Accounting is one of the most important but also boring part of any business. It is often performed by people who are trained to do so, but it can be time-consuming and expensive for small businesses. The solution to this problem is Free Accounting Software. All you need is a good piece of accounting software, which will help you get through your accounting tasks faster and for free.
Are you looking for free accounting software? That’s great! You’ve come to the right place. Here we’ll go over some of the top accounting software options out there and help you decide which one is best for your business.
Best Customer Support: FreshBooks
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FreshBooks used to be an invoicing software with a few bookkeeping tools tossed in. With the recent addition of double-entry accounting, FreshBooks is now a complete accounting solution for small businesses. The software is incredibly easy to use and free of accounting jargon.
FreshBooks is best for small businesses that are looking for simplicity, strong invoicing, proposals, and good customer support.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Good mobile apps
- Great customer support
- Numerous integrations
- Strong invoicing
Cons
- Expensive
- Limited users
- Limited features
FreshBooks Pricing
FreshBooks offers three pricing plans ranging from $15/month to $50/month. Most features are included in all plans, so each larger level mainly adds more billable customers.
FreshBooks only supports a single user (additional users cost an extra $10/month each).
FreshBooks Features
FreshBooks has always been easy to use, but a recent redesign has made the user experience even more straightforward and the UI more attractive. Setup is simple, and the software takes very little time to learn. In terms of features, you’ll find invoicing, expense tracking, contact management, and more.
FreshBooks offers two customizable invoice templates and a client portal where customers can pay their invoices directly online. One of FreshBooks’ coolest features is the ability to chat with your customers directly on their invoices.
Other features include:
- Project management
- Time tracking
- Reports
FreshBooks offers over 80 integrations, which is significantly more than most invoicing programs. There are also mobile apps available.
FreshBooks has great customer support. Representatives are friendly, helpful, and quick to respond. There is phone support, email support, a help center, and several other resources to help you learn the software.
For the most part, FreshBooks receives positive customer reviews; however, there are some recurring complaints.
The main drawback of FreshBooks is the cost. The software is expensive compared to other accounting programs, and the value of the software simply doesn’t match the price. FreshBooks also only supports a single user. Instead of purchasing additional users, you’d get more bang for your buck by choosing a less expensive program.
When To Use FreshBooks
This easy bookkeeping software is ideal for small businesses that need to save time on sending invoices, tracking expenses, and creating proposals. If the simplicity of FreshBooks sounds appealing to you, take the software for a spin with a free trial or read our comprehensive FreshBooks review to learn more.
Best Small Business Accounting Software Overall: QuickBooks Online
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QuickBooks Online is a fully-featured accounting software program that is generally easy to use. With over 600 integrations, strong mobile apps, and tax support, it’s no wonder this software is popular.
QuickBooks Online is best for small businesses looking for a full-featured accounting solution that is relatively easy to use. QBO is ideal for businesses with five users or fewer (though you can add up to 25 users for an additional cost).
Pros
- Scalable
- Advanced features
- Strong invoicing and mobile apps
- Expert help from accountants is available
- 650+ integrations
Cons
- Occasionally unintuitive
- Poor customer support
QuickBooks Online Pricing
QuickBooks Online offers four pricing plans ranging from $25/month to $180/month. The larger the plan, the more features you can access, and the more users you can have.
Payroll services cost an additional $45-$125/month (plus $4+/month per employee). Read our QuickBooks Online pricing post to learn more, and don’t forget to check if Intuit is running any sales promotions.
QuickBooks Online Features
While this cloud accounting software is not quite as easy to use as the other options on this list, the trade-off is more advanced features. Set up is a bit involved, and the organization is occasionally difficult to navigate. Compared to other big-name programs, though, such as Xero, Sage, and AccountEdge Pro, QuickBooks Online is a piece of cake.
QuickBooks offers double-entry bookkeeping and strong accounting features, such as bank reconciliation, accounts payable, accounts receivable, reports, and a chart of accounts. You’ll also find invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, project management, and more. In terms of invoicing, QuickBooks Online offers the second-best templates and automations (with Zoho Books being the first).
Other features include:
- Class tracking
- Client portal
- Tax support
- Contact management
- Budgeting
- Inventory management
- Purchase orders
- Sales tax
With over 600 integrations, QuickBooks has more integrations than any other accounting program on this list. The available integrations include 25 payment processing options and great mobile apps.
As we mentioned earlier, QuickBooks has had a reputation for poor customer service in the past. Recently, QuickBooks Online has made great strides to improve its customer support. While the company still has a ways to go, phone response times have greatly improved, and a redesigned help center makes it easy to find assistance.
The downside? While QuickBooks is well-organized and relatively easy to learn, the software can be overwhelming at first and occasionally unintuitive, making it a less easy-to-use option than the other software choices on this list.
When To Use QuickBooks Online
While QuickBooks Online may not be quite as easy to use as the other options on this list, it might be a good fit for businesses looking to get the most bang for their buck in terms of features.
Read our comprehensive QuickBooks Online review to learn about all that this software has to offer, or sign up for a free trial to see for yourself.
Get Started with QuickBooks Online
Best Invoicing & Mobile Apps: Zoho Books
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Zoho Books offers unbeatable invoicing and strong mobile apps. Recent updates have put Zoho Books on par with QuickBooks Online in terms of features, but with better customer service and a more user-friendly UI, Zoho Books is a great option for small businesses.
Zoho Books is best for small businesses in need of strong online accounting, great mobile apps, and good invoicing. The software is ideal for international businesses.
Pros
- Advanced features
- Easy to use
- Good customer support
- Strong mobile apps
Cons
- Limited integrations
- Unsuited for large businesses
Zoho Books Pricing
Zoho Books offers three pricing plans ranging from $0/month to $70/month. Each plan comes with basic features and unlimited invoices. The larger the plan, the more contacts, users, and advanced features you’ll have access to.
Zoho Books Features
Zoho Books has an impressive number of features. With good customer support and a well-designed UI, the software is easy to use and learn. Zoho Books has all of the features you’d expect from a fully-developed accounting solution, including invoicing, contact management, expense tracking, time tracking, inventory, project management, and even tax support.
The best part about Zoho Books is its invoicing offerings. Zoho Books offers 16 customizable invoice templates, a client portal where customers can pay invoices directly online, recurring invoices, and the unique ability to encrypt invoices. Many automations make it easy to invoice customers, such as setting payment reminders and auto-scheduling invoices to send later. You can also send invoices in 13 languages, making Zoho Books a great choice for international businesses.
You’ll find these key accounting features as well:
- Accounts payable
- Charts of accounts
- Bank reconciliation
- Fixed asset management
- Reports
Zoho Books offers over 30 integrations, including 11 payment gateway options and a Zapier integration that connects Zoho Books to over 1,000 other third-party apps. Zoho Books also has easy accounting apps that are highly developed and praised by existing users.
Zoho Books is known for its great customer service. Phone and email support are both available. Representatives are generally helpful and quick to respond to questions. The majority of customer reviews are positive, and users especially like the level of support they receive.
When To Use Zoho Books
With almost as many features as QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books is a contender worth considering. The software is easy to use, and its invoicing features are unbeatable. Great customer support, a good number of integrations, and international features are also perks of the software.
If Zoho Books sounds like it might be a suitable choice for your small business, start a free trial, or read our complete Zoho Books review to learn more.
CloudBooks: Best for Freelancers and Small Businesses
Best for Freelancers and Small Businesses
CloudBooks is a free accounting and invoicing solution tailored to accommodate small businesses and freelancers. The program boasts a user base of over 2 million subscribers and has a suite of capabilities that cover invoicing, time-tracking, reporting, and payment needs — among others.
The platform is an invoice management solution, above all else — and that can be a benefit or drawback in its own right, depending on what you need.
While CloudBooks has features extending beyond that functionality, invoicing appears to be its main selling point — meaning it’s not quite as fully fleshed out with accounting functionality as other programs listed here.
So if you’re looking for exceptional invoice creation and management software, you should check out Cloudbooks. If you need a more robust accounting-specific solution, you might want to look elsewhere.
CloudBooks’ Key Benefits
- Allows for unlimited users
- Features email support
- Offers free cloud data storage
- Upgraded plans are reasonably priced
CloudBooks’ Key Drawbacks
- Only lets you bill one client
- Caps your number of invoices at five
- Lacks phone or chat support
Conclusion
It can be incredibly difficult to choose your accounting software, and many small business owners default to the free desktop spreadsheet programs like Excel and Open Office. However, more and more online, web-based options are becoming available, with similar features and even greater consolidating capabilities. When you add in the remote accessibility of cloud-based programs like Wave, taking on more staff or tracking expenses while away on vacation doesn’t add unnecessary stress to your life. We hope that once you’ve taken a look at these online solutions you might begin to see the benefits of outsourcing some of your bookkeeping tasks.