Software for home business is used by numerous entrepreneurs to reduce the time they need to spend on running their businesses. This means that there are many companies which offer different software for home business to both big and small companies, not just individuals.
Software for home businesses can help you save time and make more money through automation. Some of the best business software options available today will be listed.
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is the best overall accounting software for small businesses of those reviewed. Not only do the majority of small business accounting professionals use QuickBooks Online, but there are also endless online training resources and forums to get support when needed. All accounting features can be conveniently accessed on one main dashboard, making bookkeeping more fluid and efficient.Pros
- Scalable
- Commonly used by accounting professionals
- Integration with third-party applications
- Cloud-based
- Mobile app
Cons
- Upgrade required for more users
- Occasional syncing problems with banks and credit cards
Intuit’s QuickBooks Online has been the most common accounting software used by small businesses and their bookkeeping and tax professionals. The software is cloud-based and can be accessed through a web browser or through the mobile app.
After the 30-day free trial, the four options for subscription plans include: Simple Start at $25 per month, Essentials at $40 per month, Plus at $70 per month, and Advanced at $150 per month. Typically there is a significant discount offered for the first few months, and some accountants are able to offer wholesale pricing to small businesses, as well.
The monthly subscription for this software can be upgraded as a business grows, and there are many customization options with the mobile app that can be used to receive payments, review reports, capture an image of a receipt, and track business mileage. For businesses looking for a payroll solution, QuickBooks Payroll fully integrates with QuickBooks Online.
Each plan offers more advanced features like inventory management, time tracking, additional users, and budgeting. Most service-based small businesses will find that Simple Start meets all of their needs. For product-based small businesses, Essentials or Plus will have more options for inventory and customizations. The Advanced subscription is a new offering and provides robust financial reporting that is powered by Fathom. Fathom is an elite online financial report analysis tool used by many large companies all over the world.
All plans allow integration with third-party apps such as Stripe or PayPal. QuickBooks Online’s app store breaks down all of their apps by function and provides helpful examples of the benefits of each app.
FreshBooks
The most crucial accounting need for most service-based businesses is invoicing. FreshBooks offers more customizations for invoicing compared to other accounting software. Its primary function is to send, receive, print, and pay invoices, but it can also take care of a business’ basic bookkeeping needs as well. This accounting software makes it easier for service-based businesses to send proposals and invoices, request deposits, collect client retainers, track time on projects, and receive payments.Pros
- Cloud-based
- User-friendly interface
- Third-party app integration
- Affordable
- Advanced invoicing features
Cons
- No inventory management
- No payroll service
- Mobile app has limitations
Founded in 2003 in Toronto, FreshBooks started as just an invoicing software. Over time, more features have been added and FreshBooks now has over 500 employees.2 There are four different plans, and businesses can get a 10% discount if they choose to pay yearly, rather than monthly. Additionally, FreshBooks offers a 60% off discount per month for six months. The four plans are: Lite at $6 per month, Plus at $10 per month, Premium at $20 per month, and Select, which is a custom service with custom pricing.
The main difference between the four plans is the number of different clients that are allowed to be billed per month. In the Lite plan, up to five clients can be billed per month. In the Plus plan, up to 50 clients can be billed per month. In the Premium plan, unlimited clients can be billed per month. The Select plan also does not have a limitation on the number of clients that can be billed per month, but adds unique features. It costs an additional $10 per month for multiple team members to use the accounting software and it costs an additional $20 per month for the advanced payment feature, which allows users to charge a credit card in real-time or set up a recurring credit card charge for a client.
There are many third-party app integrations available, such as Shopify, Gusto, Stripe, G Suite, and more. A unique feature of FreshBooks is that invoices can be highly stylized and customized for a professional look and feel. FreshBooks is a great tool for budgeting out projects, sending estimates or proposals, and collecting customer payments.
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.
Wix
Wix was founded in 2006 by three entrepreneurs frustrated with the difficulty and expense of creating a website. Today, the company has a staff of 5,000 employees worldwide and 200 million users in 190 countries. We chose it for the best website builder since it lets users create professional-looking websites with no coding knowledge for an affordable price.
Wix comes with hundreds of professional templates and a drag-and-drop editor, making it easy to create a professional business site in just minutes. Every website is designed to look great on mobile devices and features engaging effects including animation, video backgrounds, and scrolling.
Businesses that want to sell online can take advantage of Wix’s advanced e-commerce features. Users can set up an online store, manage inventory and orders, and get revenue and conversion rate reports using a simple, intuitive dashboard. Wix also lets store owners accept payments via Wix Payments, PayPal, and Stripe and integrates with Instagram and Facebook.
Although creating a basic website is free, upgrading to a paid plan is the only way to unlock Wix’s business and e-commerce features. All of Wix’s paid plans include a 14-day free trial, free hosting, Google Analytics, and the ability to link a custom domain.
Business Basic Plan
- $23 per month
- Accept online payments
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 20GB storage
- Connect your domain
- Remove Wix ads
- Five video hours
- Google Analytics
- Free domain for one year
- $300 ad vouchers
- Site Booster app
- Visitor Analytics app
Business Unlimited Plan
- $27 per month
- 35GB storage
- All Business Basic Plan features
- 10 video hours
- Professional logo
- Social media logo files
Business VIP Plan
- $49 per month
- Accept online payments
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 500GB storage
- All Business Unlimited Plan features
- Unlimited video hours
- Priority Response
- VIP Support
Best accounting software: Xero
Overview: Xero is a cloud-based accounting solution specifically aimed at small businesses. It provides tools to help companies monitor financial performance and cash flow in real time, as well as features for accountants to help ensure their clients have healthy balance sheets. Financial reports can be customized to track specific financial KPIs and compare the company’s financial management and performance against actual or selected periods. Businesses can easily accept online payments from providers like Stripe and PayPal (as well as credit cards) in multiple currencies. Xero also makes it easy to create and send invoices, as well as send automated payment reminders to clients when their invoices are overdue.
Tech support: Customers get free, unlimited tech support 24/7.
Free trial: Try Xero free for 30 days, with unlimited users and no credit card required.
Conclusion
We all know the necessity of software to build a home business and keep it running. Whether it’s accounting or content management through control panels, we need software to run our Internet businesses. The only problem is that there are so many different pieces of software for us to choose from.