I have quite a few customers who run a small business, and I can attest to the fact that their small business accounting software is crucial to their success. When you have a small business, it’s important for you to have a simple solution so you can keep things organized. Well, this is where accounting software becomes useful.
In this review, we shall be focusing on the 5 top accounting softwares. Let’s dive in!
BEST FOR SERVICE-BASED BUSINESSES 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.
AccountEdge Pro
AccountEdge Pro has the honor of being our top-rated accounting application and with good reason.
A good fit for small and growing businesses, AccountEdge Pro is an on-premise application that also offers the convenience of remote access, taking you easily through the entire accounting cycle.
QuickBooks Desktop
QuickBooks Desktop 2020 includes several new features that are designed to streamline various processes. These new features include:
- Enhanced system navigation
- Expanded help capability
- Automatic payment reminders sent to past due customers
- Ability to consolidate invoices into a single email
Show More [+]9.0OUT OF 10
Full ReviewVisit QuickBooks Desktop Best Training
Zoho Books
If you’re a sole proprietor, freelancer, or starting a brand new business, Zoho Books is for you.
Affordable for even the tightest budget, Zoho Books includes a solid inventory management feature and provides new users with step-by-step directions for everything from general setup to writing an invoice, making it easy to get your new business set up and running quickly.
Show More [+]9.0OUT OF 10
Check out our comparison review of Zoho Books vs. FreshBooks
AccountingSuite
AccountingSuite offers the features that small businesses have come to expect from any software application, including cloud accessibility and solid accounting capability. Bank connectivity is also offered in AccountingSuite, with the application able to connect to over 9,000 financial institutions.
You can manage your invoicing in the Sales module, and process and pay bills in the Purchases module. Both project and time tracking capability are offered in the application as well, so you can track projects and profitability, while the time-tracking feature allows you to record the time spent on each individual project.
Bonus Info 🙂
Practice management tools
Gain control and transparency over processes, get insight into cash flow, simplify workflows and reporting, and keep client information in one place with the help of our recommended practice management tools.
Practice Ignition(link opens in a new window)
Practice Ignition is a platform that helps accounting practices manage client-oriented tasks – things like creating and tracking proposals, client onboarding, handling contracts and billing. While it’s not a complete job management platform, it does automate workflows and can be integrated with other tools.
BGL(link opens in a new window)
BGL specialises in ASIC corporate compliance and SMSF administration software.
Their SMSF software SimpleFund360 features sophisticated data matching, intelligent corporate actions plus integration with over 350 bank, broker and wrap data feeds.
Their corporate compliance solution CAS360 offers automated annual reviews, company registrations, company debt alerts, digital signing and two-way integration with Xero.
Xero Practice Manager (XPM)(link opens in a new window)
Manage your jobs from start to finish – XPM allows you to take care of workflow requirements, time tracking and job costing in one place. Not surprisingly, integration with Xero is seamless, however the platform also integrates with more than 30 other apps, such as payroll, customer support and CRM software, essentially creating a complete practice management system.
Clarity HQ(link opens in a new window)
Clarity gives accounting firms a way to systemize and scale advisory services, by providing easy to read dashboards that show where each client’s business is at, and what specific metrics and levers need to change in order to get into the green.
Collaboration tools
In the modern workplace, flexibility and remote capability is key. Using collaboration tools helps to keep your conversations and files organized, and your team connected no matter where they work. There’s no shortage of new and shiny tools – here’s 4 of the best for your accounting practice.
Zoom(link opens in a new window)
Zoom is an online video, phone and conferencing platform that allows you to run online meetings, training, and customer support. It’s easy to use, and scalable to suit the needs of your business.
Microsoft Teams(link opens in a new window)
Connecting your team has never been easier. Microsoft Teams is a professional chat platform ideal for collaboration and cross-company communication and transparency. With organized conversations, video chat capability, discussion channels and file sharing, everyone can keep track of what’s going on in the business.
Google Drive(link opens in a new window)
Collaborate with clients and colleagues on live documents, so you can also be sure you’re working on the most up-to-date version. Assign permissions and edit documents in real time. Because these files are stored in the cloud, you never have to worry about losing historical documents or unsaved data.
Lightyear(link opens in a new window)
Collaboration equals efficiency – but did you know you could automate bookkeeping and data entry tasks? Lightyear saves your team time, and offers the element of internal collaborations with internal and external team members.
Marketing tools
Modern practices need to keep up with marketing trends in order to stay relevant in a competitive marketplace. Keep your accounting practice ahead of the curve with these tried and true automation and design tools.
Hubspot(link opens in a new window)
Looking for a reliable and capable CRM? Ditch the spreadsheets for managing your client data. HubSpot CRM is easy to use and offers free marketing, sales, and service tools that will take your client comms to the next level. Additionally, HubSpot’s Marketing Hub can help you to attract visitors, convert online traffic into leads, turn leads into customers, and easily report on marketing ROI.
Hootsuite(link opens in a new window)
You probably know that you need to be engaging with your audience on social, but don’t have the time to regularly check in, right? That’s where a scheduling tools like Hootsuite can help. You can schedule in large batches of content ahead of time, across any social platform, and manage comments, likes, and engagement trends across those posts.
Canva(link opens in a new window)
With Canva, you can whip up professional-looking images with the help of templates. Whether it’s a social post, a report, a poster or a flyer, Canva takes the frustration out of designing collateral for your business.
Active Campaign(link opens in a new window)
Active Campaign isn’t just about email marketing; it goes a step beyond to include CRM, marketing automation and messaging tools that leverage machine learning algorithms.
Organisation tools
Evernote(link opens in a new window)
Keep your desk paperless while keeping track of everything, no matter where you are. Take notes, manage projects, share meeting minutes and tick off your to-do list with this online note-taking tool.
TSheets(link opens in a new window)
Take care of time-tracking with Tsheets. Even if you don’t bill by the hour, it’s still helpful to understand how long tasks are taking in your business, so you can accurately price your services or understand where your time is best spent.
Practice Protect(link opens in a new window)
Accountants are privy to a huge amount of sensitive data. Managing who has access to what is time consuming, and it’s not just a technology problem. It’s also a people problem, because your people need to be trained in how to maintain cyber security. Practice Protect provides an accounting-specific solution that includes software, training, compliance documents and certification to help keep your data safe and secure.
SmartVault(link opens in a new window)
Designed for accountants and business professionals, SmartVault is an all-in-one solution for online document storage and secure file sharing. It integrates with Quickbooks, Freshbooks and Xero.
Conclusion
A business owner needs both accounting and financial management software, and small business owners like you can’t afford to sacrifice speed and efficiency for a ton of unnecessary bells and whistles. A small business accounting solution should be able to track all your expenses and income to keep your records up-to-date. Accounting software for small businesses aims to make it easy, quick, and affordable to manage your finances, organize your invoices and bills, and produce accurate reports.