You’ve decided that you need accounting software to help manage your business. You do not want cloud based accounting software, but prefer something that is installed on your computer. Desktop accounting software, professional accounting software, easy accounting software, best free accounting software… I think you may need some help with this choice. Don’t worry –
I’ve created this guide for small business owners like you! Hopefully my recommendations will make it easier for you to make an informed choice.
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.
2. 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.
ZipBooks
ZipBooks provides powerful and simple-to-use accounting software designed to help small businesses move to the next level. ZipBooks’ free starter option includes unlimited invoicing, unlimited vendors and customers, unlimited bookkeeping, the ability to connect and manage one bank account, and a business health and invoice quality score.
xTuple PostBoks
xTuple PostBooks is enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, which means that in addition to accounting, small businesses can track sales, integrate inventory and take advantage of a customer management system. The free license program does not provide any specialized support.
SlickPie
SlickPie provide basic expense management for start-ups and small businesses. This easy-to-use expense management software provides everything a small business will need for slick and timely accounting, including straightforward invoicing and detailed reports to help keep their business finances healthy.
Wave
Wave provides completely free accounting that allows small businesses to track expenses, send invoices, get paid and balance their books. Businesses can send professional invoices and track the status of invoices and payments, so they know when to expect money in their bank account. Businesses can also accept credit cards and get paid faster with Wave.
5. 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.
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.
NetSuite ERP
Pricing: Available upon request
NetSuite’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) product helps small businesses with functions like financial management and planning, order management, supply chain, fulfillment, and procurement — integrating these functions into a single streamlined system.
Best for Businesses Anticipating Rapid Growth
NetSuite prides itself on growing with businesses, “from pre-revenue through IPO and beyond” — with functionality that can assist you at every stage of your as it scales and matures. If you anticipate rapid growth, you might want to consider NetSuite ERP.
Accounting Seed
Pricing: Available Upon Request
Accounting Seed offers subscription or recurring billing options, has a secure and reliable API, and works with your company to link critical business applications and bank accounts for real visibility into the financial state of your business. And it automates many of the menial tasks that eat up your day.
Best for Businesses Looking for a Solid Cloud-Based Platform
It’s also a cloud-based platform, meaning you can log in anytime, anywhere — giving you a degree of flexibility and mobility that you might not be able to find with every solution on this list. The platform also lends itself to easy collaboration, offering data visibility to any stakeholders at your business.
Sunrise by Lendio
Pricing: Free; More Robust Plans with Dedicated Support From a Bookkeeper Starting at $149/Month
Sunrise by Lendio has a suite of features including automatic bank reconciliation, profit and loss reports, easy tax options, and branded invoicing. It’s also particularly notable for its ability to accept credit cards and set up automatic payments.
Best for Businesses That Want a Dedicated Bookkeeper
One of the main distinguishing factors that sets Sunrise apart from other tools on this list is its plans that include dedicated bookkeeping services. If your business is willing to spend a little extra to outsource some of those responsibilities through your accounting software, you should consider leveraging Sunrise by Lendio.
Conclusion
Have you been looking for a good accounting software program? You’ve probably been comparing online accounting software or desktop accounting software. But at the end of the day, regardless of which one you choose to use, they both serve the same purpose – assisting you with your accounting needs from start to finish.