A comprehensive and functional accounting software that is easy to use is what we all want. However, not every accounting software out there offers such combination of features as well as ease of use. Let us learn about the easiest accounting software to use as well as best simple business accounting software.
It’s a fact that anything that’s simple is also easier to use. That’s why accounting software that is easy to use for small businesses is the best one. And that’s why simple small business accounting software is what most people are looking for today.
Freshbooks
Best all round accounting software for small businesses
REASONS TO BUY
+User-friendly interface+Plenty of depth and features+Integrates with many popular services
REASONS TO AVOID
-Too many features for some-Complex features need time-More costs for more features
FreshBooks is a popular cloud-based accounting service designed specifically for small business owners.
The package has plenty of features – invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, a host of business reports, even an option to take credit card payments – and a straightforward interface aimed at non-accountants ensures you’ll be up-and-running right away.
Despite the simplicity, there’s real depth here. You can bill in any currency, save time by setting up recurring invoices, allow customers to pay via credit card by checking a box, and even automatically bill their credit card to keep life simple for everyone.
If you need more power, the system integrates with many other services, including PayPal, MailChimp, Basecamp, WordPress, Gusto, Zendesk and more.
Management hassles are kept to a minimum. You’re able to access and use the system from your desktop or its free iOS and Android apps, and because it’s a cloud-based system there’s no need to worry about backups.
If this sounds appealing, you can try FreshBooks for 30 days without using a credit card.
GnuCash
GnuCash is an open-source accounting program that offers many features to help you manage your small business accounting. Volunteer developers update the software regularly, which means the program is always kept up-to-date.
GnuCash pros
GnuCash’s strength is that it contains advanced features such as customer and vendor tracking, job assignments, invoicing, bill pay, sales tax management, payroll management, and budget creation and management.
The checkbook-style register is an easy-to-use interface for entering all of your checking and credit card transactions. You can also enter income, stock, and currency transactions.
You can split transactions, mark transactions as canceled or reconciled, autofill entered transactions, and display multiple accounts in a single register window.
GnuCash cons
Since GnuCash is not cloud-based and only locally installed on a desktop computer, access to your financial data is limited to only one machine and one user. While GnuCash offers a mobile app, it is only for Android-based devices and requires you to manually import the data, which can be a pretty tedious process.
The interface of the program is also a bit dated and requires some time to get used to. Many users report problems with manually importing their transactions.
GnuCash’s customer support is through a public email-based discussion board, so it may take a while before you get a response to your question. Their chat support uses an obsolete IRC channel system, which can be tedious to set up.
Intuit QuickBooks
QuickBooks is an accounting software developed and marketed by Intuit. Its latest cloud-based release was in 2019, but it also offers separate desktop options you can purchase and download. Its products are typically geared toward small and medium-sized businesses, and over seven million businesses use this software.
We chose it as our runner-up for the best overall accounting software for small businesses because it is easy to use for business owners with no accounting experience. It’s also quick to set up, reasonably priced, and offers tools and features that are helpful for small business accounting. It keeps everything organized in one place and keeps your business tax-ready all year long.
Features of QuickBooks include:
- Financial institution integration as well as integration with PayPal, Square, Shopify, and more
- Help to file quarterly and annual tax returns with user guides and exporting tax data
- Sales tax calculations, returns, and recorded tax payments
- Automatically sort transactions and expenses into tax categories
- Track expenses in one place
- Scan receipts and attach them to invoices
- Share with your accountant or export documents
- Create customized reports with cashflow tracking visible on your dashboard
- Track miles with your smartphone’s GPS
QuickBooks offers tiered pricing so you can pick the best plan for your needs:
- Simple Start: $12.50 per month for businesses just getting started
- Essentials: $20 per month for managing growing businesses
- Plus: $35 per month to help you get better organized and manage projects, inventory, and contractors
- Advanced: $75 per month to help your business grow with deeper insights and dedicated support
Contact QuickBooks directly to see which specific features are included in each tier.
AccountingSuite
AcountingSuite is basic option intended for the growing small business. Due to offering an integrated suite of banking, sales, purchasing, inventory management, and accounting in it’s base package, the solution encourages you to continue to use it as you grow and does not require 3rd party add-ons or outside stand-alone options.
AccountingSuite includes as many CPA/bookkeeper seats as needed so your accountant can help you use the program. The solution starts at $19/month for 1 user and the cost is mostly dependent on the number of users.
Xero
REASONS TO BUY
+Temptingly cheap Starter plan+Excellent mobile apps+Fully expandable
REASONS TO AVOID
-Basic plan has limitations-Costs start to add up-Some limitations
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.
Wave Accounting
Wave Accounting checks all the boxes for many powerful features that are well-suited for your small business.
Wave Accounting pros
One of Wave’s most powerful features is that it’s cloud-based, which means real-time access and instant updates from anywhere. Your information is stored and backed up on highly secured servers.
Wave also includes unlimited and customizable income and expense tracking, receipt scanning, invoicing, and a smart dashboard for easy viewing.
Wave offers unlimited bank and credit card account connections, and there’s no charge if you want guests to sign in and collaborate on the financials with you. If you need someone else, like your accountant or another member of your financial team, to log in and check the numbers, relax: there’s no limit to the number of users you can add.
Wave has a robust Help Center for self-service support, and they also provide email support for all invoicing and accounting questions related to their free features.
Wave Accounting cons
While Wave allows you to track accounts receivable (aka any money your customers owe you), it doesn’t allow you to track accounts payable (meaning the money you owe your suppliers or creditors). Wave also does not offer inventory management.
And while all of Wave’s basic features are free, there is a per-transaction credit card processing fee of 2.9% plus .30 for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover and 3.4% plus .30 for American Express.
Wave’s payroll application is available at $20 or $35 a month, depending on which state your business is located in.
Live chat support is only available for paid features. If you’d like to speak to an expert about your bookkeeping questions, you’ll have to purchase it from their Wave Advisors.
Conclusion:
Businesses don’t need to hire an accountant when you can find scalable accounting software for small businesses. It will eliminate everyday bookkeeping tasks and let you focus more on what’s important in the business. Accounting software allows users to minimize time spent on performing tedious tasks. Small businesses can put their best foot forward when they partner with the best business accounting software for small business.