Do you have a business, but need something that gives you all the basic accounting features without the headache of having to learn QuickBooks? You should check out using Easy Bookkeeping. It can provide everything your small business needs. This easy bookkeeping software for small business lets you stay organized while taking care of basic accounting tasks, helping you avoid being behind on your tax reports.
Because you no longer have physical checkbooks or file cabinets, it is easy to scare yourself into believing you need a software solution for your small business accounting. What exactly are the differences between a physical checkbook and a digital one? The answer is very little, except for the obvious cost factor if you are starting out. Due to the number of uses that a digital bookkeeping system can be put towards, more options are available.
Wave
Wave is an ideal accounting software platform for a service-based small business that sends simple invoices and doesn’t need to track inventory or run payroll. For many freelancers or service-based businesses, Wave’s free features will cover all of their accounting needs and is the best free software in our review. At year-end, accountants can pull the necessary reports from Wave to prepare a business’ tax return.Pros
- Free accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning
- No transaction or billing limits
- Run multiple businesses in one account
- Unlimited number of users
- Mobile app
Cons
- Limited third-party app integrations
- Higher fees for credit cards and ACH payments
- Full-service payroll is limited to only 14 states
- No inventory management
Wave was founded in 2010 and is based in Toronto. The company has over 250 employees and was purchased by H&R Block in 2019.34 The foundational accounting features that most small businesses need, such as income and expense tracking, financial reporting, invoicing, and scanning receipts, are all included with this free software. These features can be accessed online or on the mobile app. Customer payment processing and payroll are considered premium services that cost extra, but all of the bookkeeping, invoicing, and reporting features are completely free.
Wave makes its money on its payment gateway. To process payment from a customer, Wave charges 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, and 3.4% plus 30¢ per transaction for American Express. These fees are slightly higher than other accounting software. Additionally, to process an ACH payment, rather than a credit card, Wave charges 1% per transaction with a $1 minimum fee. This is unique to Wave, as the majority of accounting software does not charge a fee for ACH payment processing.
Wave offers two payroll plans as an add-on service. The first plan is $20 per month plus $6 per employee or contractor. In this plan, Wave will process payroll and prepare payroll tax calculations, but the user is responsible for manually completing payroll tax forms and submitting tax payments. The second plan is $35 per month plus $6 per employee or contractor. In this plan, payroll is full-service, which means that all tax filings and payments are completely managed by Wave. This full-service payroll option is only available in 14 states.
GnuCash: Best for Sole Proprietors
Best for Sole Proprietors
GnuCash is a free, open-source accounting solution that can be downloaded for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. It offers double-entry accounting resources, a checkbook-style register, scheduled transactions, and customizable visual reporting.
GnuCash’s initial setup and somewhat dated-looking interface might turn a lot of potential users off. But if you’re willing to tough out its tricky installation and don’t need your accounting solution to be particularly pretty, you’re left with a solid application that covers a lot of bases for free.
That said, it’s not much of a long-term solution for businesses anticipating a lot of growth. It’s better suited for sole proprietors who need a program to get them through their day-to-day. If you fit that bill, check GnuCash out.
GnuCash’s Key Benefits
- Double-entry feature ensures books balance
- Budget management tools can help plan financial strategy
- Works on a variety of operating systems
- Can handle internationalized dates and currencies
GnuCash’s Key Drawbacks
- Installation is less straightforward than most other platforms
- Interface isn’t particularly accessible or visually appealing
- No customer support
ZipBooks
Another top free accounting software for small businesses to consider is ZipBooks. ZipBooks offers all the crucial features of an accounting software—reports, bank syncing, billing, expense management, and invoicing—in one free account.
If you want to offer online payments to your invoiced customers via ZipBooks, you’ll need to do so via Square or PayPal. You’ll pay the standard PayPal rates and Square rates for those transactions.
ZipBooks offers an integrated payroll add-on option with Gusto. Gusto starts at $39 per month, plus $6 per person per month. For a limited time, you can get the Core plan for a discounted price of a monthly $19 base cost for the first six months. Gusto also has a new option for contractor-only employers, who simply pay the $6 per employee rate and no base price.
CloudBooks: Best for Freelancers and Small Businesses
Best for Freelancers and Small Businesses
CloudBooks is a free accounting and invoicing solution tailored to accommodate small businesses and freelancers. The program boasts a user base of over 2 million subscribers and has a suite of capabilities that cover invoicing, time-tracking, reporting, and payment needs — among others.
The platform is an invoice management solution, above all else — and that can be a benefit or drawback in its own right, depending on what you need.
While CloudBooks has features extending beyond that functionality, invoicing appears to be its main selling point — meaning it’s not quite as fully fleshed out with accounting functionality as other programs listed here.
So if you’re looking for exceptional invoice creation and management software, you should check out Cloudbooks. If you need a more robust accounting-specific solution, you might want to look elsewhere.
CloudBooks’ Key Benefits
- Allows for unlimited users
- Features email support
- Offers free cloud data storage
- Upgraded plans are reasonably priced
CloudBooks’ Key Drawbacks
- Only lets you bill one client
- Caps your number of invoices at five
- Lacks phone or chat support
Conclusion
A very important matter for any business owner is to keep accurate and timely accounts. In the past, it was painstakingly difficult to manage your bookkeeping without the right software. Fortunately, we now have easy software that makes keeping track of all your income and expenses a breeze – and doesn’t require too much tech savvy on your part.