When you run a business it is critical to understand your business finances and where you stand financially. You may be doing what you do because you love your business and want to make it successful. However, it is important to know your financials and whether or not you will be able to keep the doors open and pay the bills every month. There are many different options for small business accounting software. You can even look into online accounting software which can help those businesses who don’t have an office space set up yet.
Today we are going to take a closer look at some of the best accounting software for small businesses as well as online accounting software for those who don’t have traditional small business accounting software.
QuickBooks
It’s one of the biggest names in the accounting SaaS industry. If you haven’t tried it out already, you’ve certainly heard about it.
Intuit’s QuickBooks is particularly renowned for its extensive array of versatile provisions for merchants plus online businesses. Thanks to its numerous third-party integrations, you can leverage it across multiple ecommerce sales platforms, including eBay, Amazon, plus of course, your online store.
If you successfully embed QuickBooks with business, you should be able to keep tabs on all the critical financial data. It combines powerful inventory tracking and expense monitoring capabilities to generate accurate reports. Additionally, it even connects with payment processing platforms like PayPal and Square.
Sadly, you might have a hard time learning the ropes on this software. Both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop come are built with advanced functionalities that take time to get used to. A standard business owner might need a couple of lessons before they get a hang of everything.
Primary Features:
- Payroll management
- Bank account synchronization
- Data export to third-party applications
- Multiple source order tracking
- Inventory management
Pricing:
- The online version starts from $10 a month.
FreshBooks
Freshbooks is another popular accounting software that has managed to attract many users in recent years. It especially targets freelancers, startups, and small businesses with user-friendly functionalities.
But, make no mistake. Its user-friendliness doesn’t necessarily mean the corresponding capabilities are quite limited. You can take advantage of its powerful tracking and invoicing features to manage recurring payments and upfront deposits, plus issue automated invoices.
Well, you don’t have to worry about a steep learning curve here. The user interface on Freshbooks is developed to offer a simple and streamlined way of managing your finances. So, of course, even a beginner will have an easy time reconciling the numbers with this accounting tool.
That said, FreshBooks competes with other smart small business accounting tools like Harvest. And here’s a comprehensive comparative review to help you make an informed choice.
Primary Features:
- Expense tracking
- Tax support
- In-depth accounting reports
- Recurring payments support
- Online invoicing
Pricing:
- The cheapest plan costs $15 a month for 5 billable clients.
Xero
Although it can be compared with Freshbooks when it comes to small businesses, Xero competes directly with tools like QuickBooks. It’s an advanced accounting software with a beautifully designed user interface that optimizes on overall usability.
Well, attractiveness is not the only good thing here. Xero provides solid sales tax calculation, order tracking, inventory tracking, payroll management, expense claims, and data security features.
Bookkeepers and accountants like Xero because it provides a favorable balance between user-experience and advanced accounting functionalities. They continue to use it across all types of businesses- from small online shops to large, established brands.
Primary Features:
- Automatic sales calculation
- Powerful mobile app
- Order tracking
- Inventory tracking
Pricing:
- Xero subscription plans start from $9 a month.
NetSuite ERP
NetSuite ERP is essentially a customer relationship management (CRM) solution, but the platform can be used for sales and marketing automation, as well as order management and customer support. It offers a myriad of tools and features to make financial management simple.
Standard features include pre-configured dashboards that can be customized by users for their specific needs. NetSuite ERP also offers robust automation and scalability features. It can grow with your company and automate processes such as financial management, order management, revenue management, fixed assets, inventory management, and billing.
The vendor offers a great demo of the product that will introduce you to all key features.
Tipalti
Tipalti is a cloud payment automation and management software that helps simplify global mass payments. This makes the software suitable for companies with offices worldwide. Notably, you can accept payment in more than 190 countries, use 120 currency options, and rely on 6 payment methods, including PayPal, wire, local bank transfer, and debit card. Moreover, the software simplifies the daily task of ensuring that your company’s financial data and processes are timely, accurate, and easy to understand.
The software helps businesses avoid late payments, noncompliance, and over-tasking the accounting team. It also has flexible payment reconciliation, AP, and financial reporting features that work with a myriad of payment gateways and ERP systems.
The vendor also offers an appealing test drive of all software features is available to you.
With it, you can minimize, if not eliminate, downstream issues and human error, by letting suppliers input tax data directly in the Supplier Management portal. A Remittance Validation Engine, which monitors over 26,000 national and international standards, guarantees the integrity of supplier data.
Sage Business Cloud Accounting
Sage Business Cloud Accounting is ideal for small businesses. With that, it offers two affordable plans designed to fit the budget and needs of small businesses. For sole traders and micro-businesses, you can make use of its entry-level accounting solution at $10 per month. If you need invoicing and cash flow management features, you can opt for the app’s higher plan at $25 per month.
The product focuses on streamlining paperwork, minimizing spreadsheets, and staying on top of your finances. It simplifies business payroll and ensures compliance with the Affordable Care Act. It empowers financial management by consolidating data and automating complex financial processes. It also handles payments and banking.
The vendor offers a comprehensive free trial to get you up to speed with the features.
The software connects with other apps and offers intuitive apps for your mobile device. This enables you to manage your invoicing, banking, and cash flow on the go. Sage also regularly fixes and updates its features like bank reconciliations, CSV imports, and journal functionalities.
AvidXchange
AvidXchange is a comprehensive invoice management and payment automation system built for businesses of all sizes. It is equipped with features for paperless invoicing, purchase order automation, as well as payment processing to help you streamline accounting operations. It also comes with a highly configurable interface and intelligent approval workflows to boost efficiency and reinforce visibility across your accounts payable processes. In addition, the platform has search and filter tools that make it easy to track invoices as well as review transactions.
Using AvidXchange, businesses can lower the cost of accounts payable processes as well as improve operational productivity. It also makes it easier for companies to pay their suppliers faster because payments can be made securely from the platform. More importantly, as AvidXchange comes with advanced security and fraud detection functionalities so users can prevent unauthorized transactions and payment requests.
Conclusion:
Small businesses are the engines that drive a strong economy. They create jobs and bring new innovations to the world. The small business owners, accountants and bookkeepers of these businesses deserve to have an excellent online accounting tool that can help them streamline their processes and save them time, with a reliability that will inspire hard work.