Whether you’re just starting out as a small business owner, or have been around for a long time, accounting and office management functions can be a little bit confusing. Over the years there’s been a lot of developments with software and software companies trying to assist with these processes – but why is everyone still using pen and paper? My main goal with this article is to clear up some of the confusion people have about accounting with software and offer some alternatives you can consider.
Building a small business can be quite stressful at times, and you need to keep track of your time and billing even more so than anyone else. You need to figure out which accounting software is right for you, but the prices can be a bit all over the place.
Wave: Most affordable
Most affordableWave Accounting
3.6
- Free
Free-for-life accounting software
Unlimited users
Income and expense tracking
Data as of 11/5/21. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
For exactly $0, Wave presents you with a slick, user-friendly dashboard and a slew of features that rival those of its paid competitors. For instance, Wave Accounting includes multi-currency support, expense tracking, unlimited invoicing, and double-entry accounting—a more accurate method of accounting that FreshBooks’ basic business accounting plan notably lacks.
Wave also lets you juggle multiple businesses with the same account. If you’re an Amazon or eBay seller who also manages a small team of contractors, you can track both sets of finances without paying anything.
Even though Wave has a useful payroll tool, its accounting software isn’t necessarily right for businesses with dozens of employees. Since Wave offers just one accounting plan, businesses can’t scale up to plans with more features as they grow. And Wave’s lack of inventory tracking makes it better matched to service-based solopreneurs and freelancers who don’t need both accounting and inventory software.
FreshBooks: Best invoicing
4.1
- Starting at $15.00/mo.
Middle-of-the-road starting price
$10.00/mo./additional user
Expense and time tracking with each plan
Data as of 11/5/21. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
FreshBooks’s combination of stellar features, customizable invoices, and well-reviewed mobile apps make it pretty much perfect—especially for freelancers. Unlike Xero, FreshBooks lets you send an unlimited number of invoices and estimates with every plan. Each plan also includes time tracking for easier, more accurate client billing. FreshBooks’s built-in small-business expense tracking helps you maintain a balanced budget. And, like QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks includes built-in mileage tracking—a must for freelancers who plan to claim mileage expenses on their year-end tax forms.
Price check: FreshBooks’ discounts
FreshBooks starts at $15 a month, but the company’s frequent discounts make its financial software even more affordable. As of November 2021, FreshBooks is offering new customers 60% off for six months—which knocks your starting price to $4.50 a month. Plus, paying annually takes 10% off your monthly price. (If you sign up for a new annual subscription during this current promo, you’ll lock in 70% off for the first six months.)
But while FreshBooks doesn’t limit your invoices, it does limit the number of customers you can bill each month. You can send your customers an unlimited amount of invoices, but the cheapest plan limits that client number to just five. Additionally, FreshBooks doesn’t include bank reconciliation with its cheapest plan. Since bank reconciliation is an absolutely foundational accounting task, we can only recommend FreshBooks’s cheapest plan to freelancers or brand-new startups with just a few transactions a month.
AccountEdge Pro
Pricing: Starts at a One-Time fee of $149
AccountEdge Pro provides double-entry accounting tools — from time billing and reporting to inventory — that are customizable and optimized for desktop users. The program is also available for a one-time fee, potentially saving you a lot of money down the line by avoiding subscription costs.
Best for Businesses That Don’t Necessarily Need a Mobile Option
If a lack of a mobile option isn’t a deal-breaker for you, AccountEdge could be just what you need. As I mentioned, the software is designed specifically for desktop users — and that experience is extremely solid — but you can’t take AccountEdge with you on the go. That said, there’s a cloud-collaboration option available for purchase that gives you mobile flexibility.
Tipalti
Pricing: Available Upon Request
Tipalti automates the accounts payable process, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. The solution can streamline international payment processing in around 190 countries, automate your payment operations, and even make sure you’re tax compliant.
Best for Deadline-Driven Businesses
Tipalti is perfect for deadline-driven businesses. It can help you keep tabs on and meet time-bound payment objectives every time. Late payments, non-compliance, and administrative overload are all issues the program aims to correct. If you’re interested in a solution that can help you keep your accounts payable process straightforward and timely, check out Tipalti.
Best Invoicing & Mobile Apps: Zoho Books
Zoho Books | Start TrialRead our Review |
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Zoho Books offers unbeatable invoicing and strong mobile apps. Recent updates have put Zoho Books on par with QuickBooks Online in terms of features, but with better customer service and a more user-friendly UI, Zoho Books is a great option for small businesses.
Zoho Books is best for small businesses in need of strong online accounting, great mobile apps, and good invoicing. The software is ideal for international businesses.
Pros
- Advanced features
- Easy to use
- Good customer support
- Strong mobile apps
Cons
- Limited integrations
- Unsuited for large businesses
Zoho Books Pricing
Zoho Books offers three pricing plans ranging from $0/month to $70/month. Each plan comes with basic features and unlimited invoices. The larger the plan, the more contacts, users, and advanced features you’ll have access to.
Zoho Books Features
Zoho Books has an impressive number of features. With good customer support and a well-designed UI, the software is easy to use and learn. Zoho Books has all of the features you’d expect from a fully-developed accounting solution, including invoicing, contact management, expense tracking, time tracking, inventory, project management, and even tax support.
The best part about Zoho Books is its invoicing offerings. Zoho Books offers 16 customizable invoice templates, a client portal where customers can pay invoices directly online, recurring invoices, and the unique ability to encrypt invoices. Many automations make it easy to invoice customers, such as setting payment reminders and auto-scheduling invoices to send later. You can also send invoices in 13 languages, making Zoho Books a great choice for international businesses.
You’ll find these key accounting features as well:
- Accounts payable
- Charts of accounts
- Bank reconciliation
- Fixed asset management
- Reports
Zoho Books offers over 30 integrations, including 11 payment gateway options and a Zapier integration that connects Zoho Books to over 1,000 other third-party apps. Zoho Books also has easy accounting apps that are highly developed and praised by existing users.
Zoho Books is known for its great customer service. Phone and email support are both available. Representatives are generally helpful and quick to respond to questions. The majority of customer reviews are positive, and users especially like the level of support they receive.
When To Use Zoho Books
With almost as many features as QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books is a contender worth considering. The software is easy to use, and its invoicing features are unbeatable. Great customer support, a good number of integrations, and international features are also perks of the software.
If Zoho Books sounds like it might be a suitable choice for your small business, start a free trial, or read our complete Zoho Books review to learn more.
Conclusion
Small business accounting software (software for small and midsize businesses, and especially those that produce and sell goods and/or services) means the software is tailored to the needs of a small business without making too many changes or compromises. The software is easy to learn and use, flexible and customizable, and provides all the features to make managing financial records simple.