If you are looking for free accounting software in South Africa, there are many to choose from. This guide will show you the top ten best accounting software in South Africa for you to choose from. I’ve analysed them based on some factors that are important users. These factors include functionality, usability, customer support and price.
So here are the best softwares out there with free packages and paid packages.
Holded
- Available for: Web application
- Mobile app: Android, iOS
- Price: Plans begin at 10€ (approx. US$13) per month
- Free trial length: 14 days
- Shopify app or integration: Yes
Even simple accounting can be time consuming, which is why Holded aims to automate much of the busywork inherent to bookkeeping so you can get on with actually running your business.
Holded is a cloud-based accounting tool that offers real-time insights into the finances of your business. Users can integrate Holded’s general ledger with a range of financial data sources to provide at-a-glance overviews of profits and losses, forecasting and reporting, and detailed accounting histories, all with just a few clicks.
Holded is a deeply integrated accounting solution that offers major time savings. Pricing starts at roughly $11 per month, with a 14-day free trial.
Sage 50cloud
- Available for: Web application
- Mobile app: No
- Price: Plans begin at £65 (approx. US$82) per month
- Free trial length: 30 days
- Shopify app or integration: No
Sage 50cloud Accounting is a comprehensive, cloud-based accounting software product with extensive customization options and advanced functionality.
The product’s Pro Accounting plan––the least expensive option, available for $50.58 per month––is aimed at smaller, independent businesses. It can handle a range of accounting tasks, including expense management, invoicing, and inventory tracking. Sage 50cloud Accounting also integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office.
Sage’s other plans offer additional features, such as role-based security privileges and account management for multiple companies, but may be prohibitive for smaller businesses with more modest administrative budgets.
Kashoo
- Available for: Web application
- Mobile app: iOS
- Price: Plans begin at $16.65 per month
- Free trial length: 14 days
- Shopify app or integration: No
Kashoo is small business accounting software that aims to help business owners automate much of the administrative work behind bookkeeping.
Thanks to machine-learning algorithms, Kashoo understands your business better the more you use it. Everything from receipt categorization to sales tax tracking is analyzed by Kashoo, which lets the tool make individualized recommendations on steps to save money, minimize waste, and streamline overall efficiency.
Kashoo’s intelligent, automated approach to accounting won’t be for everybody. Kashoo costs $199 per year (about $16 a month), but business owners interested in its approach to bookkeeping can sign up for a free trial.
OneUp
- Available for: Web application
- Mobile app: Android
- Price: Plans begin at $9 per month
- Free trial length: 14 days
- Shopify app or integration: No
OneUp aims to make bookkeeping a much more streamlined process by automating routine tasks.
Over time, OneUp “learns” how your accounting works by analyzing inputs, such as bank account transactions. OneUp then prompts the user to validate suggested reconciliations with a single swipe on a mobile device. These validations further train OneUp’s algorithms to offer more accurate suggestions in the future. OneUp can also match individual bank transactions with overdue invoices, saving business owners even more time.
You can sign up for a free 30-day trial of OneUp or get a plan starting at just $9 per month for individual users.
Money Manager EX
Money Manager EX Money Manager EX is excellent because it is user-friendly and is very easy to use. The application is portable. You can save and use it from a USB stick without having to install it. There is also a Money Manager EX mobile application that allows you to access your business records wherever you are. The features it provides are also impressive. To use this application, visit the Money Manager EX website to download it.
GnuCash
GnuCash GnuCash is one of the best open source accounting software that is 100% free. It offers simplicity, flexibility, and amazing features such as handling multiple currencies and some payroll features. The application is available on Android, Linux, OpenBSD, Windows, GNU, and macOS devices. Some of the other features are managing accounts payable and receivable and managing employee expenses.
xTuple PostBooks
PostBooks is a free accounting software developed by xTuple. This software is best suited for manufacturing companies so if you are a manufacturer than PostBooks is for you.
With PostBooks you will not only be able to manage your accounting entries but you will also be able to manage your inventory and debtors with are the most key factors to your business success. You will also be able to manage your purchases and work in progress inventory so that you can run your manufacturing process efficiently.
XTuple PostBooks has value-added features that are offered at a price such as a customer relationship management and sales management.
ZipBooks
ZipBooks offer three accounting sofware solutions and only one is for free. For a very small business with no sophisticated accounts needed to operate your business you might consider ZipBooks as your accounting software choice.
The free ZipBooks software is easy to use and all you to link your business bank account and PayPal account to the software to make accounting easier. However, on a free ZipBooks website, you will have to make reconciliations for yourself since the plan doesn’t cover such. With ZipBooks you will be able to manage unlimited customers and make unlimited invoices for free.
Akaunting
Talking about free, Akaunting is all free accounting software with no subscriptions involved. Akaunting will help your company to track.
- Cashflow- you will be able to track your company cashflow and how liquid your business is at any given point.
- Invoices- you will be able to track paid and unpaid invoices so that you can make follow-ups if necessary.
- Expenditure – all your expenses will be tracked and you will be able to know where you spend most of your money and if there are any cuts that need to be made.
- Clients – you will be able to track each client and know how much they owe you. This will help your business in making future decisions to borrow certain debtors.
Akaunting is a powerful software and can be used by many businesses. You can’t link business bank accounts on Akaunting.
Money Manager EX
Money Manager EX is an open source accounting software that is delivered for free. The software is very easy to use especially for your everyday use.
The software helps you keep track of your cash flow and budget. You can import a CSV document to the software from your bank to get started.
TurboCASH
With TurboCash it’s all about quality financial reporting. This accounting software is good for both small and medium enterprises. Using this software you will be able to handle multiple companies and reconcile every account whenever you want to for a group of companies.
You can deal with multiple VAT, creditors, debtors, bank, inventory, sales, and other relevant accounts using one software.
SlickPie
SlickPie has its user experience on a different level with revenue charts, spending graphs and bank account activity all visible on the home page. This accounting software is not entirely free, it is, however, very easy to use and come with value-added services that one can subscribe for at a fee.
If your business is online then you can use SlickPie’s payment processing system to allow payments on checkout. SlickPie has many services and the services are beyond accounting, many of these services are charged so if you really need additional services from SlickPie then you just have to pay for the service.
Palladium Accounting
Palladium offers multicurrency accounting software that uses current accounting processing technology. The software is easy to use and to navigate so learning how to use the software won’t take as much time.
There are no mandatory fees attached to the software application and you can store your data on the cloud. It is a good option for a start-up business with inadequate resources.
Wave
A top free accounting software to consider from the start of your search is Wave accounting software. Through this option, you’ll be able to connect unlimited bank and credit card accounts to your books. You’ll also be able to add unlimited income tracking, expense tracking, and guest collaborators for free. Plus, you’ll be able to invoice and scan receipts for free as well.
Be sure to note, though: If you want your invoiced customers to be able to pay online directly through the invoice, you’ll need to pay for that. Wave charges 2.9% + $0.30 for each credit card payment and 1% (with a minimum of $1) for each ACH payment. You’ll also need to pay for payroll through Wave. Depending on where you do business, you’ll pay a monthly base fee of either $35 or $20, plus $4 per employee and contractor on your payroll.
ZipBooks
Another top free accounting software for small businesses to consider is ZipBooks. ZipBooks offers all the crucial features of an accounting software—reports, bank syncing, billing, expense management, and invoicing—in one free account.
If you want to offer online payments to your invoiced customers via ZipBooks, you’ll need to do so via Square or PayPal. You’ll pay the standard PayPal rates and Square rates for those transactions.
ZipBooks offers an integrated payroll add-on option with Gusto. Gusto starts at $39 per month, plus $6 per person per month. For a limited time, you can get the Core plan for a discounted price of a monthly $19 base cost for the first six months. Gusto also has a new option for contractor-only employers, who simply pay the $6 per employee rate and no base price.
Conclusion
Audit is a methodical examination of financial records usually utilizing a formal, documented accounting procedure that is performed in the context of a relationship between the auditor and the entities with which he or she has a contractual arrangement. In other words, auditing provides evidence for an assertion made on the financial statements. You will always need softwares in auditing!