You may wonder – what is the best payroll software for small business? What’s the most used accounting software for small businesses? What’s the best solution for small company bookkeeping? Here, you will find answers to all these questions and much more. I’ll present you with some of the most used applications for business owners, allowing you to make your decision with no effort.
Here are the best software out there!
Best Customer Support: FreshBooks
FreshBooks | Start TrialRead our Review |
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FreshBooks used to be an invoicing software with a few bookkeeping tools tossed in. With the recent addition of double-entry accounting, FreshBooks is now a complete accounting solution for small businesses. The software is incredibly easy to use and free of accounting jargon.
FreshBooks is best for small businesses that are looking for simplicity, strong invoicing, proposals, and good customer support.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Good mobile apps
- Great customer support
- Numerous integrations
- Strong invoicing
Cons
- Expensive
- Limited users
- Limited features
FreshBooks Pricing
FreshBooks offers three pricing plans ranging from $15/month to $50/month. Most features are included in all plans, so each larger level mainly adds more billable customers.
FreshBooks only supports a single user (additional users cost an extra $10/month each).
FreshBooks Features
FreshBooks has always been easy to use, but a recent redesign has made the user experience even more straightforward and the UI more attractive. Setup is simple, and the software takes very little time to learn. In terms of features, you’ll find invoicing, expense tracking, contact management, and more.
FreshBooks offers two customizable invoice templates and a client portal where customers can pay their invoices directly online. One of FreshBooks’ coolest features is the ability to chat with your customers directly on their invoices.
Other features include:
- Project management
- Time tracking
- Reports
FreshBooks offers over 80 integrations, which is significantly more than most invoicing programs. There are also mobile apps available.
FreshBooks has great customer support. Representatives are friendly, helpful, and quick to respond. There is phone support, email support, a help center, and several other resources to help you learn the software.
For the most part, FreshBooks receives positive customer reviews; however, there are some recurring complaints.
The main drawback of FreshBooks is the cost. The software is expensive compared to other accounting programs, and the value of the software simply doesn’t match the price. FreshBooks also only supports a single user. Instead of purchasing additional users, you’d get more bang for your buck by choosing a less expensive program.
When To Use FreshBooks
This easy bookkeeping software is ideal for small businesses that need to save time on sending invoices, tracking expenses, and creating proposals. If the simplicity of FreshBooks sounds appealing to you, take the software for a spin with a free trial or read our comprehensive FreshBooks review to learn more.
Best Small Business Accounting Software Overall: QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online | Visit SiteRead our Review |
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QuickBooks Online is a fully-featured accounting software program that is generally easy to use. With over 600 integrations, strong mobile apps, and tax support, it’s no wonder this software is popular.
QuickBooks Online is best for small businesses looking for a full-featured accounting solution that is relatively easy to use. QBO is ideal for businesses with five users or fewer (though you can add up to 25 users for an additional cost).
Pros
- Scalable
- Advanced features
- Strong invoicing and mobile apps
- Expert help from accountants is available
- 650+ integrations
Cons
- Occasionally unintuitive
- Poor customer support
QuickBooks Online Pricing
QuickBooks Online offers four pricing plans ranging from $25/month to $180/month. The larger the plan, the more features you can access, and the more users you can have.
Payroll services cost an additional $45-$125/month (plus $4+/month per employee). Read our QuickBooks Online pricing post to learn more, and don’t forget to check if Intuit is running any sales promotions.
QuickBooks Online Features
While this cloud accounting software is not quite as easy to use as the other options on this list, the trade-off is more advanced features. Set up is a bit involved, and the organization is occasionally difficult to navigate. Compared to other big-name programs, though, such as Xero, Sage, and AccountEdge Pro, QuickBooks Online is a piece of cake.
QuickBooks offers double-entry bookkeeping and strong accounting features, such as bank reconciliation, accounts payable, accounts receivable, reports, and a chart of accounts. You’ll also find invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, project management, and more. In terms of invoicing, QuickBooks Online offers the second-best templates and automations (with Zoho Books being the first).
Other features include:
- Class tracking
- Client portal
- Tax support
- Contact management
- Budgeting
- Inventory management
- Purchase orders
- Sales tax
With over 600 integrations, QuickBooks has more integrations than any other accounting program on this list. The available integrations include 25 payment processing options and great mobile apps.
As we mentioned earlier, QuickBooks has had a reputation for poor customer service in the past. Recently, QuickBooks Online has made great strides to improve its customer support. While the company still has a ways to go, phone response times have greatly improved, and a redesigned help center makes it easy to find assistance.
The downside? While QuickBooks is well-organized and relatively easy to learn, the software can be overwhelming at first and occasionally unintuitive, making it a less easy-to-use option than the other software choices on this list.
When To Use QuickBooks Online
While QuickBooks Online may not be quite as easy to use as the other options on this list, it might be a good fit for businesses looking to get the most bang for their buck in terms of features.
Read our comprehensive QuickBooks Online review to learn about all that this software has to offer, or sign up for a free trial to see for yourself.
Get Started with QuickBooks Online
Xero: Best overall accounting software
4.2
- Starting at $11.00/mo.
Low starting price
Unlimited users with each plan
Inventory management with each plan
Data as of 11/5/21. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
We love Xero for its robust features and low starting price. For just $11 a month, Xero lets you send custom invoices, reconcile bank transactions, capture receipts for easier record keeping, and track inventory.
But as a small-business accounting tool, Xero really stands out on the collaboration front. Unlike nearly every other accounting solution (including QuickBooks and FreshBooks), all of Xero’s accounting and inventory software plans include unlimited users. You don’t have to pay extra to delegate responsibilities like bank reconciliation or expense tracking to another team member: time-saving collaboration is built into your price.
However, Xero’s $11 a month plan limits you to entering only five bills and sending only 20 invoices a month. You can send unlimited invoices and quotes with only the Growing and Established plans, which start at $32 and $62 a month, respectively. Plus, you can only track expenses with the priciest plan—both QuickBooks and FreshBooks offer small-business expense tracking up front.See Xero’s PlansRead our Xero Review
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.
Conclusion
You should also keep in mind that the data stored in the cloud should be encrypted to protect your company’s sensitive information. All of these cloud accounting systems come with mobile apps for you and your staff to access all the accounting information from any place at any time. It enables you to stay on top of your business finances and make important decisions based on real-time data.