Business accounting tools are for those who want to handle the financial aspect of their companies on their own. It meanI’ve been using these tools for over a year and they’ve made running our business much easier. I use them on a weekly basis and couldn’t imagine working without them now! These tools have drastically reduced the time ‘money sucking tasks’ like invoicing, bank reconciliations and reporting. If you run a business, be sure to read this post. The tools will make your life easier!
Here are our top picks for the best accounting tools for your small business:
1. Kashoo
Kashoo is a good fit for sole proprietors, freelancers, and very small businesses, and is one of the better options for those that want to keep track of income and expenses, but are uncomfortable connecting their bank accounts to an accounting application.
Kashoo makes it easy to enter income and expense transactions manually. Source: Kashoo software.
Kashoo offers four distinct activity areas; Actions, Lists, Reports, and Add-Ons. This makes it easy even for new users to jump in and get started using the application without the need to spend extra time learning the ropes.
The application uses a combined income/expense screen where you can record both income received and expenses paid. You also have the option to connect Kashoo to your bank account, but the income/expense feature makes it easy to record necessary transactions without connectivity.
Kashoo offers easy invoicing, with the ability to pay vendors electronically as well as by printing checks, another option that isn’t readily available in other applications. Kashoo also makes entering journal entries a snap, and the list feature lets you track client, supplier, and item details.
Kashoo reporting options are sparse, with only eight reports available, though complete financial statements can be run. Reports have limited customization, but can be exported to Excel if desired.
The benefit of using Kashoo is that it makes it easy for new business owners to enter financial transactions. Another benefit is that while you’re given the option to connect your financial institutions, Kashoo works just as well if you choose not to.
Kashoo offers a single plan at the cost of $19.95/month, or $199/year, and supports an unlimited number of users.
Read The Blueprint’s full Kashoo review
2. ZipBooks
A great fit for freelancers, small businesses, consultants, and contractors, newcomer ZipBooks includes great time-tracking capability.
A great addition to any business that needs to track hours in order to bill clients, ZipBooks is a good option for solo attorneys and accountants or any other professional who routinely bills for time.
ZipBooks built-in timer is a great addition for attorneys, accountants, and other professionals. Source: ZipBooks software.
ZipBooks users a built-in timer to track time, with the timer displayed at the top of the user dashboard for easy access. The timer can be started and stopped as needed, and you can record notes along the way for billing purposes.
ZipBooks offers good accounting functionality, with the option to link bank accounts. In addition, if you do link the application to a bank account, ZipBooks uses a built-in algorithm that assists in transaction categorization, remembering how a previous transaction was recorded, in order to record it properly.
Invoicing options are also available in ZipBooks, with the ability to customize invoicing as desired, with an option to add a payment link to any invoice.
Reports in ZipBooks are fairly basic, though the application does include intelligence reporting which includes a business health score.
One of the biggest benefits of using ZipBooks is that it offers a free plan, which allows you to start small and scale up to a paid plan when necessary.
Along with the free Starter plan, ZipBooks offers two paid plans: Smarter, which is $15/month and supports up to five users, and Sophisticated, which is $35/month and supports an unlimited number of users. An Accountant version of ZipBooks is also available for accounting professionals.
Read The Blueprint’s full ZipBooks review
3. Wave Accounting
One of the best accounting software applications for freelancers, sole proprietors, and micro-businesses, Wave Accounting is completely free accounting software. And when we say free, we mean free.
Not just a few of the features, or a starter plan, but the entire application is free. You’ll only pay extra if you want to accept payments online through Wave Payments or choose to use their payroll service.
Wave Accounting makes it easy to set up your business. Source: Wave Accounting software.
Wave offers excellent invoicing capability, as well as the option to connect your bank accounts directly to the application. Recurring invoicing is also available in Wave, which is a time-saving feature for those who bill on a regular or retainer basis.
You can manage your customers in Wave, but the application offers limited opportunity to track customer details. Although you can add both products and services to Wave, there is no real way to track inventory movement, making it a much better option for service and consulting businesses.
Wave includes 12 standard reports, with financial statements available. Reports have limited customization capability but can be exported to a CSV file for customization if necessary.
Wave’s no-cost price tag can be a huge benefit for small businesses and startups with a limited budget. The downside of the application is limited support availability, with support only offered by submitting a request. However, live email support is offered to those who purchase Wave Payments and Wave Payroll.
Wave Accounting is 100% free for the entire accounting application. If you choose to accept online payments, you’ll be charged 2.9% plus a $0.30 fee for each transaction, a very reasonable price.
Wave Payroll currently charges a base fee of $35 per month, plus a fee of $4 per employee, though full-service payroll is only offered in eight states.
Read The Blueprint’s full Wave Accounting review
4. Xero
If you’re an app person, you’ll love Xero. Designed for small businesses that want an application that is designed to be used on the go, Xero’s multi-currency capability also makes it a good fit for those who do business globally.
Xero offers connectivity to hundreds of apps.
Source: Xero software.
While Xero offers accounting features comparable to other similar products, its strong suit is its ability to integrate with more than 500 apps.
While this may not matter to the sole proprietor or freelancer, app integration can help fill the holes that are typically found in entry-level accounting software applications, making it a great fit for niche markets like IT, startups, and e-commerce businesses.
The business interface in Xero offers quick access to invoicing, bill payment, and customer quotes, while standard accounting functions are found under accounting.
Xero discourages the use of journal entries in the application, recommending that you connect your bank accounts with the application to manage income and expenses, but it does include journal entry capability.
Xero also offers good project management, with the ability to track completion dates and performance throughout the life of the project.
Reporting options are fairly basic in Xero, though financial statements are available. All reports can be exported to Excel if needed.
Of course, the biggest benefit of using Xero is accessibility to all of those apps. It’s also great for those with limited accounting knowledge.
Xero offers three plans: Early, which has limited functionality and is $9/month; Growing, which runs $30/month; and Established, which is $60/month, and offers project tracking, multi-currency, and expense management.
Conclusions
Business accounting, whether for a small start-up, established small business or even an enterprise level company is complex and time-consuming. This becomes more and more aggravating when you realize that most of your time is spent simply partaking in activities that can be automated. About 5 years ago I got tired of this and started building software. Over the years my passion for creating useful software is still strong and today I am bringing to life my vision for a world with simplified bookkeeping.”