Microsoft Small Business Accounting helps make managing your business finances easier than ever. Scan your checks to help get started quickly, and create estimates and quotes for jobs. When you’re ready to file, the program gives you instant access to the tools and reports you need to meet tax and regulatory compliance requirements.
Microsoft small business accounting software is an easy-to-use solution for managing your business finances. It includes a powerful register that helps you easily track income and expenses and provides unmatched flexibility in how you analyze them.
QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed accounting software is our top choice for part-time freelancers and independent contractors who primarily want to track their income and expenses for their tax return. This software is designed for business owners who file a Schedule C on their individual tax return.
Without keeping up with business activity using a software like this, freelancers would need to dig through all of their bank and credit card statements to add up their income and expenses at the end of each year, which can be quite daunting. QuickBooks Self-Employed will total up all business transactions automatically.Pros
- Cloud-based
- Mobile app
- Track mileage
- Differentiate between business and personal expenses
- Syncs with TurboTax
Cons
- Data cannot be easily transferred to other accounting software
- Limited reporting
- Limited invoicing functionality and customization
QuickBooks Self-Employed is an Intuit product with a cloud-based online interface and a mobile app. This software was created to help freelancers stay organized each year for tax season. Features of QuickBooks Self-Employed include tracking mileage, sorting expenses, organizing receipts, sending invoices, and estimating and filing taxes seamlessly through TurboTax.
Users can choose between three plan options: Self-Employed at $15 per month, Self-Employed Tax Bundle at $25 per month, and Self-Employed Live Tax Bundle at $35 per month. There is a 50% discount for the first three months. The two tax bundles include a TurboTax subscription for income tax filing. The Self-Employed Live Tax Bundle also gives you access to a CPA to answer questions throughout the year and during tax season. The CPA will also perform a final review of your tax return in TurboTax prior to filing.
The mobile app makes it easy to track mileage while driving and capture photos of receipts for business expenses. Most accounting software is not designed to separate business transactions from personal transactions, but a special feature of QuickBooks Self-Employed provides an option to mark each transaction as business or personal. This is helpful for freelancers who don’t have a separate bank account for their business activity.
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. 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.
ZipBooks: Best for Small Businesses Looking to Upgrade From Spreadsheets
Best for Small Businesses Looking to Upgrade From Spreadsheets
ZipBooks is a web-based financial software with a solid suite of accounting features. The company offers a free plan called ZipBooks Starter — an option that includes basic bookkeeping functionality, along with profit, loss, and balance sheet reporting.
It also covers certain invoicing and quote-related bases — plus the ability to accept payment via credit card or PayPal. It’s a powerful, easy-to-use solution, but its free plan is extremely free plan-ish.
The program’s features you can access with a free plan are restricted to the point that it might be easy to outgrow. You can only link one bank account and view basic reports with its starter option. Should your needs extend beyond that, you’ll need to upgrade to one of its premium plans.
And while those upper-tier plans are reasonably priced, they’re obviously not what someone who wants a free plan is looking for. Again, the solution itself is sound, but if you want a free program that will remain free as you scale, you should look elsewhere.
ZipBooks’ Key Benefits
- Unlimited Invoices
- Ability to manage unlimited vendors and customers
- Accepts digital payments via Square and Paypal
ZipBooks’ Key Drawbacks
- Only allows you to connect one bank account
- Only lets you view basic reports
Sunrise: Best Free Bookkeeping Software
Sunrise by Lendio | Visit SiteRead our Review |
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Best for small businesses that want simple bookkeeping software that’s easy to use.
Pros
- Supports unlimited users
- Good customer service
- Easy to use
Cons
- Limited integrations
- Lacks advanced features
Sunrise by Lendio (formerly Billy) is a great free option for businesses that want simple bookkeeping software without the bells and whistles (and high price tags!) of full accounting software. With Sunrise, you can be up and running in just minutes, performing tasks such as sending invoices to clients, managing expenses, and accepting online payments.
One unique feature of Sunrise is that you may qualify for additional funding opportunities through Lendio just by maintaining your books. And if your books become too time-consuming to manage? You can upgrade to Sunrise’s paid professional bookkeeping service, which offers extremely competitive pricing. Throw in support for unlimited users, good customer service, and positive online reviews, and it’s easy to see why Sunrise makes our cut.
Sunrise Features
Businesses that need full accounting software with advanced features (such as inventory management) will need to seek out other software. However, businesses that want basic bookkeeping software with no limitations, an easy-to-use UI that’s perfect for beginners, and great customer service may find a winner in Sunrise. With Sunrise’s free self-service software, you’ll receive:
- Unlimited invoices
- Unlimited quotes and estimates
- Expense tracking
- Chart of accounts
- Cash flow tracking
- Journal entry
- Tax support
Sunrise Pricing
Sunrise’s self-service software is completely free. If you need payment processing, Sunrise offers a pay-as-you-go plan of 3.55% + $0.30 for credit card transactions. You may also opt to upgrade to Sunrise Plus for $19.99/month, which offers lower processing fees, cash flow insights, and integrations with Square, Stripe, and PayPal.
You can also sign up for bookkeeping services with Sunrise. Pricing is based on your number of transactions per month and starts at $149/month.
Conclusion
Whether you’re looking for accounting software to track and grow your business, or just want a checkbook register that is easy to use and free, you can’t go wrong with small business accounting software from Microsoft. microsoft small business accounting software free download