If you’ve done any reading around how to start your own accounting business, you’ve probably come across the topic of bookkeeping software for accountants. Whether you code your own websites or you’re still using Microsoft Word to invoice your clients now, it’s something that will inevitably cross your mind.
The world is changing faster than ever before. There is no time to waste when it comes to matters of business. With the power of technology, you can easily access a wide array of bookkeeping software aimed at assisting accountants and bookkeepers in their daily routines. This article will equip you with the latest information on the best bookkeeping software for accountants.
Best Accounting Software For Accountants Overall: QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online | Visit SiteRead our Review |
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QuickBooks Online is best for accountants who have a clientele of small business owner. The software is easy for clients to use and there is an accountant discount as well.
This cloud-based software has over 3 million users — and for good reason. Not only is it easier to learn than the desktop versions of QuickBooks, but it offers a ton of great features for accountants and non-accountants alike.
Numerous integrations, advanced reporting, strong mobile apps, and even built-in lending are among the positive aspects of this popular accounting software. As with other QuickBooks products, customer support is a bit lacking, although it isn’t as bad as it has been in the past. Some users also find QuickBooks Online to be underwhelming, especially when compared to desktop versions. However, QuickBooks Online is still one of the most popular choices in accounting software and is even recommended by many accountants and financial experts.
Pros
- Strong accounting
- Great features selection
- Easy to use
- Cloud-based
Cons
- Less traditional
- Fewer complex accounting & reporting options
QuickBooks Online Pricing
QuickBooks Online offers several pricing tiers. The more expensive options include more features and allow access for more users. Prices range form $25 – $180/month and the bigger the plan, the more features and users you have access to.
QuickBooks Online also has several add-ons for an additional fee. Payroll, payment processing, Live Bookkeeping, and custom invoice templates are all available to add to your QuickBooks Online subscription.
Read our full breakdown of QuickBooks Online’s pricing for more information.
QuickBooks Online Features
QuickBooks Online has everything accounting firms and small businesses need to maintain their finances. One thing to note is that some of the more advanced features are only available with select plans. Some of the features you’ll find in this software are:
- Cloud-based
- Easy-to-use UI
- Accountant access
- Invoices & estimates
- Expense tracking
- Bank reconciliation
- Journal entries
- Inventory tracking
- Time tracking
- Budgets
- Project management
- 80+ reports
- 650+ integrations
When To Choose QuickBooks Online
Accountants and other professionals that like the features of QuickBooks but want more convenient access will appreciate the mobility of QuickBooks Online. Because it’s easy to use and learn, this is also an option to consider when recommending accounting software to clients.
Why Accountants Like QuickBooks Online
Here’s what real accountants have to say about why they chose QuickBooks Online:
“I work almost exclusively with Quickbooks Online. Most of my clients enjoy the integration with online banking and other software such as Gusto and Avalara for payroll and sales tax compliance. It’s user-friendly for the casual user but has the capability to manage complicated accounting tasks and tax calculations. I use it for my own business bookkeeping, plus the QuickBooks Online Accountant version has additional CRM capabilities to help delegate tasks, set deadlines, and reminders to keep up to date with my clients’ needs.” – Ben Watson, CPA, Virtual CFO of DollarSprout
“We recommend QuickBooks Online most frequently to small businesses for their bookkeeping needs. From our experience, it is certainly the most user-friendly for small business owners to understand, and it provides accountants with a platform that allows us to review detailed transactions and provides for a large range of financial reporting options, including budgeting. We also use QuickBooks online for our firm’s bookkeeping solution. Again, it allows for flexible reporting options and has a useful budgeting tool to set benchmarks for future performance.” – Robert Gauvreau, CPA, Partner of Gauvreau & Associates
“I find QuickBooks Online to be the easiest to work with as clients can add me as an accountant which provides online access to their file. This allows me to work remotely and address any issues in real-time.” – Ronika Khanna, President of Montreal Financial
“The software that I most often recommend is QuickBooks Online. What is great about this system is that it allows us to act as an in-house accounting department for our clients. For example, if a client has something that urgently needs to be done, we can simply log in to QuickBooks Online, go to their company’s books and do what needs to be done, remotely.” – Jeff Peterson, President of Excel Financial Consultants
“For brand new businesses, it’s tough to go wrong with QuickBooks Online (QBO). As long as the business bank and credit card accounts are set up correctly, QBO makes it incredibly easy to stay on top of the books.” – Logan Allec, CPA and owner of personal finance site Money Done Right
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.
FreshBooks Accounting Software: Best for Invoicing
FreshBooks Accounting SoftwareFreshBooks lets you easily craft invoices, accept payments through invoices, track expenses and send automatic reminders.You get a full suite of accounting tools to do everything from track time and expenses to run financial reports.If you need to add several team members, it can get expensive.VISIT SITE
If you need to create and send invoices, it can be challenging to find a small business accounting app that matches your needs. Some solutions excel at invoicing but offer no accounting features; others include solid accounting services but lack quality invoicing tools. FreshBooks, on the other hand, succeeds at both.
Editor’s score: 9/10
Although all accounting software products have invoicing tools, FreshBooks is incredibly easy to use, which is why we picked it as the best accounting software for invoicing. The format is intuitive, and with just a few clicks, you can add billable time and expenses, customize the look of the invoice, and set up recurring invoices, automatic payment reminders and late fees.
This accounting software connects to your bank, generates several reports, tracks time and helps you manage projects. As a bonus, FreshBooks lets you give clients the option to pay bills through invoices, which speeds up the process of getting paid. If you have clients who are late in paying bills, FreshBooks lets you gently nudge them via reminders and alerts when bills are due or past due. You’ll know when customers receive and open invoices with this accounting software.
Beyond invoicing, there are a lot of other attributes of FreshBooks that made it one of our best picks. For example, you can track time spent on projects, as well as snap pictures of receipts and log them on the go. Plus, the double-entry accounting features ensure you don’t make mistakes that could throw off your ledger. With automatic checks and balances, you can rest assured that your debits and credits will balance out. This software also integrates with more than 80 popular business applications to give you a better overall view of your business.
FreshBooks gives you all of the features small businesses need in an accounting and invoicing software application. Although it’s not as comprehensive as some of the other options on the market, FreshBooks offers tremendous value as accounting software with strong invoicing capabilities. The ability to combine accounting software tools and invoicing tools is rare, but FreshBooks does the job effectively. For businesses that don’t send invoices, other accounting solutions make more sense, but freelancers and project-based businesses will naturally be drawn to the features and affordability of FreshBooks.
Conclusion
Bookkeeping is the foundation of your company. It’s an important part of any business because you’re responsible for saving all the money, receipts, and documents needed to operate your company. If you’re an accountant or bookkeeper, then I’m sure you agree that having good software is absolutely necessary for bookkeeping.