Bookkeeping services can be expensive. Before you hire an expensive firm, why not try out some of these software accounting startups first? These three startups can help your business still do its own bookkeeping and save you money. Best Software Accounting Startups – Passle – Passle’s slogan is: “From pennies to profits”, and Passle is a cloud-based invoicing and expense management startup based out of New York. Passle boasts that it is “cost effective for those who invoice small amounts but scalable as those who need to invoice millions.” Best Software Accounting Startups – FreeAgent – FreeAgent claims to
Accounting and finance departments of small and medium-sized businesses are using financial software to help them organize and control important areas of their business. The tool that is usually chosen for the job is called enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, which addresses all aspects of business management including customer relationship management (CRM), payment methods such as cheques and credit cards, inventory management, shipping and distribution, project management, time tracking, employee compensation and benefits, recruitment and customer support. Our top 5 software accounting startups will help businesses regulate and manage their financial information.
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is the best overall accounting software for small businesses of those reviewed. Not only do the majority of small business accounting professionals use QuickBooks Online, but there are also endless online training resources and forums to get support when needed. All accounting features can be conveniently accessed on one main dashboard, making bookkeeping more fluid and efficient.Pros
- Scalable
- Commonly used by accounting professionals
- Integration with third-party applications
- Cloud-based
- Mobile app
Cons
- Upgrade required for more users
- Occasional syncing problems with banks and credit cards
Intuit’s QuickBooks Online has been the most common accounting software used by small businesses and their bookkeeping and tax professionals. The software is cloud-based and can be accessed through a web browser or through the mobile app.
After the 30-day free trial, the four options for subscription plans include: Simple Start at $25 per month, Essentials at $40 per month, Plus at $70 per month, and Advanced at $150 per month. Typically there is a significant discount offered for the first few months, and some accountants are able to offer wholesale pricing to small businesses, as well.
The monthly subscription for this software can be upgraded as a business grows, and there are many customization options with the mobile app that can be used to receive payments, review reports, capture an image of a receipt, and track business mileage. For businesses looking for a payroll solution, QuickBooks Payroll fully integrates with QuickBooks Online.
Each plan offers more advanced features like inventory management, time tracking, additional users, and budgeting. Most service-based small businesses will find that Simple Start meets all of their needs. For product-based small businesses, Essentials or Plus will have more options for inventory and customizations. The Advanced subscription is a new offering and provides robust financial reporting that is powered by Fathom. Fathom is an elite online financial report analysis tool used by many large companies all over the world.
All plans allow integration with third-party apps such as Stripe or PayPal. QuickBooks Online’s app store breaks down all of their apps by function and provides helpful examples of the benefits of each app.
Xero
Xero is the best in our review for micro-businesses that are looking for very simple accounting software. This software has a clean interface and also fully integrates with a third-party payroll service. Businesses can collect payment online from customers through Xero’s integration with Stripe and GoCardless.Pros
- Cloud-based
- Mobile app
- Payroll integration with Gusto
- Third-party app marketplace
- Simple inventory management
Cons
- Limited reporting
- Fees charged for ACH payments
- Limited customer service
Xero was founded in 2006 in New Zealand and now has over 2.7 million users worldwide. This accounting software is popular in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Xero has over 3,500 employees and is growing rapidly in the U.S., as well.1
Xero offers three monthly subscription options and a full-service payroll add-on: Early at $11 per month, Growing at $32 per month, and Established at $62 per month. The full-service payroll option is offered through Gusto and is an additional $39 per month, plus $6 per employee. The company offers a 30-day free trial and a promotion for 50% off for two months.
The Early plan limits usage and only allows entry for five invoices or quotes, five bills, and reconciliation of 20 bank transactions per month. This limited plan may be suitable for a micro-business with high-ticket transactions, but only a few per month, such as a consulting or small service provider. Both the Growing and Established plans offer unlimited invoices, bills, and transactions. The only difference between the two is that the Established plan has additional features like multi-currency, expense management, and project costing. All three plans offer Hubdoc, a bill and receipt capture solution.
Wave Accounting – Free, with à la carte extras
Why you should buy this:
You don’t have to buy Wave Accounting as it’s a free accounting and invoicing software platform. However, you’ll likely want to buy the à la carte extras, including Wave’s payroll processing ($35 per month) and Wave’s payments (2.9%-3.4% plus $0.30 credit card processing; 1% ACH fees).
If you operate a small service company, Wave Accounting will probably work for your business needs.
Who is it for:
Wave Accounting is best suited for small service businesses, more like home cleaning businesses, window washing, etc. It is great for small business owners needing very few features.
Why we picked it:
We like Wave Accounting because it’s free while letting you track your income and expenses and lets you do other very basic finance functions.
Obviously, being a truly free, 100% cloud-based product has its limitations. Still, for those who don’t need a large variety of advanced features, there’s no sense in paying for functions you won’t use.
Features:
- Unlimited income and expense tracking
- Sales tax tracking
- Ability to add unlimited partners, collaborators, or accountants
- Double-entry system
- Reports for overdue invoices and bills, profit and loss, and cash flow
- Unlimited bank account and credit card connections
- Tax categories for income and expenses
- Ability to run multiple businesses on a single account
- Dashboard performance features
- Unlimited invoices
- Recurring billing with automated reminders
- Credit card and ACH payments (additional processing fees)
- Payroll services (additional monthly fee)
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
- Free software for small businesses
- Send unlimited free invoices
- Great for a small service business for income and expense tracking
Cons:
- Unlikely to scale with your business
- Very basic features
- Extras are more costly than other options
Customer Service:
Wave Accounting does not offer phone support, which is understandable since the software is free. Even so, the website chat feature uses a bot. No real person there either!
If you want a real answer, you have to email the company and wait for someone to research your query and then get back to you. We sent a test email and never got a response back.
TrustRadius rates Wave Accounting 7.3 out of 10, which is roughly 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Conclusion
If you want to scale your startup quickly and effectively, you need to make sure you’re hitting the right metrics.