What Is The Best Bookkeeping Program

Accounting Software is the most important part of managing a company. There are many accounting packages that can do the job, but you need to find the best accounting software that offers low cost without compromising quality.

You’re probably wondering what the best bookkeeping software is for small businesses. There are just so many out there. How are you meant to know the right one to use? Well, it’s not as hard as you might think!

Akaunting

Pros:

  • Open-source software means you can customize however you want.
  • Extensive library of integrations.
  • Robust user support via online forums.

Cons:

  • Design is not as intuitive as other platforms.
  • Advanced features cost extra.
  • Not as ready-to-use as other options.

Why we like it:

Akaunting is an open-source accounting platform that has the capability for customization, primarily through its library of add-ons. The primary features are available right out of the box: You can invoice, track receipts and take care of the everyday needs of your company’s finances. Plus, with a robust library of integrations, you can build your own Akaunting setup with a degree of customization other free platforms don’t provide. However, you or someone on your team will likely need some coding knowledge to use this software to its full potential.

NCH Software (Express Accounts)

Express Accounts, owned and operated by NCH software, has a pretty dated website. While multiple users can log on to your account, the software requires an initial desktop download, which makes it a little less flexible than the cloud-based providers on our list. But if you don’t mind the dated look, Express Accounts can simplify your basic bookkeeping in a big way.

For starters, it offers 20 financial reports (much better than ZipBooks’ two) that help you get a clear picture of your fiscal health. Express Accounts also easily tracks accounts payable and accounts receivable. You can even print checks using the software to streamline bill payments.

Express Accounts’ customer service is much less robust than our other top five picks. You can reach out to technical support over email if you have an issue with your download, but that’s the extent of your support. On the other hand, most customers use Express Accounts solely to track their business’s figures—so you shouldn’t need the kind of support you would with more complex accounting or payroll software.

Odoo

Best for businesses of any size that want a customizable, scalable accounting solution.

Odoo is different from the other software on the list because it isn’t accounting software. Instead, it’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. While we could get technical about ERP, we’ll keep it simple: Odoo offers over 40 business applications, including Odoo Accounting. You can stick with just Odoo Accounting, or you can combine several different small business apps. One of the best things about Odoo is that the software is completely customizable to fit your business’s needs now and scalable to meet your needs in the future, too.

For this review, though, we’re focusing solely on Odoo Accounting. Odoo comes with features you’d expect from your accounting software, such as a chart of accounts, invoicing, expense tracking, accounts payable, and basic inventory. In addition, the software is easy to use, and you can choose from web-hosted and on-premise installations, although this may affect your total monthly cost.

Pros

  • Open-source software
  • Customizable
  • Scalable
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Poor customer support
  • It can be expensive to scale

Odoo Features & Pricing

best free accounting software

The pricing structure for Odoo is a bit different than the other software on this list. If you only need Odoo Accounting for a single user, you can get the cloud-hosted version for free. Odoo Accounting includes the following features:

  • Invoicing
  • Expense tracking
  • Accounts payable
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Journal entries
  • Budgeting
  • Fixed asset management
  • Basic reporting

If you need to add more users or want on-premise hosting, additional fees apply. You’ll also pay an additional fee for each app that you add to your software.

One thing to note is that while you can select a single app for one user at no cost, these free plans lack customer support. Despite these flaws, Odoo Accounting may still be a great choice for users that need ERP software or want a customizable, scalable option that grows with their business.

Wave

Pros:

  • Unlimited bank and credit card account connections, income and expense tracking and guest logins.
  • Allows you to invoice from within the platform itself and supports receipt scanning.

Cons:

  • May not be powerful and feature-rich enough for large or fast-growing businesses.
  • Charges per-transaction fees for payment processing.
  • Payroll product is separate and requires a subscription.

Why we like it:

Wave is by far one of the most robust and well-designed free accounting software tools for small businesses. Instead of charging users to generate revenue, Wave makes money through fees on payments made within the platform. That means you’ll likely save money in the long run depending on how you intend to use the platform to collect ACH, debit or credit card payments from clients. Visa, Mastercard and Discover come with a 2.9% fee, plus 30 cents, on each transaction. American Express is 3.4% plus 30 cents. ACH bank transfers only come with a 1% fee (or a $1 minimum fee, depending on the size of the transaction).

With Wave, you’ll get unlimited income and expense tracking, sales tax tracking and double-entry functionality, as well as reports on cash flow, profit and loss, and overdue invoices and bills. You can also use Wave’s invoicing tools for free. This includes unlimited invoices, automated invoice reminders, invoice and accounting synchronization and the acceptance of both credit card and bank payments.

ZipBooks

ZipBooks is relatively new to the accounting software world, but its unlimited invoicing, vendor tracking, and thorough expense recording have already made it a top competitor to industry stalwarts like Wave, Xero, QuickBooks, and FreshBooks. Even ZipBooks’ free Start plan comes without the limits of paid competitors like Xero, which ties you to just five invoices and bills for $9 a month.

On top of its unlimited invoicing, the Starter plan includes all of the following at no cost:

  • Multi-currency payment acceptance
  • Separate records for 1099 expenses and payments
  • Receipt tracking
  • Chart of accounts

Most notably, ZipBooks lets you toggle back and forth between cash accounting and accrual accounting—most accounting software providers let you choose only one or the other. Unfortunately, ZipBooks doesn’t have a mobile accounting app. It’s also noticeably lacking in reports: ZipBooks’ free plan generates only a profit and loss statement and balance sheet.

Sunrise

Best for small businesses that want simple bookkeeping software that’s easy to use. 

Sunrise by Lendio (formerly Billy) is a great free option for businesses that want simple bookkeeping software without the bells and whistles (and high price tags!) of full accounting software. With Sunrise, you can be up and running in just minutes, performing tasks such as sending invoices to clients, managing expenses, and accepting online payments.

One unique feature of Sunrise is that you may qualify for additional funding opportunities through Lendio just by maintaining your books. And if your books become too time-consuming to manage? You can upgrade to Sunrise’s paid professional bookkeeping service, which offers extremely competitive pricing. Throw in support for unlimited users, good customer service, and positive online reviews, and it’s easy to see why Sunrise makes our cut.

Pros

  • Supports unlimited users
  • Good customer service
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Limited integrations
  • Lacks advanced features

Sunrise Features & Pricing

Best Free Accounting Software

With Sunrise’s free self-service software, you’ll receive:

  • Unlimited invoices
  • Unlimited quotes and estimates
  • Expense tracking
  • Chart of accounts
  • Cash flow tracking
  • Journal entry
  • Tax support

You can purchase bookkeeping services for an additional fee. While there’s no built-in payroll, Sunrise integrates with Gusto. Unfortunately, Gusto and Zapier are the only integrations you’ll find here, so this could be a problem if you want to integrate with other business apps and software.

Businesses that need full accounting software with advanced features (such as inventory management) will need to seek out other software. However, businesses that want basic bookkeeping software with no limitations, an easy-to-use UI that’s perfect for beginners, and great customer service may find a winner in Sunrise.

SlickPie

Best for: Small businesses with little experience bookkeeping

SlickPie Accounting SoftwareImage Source

SlickPie is an easy-to-use software for those who lack bookkeeping experience. A huge perk of SlickPie is its automation features, which include auto-recurring invoices and a built-in app called MagicBot that allows you to automatically add bills and receipts. You can also manage accounts payable by manually entering bills and marking them paid.

Conclusion:

Bookkeeping is an essential business function both for small and large businesses. You can’t overlook the importance of tracking your business finances and making sure they remain as transparent as possible to everyone in your company, as well as those with an interest in your company such as shareholders and banks.

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