Do you manage projects? Superstar project managers know that accounting software for project managers is crucial. I’ve spent a lot of time testing accounting software for project managers and exploring the best project management accounting software. This is my “approved” list of top-notch software, programs and services to help you manage projects like a pro — no matter what your level of experience or expertise.
It’s no secret that project management is hard. And when you factor in accounting, things can get even more challenging. This means that it’s very important to find simple accounting software for project managers that is easy to use and ensures accurate reporting.
FreshBooks
This is the best project accounting software today. It enables you to issue bills and invoices seamlessly. The tool also makes it possible to run a project in a rapid, secure way. The software has a neat, intuitive interface. It is further capable of producing professional financial documents such as invoices, expense reports, time-tables and client progress reports. This project accounting software is based in the Cloud. Hence, you can access your project financial information from literally anywhere in the world. This is especially helpful for projects that are managed by teams in various geographical locations. This project accounting software for small business is available for free through a 30-day demo. Payment is required for long-term use.
Pros
- It is Cloud-based for convenient data access
- The software can perform accounting tasks efficiently and automatically
- It is available for free through a demo
Cons
- This software cannot be integrated with other digital accounting tools
Acumatica Cloud ERP
This is an accounting software that is developed specially for projects. Through an organized dashboard, Acumatica Cloud ERP allows you to view your time, expenses and project bookkeeping information. It is able to combine non-financial and monetary data in one location. This project management accounting software is capable of automating accounting activities such as scheduling, cost tracking, resource management, recognizing revenue and overall billing. It also delivers financial reports that can provide deep insights into project performance. It is available through a short-term free trial. Further use requires payment.
Pros
- It is developed specially for accounting in projects
- This software combines all related data in one dashboard
- It is available on a free demo basis
Cons
- It is expensive
NetSuite
Based in the Cloud, this is some project based accounting software that can handle a project from its beginning to the and NetSuite enables you to automate accounting activities such as invoicing, creating purchase orders, managing inventory, handling sales and making entries in the general ledger. Through this, it improves project efficiency. This project on tally accounting software is also effective in determining the direction of your project, managing resources as well as task scheduling. Within this software are some features that you can use for revenue recognition. It can also help you to identify project profitability by presenting projected versus real-time metrics in easily understandable charts and reports. NetSuite accounting software installation process is also quite straightforward.
Pros
- It is Cloud-based
- This software can automate accounting activities
- It allows for effective revenue recognition
Cons
- It is not available for free
Accounting Seed
Developed with projects in mind, this is a software product that boosts the efficiency and effectiveness of cooperative business tasks. Accounting Seed has core project management features such as a general ledger and a client engagement tracker built right into it. This free project accounting software is based on the Cloud. Hence, you can access financial data easily and quickly. It enables you to enter project activities and costs into a shareable general ledger, manage revenue through each step of the project lifecycle, handle orders and perform detailed project accounting as well. This accounting software is available on a free trial basis for 14 days. Further use requires payment.
Pros
- This software has features that are necessary for project management
- It is based in the Cloud
- The software can produce strategic accounting reports on demand
Cons
- It is confined within the Salesforce ecosystem
Sage Intacct
This is an accounting software that is capable of handling the monetary aspect of a project from its inception to completion. Sage Intacct presents all critical project information from one convenient dashboard. As a result, you can handle elements such as project scheduling, track expenses and perform project-based accounting from one interface. The project accounting software is capable of automating accounting tasks such as billing, resource management, cost tracking and recognizing revenues. By doing so, it streamlines the project construction and makes financial management easier. You can try this software on a trial basis. Long-term use requires payment.
Pros
- It covers all accounting aspects from the beginning to the end of a project
- All strategic information is provided in a convenient dashboard
- It is available on a demo basis
Cons
- It is expensive
FinancialForce
FinancialForce is unique in that it’s built on the Salesforce platform. Salesforce is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, and its purpose is to establish a working relationship with business customers. The CRM offers customer engagement tools, collaboration tools, opportunity tracking that tie into FinancialForce.
The project accounting software for FinancialForce is offered under Professional Service Automation (PSA). FinancialForce is certainly customer-centric, yet this product offers all the features to meet a business’s project accounting needs.
Most aspects of this software are user-friendly and can be customized to meet unique business needs. However, the resource planner module is reported as being out of place and not user-friendly, and customization of reports is difficult to complete.
NetSuite
NetSuite’s unique features are its compliance management multi-currency capabilities. NetSuite can also be integrated with third-party applications. This product is touted as being highly configurable, and can easily be customized to address project requirements.
This product is aimed at supporting enterprise organizations, but can do well in a midsize environment, too. This is a robust project accounting software package that is modularly built to retain some flexibility in pricing. Unsurprisingly, NetSuite is used by more than 26,000 organizations.
In reviews, the ability to customize NetSuite to meet a business need is a repeated positive. The consistent negative mentioned in customer reviews is that NetSuite prices are higher than most of its competitors.
Multiview ERP
Multiview ERP is a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant software package. Multiview ERP can provide reports when requested, versus the standard end-of-the-month report generation provided by a typical financial accounting package.
This product contains other key features one would expect in a project accounting software package, like advanced analytics, budget, and forecasting. Multiview ERP also has unique features, such as a compliance management module, capability to integrate with third-party vendors, and support for foreign currencies.
Reviews of Multiview ERP repeatedly state that the application is highly customizable, with a superb search feature allowing a user to search on any key field or dollar amount. Several compliments are repeatedly directed at Multiview’s customer support department. This is another project accounting software product that can support small to large businesses.
Striven
Striven has many of the common key features one would look for in project accounting software, such as the ability to set and track project budgets, generate reports, and keep track of billing and invoices. But what really resonated in this product’s reviews was the customer’s optimism when a function did not perform to expectations. The customers gave Striven the benefit of time to address and correct any identified issue.
Multiple reviews of Striven note that this vendor provides superior customer service. Two reviewers in particular noted that Striven helped move data from a previous system into Striven with no migration problems or loss of data in the process. Reviews consistently state the application is very user-friendly and integrates well with other software processes using REST API.
Unanet
Unanet falls in the category of a PSA, which is a combination of project management and Enterprise Resource planning (ERP) services. This software is used to manage the daily activities of a business from a central database. Unanet is complimented with the typical accolades for any good project accounting software. Like some of its competitors, it features a user-friendly interface and other key features. Non-standard features on offer include the ability to accept foreign currency, and a resource management module.
Unanet also offers various ways to learn how to use the application with a knowledge center and an Unanet University. This product is touted as being especially good for government contractors.
A noticeable con is that Unanet software upgrades are not thoroughly tested, and customers have complained about multiple problems after an attempted upgrade. Other cons are significant issues like pay rate and hiring date changes without the ability to revert to the original entry.
Wave
Wave is for small businesses with less than nine employees, and it’s a free product. Wave does not come with all the amenities of some of its competitors, but it may be a perfect solution for an upstart small business that is aiming to keep its initial costs low.
Surprisingly, Wave offers multi-currency and multi-country options, a feature typically only found in more complex systems. Wave can also be integrated with third-party applications. Wave is easy to use, and freelancers find Wave to be the perfect product for invoicing and receiving Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions.
A notable con is that the product lacks accounting and reporting for individual projects, but the product has found a niche market and meets a need. Wave does offer a premium support plan at $49 for three months, allowing users to talk with a product specialist to address any operational issues.
QuickBooks Desktop
QuickBooks Pro helps to automate the billing and invoicing process and work order management from a single reconciliation window. With ‘Bank Account Reconciliation’ feature, users can link their bank accounts and define workflows for the accounting activities. This allows users to make automated payments and deposits from their linked bank account and also manage the employee payrolls via a single application. What is QuickBooks Desktop Pro? QuickBooks Desktop Pro is a comprehensive accounting solution that offers robust functionalities of a core accounting software application, including account payable & receivable, project accounting, expense management and payroll management, all within a single integrated suite.
Conclusion:
You’re a project manager and you know that accounting is important. You have to keep accurate records of your project and make sure you are meeting the company’s standards. But learning accounting software for project managers isn’t easy. Before you start, you should know the basics of what it entails and what benefits accounting project management can bring.