In the current business scenario, accounting software is one of the critical aspect for anyone doing their businesses online. The relevance of accounting software in today’s competitive world can never be underestimated. Nowadays, most of the businesses are getting linked with internet. Such enterprises need to keep their financial and accounting information up-to-date 24×7 online. This trend is increasing day by day.
I would just like to take some time out of my day to talk about accounting software. To help you guys out, many accounts payable companies and e-commerce software reviews recommend Xero as the leading accounting software in Uk . Since there are lots of offers available online and on social media, it is quite difficult to choose the best one from so many categories. I feel you should analyze your requirements before zeroing in on a particular software.
If you’re a small business owner, chances are that accounting is not your forte. You might have some existing bookkeeping methods, or maybe you’re starting completely from scratch. However, regardless of your background and experience, you should be aware that there are many options when it comes to accounting software. These programs can help with everything from invoicing and payments to payroll, tax filing and more.
If you are reading this then you must be searching for the best accounting software for ecommerce in the UK. Well, don´’t worry we got your back. Here we will discuss some of the best accounting software for e-commerce that is available in the market. So without any further ado, let’s start with our list of best accounting software for ecommerce in UK
Key ecommerce accounting software features to look for
1. Integrations with ecommerce solutions and payment processors
For time-pressed small business owners, the ability to integrate with ecommerce solutions and payment processors is possibly the most important factor when it comes to choosing an accounting solution.
The last thing you’d want to do is to update your transactions and data manually; these are time-consuming tasks that are prone to human errors.
You should look out for accounting software that integrates with ecommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce, as well as third-party tools such as payment processors, inventory management systems, CRM solutions, shipping software and more.
2. Usability
There are several factors you need to consider when it comes to assessing the usability of a software.
Level of accounting knowledge
First, think about your level of accounting knowledge. Do you have a solid understanding of accounting concepts and workflows?
Avoid falling into the trap of thinking that having an accounting software means you’re all set when it comes to managing your business finances.
As business consultant Linda Pinson shares in an Inc. article, “One of the mistakes businesses make when they buy accounting software is in believing that they don’t need to know anything at all about financial accounting because the software will just take care of it for you.”
If you don’t have at least a fairly good understanding of small business accounting basics, you could benefit from engaging a small business accountant, rather than managing your accounts independently.
Amount of time
Another important factor to consider is the amount of time you’re able to set aside each week to handle your accounts.
If you’re running a one-man show, chances are that you may not have sufficient time to dedicate towards
Needs and preferences
Next, think about your business needs and personal preferences. If you’re a solopreneur who’s constantly on the go, a cloud solution with an easy-to-use mobile app will be your best option. If you have a team, you’ll need a plan that offers multi-user access.
You should also take advantage of free trials to get a feel for different solutions, and see if there’s a particular software that’s a better fit for you in terms of its user experience and design.
3. Customer support
There are bound to be teething problems when you’re transitioning from another accounting software, or using one for the first time. No matter how instructive the user guides and knowledge base resources are, you may need an expert to walk you through a solution from time to time.
Here’s where the customer support team comes into the picture. Before you decide on a provider, it’s important that you check out user ratings and testimonials, paying particular attention to the types of support channels offered, response times and consistency.
4. Comprehensive reports
Analysing your data is a crucial part of running your ecommerce business. You need to have a clear idea of how your company is doing, understand what’s working or not working, and analyse your business’ financial and growth patterns.
Using a software that enables you to generate on-demand reports will help save you time, and allow you to easily monitor key performance metrics.
Your reports should display growth metrics such as revenue, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, average order value and conversion rates. Cost of sales, contribution margin, profit margins, repeat customer rate and refunds and returns rate are some examples of operational metrics you should be tracking.
Kashoo
- Available for: Web application
- Mobile app: iOS
- Price: Plans begin at $16.65 per month
- Free trial length: 14 days
- Shopify app or integration: No
Kashoo is small business accounting software that aims to help business owners automate much of the administrative work behind bookkeeping.
Thanks to machine-learning algorithms, Kashoo understands your business better the more you use it. Everything from receipt categorization to sales tax tracking is analyzed by Kashoo, which lets the tool make individualized recommendations on steps to save money, minimize waste, and streamline overall efficiency.
Kashoo’s intelligent, automated approach to accounting won’t be for everybody. Kashoo costs $199 per year (about $16 a month), but business owners interested in its approach to bookkeeping can sign up for a free trial.
OneUp
- Available for: Web application
- Mobile app: Android
- Price: Plans begin at $9 per month
- Free trial length: 14 days
- Shopify app or integration: No
Like Kashoo, OneUp aims to make bookkeeping a much more streamlined process by automating routine tasks.
Image source: OneUp.Over time, OneUp “learns” how your accounting works by analyzing inputs, such as bank account transactions. OneUp then prompts the user to validate suggested reconciliations with a single swipe on a mobile device. These validations further train OneUp’s algorithms to offer more accurate suggestions in the future. OneUp can also match individual bank transactions with overdue invoices, saving business owners even more time.
You can sign up for a free 30-day trial of OneUp or get a plan starting at just $9 per month for individual users.
Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT
- Available for: Web application
- Mobile app: Mobile access available via mobile web browser
- Price: Available by request
- Free trial length: N/A
- Shopify app or integration: No
Nonprofit organizations face an entirely different set of financial challenges than for-profit businesses. Unfortunately, not every commercial accounting product addresses these differences in their functionality, which is why nonprofit organizations may want to consider Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT for their accounting needs.
Financial Edge NXT is fully compliant with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the US. The product allows nonprofit accountants to budget many years in advance, and the tool’s dashboards can be customized to suit the needs of your organization.
Prospective NXT customers can contact Blackbaud directly for pricing information.
Accounting Seed
- Available for: Salesforce, web application
- Mobile app: Yes, via the Salesforce app
- Price: Available by request
- Free trial length: N/A
- Shopify app or integration: No
Many small business accounting tools are standalone programs that exist in isolation from the core of a business. This is most definitely not the case with Accounting Seed, which integrates tightly with Salesforce to offer insights into every aspect of your business’ financial operations.
Accounting Seed is a cloud-based accounting solution native to the Salesforce customer relationship management (CRM) platform that can serve as a single, authoritative source of financial truth for your business. You don’t need to be a Salesforce customer to use Accounting Seed, as the product is available as a standalone web application. It’s easily customizable without manual IT deployments or custom code, making it an ideal solution for business owners who lack advanced technical knowledge.
Unfortunately, Accounting Seed’s pricing isn’t publicly available, but business owners can contact Accounting Seed directly for a quote.
Wave
Quick Overview
Wave is another easy-to-use accounting software with a free solution to manage your accounting tasks. It was launched in 2010. It is simple, secure, and reliable without the headache of trials and costs, and limits, it is totally free to use for all small businesses. It provides you a cheaper yet secure way to record and track financial statements and processes.
Pricing and Plans
The best part of FreeAgent is free of cost availability, as it has a set-up with any visible or hidden charges. It’s free with two plans:
- Accounting $0
- Invoicing Receipts $0
An accounting plan is recommended when you need to track and manage income, expenses, and all other accounting tasks. Receipt scanning provides you unlimited scanning facility with its easy-to-use mobile app.
Features
Wave’s prominent features are:
- This software uses 256-but encryption.
- Its servers are physically and electronically protected.
- It has a double-entry accounting facility for accountants.
- It has efficient tracking for all communication and payments.
- It creates professional invoices quickly.
- It provides instant notifications to manage cash flow more efficiently.
- It provides the facility to set up an invoice reminder for automatic emailing once payment is due.
Why do we recommend Wave?
First of all, we recommend it because of its free availability with so many features and above all for its security. You will have full control of your finances to easily manage your cash flow and much more for free. Its invoice tracking and reporting are excellent. It’s the best opportunity to grow your small business ore professionally along with saving time and money.
FreshBooks
Quick Overview
FreshBooks was coded up as a solution by Mike Mcderment to avoid the frustration caused by word and excel spreadsheets. It was launched in 2003 and now it is serving startups or running businesses to manage their accounting task more efficiently. It is the best tool for freelancers, self-employed professionals, businesses with employees, and contractors. This software is integrated with more than 100 useful and great apps to connect with your team and better understand your business needs.
Pricing and Plans
FreshBooks has four plans to choose from which is best suited to your business level. On each plan, you will get 60% off for the first 6 months, this offer is for a limited time. Every plan has a free trial option.
- Lite –For basic needs
Price – $4.50/per month
- Plus – For more automation and insight accounting features
Price – $7.50/per month
- Premium – For growing businesses
Price – $15.00/per month
- Select (Custom) – For more complex business needs
Price – custom pricing
Note: Plus plan is the most popular plan to choose from.
Features
Some prominent features of FreshBooks are as follows:
- It has made invoice and billing simple through its quick invoice generator facility
- It has a detailed and straightforward dashboard and easy-to-understand reports to know the exact performance of your business.
- It tracks your exact business time you spend on each task.
- It provides easy collaboration with your team for more productive and faster results.
Why do we recommend FreshBooks?
We recommend FreshBooks because of its easy-to-use solutions designed to meet your business needs. Moreover, if you need better collaboration, this software has a number of tools to assist you and your team more efficiently. If you are running a small business or one-person owned business, this is your best choice because it is cheaper than QuickBooks.
QuickBooks Online
The Intuit QuickBooks is one of the most popular accounting software solutions for business owners. Designed primarily for small businesses, QuickBooks has everything that you could ask for, including a Shopify integration, a mobile app, and a fantastic online dashboard that gives you a comprehensive outlook of your company’s financial position. QuickBooks Payments is also a viable payment processor.
One of the reasons why so many businesses prefer QuickBooks Online is because of its ease of use. When you sign up, the program asks you a few questions about your business. It uses your answers to quickly set up a profile and modify some core settings in order to optimize the program based on your business type.
You can also import your accounting data from CSV or Excel files, along with all your product, vendor, and other associated profiles. However, this is a bit complicated, and you may need the help of an accountant to import the data.
The QuickBooks Dashboard gives you a simple overview of your account balances, including receivables, payables, expenses, and sales. It also provides quick links for invoicing, basic maintenance, and other activities, like viewing graphs of financial performance over specific periods.
QuickBooks is primarily designed for entrepreneurs with little to no accounting experience. However, there’s a bit of a learning curve involved. Important information, like cash flow data, bank account balances, and other inflows and outflows are also updated in real-time.
QuickBooks has an array of reporting and analytical tools that you can use in order to get a more comprehensive understanding of your store’s fiscal performance. You can view multi-channel sales data, and detailed supplier or vendor records. There are also individual templates available for inventory and non-inventory parts.
It is also a fantastic inventory management solution, allowing you to input your starting inventory. Then, QuickBooks will continue to track it, and will notify you when your inventory falls below a specific limit.
Pricing
Quickbooks offers incredibly affordable plans, making it an incredibly affordable accounting solution for ecommerce stores. Pricing starts from $8 per month when paid annually, and maxes out at $17/month for the Plus package. For additional subscriptions, you need to contact their support.
Pros
- Offers support for numerous add-ons and integrations
- Highly customizable reporting framework
- Easy to set up
- Excellent payroll support
- Hybrid sales tax calculation
Cons
- Customer support isn’t the best
- Mobile app functionality is limited
- Dashboard may seem a bit cluttered to new users
What does ‘cloud-based’ software mean?
These days, cloud-based accounting software is the standard. Rather than purchase the solution outright (or build it yourself), you’ll pay for the software on a monthly basis (just like your Netflix subscription).
Instead of downloading and installing software, you’ll access it through your web browser or a mobile app, and your data will be stored by your accounting software provider ‘in the cloud’. This means you’ll save on the costs of hosting and securing your own data, and you’ll be able to easily access your files from multiple devices.
Cloud-based software also lets you log in from anywhere with an internet connection, and collaborate in real time.
Conclusion
If you are an entrepreneur with a successful ecommerce business, then you might be wondering how to choose the best accounting software for your business. One of the most important factors when choosing a good accounting software is whether it fits into both your online and offline way of doing business.
Accounting software is quite important for ecommerce sellers. Essentially, accounting software can take all the repetitive tasks out of your daily schedule. It can save a lot of time and money if you are using the best solution for your business needs.