Save time and money with our list of small business accounting software! Here we give you a comprehensive list of the top free accounting software solutions and the leading paid software solutions. Learn how to find the right small business accounting software that is easy to use, can save you time, money, and many other advantages and benefits.
We made a list of popular small business accounting software, including some of their pros and cons.
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.
Akaunting: Best for Businesses Looking for a Truly One-Stop Free Accounting Software

Best for Businesses Looking for a Truly One-Stop Free Accounting Software
Akaunting is a free, open-source accounting solution for small businesses and freelancers with a global reach and sizable user base. The program’s full suite of features is available for free — making it one of the few “one-stop-shop” solutions on this list.
The platform is entirely online, meaning you can access it from any desktop, tablet, or mobile device anytime, anywhere. It offers resources that help you manage cash flow, track expenses, deal with invoicing, and set transaction categories.
It also features a client portal — allowing you to share the transactions and invoices with your clients and accept bulk payments. Akaunting boasts a base of over 270,000 users and is available in over 50 languages, making it one of the most popular, wide-reaching open-source solutions on this list.
Some users report trouble with Akaunting’s support department’s responsiveness. The application also seems to be one of the less accessible ones on this list when it comes to ease of use. But if you’re in the market for a free, comprehensive accounting solution and are willing to tough those issues out, look into Akaunting.
Akaunting’s Key Benefits
- Truly one-stop for free
- Accessible from anywhere
- Open source and secure
Akaunting’s Key Drawbacks
- Questionable support
- Potentially difficult to operate
ZipBooks: Best Free Accounting Software For Beginners
ZipBooks![]() | Visit SiteRead our Review |
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Best for small business owners and freelancers looking for a simple accounting solution.
Pros
- Cloud-based software
- Strong security features
- Easy to use
- Good customer support
Cons
- Limited integrations
- Some features limited on the free plan
ZipBooks is free accounting software designed by small business owners for other business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. Automation is where ZipBooks truly stands out, combining a color-coded design with a strong feature set to simplify the accounting process.
With a free account from ZipBooks, you’ll be able to send invoices to customers, manage your contacts, and access business health scores. If you need additional features, ZipBooks offers several monthly membership plans. ZipBooks also stands out for excellent customer service and robust security features and has an excellent reputation among its users.

ZipBooks Features
ZipBooks offers several plans, but for those that don’t want to pay a monthly fee, the free Starter plan includes:
- Unlimited invoices
- Unlimited customers and vendors
- Expense tracking
- Connect to one bank account
- Digital payments through Square or PayPal
- Basic reporting
ZipBooks Pricing
The ZipBooks Starter plan is completely free. If you want access to more features, you can upgrade to one of ZipBooks’ paid subscriptions. For $15/month, you can sign up for the Smarter plan, which boasts additional features and automations, including scheduled recurring invoices, time tracking, and support for up to five team members. For $35/month, you can upgrade to the Sophisticated plan, which includes smart tagging, additional reports, and support for unlimited users.
Conclusion
The small business accounting software industry is a huge one with hundreds of companies, some accounting software providers are one person operations that offer innovative solutions and others are multi billion companies. We have researched the small business accounting industry to show you a list of the top best small business accounting software’s. When starting a small business, you’ll quickly discover that the more time you spend on accounting and bookkeeping, the less time you have for other activities.