Small business accounting software is a must for any business owner or entrepreneur, especially if you do not have a team of accountants to keep your books organized. There are two types of accounting software: those that are operated through the web and those that you can download onto your computer. Accounting software that runs on the web is easier to use since you do not have any setup costs and you simply log in to access your books.
Here are the best out there!
Invoice Meister.
Invoice Meister is another excellent accounting platform on this list. It is most suitable for small and medium-sized businesses and helps with functions like entering your revenue and expenses, creating invoices, and linking bank accounts to organize your business.
Key Features:
Detailed analytics – With this software, get detailed analytical reports that can help you reap actionable insights for data-driven decisions
Financial reports – Get detailed financial reports and visualize them together on your device with the help of their highly navigable dashboard
Invoice templates – Make use of the wide variety of invoice templates available, and customize them according to your needs with your logo and signature, and send it along with a personalized email
Sendbox – The “Sendbox” feature tracks and keeps the history of every invoice/quote that you’ve sent to the clients. You can also download a pdf of all the records
Pros:
- Offers a free trial period of 30 days
- Set up automatically recurring invoices, keep track of payment status and automatically update upon payment
- You can create automatic bank reconciliation statements without any manual entry
- Provides extensive customer support via phone, email, and live chat
- Since it’s a cloud-based platform, it’s easy to set up and is decidedly inexpensive
- Lets you accept, sync, and track payments, even if you’re offline
- Allows you to invoices in any currency with its multi-currency capability
- Provides extensive video tutorials for ease of use
- Sends automatic reminders for every overdue invoice
- Extensive data security and integrity protocols
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer a free plan
- No ticket-based customer support
- Offers services only in English
- Doesn’t offer on-premise deployment
Pricing:
The pricing plans start from $7.50 and range up to $15 per user per month. Upon annual or bi-annual payment, you get a discount of 17% and 33%, respectively.
FreshBooks – $7.50 to $25/month
Why you should buy this:
FreshBooks is a leading small business accounting software firm that offers an assortment of invoicing and bookkeeping tools. FreshBooks’ accounting software accounts for every business transaction, whether online or offline. Freshbooks offers four premium plans with monthly fees starting at just $15 per month.
With Freshbooks, you will have the tools needed to manage and control your time, finances, and transactions better. With its well-organized platform and visual dashboards, you can keep track of all of your money in real-time, all the time.
Freshbooks makes managing your cash flow easier than most other small business accounting software solutions we reviewed, mainly because they offer a dedicated support team that customizes FreshBooks to suit your business. You also get a free 30-day trial to try the software, which means no financial risk for you.
Who is it for:
When it comes to expenses, most small businesses are overwhelmed by the amount of information they need to keep track of. It’s easy to end up duplicating your receipts, and manually entering your payments and other data causes even more confusion and frustration. FreshBooks business accounting software eliminates these problems instantly.
Freshbooks has a clean, user-friendly interface that allows users to easily enter their information and track multiple expense streams. Whether you’re paying for employees, supplies, materials, equipment, or space, Freshbooks has you covered with professional and convenient tracking features. You can even use its advanced expense tracking functionality to set up recurring payments (e.g., retainer payments) and easily track your time, sales, and expenses throughout the year.
Basically, everything that an accountant would need to make sure you’re getting the most deductions against your income, so you end up paying the least amount in taxes — that’s all tracked within the Freshbooks platform.
Why we picked it:
We picked FreshBooks as the best accounting software for small businesses for a few reasons. For one, they have a dedicated onboarding and support team that customizes and sets up the software for your specific business. And, they don’t charge extra for this service.
We also picked this as the best overall small business accounting software because Freshbooks was intentionally developed to fit around your business instead of your business having to fit around the software. This means the software will adapt and scale with your business.
FreshBooks is also feature-rich and integrates seamlessly with Gusto’s payroll service (and we love Gusto as a payroll service).
Price Breakdown:
Lite ($7.50 per month)
- Unlimited customized invoices for five billable clients
- Unlimited expenses tracking, estimates, and time-tracking
- Sales tax and report tracking
- Client profiles and account statements
- Self-service portal for clients
- Scheduled late fees and late payment reminders
- Online credit card payments and ACH transfers
- Business health reports, tax reports, and performance dashboards
- Mobile mileage tracking
- Project budget and billing management
Plus ($12.50 per month)
- All features in the Lite package
- Unlimited customized invoices for 50 billable clients
- Ability to accept e-Signatures
- Unlimited proposals
- Client retainers
- Double-entry accounting reports (including general ledger, trial balance, and chart of accounts)
- Bank reconciliation
- Accountant access features
Premium ($25 per month)
- All features in the Lite and Plus packages
- Unlimited customized invoices for unlimited billable clients
- Customized email templates and signatures
- Automated dynamic client emails
- Accounts payable management
- Project profitability management
Select (Varies)
- All features in the Lite, Plus, and Premium packages
- Removal of FreshBooks branding in client emails
- Lower credit card transaction fees
- Capped ACH fees
- Subscription-based payments – a combo of recurring billing and automation
- Over-the-phone credit card payments
- Secure Card Storage for client profiles
- Ability to charge client credit cards
- Includes two team member accounts
- Account manager
- Customized onboarding services
- Data migration services
- Advanced payment capabilities
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
- Full service and support right out of the gate
- Full customization to meet the needs of your business
- Free migration from any other business accounting software
- Thorough onboarding and training
- Deep business analytics and insights (measure and track your success)
- Real-time inventory tracking (unlimited inventory tracking and invoicing)
- Easy data entry and journal entry updates
- Time tracking (great for tracking retainer hours)
- Multiple app integrations
- Keep up with products and services
- Cloud-based (manage your financials entirely online)
- Useful add-ons (e.g., virtual terminal to collect payments from invoices)
- Manage tax and other financial information effortlessly
- Highly praised Android and iOS apps (great for checking financials on the go)
Cons:
- FreshBooks requires talking with a support specialist first before purchasing because they want to help you even before you become a customer (no wonder they’re the best overall accounting software).
Customer Service:
Aside from being the best invoicing software for your small business, Freshbooks offers the best customer service too. Freshbooks’ customers rave about the quality service they receive. On GetApp, FreshBooks averages a 4.6 out of 5 stars. In fact, they have more users than any other small business accounting software, making them a strong contender in the industry.
Zoho Books
Pricing: Starts at $15/month
Zoho Books is an excellent resource for helping your small business manage cash flow and finances. The software lets you automate workflows and work collectively across departments. It includes first rate tools for inventory management, banking, time-tracking, and financial reporting — all backed by an industry-leading UX.
Best for Ease of Use
One of Zoho’s biggest draws is its accessible, user-friendly interface. It comes with an easy-to-read dashboard that virtually any member of your organization can make sense of. It also offers benefits like excellent customer support and the ability to accept payments online. All told, Zoho is one of the better software for more casual users.
Kashoo
Pricing: Starts at $20/month
Kashoo is a solution that offers powerful functionality at a reasonable price. Among the software’s features are automatic reconciliation, categorization using machine learning technology, and income and expense tracking.
Best for Businesses Looking for a Simple Solution
Perfect for small businesses searching for a truly simple solution, Kashoo offers plans and features that can accommodate any small business’s needs. Its functionality is straightforward but effective, and its pricing structure allows for unlimited users at a relatively low price point.
9. AccountEdge Pro
Pricing: Starts at a One-Time fee of $149
AccountEdge Pro provides double-entry accounting tools — from time billing and reporting to inventory — that are customizable and optimized for desktop users. The program is also available for a one-time fee, potentially saving you a lot of money down the line by avoiding subscription costs.
Best for Businesses That Don’t Necessarily Need a Mobile Option
If a lack of a mobile option isn’t a deal-breaker for you, AccountEdge could be just what you need. As I mentioned, the software is designed specifically for desktop users — and that experience is extremely solid — but you can’t take AccountEdge with you on the go. That said, there’s a cloud-collaboration option available for purchase that gives you mobile flexibility.
OneUp
Pricing: Starts at $9/month
OneUp is another double-entry accounting solution. It syncs with your bank, categorizes bank entries, and validates suggested entries so your books are done quickly and accurately. All told, those elements amount to roughly 95% automation of your accounting.
Best for Businesses Focused on Inventory Management
OneUp might be best known for its inventory management capabilities. The program automatically adjusts your inventory levels as they shift and tells you when to reorder.
That’s not to say that the software’s other features aren’t impressive — but if you’re primarily in the market for an exceptional inventory management solution, check OneUp out.
Tipalti
Pricing: Available Upon Request
Tipalti automates the accounts payable process, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. The solution can streamline international payment processing in around 190 countries, automate your payment operations, and even make sure you’re tax compliant.
Best for Deadline-Driven Businesses
Tipalti is perfect for deadline-driven businesses. It can help you keep tabs on and meet time-bound payment objectives every time. Late payments, non-compliance, and administrative overload are all issues the program aims to correct. If you’re interested in a solution that can help you keep your accounts payable process straightforward and timely, check out Tipalti.
OnPay
Pricing: Starts at $36/month plus an additional $4/user
OnPay can help you automate tax filings, enter payment data, and manage benefits including compensation insurance, health insurance, and 401(k). It also offers unlimited payroll runs for W-2 and 1099 workers.
And, OnPay can estimate your payroll taxes, manage tax form filings, and even pay your taxes. A bonus here? They’ll also take responsibility for any tax filing errors committed while using the product.
Best for Businesses Looking for a Payroll-Centric Solution
OnPay’s area of expertise is reflected in its name. If you’re a small- to medium-sized business that needs help streamlining payroll and entering payment data, you might consider investing in OnPay. That’s not to say the rest of its features aren’t impressive — it’s just to say that the solution fits businesses interested in a payroll-centric solution particularly well.
NetSuite ERP
Pricing: Available upon request
NetSuite’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) product helps small businesses with functions like financial management and planning, order management, supply chain, fulfillment, and procurement — integrating these functions into a single streamlined system.
Best for Businesses Anticipating Rapid Growth
NetSuite prides itself on growing with businesses, “from pre-revenue through IPO and beyond” — with functionality that can assist you at every stage of your as it scales and matures. If you anticipate rapid growth, you might want to consider NetSuite ERP.
Conclusion
When it comes to business accounting software, you have 2 options. You can either use Accounting software for self employed or free accounting software. The following article lists the pros and cons of each. As well as showing some of the top accounting software products in the market today.