Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses for October 2024

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 projects, sending estimates or proposals, and collecting customer payments. The Early plan limits usage and only allows entry for 20 invoices or quotes and five bills per month. This limited plan may be consolidated statements of comprehensive income suitable for a micro-business with high-ticket transactions but only a few per month, such as a consulting or small service provider.

The most popular package is Standard, which comes with up to 500 contacts, 3 users and 10 automated workflows. Professional, meanwhile, is a full bells-and-whistles experience that offers 500 contacts, 10 users and 10 automated workflows. Xero offers plenty of functionality for any small business, including a handy « convert your QuickBooks files » service to help you get started, and it’s certainly easy to use. But if you don’t quite need all that power, there’s better value to be had elsewhere.

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And if you’re looking for a free solution to a business’s invoicing and accounting needs, Wave is a good option. HoldedHolded is another software platform aimed more at small and medium businesses, offering an ERP that brings together sales, accounting, inventory, project and time management into a single dashboard. However, despite these diverse elements, the accounting feature is fully developed, and includes automated billing, along with instant reports on profit/loss, and the balance sheet. Sage Accounting makes a good first impression with its clear and gimmick-free pricing. The top Sage Accounting plan offers decent value and there is also a 30-day free trial with no credit card requirement.

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There’s no one-size-fits-all small business accounting software; each program has its benefits and drawbacks, especially in terms of features. That said, if there’s a specific accounting aspect or task you want to automate or achieve within your company, select a platform that is excellent in that area. The software must have features that allow users to set sales tax rates, apply them to invoices, and enable users to pay sales tax liability. With the discontinuance of QuickBooks Pro and Premier for new users after July 31, 2024, Sage is the only remaining major accounting software provider with desktop software targeting small businesses. Despite the limitations of the free option, it is still by far the best free accounting software we’ve found. We suggest starting with the Free plan—if you only need one user—and then deciding later if you want to upgrade for the additional banking features.

1. Xero gives companies with inventory a solid option for unlimited users at a much lower price.
2. Still, I could at least right-click on its listing in “unfiled” documents and move it to a folder of my choosing, allowing me to save it as an expense I could refer to later come tax time.
3. QuickBooks Online is our best small business accounting software because it is widely used by business owners and accountants, making it extremely easy to find help.
4. The software is also a good fit for service-based businesses, such as consultants, web designers and photographers.
5. ZipBooks offers accounting software that has a contemporary interface along with a robust feature set.

Simplest software: Xero

I could also access filters on reports by pushing the down arrow at the top right-hand corner of each report. Filters allowed me to sort reports by time period, including a custom date range. AccountEdge offers tools for customizing hundreds of reports using advanced reporting filters, fields and lists. You can filter reports by date, customer, vendor, item and other fields. You can also customize the visual layout of your reports using graphs, charts and maps.

Best for Maximizing Tax Deductions

From there, you can easily retrieve documents to attach to invoices as necessary. However, once I became more familiar with the software’s layout, completing tasks required no learning curve, even when setting up advanced actions such as automations. For example, to add a new project, I clicked “time tracking” on the left-hand menu, then expanded accounting equation the “projects” submenu item. From there, I could click “+New Project” at the top of the resulting screen and fill out a simple form to add my new project. Users give Zoho Books a 4.4 out of five-star rating on Capterra and 618 reviews. Users say the features are intuitive to use, though the system as a whole comes with a slight learning curve.

It also a snap to capture bills and receipts with Hubdoc, and we like the included 24/7 support available online. With its straightforward accounting software, QuickBooks is an easy favorite amongst freelancers, and not just because many of them bundle it when filing their own taxes with TurboTax. Accounting software helps small business owners track their financial accounts, income and expenses, prepare for tax season and keep tabs on financials easily. hmrc invoice requirements For many small businesses, software is the more affordable alternative to hiring an accountant, a bookkeeper or a large firm to manage their accounting, tax preparation and payroll processes.

While there’s cloud-based convenience there are also variations on the theme, depending on what kind of business accounting needs you have. Small and medium-sized businesses will find it comes bristling with lots of features and there’s also 50% off for 3 months. The answer to this can greatly depend on the accounting software—some offer great functionality but are difficult to learn for those who aren’t already experienced with accounting.

Starting at $35 a month, which goes down to $17.50 per month for the first three months during the current promotion, QuickBooks offers four subscription plans ensuring users only pay for the features they need. The best small business accounting software is easy to use and has essential bookkeeping features, including A/P and A/R management, income and expense tracking, and financial reporting. Some businesses may do well with free software like Wave, while others may need premium options like QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books for advanced tasks, such as project accounting and inventory management. It is designed for small business owners without an accounting background. With just a couple of clicks and by filling out simple forms, you can create and send invoices, track expenses, manage projects and clients and view reports.