Large accountancy firms offer a lot of help to small businesses with their books, but there are thousands of different accounting software packages out there. This can be difficult to navigate for newcomers so I wanted to put together a list of the best accounting software for small business I’ve come across during my search.
The purpose of this article is to provide a list of the best accounting software for small business. I have tried a fair share of accounting software and have come up with my favorite software. Here is a summary of the best accounting software for small business:
FreshBooks
Pricing: Starts at $4.50/month
FreshBooks is a straightforward solution that prides itself on making small business accounting more efficient. According to its website, FreshBooks’ software can help users save up to 46 hrs a year on filing for their taxes.
The platform integrates with many business applications and provides you with a single dashboard to manage your finances and accounting. Regular secure backups are included, and a mobile app allows you to keep track of your business at all times.
Best for Businesses That Send Out Recurring Invoices or Have Subscription Models
If you send out recurring invoices, need time tracking capability, or run a subscription model business, FreshBooks could be ideal for you. Its suite of resources lends itself to companies that fit that bill.
It even includes a feature that lets see the exact location a customer opened your invoice — letting you avoid those pesky “I never got it” excuses. With affordable plans to accommodate businesses of virtually every size, it’s definitely worth considering.
Pabbly
Pricing: Starts at $9/month
Pabbly Subscription Billing is a recurring and subscription management software for small to medium-sized businesses. This software provides real-time actionable metrics on your monthly payments, revenue, net revenue, active customers, and new subscriptions. It also automates all your business workflows, customer communication, and invoice creation so you can focus on your business growth.
Best for Businesses Looking for a Reliably Fixed Pricing Model
One of Pabbly’s key selling points is its subscription billing model. It’s one of the only software on this list that doesn’t charge any extra fees on the basis of per-transaction and monthly revenue generation. That kind of consistency — paired with it’s first-rate functionality — make Pabbly a solid option.
Wave
Pricing: Free — Additional Monthly Cost if You Elect Payroll in Tax Service or Self-Service States; Some Processing Fees Apply
Wave is a powerful accounting solution for small businesses and individual contractors. It places significant emphasis on ease of use and synchronicity —letting you link your bank accounts, track your expenses, and balance your books without any trouble. It also lines up with Wave’s additional resources, providing you with an all-in-one solution if you opt to invest in its other products.
Wave has over two million users, making it a popular free service among sole traders, freelancers and small firms. It promises unlimited accounting, invoicing and receipt tracking services, meaning you can use as much as you want for as long as you want. It’s also known for having a beautiful, easy to use interface.
However, payroll isn’t included in the free service, which is predominantly targeted at US customers. There’s also a pay-per-use policy for online payments, where you’ll pay per transaction. For this reason, it’s often not recommended for businesses with high sales volumes, and is often considered too basic for medium-size businesses.
Best for Freelancers or Very Small Businesses
If you are operating as a freelancer or have just a few employees, Wave could be for you. Most of its services are free, including invoice- and transaction-management. However, if you’re looking for built-in time tracking, inventory tracking, or project management, you’ll likely need different software.
Sage 50cloud
Pricing: Starts at $340/Year
With Sage, you can spend less time on administrative tasks. The software sends invoices, tracks payments and expenses, and calculates what you owe come tax season. Time-tracking and collaboration tools are two things you won’t get with Sage, and payroll is a separate product.
Best For Small Businesses Trending Towards Higher Growth
Sage works well for small- to medium-sized businesses. It errs on the more expensive side of the tools on this list, but it has an impressive enough suite of features to back its prices up. If your small business is more mature than most — and you can afford to spend a little extra on your accounting software — take a look at Sage50cloud.
Xero
Pricing: Starts at $11/month
Xero lets you get financial performance reports sent straight to you, and connect your bank account for a seamless experience. If you need payroll services, you’ll have to use them through Xero’s partnership with Gusto. And if you value live support, you should probably look for another provider.
Best for Businesses That Conduct Their Business on the Go.
One of Xero’s most impressive characteristics is its mobile experience, making it an excellent option for businesspeople who work on the go. The software allows you to send custom invoices, track inventory, and create purchase orders to attach to bills — all from your phone or tablet.
Zoho Books
Pricing: Starts at $15/month
Zoho Books is an excellent resource for helping your small business manage cash flow and finances. The software lets you automate workflows and work collectively across departments. It includes first rate tools for inventory management, banking, time-tracking, and financial reporting — all backed by an industry-leading UX.
Best for Ease of Use
One of Zoho’s biggest draws is its accessible, user-friendly interface. It comes with an easy-to-read dashboard that virtually any member of your organization can make sense of. It also offers benefits like excellent customer support and the ability to accept payments online. All told, Zoho is one of the better software for more casual users.
Kashoo
Pricing: Starts at $20/month
Kashoo is a solution that offers powerful functionality at a reasonable price. Among the software’s features are automatic reconciliation, categorization using machine learning technology, and income and expense tracking.
Best for Businesses Looking for a Simple Solution
Perfect for small businesses searching for a truly simple solution, Kashoo offers plans and features that can accommodate any small business’s needs. Its functionality is straightforward but effective, and its pricing structure allows for unlimited users at a relatively low price point.
AccountEdge Pro
Pricing: Starts at a One-Time fee of $149
AccountEdge Pro provides double-entry accounting tools — from time billing and reporting to inventory — that are customizable and optimized for desktop users. The program is also available for a one-time fee, potentially saving you a lot of money down the line by avoiding subscription costs.
Best for Businesses That Don’t Necessarily Need a Mobile Option
If a lack of a mobile option isn’t a deal-breaker for you, AccountEdge could be just what you need. As I mentioned, the software is designed specifically for desktop users — and that experience is extremely solid — but you can’t take AccountEdge with you on the go. That said, there’s a cloud-collaboration option available for purchase that gives you mobile flexibility.
QuickFile
QuickFile is well liked by many freelancers, entrepreneurs and small businesses, scoring 4.7 out of 5 from over 1,200 reviews on Trustpilot. It’s cloud-based accounting software, which allows you to automatically import transactions by connecting to 50 UK banks and over 300 other web services.
Some of its other helpful features include an app that lets you image and upload receipts on the go, a branded online portal clients can use to pay their invoices, multi-currency support and the ability to file VAT returns directly with HMRC.
QuickFile offers a free and paid-for service. To be eligible for the free service, you’ll need to keep your ledger entries under 1,000 a year and be prepared to encounter ads.
GnuCash
GnuCash is open-source desktop accounting software. This means that, unlike a cloud-based system, you’ll need to download and install it on to your device. The code is also available to anyone, allowing volunteer developers to add extra functionalities or fix errors. This makes the platform very flexible and completely free forever. You won’t have to put up with adverts, but on the downside it’s not the prettiest or most intuitive platform to work with.
GnuCash is often described as a ‘no-frills’ version of accounting software. It handles invoicing and credit notes, accounts payable and receivable and some payroll features, but doesn’t offer the more advanced features such as open banking integration or a mobile app.
VT Cashbook
VT Cashbook is great for small businesses looking for a simple, no-fuss way to manage the accounts. It’s desktop software, meaning you’ll need to install it – on the plus side, you won’t even require an internet connection to use it. The free version offers basic functionality, allowing you to record day-to-day cash transactions and prepare profit and loss statements and balance sheets. However, you’ll need to upgrade to the paid version if you want to create and file Making Tax Digital VAT returns.
FreeAgent
FreeAgent is only free to business banking customers of Natwest/Royal Bank of Scotland, but it’s a powerful piece of cloud-based software that’s used by over 90,000 small businesses in the UK. It allows you to automatically generate VAT returns and completes the majority of the self-assessment tax return form for you. It also gives you a clear view of the income, time and expenses associated with each project, so you can see whether you’re making a profit or loss in real time.
These features have won FreeAgent awards including the Small Business Accounting Software of the Year Award in 2018. However, the biggest drawback is that your bank will have full access to your financial data, so they’ll be able to see exactly what’s happening with your accounts.
ZipBooks
In the free version of ZipBooks, you’re able to produce an unlimited number of invoices to an unlimited number of customers. You can also use it for unlimited bookkeeping. As a cloud-based piece of software, it’s known for being really easy to use, with a modern looking design.
However, you’ll only have access to basic reporting features and can only connect one bank account. If you want to take advantage of the more advanced and intelligent features, you’ll need to upgrade to one of their paid packages.
Money Manager Ex
Similar to GnuCash, this is another open source tool, recognised for being well designed and with features to rival even premium software. It’s easy to understand and simple to use, making it a good option for sole traders. It’s great for budgeting and forecasting cashflow but getting set up initially is known to be fiddly and time consuming. It also operates entirely offline, meaning you won’t be able to link to online banking. Still, the entire program can run from a USB drive, making it portableAdminsoft Accounts
Adminsoft Accounts was developed in the UK by a small business owner for other small business owners. The concept behind it is that it’s designed to work the same way entrepreneurs do, and doesn’t require an accounting background to understand. It’s been downloaded over 300,000 times and provides a full double entry accounting system, stock control, purchase order processing, payroll software and even some HR functions. The platform, however, is powered by ads and designed for Windows only.
OneUp
Pricing: Starts at $9/month
OneUp is another double-entry accounting solution. It syncs with your bank, categorizes bank entries, and validates suggested entries so your books are done quickly and accurately. All told, those elements amount to roughly 95% automation of your accounting.
Best for Businesses Focused on Inventory Management
OneUp might be best known for its inventory management capabilities. The program automatically adjusts your inventory levels as they shift and tells you when to reorder.
That’s not to say that the software’s other features aren’t impressive — but if you’re primarily in the market for an exceptional inventory management solution, check OneUp out.
Conclusion
If you are just starting out in the accounting world or need an upgrade, why not try one of the many accounting software programs that are available for free on the internet. These programs are used by businesses the world over. Find out how to choose the best one for you and get everything sorted easy.