The Top 10 accounting software programs are useful for small business entrepreneurs and for large corporations. The classification is based on their purpose, licenses/fees, and available features.
Here are our top 10 accounting software programs for 2017. Also included is information on which of these programs are best suited for professional accountants and small business owners.
FreshBooks Accounting Software: Best for Invoicing
FreshBooks Accounting SoftwareFreshBooks lets you easily craft invoices, accept payments through invoices, track expenses and send automatic reminders.You get a full suite of accounting tools to do everything from track time and expenses to run financial reports.If you need to add several team members, it can get expensive.VISIT SITE
If you need to create and send invoices, it can be challenging to find a small business accounting app that matches your needs. Some solutions excel at invoicing but offer no accounting features; others include solid accounting services but lack quality invoicing tools. FreshBooks, on the other hand, succeeds at both.
Editor’s score: 9/10
Although all accounting software products have invoicing tools, FreshBooks is incredibly easy to use, which is why we picked it as the best accounting software for invoicing. The format is intuitive, and with just a few clicks, you can add billable time and expenses, customize the look of the invoice, and set up recurring invoices, automatic payment reminders and late fees.
This accounting software connects to your bank, generates several reports, tracks time and helps you manage projects. As a bonus, FreshBooks lets you give clients the option to pay bills through invoices, which speeds up the process of getting paid. If you have clients who are late in paying bills, FreshBooks lets you gently nudge them via reminders and alerts when bills are due or past due. You’ll know when customers receive and open invoices with this accounting software.
Beyond invoicing, there are a lot of other attributes of FreshBooks that made it one of our best picks. For example, you can track time spent on projects, as well as snap pictures of receipts and log them on the go. Plus, the double-entry accounting features ensure you don’t make mistakes that could throw off your ledger. With automatic checks and balances, you can rest assured that your debits and credits will balance out. This software also integrates with more than 80 popular business applications to give you a better overall view of your business.
FreshBooks gives you all of the features small businesses need in an accounting and invoicing software application. Although it’s not as comprehensive as some of the other options on the market, FreshBooks offers tremendous value as accounting software with strong invoicing capabilities. The ability to combine accounting software tools and invoicing tools is rare, but FreshBooks does the job effectively. For businesses that don’t send invoices, other accounting solutions make more sense, but freelancers and project-based businesses will naturally be drawn to the features and affordability of FreshBooks.
Oracle NetSuite Accounting Software: Best ERP Tools
Oracle NetSuite Accounting SoftwareNetSuite offers a variety of features, including enterprise resource planning tools.The software focuses on automation, making it simple to send and collect invoices.The website isn’t clear about pricing, so you need to contact a sales representative to determine the cost.VISIT SITE
Oracle’s NetSuite is a great choice for small business owners who want to get a complete picture of their business while automating aspects of accounting. With this software, you can manage all aspects of your business from one dashboard, making NetSuite our pick for the best accounting software with enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools.
Editor’s score: 8.5/10
NetSuite is a full-featured accounting and ERP program geared toward businesses with more complex needs. You can make and receive payments, run a slew of reports and manage taxes. NetSuite has embraced automation, making it easy to send invoices and receive payments, and it has robust tax management tools that support all currencies and exchange rates. If you have international sales, the software automatically processes sales and payments based on the local laws you’re selling or operating in. There’s also a revenue recognition management solution that helps business owners meet accounting standards and report financial results on time.
Cash flow management is also simple thanks to a robust set of features that provide insight into your cash, making it easier to optimize cash, control bank accounts and remain compliant with rules and regulations. NetSuite’s payment management system centralizes payments, while the planning and budgeting features unify data to help you plan. It’s also easy to create budgets and forecasts, plan for what-if scenarios and run reports on many aspects of your business. To keep you in control, NetSuite lets you set permissions.
NetSuite also has numerous ERP tools to manage finances, inventory, production and the supply chain, and the ERP functionality also helps you plan for the future. Because NetSuite comes with so many features and tools, it’s difficult to get an accurate price without reaching out to a NetSuite sales representative. There’s an online form you can fill out to set up a free demonstration.
NetSuite may not make sense if you are self-employed or a microbusiness without complex needs. But if you require a more holistic approach to accounting and want to be able to budget, plan and forecast, NetSuite deserves serious consideration.
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.
Sage 50cloud Accounting
Previously known as Peachtree Software, Sage 50cloud Accounting is a hybrid solution that is installed on-premise, but also includes an option to connect to the application remotely if necessary.
Sage 50cloud Accounting is a good choice for small and growing businesses, with multiple plans available. Sage 50cloud Accounting includes a solid inventory module and offers integration with multiple point-of-sale (POS) applications, which makes it particularly suitable for retailers.
Sage 50cloud Accounting offers excellent vendor management capability.
Sage 50cloud Accounting allows you to connect your bank accounts or track your business expenses in a more traditional fashion. The application also includes excellent customer management and sales management, including the ability to accept online payments. You also have the option to pay your vendors electronically, or by printing checks for mailing.
The Inventory module in Sage 50cloud Accounting includes multiple pricing levels along with user-defined fields for tracking additional information. Two payroll options, Essentials and Full-Service, are available, and reporting options are top-notch.
Sage 50cloud Accounting also includes a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices.
Sage 50cloud Accounting offers three plans: Pro, Premium, and Quantum, with yearly pricing starting at $340 for the Pro plan. The Premium plan, which most small businesses would likely benefit from, costs $510/year, while Quantum pricing runs $842/year.
With three plans available, Sage 50cloud Accounting can be beneficial to growing businesses.
Integration with Microsoft 365 offers easy online accessibility, and access to POS and inventory features makes this application particularly useful for both brick-and-mortar retailers as well as those who sell products online.
Conclusion
Accounting software has changed dramatically over the years, and continues to change in the new age of technology. Accounting software has come a long way, and it will continue to advance to better serve your needs. Here you’ll find the top ten selections in accounting software based on overall user ratings and reviews, usability, efficiency, and more.