of uses. Loans, mortgages, interests, stakeholder’s equity, and even budgets are the key constituents of business financing. Hence if financial function calculators aid in such calculators, it’s a boon.
5. Accounting calculators for financial reports
Accounting calculators are beneficial for computations for generating financial reports and statements. The key ones being the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and statement of shareholder’s equity.
Hope by now, you have understood how to use finance calculator.
Also read: A guide to Remote accounting jobs
Top 10 Best financial calculators
Here are the top 10 best financial calculators to pipe up your daily accounting activities and financial calculations. The list will help to understand the best adding machine for accountants and where to buy financial calculator
- Texas Instrument BA II Plus is one of the best financial calculators. Basic and advanced mathematical calculations can be performed by the calculator like amortization on BA II Plus.
- HP 12CP Financial Calculator is an accounting calculator that is dominating the market currently. The processing speed is quite high and has 120 in-built functions
- Sharp QS-2130 Financial Calculator is powered by solar energy. It has all the standard functions but can perform complex mathematical calculations.
- HP 12 Platinum has been in the market for almost 30 years now. It has light control features and is energy efficient. Allows storing custom programs with complex formulas. It is a cheap financial calculator
- HP BII+ Financial Calculator has 170 functions and 22 memory registers. The lighting can be adjusted and has a high processing speed
- 3405 CE Calculator from Calculated Industries is available at an affordable price. It is mainly used for performing calculations related to real estate.
- Casio FC-200V Financial Calculator is used mainly for calculating amortization and investment appraisal. It has a 12 digit 4 line display.
- Sharp EL-738F Financial Calculator is calculator finance, used for advanced financial and business functions. It has 12 memories and 100 registrars.
- 3430 Qualifier Plus IIIFX from Calculated Industries is used specifically to calculate IRR, cash flows, and other calculations related to the real estate business.
- Staples Calculators have a 12 digit display and is one of the preferred accounting calculators in the US. Financial calculator Staples is good in computing IRR, NPV, Cash flows, and so on
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Top 5 accounting calculators online
The top 5 accounting calculators online allowing easy mathematical and financial calculations are illustrated below. Each one has online learning guides for example how to make financial calculator show more decimals, how to program etc.
- Desmos is an accounting calculator online. The user interface has several tabs and buttons for performing the calculations
- Web2.0 Calc is an accountant calculator online, that can be operated with the keyboards and mouse buttons
- Good Calculators is listed among the best download financial calculators and is essentially a project. It has more than 300 free and high functioning calculators for computing business and mathematical operations
- Calculator-1 is an online accounting calculator that has functions to calculate basic and complex calculations
- Symbolab is the best business calculator online with buttons and tabs for straightforward calculations
Top 5 accounting calculator app
In this section, we will discuss the top 5 accounting calculator app.
- 10bii is considered among the best financial calculator app category. It has 105 functions for financial, business, mathematical and statistical calculations
- Financial Calculators by Bishinews is an accounting calculator app used for investment and complex financial calculations
- Vicinno Financial Calculator is an app that supports calculations for bonds, amortization, bonus, depreciation, and other statistical analysis
- Touch RPN is an accounting calculator app used for programming accounting functions
- PowerOne financial calculator is ranked high as the best financial calculator app for computing investment and accounting calculations
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5 Best accounting calculator brands for design and ruggedness
The 5 best accounting calculator brands best known for their design and ruggedness are listed below. The suggestion is to buy financial calculators for sale from popular stores
- HP 12C Platinum Accounting Calculator is elegant in design and with high durability. It has excellent battery life. The accounting calculator from HP has 130 built-in functions.
- Texas Instruments BAII Plus Accounting Calculator has a 10 digit display. It has inbuilt memory for programming and storing the accounting functions
- Casio DM-1200BM Accounting Calculator has good review ratings. It has a 12 digit extra-large display with independent memory
- Canon HS-1200TS is one of the best accounting calculator brands. It has a 12-inch liquid crystal display with an ergonomic design
- Helect H1006 is the best buy financial calculator with a large 12-digit display and an attractive model
Kuntala is a versatile writer with a focus on diverse areas around work, productivity, collaboration at work, hiring, management, HR, and training. Her background of past experience in technology and consulting helps in molding razor-sharp insights into the research and user-focused content she creates. Professionally she is an IT consultant in a sales role and also a writer of short stories and poems, travel blogger, and fashion influencer.
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