Are you looking for accounting software? If yes, first question would probably be do I really need accounting software? Or are the notes I take on paper sufficient. Accounting software can make your work easier. You don’t have to worry about writing every thing down on papers anymore.
Do you know the types of accounting software that can help manage your business finances? Or maybe about the top accounting software in world that helps small business owners run finance-related operations in a simple way? In this article, you can find an overview of accounting software and discover why you should use them.
Zoho Invoice
If you’re looking for the best free accounting software to automate your invoicing workflows, then Zoho Invoice will be a top option. With the free version of Zoho Invoice, you’ll be able to invoice customers and manage payments through a single account. You’ll also be able to customize and brand invoice templates, track expenses, and interact with customers through a client portal. Not to mention, you can run integrated time tracking for yourself and employees for project billing.
Wave
Best for: Sole proprietors and small businesses
Wave offers an extensive list of features for free – and they’re free forever. It’s a web-based software, and information is automatically backed up in the cloud. Wave allows you to manage accounts receivable, generate financial statements, and connect an unlimited amount of credit cards and bank accounts.
One downside of Wave? It doesn’t allow you to track accounts payable – the money a business owes to its suppliers or creditors. But that’s offset by great software design, simple setup, and included email support.
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.
Akaunting
You should also consider a free accounting software called Akaunting. This option offers many of the most necessary features that a small business accounting software should. Within this technology, you’ll be able to invoice, sync accounts, track expenses, set up recurring bills, manage customers, and manage vendors. However, to access more advanced features like online payments, for example, you’ll have to download third-party apps that will cost you a yearly fee on top of whatever fees you have to pay for this third-party account.
Long story short, creating an Akaunting account won’t cost you anything, but as you navigate this software, you’ll realize that all the capabilities that you might expect to be ready-to-use will rely on your purchasing these third-party apps.
GnuCash
Best for: Sole proprietors and small businesses
GnuCash can be downloaded for Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X. It handles multiple languages and currencies. And GnuCash tracks accounts receivable and accounts payable. It also offers some payroll features.
SlickPie
Do you run multiple small businesses, such as Etsy shops, nonprofits, or eateries? If you want to separate each business’s finances, SlickPie is a good choice; it gives you these free features for up to 10 different companies:
- Sales tax, expense, and income tracking
- Automatic late payment reminders and recurring invoices
- Bank transaction reconciliation
- Online payment processing (with PayPal, Stripe, or credit cards only)
- Quotes, estimates, and invoice creation
SlickPie’s dashboard isn’t as slick as Wave’s, but it’s pretty legible and user-friendly, especially as far as free software is concerned. And while SlickPie doesn’t offer up-front inventory tracking, it does include a basic item tracklist where you can record sales tax, one of the most important things for sellers to track.
Unlike most other providers on our list (apart from Wave), SlickPie includes email-based customer service—and multiple contact options make it easier and more convenient for users to get help. However, SlickPie’s invoicing feature doesn’t offer much customization, so if custom professional invoices are high on your list of needs, ZipBooks or Wave might work better for you.
CloudBooks
With the free version of CloudBooks accounting software, you’ll be able to add unlimited users, invoice, create projects, perform integrated time tracking, track expenses, and provide estimates. That said, you’ll have to upgrade from the free version—and pay at least $10 a month—to be able to send more than five invoices per month, brand your invoices, and offer online payments on your invoices.
Sunrise
Best for: Small and medium-sized businesses
Sunrise provides bookkeeping software for small businesses. Users can easily search and categorize their business expenses, send customized invoices, and receive online and recurring payments. Their self service plan is free and allows users to send unlimited invoices, process unlimited transactions, and run cash flow reports. Sunrise also offers bookkeeping services for additional support.
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.
Expensify
With Expensify, your only task is to scan receipts (or, honestly, any other piece of paper with a number on it)—the software automatically generates an expense report, and once it’s approved, you can reimburse the right employee within 24 hours. Expensify also generates expense-specific reports that simplify tax time for you and your employees.
Expensify isn’t an all-in-one online accounting solution—it’s a targeted expense-tracking app. If you’re looking for more thorough accounting and bookkeeping software, try Wave or QuickBooks. But if you could use some help keeping your expenses in order, Expensify’s free plan is a good option.
Conclusion
Software for small business. While it’s important to to keep tabs on your invoices, payments, generate reports, and so on, using just a spreadsheet program will work just as well. So, you’re probably not thinking about software right now. But the moment you are ready to expand or you are already thinking about it, then getting some accounting software to help you out will be necessary.