Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses for October 2024

However, it’s only available in English, so if you’re not a native English speaker, this might not be the right software for you. Bonsai or Hello Bonsai is a desktop accounting software designed for freelancers. It has free and paid versions, with the latter having more features, such how to use depreciation and amortization for your financial reports as invoicing and bookkeeping.

Kashoo is a great choice for small business owners who want straightforward accounting software that is easy to set up. Xero is a great option for large teams and SMBs looking for accounting software that multiple team members can use. Freelancers and entrepreneurs who want an affordable plan might want to look elsewhere simply because of its basic plan’s tax concerns when your nonprofit corporation earns money limitation on the number of invoices.

Zoho Books is the way to go if you’re looking for a comprehensive solution to help you streamline your accounting processes. Is it a one-time fee, or will you need to pay for ongoing updates and support? Accounting software is typically very secure, with features such as password protection and data encryption to protect your information from hackers. Your proposal can be simple or include different packages and price points for your client. Once you’ve submitted your proposal, Bonsai will notify you as soon as your client has viewed it and facilitate clear, concise communication between navigating freelance taxes in 2020 the two of you.

1. The fee varies, depending on whether the client or the accountant is billed.
2. We like FreshBooks for service-based businesses because it excels at producing proposals, tracking time on projects, and receiving payments—all key processes for service-based businesses.
3. Xero is a full-featured accounting software with advanced features such as project tracking, file storage, customizable invoices, a full-featured mobile app and much more.
4. We wanted to get their opinion about how simple the software was to use and that, according to recent users, the companies provided satisfactory customer service.
5. It was highly customizable, allowing me to answer details about the invoice that would aid in filing it in my storage system and making it searchable.
6. We maintain editorial independence and consider content quality and factual accuracy to be non-negotiable.

Small business accounting software can generate them, but you may need an accounting professional to analyze them and tell you in concrete terms what they mean for your company. Most are the type that any small business owner could customize, generate, and understand. Next, you have to ask yourself whether you want access to the transactions you have stored in online financial accounts (checking, credit cards, and so on). Enter your login credentials for that account, and the software imports recent transactions, usually 90 days’ worth, and adds them to an online register.

This is a big help for businesses that want to ensure they’re on the right track. Forecasts are based on past data and trends, so you can trust that they’re worth listening to. Another notable feature is its accounting automation, which lets you automate repetitive tasks such as billing and invoicing. This allows businesses to increase operational efficiency and save time on mundane tasks, so they can focus on strategic tasks instead. It even has a video tutorial on how to set up your merchant account. Now, despite having your whole team onboard, you don’t necessarily have to share all the sensitive information with them.

How to Choose the Best Desktop Accounting Software for Your Business

ZipBooks’ iOS app has disappeared from the App Store, and it’s never had a Google Play app worth mentioning. FreshBooks has a 4.5 rating on Capterra with 4,379 reviews and a 4.5-star rating on G2 with 688 reviews. Users say it is extremely easy to use and has all the basic features needed to manage small business accounting needs. However, they say the platform could use more automations and more in-depth reporting.

It’s Tax-Compliant

Patriot is the best accounting software for businesses that want to keep all their financial data in one place. Starting from basic day-to-today transactions to taxes, you can manage everything with Patriot. Here we take a deep dive into the best desktop accounting software to help you decide which is right for your business. Read on for our detailed reviews and comparison of the market’s leading options and discover how tools like Zoho Books, Oracle NetSuite, and QuickBooks can help your business. All of our top picks require minimal accounting experience, provide affordable, customizable accounting features that integrate with other software and apps, and offer cloud-based backup options. We chose AccountEdge Pro as our best accounting software for experienced accountants because of its robust features, reporting capability, and customization options.

Xero — Outstanding Desktop Accounting Software for e-Commerce Businesses

The industry has responded by making software more available on a cloud basis. While a super-niche industry may not have a software option exclusively developed for them, they can generally turn to specialized vendors. These companies pride themselves on implementing specific software solutions in specific environments. They generally offer customizations or add-ons for a generic product that will make it more in line with what the business expects on a day-to-day basis. After testing Wave, we found invoice customization pretty minimal, with only three templates available. You can maintain up to 15 business profiles individually in one account rather than purchasing a subscription for each company file.

What Is the Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses?

It offers businesses a way to manage their finances, inventory, customers, and operations in one place. FreshBooks is one of the most popular accounting software options for small businesses and freelancers. You can send unlimited invoices and customize them to your brand with your logo, color scheme, and font. Consider what you need the accounting software to accomplish for you and your business, and seek out software that will help you accomplish these tasks with ease. For example, do you need invoicing and billing support, or do you also need tax compliance and robust reporting? Also research customer support, customer reviews, integration capabilities and growth potential.

Users also say that they experience significant bugs with updates that sometimes leave necessary features unusable until the bug is resolved. I simply had to input my email, name and phone number into a simple sign-up form. Once I finalized the invoice, I could click the “send to” button at the top of the invoice and input an email address, a subject and a message to send the invoice. Or, I could click “share via link” to generate an invoice link sendable via text, social media or some other communication channel. Signing up for the free trial required I simply provide my name and email, then retrieve a code from my email address to verify my identity. From there, I was asked a few questions about my business, such as the types of services I offer and how big my team is.