Do not try to learn accounting software for small businesses without the right tools! If a small business’s success (or failure) depends on an unprofessional and untested software platform, what are the consequences to them and their families? Of course, that scenario is no laughing matter. That’s why we’ve created a post and a platform where you can learn accounting software free and also find best free accounting software for small businesses.
Cutting edge small business accounting software can be a great help when it comes to running a more efficient business. Accountants use accounting software because they are more professional and accurate than spreadsheets, but using them is not always easy. There are so many options to choose from that choosing the right one can be quite a challenge if you do not know what are the best programs available and how to evaluate them. The alternative is to just go with a free accounting software and hope that it will work out, which is no guarantee at all.
ZipBooks
ZipBooks is a web-based financial software with a solid suite of accounting features. The company offers a free plan called ZipBooks Starter — an option that includes basic bookkeeping functionality, along with profit, loss, and balance sheet reporting.
It also covers certain invoicing and quote-related bases — plus the ability to accept payment via credit card or PayPal. It’s a powerful, easy-to-use solution, but its free plan is extremely free plan-ish.
The program’s features you can access with a free plan are restricted to the point that it might be easy to outgrow. You can only link one bank account and view basic reports with its starter option. Should your needs extend beyond that, you’ll need to upgrade to one of its premium plans.
And while those upper-tier plans are reasonably priced, they’re obviously not what someone who wants a free plan is looking for. Again, the solution itself is sound, but if you want a free program that will remain free as you scale, you should look elsewhere.
ZipBooks’ Key Benefits
- Unlimited Invoices
- Ability to manage unlimited vendors and customers
- Accepts digital payments via Square and Paypal
ZipBooks’ Key Drawbacks
- Only allows you to connect one bank account
- Only lets you view basic reports
OnPay
Pricing: Starts at $36/month plus an additional $4/user
OnPay can help you automate tax filings, enter payment data, and manage benefits including compensation insurance, health insurance, and 401(k). It also offers unlimited payroll runs for W-2 and 1099 workers.
And, OnPay can estimate your payroll taxes, manage tax form filings, and even pay your taxes. A bonus here? They’ll also take responsibility for any tax filing errors committed while using the product.
Best for Businesses Looking for a Payroll-Centric Solution
OnPay’s area of expertise is reflected in its name. If you’re a small- to medium-sized business that needs help streamlining payroll and entering payment data, you might consider investing in OnPay. That’s not to say the rest of its features aren’t impressive — it’s just to say that the solution fits businesses interested in a payroll-centric solution particularly well.
Intuit QuickBooks Online
Pricing: Starts at $12.50/month
Intuit Quickbooks might be the first resource that comes to mind when you hear the term, “small business accounting software” — and for good reason. Beyond its first-rate suite of capabilities, the program sets itself apart with elements like receipt capture and 24/7 chat support.
It also features integrations with PayPal, Shopify, and Square. Taken together, those components — among several others — make Quickbooks a crowd-pleasing small business accounting software.
All plans allow you to track income and expenses, send invoices and receive payments, run reports, send estimates, track sales and taxes, and capture and organize receipts. More advanced plans allow you to track inventory, track time, and even run full-service payroll.
Best for Businesses Looking for a Tried-and-True Option
Intuit Quickbooks is one of the most (if not the most) prominent accounting software for small businesses. It’s been around long enough for you to have a solid idea of what you’re getting when you invest in it — an accessible, affordable, time-tested solution that can suit a company of virtually any size. If you’re looking for a safe choice that reconciles reliability with exceptional functionality, consider looking into Intuit Quickbooks.
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.
Zoho Books
Zoho Books assists you with everything from daily transactions to negotiating deals and invoicing.
Like all Zoho tools, you get a simple platform that you can customize to fit your needs. There’s not a huge learning curve, despite the fact you can do a lot.
The small business software ensures tax compliance as well. You’ll easily understand your tax liability. You’ll also be able to prepare for audits in accordance with IRS guidelines.
I like the Zoho Books dashboard because it’s straightforward and easy to use. This is true whether you are on a desktop or your mobile phone.
Navigate through the most common accounting needs like:
- Inventory
- Banking
- Reports
- Receivables
- Payables
Zoho Books integrates with 40+ apps right out of the box. Similar to FreshBooks, the number of apps is a bit low compared to the competition; but the essentials are available.
In addition to the features, pricing for Zoho Books is based on the number of contacts on your account. Contacts are defined as customers and vendors who you can create transactions for in your books.
Here’s a brief overview of the three pricing plans:
Basic — $9 per month
- Up to 50 contacts
- 2 users
- 5 automatic workflows
Standard — $19 per month
- Up to 500 contacts
- 3 users
- 10 automated workflows
Professional — $29 per month
- 500+ contacts
- 10 users
- 10 automated workflows
All plans come with bank reconciliation, expense tracking, customer invoicing, recurring transactions, sales approval, and timesheets.
The Basic plan is good — especially if you’re a smaller business. Other beginner plans that I’ve seen in this guide start as low as five contacts.
Overall, the Standard plan is the best value. In addition to the larger contacts list, it also comes with billing, vendor credits, purchase approvals, reporting tags, budgeting features, and Twilio integration.
It’s easily scalable though. That means if your business grows, the software grows with you.
You can add users to any plan for an additional $2 per month or $20 per year.
Zoho Books has a 14-day free trial available for all plans. They offer month-to-month billing at the prices listed above, or annual contracts with two months free.
Sage 50cloud
For nearly four decades, the Sage brand has been providing enterprise-grade accounting solutions to companies across the globe. Sage 50cloud is an ideal solution for both small and medium-sized businesses.
The software is robust and sophisticated. It’s desktop software with remote access from anywhere.
Sage 50cloud has inventory management, accounts receivable functionality, report generation, and integrated payroll features. It’s great for small businesses that need multi-user access.
The security capabilities allow you to restrict access or limit functions to users in your company based on their clearance level or task description.
Sage has been around for a while, and it shows (not always in the best way). The user interface looks dated compared to other solutions on the market today. It doesn’t have any features for time tracking and lots of links open new windows, which isn’t very user-friendly.
Pricing for Sage 50cloud is a bit higher compared to other options on my list:
- Pro Accounting — $50.58 per month
- Premium Accounting — $78.21 per month
- Quantum Accounting — $197.55 per month
Prices will increase based on the number of users you add. You can also include Microsoft Office 365 for an additional $150 per year.
These price points aren’t as appealing for entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, and startups. I’d only consider Sage 50cloud as a medium-sized business that needs the resources and assistance of a company like Sage.
I’d also recommend an annual contract to save some money on the already high prices.
Wave
Wave is a free accounting solution for entrepreneurs. That’s right—free. There are no set up fees, hidden costs, or monthly charges.
Here’s a list of everything you get for free using Wave:
- Income and expense tracking
- Bank and credit card connections
- Unlimited guest collaborators
- Invoicing in any currency
- Send estimates and turn them into invoices once approved
- Receipt scanning
- Automatic receipt recording
Use the Wave mobile app to manage everything you need on the go. You can even capture receipts when you’re offline, and they’ll upload when you connect.
You can manage multiple businesses with one Wave account, which is perfect for any entrepreneur. Personalize your invoices with customizable and professional templates as well.
The usability, features, and mobile app rival some of the best paid accounting solutions on the market today. The fact that you can use Wave for free is incredible.
You’ll only have to pay if you enable online payments or payroll with Wave.
Online payments are billed per use, at industry-competitive rates. ACH transfers are 1% per transaction with a $1 minimum fee. Credit card processing is 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.
Payroll starts at $20 or $30 per month, depending on your state. You’ll also be charged an additional $4 per active employee and $4 per contractor paid.
Overall, Wave is perfect for entrepreneurs looking for a basic accounting solution. It’s pretty limited outside of the standard features. Both the app and payroll integrations aren’t as useful as other solutions on my list.
Conclusion:
Do you want to learn using accounting software for small businesses? Initially, you have to have the best accounting software for small businesses. What’s important is that you can get the software for free. This is often the case even when buying brand new accounting software. However, you need certain features that make it easy for your business. This means giving yourself the freedom to keep track of all financial matters easily.