When you’re running a small business, keeping track of your time and expenses is vital to keeping your business running smoothly. Small businesses that don’t keep accurate records can quickly fall into debt or become unable to expand due to conflicting information between departments.
Below are a list of awesome accounting software with payroll for small business.
BEST FOR PART-TIME FREELANCERSQuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed accounting software is our top choice for part-time freelancers and independent contractors who primarily want to track their income and expenses for their tax return. This software is designed for business owners who file a Schedule C on their individual tax return.
Without keeping up with business activity using a software like this, freelancers would need to dig through all of their bank and credit card statements to add up their income and expenses at the end of each year, which can be quite daunting. QuickBooks Self-Employed will total up all business transactions automatically.Pros
- Cloud-based
- Mobile app
- Track mileage
- Differentiate between business and personal expenses
- Syncs with TurboTax
Cons
- Data cannot be easily transferred to other accounting software
- Limited reporting
- Limited invoicing functionality and customization
QuickBooks Self-Employed is an Intuit product with a cloud-based online interface and a mobile app. This software was created to help freelancers stay organized each year for tax season. Features of QuickBooks Self-Employed include tracking mileage, sorting expenses, organizing receipts, sending invoices, and estimating and filing taxes seamlessly through TurboTax.
Users can choose between three plan options: Self-Employed at $15 per month, Self-Employed Tax Bundle at $25 per month, and Self-Employed Live Tax Bundle at $35 per month. There is a 50% discount for the first three months. The two tax bundles include a TurboTax subscription for income tax filing. The Self-Employed Live Tax Bundle also gives you access to a CPA to answer questions throughout the year and during tax season. The CPA will also perform a final review of your tax return in TurboTax prior to filing.
The mobile app makes it easy to track mileage while driving and capture photos of receipts for business expenses. Most accounting software is not designed to separate business transactions from personal transactions, but a special feature of QuickBooks Self-Employed provides an option to mark each transaction as business or personal. This is helpful for freelancers who don’t have a separate bank account for their business activity.
Freshbooks
Freshbooks is the best small business invoicing software. It is affordably priced compared to other accounting software. It is simple to use the tool and has many features such as sending invoices, automate payroll and expenses and time tracking. They integrate with other business apps as well. Their mobile app further helps you to keep track of the business anytime, anywhere.

Few of the features of Freshbooks are:
- Create customized invoices by adding your brand elements such as logo and fonts.
- FreshBooks’ app, available in iOS and Android devices, includes almost all of the features found on the browser version of its software.
- Using the app, you can photograph receipts, log them as expenses, categorize them and link to transactions imported from the bank account.
Price: Starts at US$ 4.50/month

Few of the features of Xero are:
- Keep track of expenses, unpaid bills, and purchase orders at the same place.
- Schedule payments in advance
- Organize bills in folders
- Replicate bills and then edit details as necessary.
Price: Starts at US$ 5.50/month
NetSuite ERP

Oracle’s NetSuite ERP scores a home run by combining financial management operations and built-in business intelligence.
Unlike other tools, NetSuite ERP is a scalable cloud ERP solution that automates front and back-office processes. Revenue management, fixed assets, financial management, order management, order and billing management – to name a few.
Further, it keeps your organization from top to bottom on the same page by supplying key indicators of performance and reports of their roles.
Features:
- Accounting
- Fixed asset management
- Payment management
- Demand planning
- Inventory control and warehouse management
- Purchasing and vendor management
- Manufacturing
- Billing management and invoicing
Pricing:
NetSuite ERP is available on a by-quote basis. NetSuite ERP’s enterprise pricing is based on modules, several users per month, and add-ons.
Please contact the vendor directly (or by clicking the below link) to get a customized quote for your company.
Verdict
NetSuite ERP is prolific in features, highly scalable, and a complete solution for all your accounting problems.
However, the learning curve is slightly higher, and the interface doesn’t look quite inviting. Otherwise, it’s the ultimate accounting software amid a trustful community of users.
Wave
If you just have a few employees, Wave could be the right fit for your organization. It has a free plan which includes many basic accounting features like unlimited income and expense tracking, unlimited invoices and seamless integration with their accounting software. But, if your business is in the lookout for advanced features like built-in time tracking and inventory tracking then this is not the right tool for you.

Few of the features of Wave are:
- Features are available online as well as on the mobile app
- It includes multi-currency support, unlimited invoicing, expense tracking, and double-entry accounting
- Wave allows you to juggle between multiple businesses with the same account
Price: Starts with a FREE Plan (for basic features)
Sage 50Cloud
Sage 50Cloud works well for small and medium-sized businesses. Using this, you can send invoices, track expenses and payments and also integrate seamlessly with your bank account. If you are in the lookout for time tracking as well as collaboration tools then Sage is not the right choice. Sage 50Cloud Payroll for payroll management is a separate product. Few other challenges are that the site is frustratingly hard to navigate. Also their, pricing is a bit confusing and much costlier compared to other accounting software in the list.

Few of the features of Sage 50Cloud are:
- Can customize the settings to get a more granular view of your finances.
- Manage payments and link to your bank feed for full visibility of your accounts and finances by automatic bank reconciliation.
- Keep track of the inventory and purchase orders with a few clicks.
Price: Starts at US$ 56.08/month/user
NetSuite ERP
NetSuite gives a complete real-time view of their financial transactions starting from the consolidated level to every individual transaction. It seamlessly integrates with all NetSuite inventory, order management, CRM as well as eCommerce functions to streamline critical business processes. If your business is in the lookout for rapid growth, then this software is a great choice.

Few of the features of NetSuite are:
- real-time financial visibility and business insights
- billing management capabilities that integrate your sales, finance and fulfilment teams
Price: As per requirement
Plooto
Plooto is a payment processing system that provides faster AP/AR cycle times, reduced errors and lower costs per transaction. Its Smart Approval ensures that every bill is accurately paid without delay. Also, unlimited users, customers and vendors can be added. Free two-way integration with Quickbooks and Xero and free live support from Plooto are added advantages.

Few of the features of Plooto are:
- Custom rules to automate, route, and customize payment approvals to the right team member at the right time.
- Schedule your payments to better manage your cash flow
- Automatically import invoices and save time with Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) and recurring payment features.
Price: US$ 25/month per Business
Kashoo

Want to set up your accounting structure in less than a minute? – Kashoo lets you do the same.
Kashoo is hassle-free accounting software for small business users. It scores big for its multi-currency support and an uncluttered interface.
Surprisingly, Kashoo’s customer support is out of the question and never upsets you.
Kashoo provides a good summary of your current financial situation with a single click and delivers just about everything you’re likely to need.
Features:
- Accounts payable and receivable
- Billing and invoicing
- Budgeting/Forecasting
- Cash management
- Data import/export
- ACH payment processing
Pricing:
The basic plan, designed for small businesses, is completely free to use. Rest all comes with 14-day free trials.
- Kashoo Accounting – $20/mo
- Kashoo – $30/mo (mid to large-size businesses)
Verdict
The basic plan is free and involves all the features – a good deal for freelancers and SMB’s. However, the mobile app is only available for iOS, leaving Android users out in the cold for the time being.
Kashoo’s simplicity makes it ill-suited to larger businesses that need more features and functions than Kashoo’s straightforward software can provide.
KashFlow

KashFlow is known for keeping things straightforward, which is in every case uplifting news when you’re managing your records and anything charge-related.
This cloud-based programming arrangement can be utilized from anyplace and whenever, similarly as long as you’re connected.
KashFlow comes with a full set-up of features, which allows you to handle bookkeeping tasks and finance and HR duties.
Features:
- Invoicing
- Payroll
- Business finance dashboard
- Stock management
- Banking-style level of account security
- Works on phones, iPods, PCs, and laptops, no software to install
- Free unlimited 24/7 online support
Pricing:
- Starter – $9/mo
- Business – $18mo
- Business + Payroll – $25/mo
Verdict
The only downside with KashFlow is its chargeable video tutorials and complex structure. But on the other hand, it provides solid VAT support in the UK and other payroll options.
Conclusion
Bookkeeping software has been proven to be beneficial to business owners for a long time now. It saves you from having to do tedious manual tasks and focuses your attention on what matters – making money. We all know you don’t have the time to make actual entries into your bookkeeping software each day, especially if you have deadlines or a lot of work to do. With that in mind, many people prefer a bookkeeping software with cloud features. This means that everything is securely stored off site, and it’s there whenever you need it – day or night.