When you’re thinking about which accounting software best suits the needs of your small business, accounting software free is a must. Free accounting software Canada can offer all the features and benefits that help keep your business on track and profitable.
With all the software available, you may find it difficult to decide. Here are our picks for the best free accounting software Canada or best free accounting software. You may find a solution to your needs in this free small business accounting software Canada list.
Intuit QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks is one of the most comprehensive accounting software packages on the market, so it’s no surprise that it ranks #1 on our list. It has numerous features that make it an excellent choice for both small and large business operations.
Developed by Intuit, a leading Canadian software company specializing in financial software, QuickBooks Online is a cloud-based accounting system you can access through a mobile app or web browser.
Small business owners and accounting professionals commonly use this software because of its fluid and efficient accounting features. In addition, you can conveniently access all of its featured accounting tools in one central dashboard.
Quickbooks offers a 30-day free trial and three subscription options. They are as follows:
- EasyStart at $20 per month
- Essentials at $40 per month
- Plus, at $60 per month
Pros:
- QuickBooks is the most comprehensive accounting package available.
- It has a user-friendly interface that’s great for novice users.
- Allows you to track job expenses efficiently.
- Accept payments online (Visa, Mastercard, ApplePay, Discover)
- Best payroll features (Direct deposits, Automated tax filing, Employee portal)
Cons:
- The software is a bit pricey compared to other options on the market.
- The payroll addon is extra $20/mo +$3/employee/mo
- After subscription cancellation, you can access your records only for a year
Wave
Even if Wave weren’t completely free, we’d still be blown away by how much it offers. It’s one of our top accounting software picks for small-business owners, and for good reason. With Wave, you get perks like these:
- Automatic bank account and credit card syncing for accurate, up-to-date financial records
- Unlimited bank account and credit card connections
- Easy, customizable income and expense tracking
- Crucial accounting reports and general ledger
- Invoicing and billing reminders
- Automatically generated journal entries
- Customer support (email only)
Wave’s easy-to-read dashboard shows you your most important financial info at a glance. It’s billing, invoicing, and expense tracking features make it perfect for freelancers, but the software can work for larger businesses too, especially since Wave doesn’t limit the number of users you can add (unlike, say, QuickBooks Online). You and the rest of your financial team can jump on your account to check numbers and enter information, free of charge.
Sage Business Cloud Accounting
If you’re looking for a solution that’s simple to set up and use, then Sage Business Cloud Accounting might be the right choice for you. The software comes with two options: desktop with cloud storage and online software. It makes it ideal for accounting professionals who regularly travel and do not always have internet access, and they can access their data without an internet connection. The software has a standard set of accounting features, such as invoicing, payroll, payments. Furthermore, it integrates with the Microsoft 365 platform, so if you are already using Microsoft 365, you may get extra benefits from choosing Sage 50cloud Accounting.
Because this accounting software has all the capabilities of QuickBooks Online, but for the half price, it might be worth checking out as well.
Pros:
- A cloud-based system makes setup easy with no installation required.
- Sage Business Cloud Accounting is user-friendly and allows you to create invoices and invoice customers quickly.
- You get 24/7 support from Sage.
- College students who study business accounting learn Sage, so find an accountant with Sage Accounting experience would be easy.
- It is a more affordable option comparing to Quickbooks.
Cons:
- It may be a little more complicated to use and less intuitive
- You may spend more time learning this software comparing with other options.
Xero
Xero might grab your attention with its low-cost Early plan account but look closely and limitations soon become apparent – like being restricted to sending a maximum of five invoices, entering five bills, or reconciling only 20 bank transactions.
Still, if you can live with those restrictions there are some pluses here. The service offers smart expense tracking and management, optionally on your mobile with Xero’s excellent app for Android and iOS. There are dozens of configurable reports, simple budgeting, and no limits at all on additional users or the accountants you might want to access the data.
If the invoice, bank, or billing issues are a problem then the Xero Growing plan looks like a better deal. It’s a lot more money, but you can issue as many invoices and enter as many bills as you like.
Xero offers plenty of functionality for any small business, including a handy “convert your QuickBooks files” service to help you get started, and it’s certainly easy to use. But if you don’t quite need all that power, there’s better value to be had elsewhere.
Freshbooks
Founded in Toronto, Canada, in 2003, Freshbooks has successfully become a vital accounting tool for service-based businesses. This Canadian accounting software offers a more customized invoicing feature compared with other accounting SaaS (software as a service).
Although it mainly facilitates quick and easy invoicing, the software is also great for basic bookkeeping, billing, expense tracking, and time tracking. In addition, it has a user-friendly interface and is relatively affordable too.
Freshbooks has three different plans you can choose from depending on the size of your business and its accounting needs.
Freshbooks’ unique feature is that you can customize your invoices to complement the look and feel of your branding, and it is one of the software’s best-selling points. In addition, Freshbooks integrates with a massive number of 3rd party software, such as Shopify and Stripe, so if you have a sizeable online presence, it makes sense to look into Freshbooks offerings.
However, it’s not the most comprehensive accounting package, so don’t expect to perform payroll or taxes directly from FreshBooks.
Pros:
- Easy to set up and affordable;
- FreshBooks is very user-friendly.
- Best software for creating invoices
Cons:
- Accounting features are pretty limited.
Zoho Books
Zoho Books is just one small part of a much greater business concern based in India that offers all manner of solutions for anyone and everyone. With its clean and simple cloud-based interface Zoho Books makes a great cost-effective option if you’re a freelancer, sole trader, or someone running a small business.
While the desktop route is a solid one Zoho Books also has an impressive app presence, making it a good mobile bet too. The basic plan offers a limited number of contacts (as in the maximum amount of customers or vendors you can create transactions for), 2 users (as in yourself and your accountant), and 5 automated workflows.
The most popular package is Standard, which comes with up to 500 contacts, 3 users, and 10 automated workflows. Professional, meanwhile, is a full bells-and-whistles experience that offers 500 contacts, 10 users, and 10 automated workflows.
Incidentally, sign up for a yearly package and you get 2 months off. Zoho does offer additional add-ons, more about which you can glean from its website. There’s also a free 14-day trial available.
Conclusion:
Free accounting software Canada – If you are a small business owner in Canada, you may be thinking about this question this time. Since you are ready to enter the world of business, it would be suggested that you look for the free business accounting software for companies in Canada because it is an easy way to determine whether or not your company will be successful.