
Many small business owners like to save money by doing things themselves, and using an accounting software meant for small businesses is one way to accomplish that. Not only will accounting software save you money, but choosing the right software will also save you time.
Software companies have been advancing and improving small business software to ensure it’s user-friendly, secure, accurate and productive. Below is a list of programs (in no particular order) that are the most affordable and easy-to-use, giving small business owners one less thing to worry about while managing their company.
FinancialForce is a great cloud-based solution that allows business owners to manage accounts payable and receivables, financial reporting and cash management. However, it’s not only an accounting tool — FinancialForce can be seamlessly aligned with your CRM (customer relationship management) to make it a full business management solution.
This software’s reporting capabilities include more than financial statements: It provides you real-time financial analysis and modeling with day-to-day operational reporting and trackable performance indicators. This software could be a good choice for business owners who need to integrate their books with a CRM tool, as well as those who already operate within SalesForce.
COST: Starting as low as $10 per month for minimal users and features. At $175 per month, you can receive all features FinancialForce offers.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks has a reputation for being the easiest accounting solution for financial management with its excellent invoice to payment functionalities. In FreshBooks, users can manage recurring invoices, collect payments online (via credit cards, PayPal and Google Checkout), and integrate these seamlessly with other business applications (such as Stripe, G Suite, Basecamp and Trello).
FreshBooks functions as a comprehensive suite, so additional software is not needed. This is great for business owners, as it gives them complete control over their financial operations from one single dashboard. Users can also access the software on Android and iOS systems. FreshBooks’ weakness? Their reporting and metrics features could be stronger.
COST: Subscriptions start at $15 per month for up to 5 customers. Have more customers than that? For up to 500 customers, you can pay $50 per month.
An accounting software for any industry, Kashoo has an intuitive dashboard that gives you an overview of invoices, expenses, payments, reports, bank feeds and more. This software allows you to create, customize and send invoices to your vendors, suppliers, etc. You can also sync bank accounts so other employees and business partners can share the account as you work securely together.
Tracking your businesses expenses is easy: Simply take a photo of your receipt and enter it into your account. The software will generate all the reports you need, from accounts receivable to profit and loss. Although Kashoo does have a mobile app, it does not include all the features of its web-based program just yet.
COST: $19.95 per month, with a discount if you choose the annual plan.
OneUp handles invoicing, CRM, purchasing, inventory, logistics and more. It’s a fast account app, with an automation rate of 95 percent. This app can save you a lot of time by eliminating manual tasks with its four core features: inventory management, a CRM system, accounting and invoicing. Independent contractors or solopreneurs who need to work with inventory levels will be well-served by this software.
COST: Subscriptions start at $9 per month. For unlimited users and all features, you’re looking at a subscription for $169 per month.
QuickBooks
QuickBooks’ ease of use puts it squarely among our picks of the best accounting solutions for small businesses. This software helps small business owners keep their finances organized in one convenient place. Even if you enlist the help of an accountant, you can share your books with them directly through the program for easy collaboration.
QuickBooks also allows you to connect directly with your business bank account to import and categorize transactions. The software can easily integrate with other programs to make accounting records smoother. For example, you can take a CSV or Excel report and pull it right into (or out of) the software if you need, making all your records more accurate. However, QuickBooks does not have some of the advanced software features that can help you keep tabs on the full financial health of your business.
COST: QuickBooks has four pricing structures that start as low as $5 per month.
Xero
Xero is best known for helping small businesses manage invoicing, bank reconciliation and bookkeeping. The software’s dashboard allows small business owners a quick glance at how cash is tracking, and the inclusion of bank feeds makes reconciliation easy and fast.
This accounting solution also has built in payroll and an automatic pension payments feature. We think this software is best for small businesses that are on the larger size, or even those that are growing toward a medium-sized business.
COST: The Starter plan begins at $9 per month, while the Standard plan with additional features and users starts at $30 per month.
Wave
Wave is a 100 percent free accounting platform that allows you to track expenses, send invoices, get paid and balance your books. For a monthly subscription, you can upgrade to a premium service that enables small businesses to accept credit cards on invoices and offer automatic recurring billing for repeat customers. This tool is best used for very small businesses that are not looking for a wide range of features.
COST: Free. For more capabilities, the premium service starts at $20 per month with a credit card processing fee of 2.9 percent plus 30 cents per transaction.
Zoho is a software known mostly for ease-of-use in managing cash flow and finances, which helps small business owners make informed decisions from a single hub. The software connects to your bank account, gives you live updates on your cash flow and categorizes transactions immediately to help you monitor them. Automated bank feeds are a huge time-saver!
Zoho Books is compatible with many other transaction management software tools, which makes it more functional as a solution for small, medium and large-sized businesses.
COST: The Basic subscription starts at just $9 per month.
While many of these software solutions have similar features, some offer more capabilities and can be more of a “one-stop shop” for all your accounting needs. Use this guide to kick off your research and find the best accounting solution for your small business.
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