Learning proper small business accounting software free could help your business run smoother. While there are plenty of options when picking your free small business accounting software, you should make sure the software programs fit with your financial needs. In the past, business owners were forced to purchase expensive accounting software in order to run their business. However, modern software as a service applications like Xero and FreshBooks (to name a few) offer small business accounting software that is highly intuitive and easy-to-use.
Have you ever wondered what desktop software small business accounting software is? With so many choices available, how do you know which is the right one? If you want to learn more about small business accounting software, desktop accounting software for small business, or even free desktop accounting software for small businesses – then this article is for you.
Bill.com
Bill.com simplifies managing records and accounting processes. With an AI-enabled system, financial transactions such as capturing invoices, approving payments, and managing cash inflows and outflows can all be done through the platform. This allows your company to connect with its customers, suppliers, and other business partners by focusing on the relationship rather than being bogged down with repetitive tasks.
It is a great choice for businesses of all sizes since it offers an all-in-one end-to-end solution. Banks, accountancy businesses, and wealth management organizations all utilize it to serve their clients. As such, it has earned a well-deserved reputation as a trusted business partner of some of the most prominent financial institutions, including some of the most prestigious accounting firms in the United States.
Bill.com offers various pricing plans starting from $39 per user per month.
What is unique about Bill.com?
- Leveraging the power of AI. The application minimizes time-consuming tasks so your team members can focus on what they do best. It can handle complex finance-related processes with accuracy without missing any deadlines.
- Simplified payments. Bill.com makes payments to vendors a breeze with four easy steps. Upload the invoice from your vendors, specify who needs to approve the transaction, choose the payment method, then pay.
- Get paid easily. Fast-track payments by sending professional invoices to your clients. You can track all your invoices right within the platform and even set up automated reminders, so you don’t miss anything.
- Seamless business workflows. Bill.com integrates with most productivity platforms to provide you with truly efficient processes. It works with Expensify, Tallie, Earth Class Mail, and more.
Sage Intacct
Sage Intacct includes support for core accounting, financial reporting, billing, purchasing, sales and use tax, inventory management, and project accounting. The financial management system offers a suite of accounting features that could serve medium and large-sized businesses with consolidated ERP and e-commerce features.
Most of Sage Intacct’s applications are financial-based, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, a general ledger, order management, purchasing, and reporting and dashboards. Intacct also includes support for financial reporting, billing, sales and use tax, inventory management, and project accounting.
The Intacct solution is particularly popular with professional services companies based on extensive support of time-based billing, ease of use for remote professionals, and strong project accounting features.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is a Canadian-based company that was founded in Toronto in 2003. It uses cloud-based accounting and invoice software that can be accessed via iPhone, Android, and iPad apps.
It is our choice for best overall accounting software because it’s easy to use for business owners with little or no accounting experience, offers robust features and helpful functions, is reasonably priced, and can be used on the go.
FreshBooks’ features include:
- Payment reminders
- Recurring invoices with customizable options including due dates and discounts
- Online credit card payments
- Multi-currency and language billing
- Automatic tax calculations for sales tax
- Tax-friendly expense categories
- Remembered vendors
- Time tracking with a Chrome browser extension
- Bank deposits, recurring payments, and auto bills with bank integration
- Tax help integrations with tax apps, estimates, deductions, and filing tools
- Easily integrates with other products including GSuite and Gusto
FreshBooks’ pricing is tiered as follows:
- Lite: $15 per month for the self-employed business owner with five billable clients
- Plus: $25 per month for businesses with 50 billable clients
- Premium: $50 per month for growing businesses supporting unlimited billable clients
- Select: Custom features and pricing for businesses with unlimited billable clients
FreshBooks may also offer discounts or bundled pricing if you pre-pay, so make sure you check the website for any offers before you sign up.
What’s unique about FreshBooks?
- Simpler but powerful solution. The latest version of FreshBooks is designed to be simpler but advanced features were incorporated in the platform. A sleek interface now comes with the software and collaboration among team members is now promoted, resulting in higher work quality.
- Mobile optimized. FreshBooks comes with mobile add-ons for devices running on Android and iOS, enabling users to access information anytime, anywhere.
- Online payment. The tool’s time tracking capability is designed for use in billing, enabling businesses to get paid online through a variety of payment gateways.
- Impeccable invoice to payment. For small businesses, FreshBooks offers invoice to payment functionalities. Users can pinpoint the exact location where a customer opened an invoice email, very useful in catching customers who say the invoice never got to them.
- Billing history management. The platform hosts features that allow for the tracking of both past and current invoices. Unpaid invoices can be pulled out instantly using this functionality.
Wave
A free product (yes, free!), Wave is cloud-based, offers a simple interface and easy setup, and allows for project-based accounting and fixed asset management. The goal is to help the business owner prep for tax time. It’s simple, reliable, and secure with a lot of focus on data security protocols.
Wave is a forever-free accounting solution that offers accounting, invoicing, payments, payroll, and receipts. Wave is very transparent into their pricing structure. The accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning is 100% free. Collecting payments via credit card or bank transfers, or running payroll for your employees, does come at a price, however.
Wave is not only one of the most popular free accounting solutions, it can also be thought of as one of the most popular accounting solutions period. Because of this, it’s a great choice for freelancers and start-ups who are strapped for cash.
Sage 50cloud Accounting
While some business owners are content with reporting basics, others desire more comprehensive reporting options. If that’s you, check out Sage 50cloud Accounting, which offers some of the best reporting options around.
Sage 50cloud Accounting offers excellent reporting tools. Source: Sage 50cloud Accounting software.
Along with complete financial statements, including balance sheet reporting, Sage 50cloud Accounting also includes general ledger, payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable reports.
All reports are fully customizable and can be exported to Excel for further customization. Good for small and growing businesses alike, Sage 50cloud Accounting also includes optional bank connectivity, customer and vendor management, and payroll capability.
The customer management feature allows you to effectively manage customer information, such as establishing credit limits, offering customer-specific discounts, and the ability to create customer quotes and full proposals.
Sage 50cloud Accounting also includes good inventory management capability, with the Premium and Quantum plans offering product assemblies as well.
One of the biggest benefits of using Sage 50cloud Accounting is its scalability. Another benefit is good budgeting capability for creating financial projections.
Product support options are good: Telephone, email, and chat support options are available to all registered users, with complete access to all product updates and enhancements.
Sage 50cloud Accounting is scalable, with three plans available: Pro, which is a single-user system, and is available for $299.95/year; Premium, which supports five users and is available for $1,105.95/year; and Quantum, which supports up to 40 users, with a 10-user system available for $1,978.95/year.
AccountEdge Pro
AccountEdge Pro is desktop accounting software for small businesses founded in 1989 and has developed new features and enhancements over the years. If you need to access your finances on the go or from your smartphone, you can use their cloud-based app or their hosting platform. It’s geared toward small to medium-sized businesses, has a basic version and a pro version, and offers comprehensive accounting solutions full of customizations.
We chose AccountEdge Pro as our best accounting software for experienced accountants because of its robust features and reporting capability. It’s a bit more complex than some of the other software, so this software works best if you’re already familiar with accounting terminology.
AccountEdge Pro’s features include:
- Bank feeds with integration
- Direct deposit
- Inventory management
- Payment processing
- Turn quotes into invoices
- Customer and vendor management
- Full-service payroll
- Free accountant copy
- Unique sales tax code per line item on a single invoice
- Data sync with company files
- Email support
Pricing for AccountEdge Pro is as follows:
AccountEdge Basic (Windows only): $149 one-time fee for one user, and $199 fee for phone support
AccountEdge Pro (Windows or Mac): $499 one-time fee or $15 per month for multiple users, $199 fee for phone support, and additional fees for licenses, payroll services, and more.
To find out more about what features are included and how much add-ons cost or to add custom features, it’s best to contact the company directly.
Tipalti
Tipalti is an accounts payable automation solution that prioritizes efficiency across an end-to-end global payables workflow. Supporting AP and payment management in their cloud platform, Tipalti helps users scale and adapt to their business’ changing needs.
Invoice-based supplier payments are the heart of Tipalti, helping growing companies focus on improving their AP workflow. Larger companies can enjoy global and performance based mass payments to partners depend on their marketplaces, networks, or communities.
Tipalti lets vendors register on your Supplier Hub, helping yorui business reduce data entry and ensure supplier identity with tax IDs. Vendors can then upload invoices and allow you as the payer to review what has been keyed in and approve any invoices and schedule future payments.
What’s unique about Tipalti?
- Automated payment. The system automates around 50% of all payment processes in 190 countries. It’s a leading solution for payment reconciliation, financial reporting, and AP. It normalizes data over a wide array of payment gateways.
- Payment facilitation. The software makes payment easier than one can imagine. Users can pay across 190 countries, 120 currencies, and 6 payment methods. It has an advanced payment configuration, providing myriad financial controls.
- Tax compliance. The app collects W-9 and W-8 tax forms to be able to withhold payment for non-compliant payees. This allows for the prevention of payment to illegal parties. In addition, the software creates forms with ease while computing for the right tax.
- Advanced Reporting. The product has an excellent payment reporting system, generating accurate payment reconciliation reports. This is done with minimal intervention from managers.
Conclusion:
There are several crucial aspects of performing day-to-day accounting tasks, like monitoring sales and expenses, for example, but managing your accounts receivable may be the most important things you do. Whether you’re a sole proprietorship or own a business organization with multiple divisions, one of your primary goals is to ensure that you collect the money that’s owed to you.