Overall, Xero offers a basic interface for completing key accounting tasks. However, its menu layout can be confusing, lending to a user learning curve and its customization options can be quite basic, creating a one-size-fits-all experience that may not suit the unique needs of all businesses. Xero is one of the most popular accounting software for small businesses, offering all the features you’d need. Beyond its core accounting capabilities, Xero offers an elevated experience for its record-keeping features. For example, it offers a document storage tool that allows you to drag and drop, upload or email documents to the platform, then sort and file them; however, you need to use a customizable filing system.
So while Kashoo isn’t as comprehensive as competitors like QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks, its customer service reputation is a definite point in its favor. Zoho also lets you tag reports in ways that are easy for you to sort through, read, and understand. In other words, instead of making non-bookkeepers work to understand their financial data, Zoho Books’s straightforward reporting and simple organization reduces work for non-accountant business owners. While some may include a longer list of features, they can all help you manage your business finances the right way.
Bench: Best Online Service as an Alternative to Accounting Software
QuickBooks Online is our best small business accounting software because it is widely used what is framework by business owners and accountants, making it extremely easy to find help. It has a strong feature set, including the ability to create classes and locations for tracking income and expenses. This is particularly beneficial for businesses that operate in multiple departments or physical locations. The Select plan also does not limit the number of clients that can be billed per month but adds unique features. Multiple team members must pay an additional $10 monthly to use the accounting software. The plan includes the advanced payment feature for free ($20 extra each month with other plans), which allows users to charge a credit card in real-time or set up a recurring credit card charge for a client.
If you don’t use accounting software, you’ll probably catalogue your financial transactions by hand using a spreadsheet. This method can be cheaper, but it means you’re doing every financial task on your own. Not only will you spend hours of your time painstakingly entering and categorizing data, but you’ll have a harder time catching mistakes. 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 what other types of contra accounts are recorded on the balance sheet amount of invoices, but the cheapest plan limits that client number to just five.
Do I need to be an accountant or bookkeeper to use accounting software?
With these always at the top of my screen, I could easily complete key actions. However, not all actions were as useful as they would seem at first glance. When I clicked “+ create,” then “invoice,” I was taken to a long form to fill out to create an invoice. 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. For example, I began by entering basic invoicing information, such as the vendor’s name, the invoice number, the date and the amount and due dates.
Read the reviews, download a few demos to test drive the options, and find the one that’s right for you. Better suited for service businesses, since it doesn’t offer inventory management, ZipBooks offers complete double-entry accounting capability as well as good custom invoice creation. Accounting Start is better suited to very small or brand-new businesses that need limited features; it runs $10/month.
How We Picked the Best Accounting Software for Small Business
Automation features include creating journal entries and statement reconciliation. AccountEdge has a 4.3-star rating on Capterra with 93 user reviews and a 3.7-star rating on G2 with 23 reviews. Users say that after a small learning curve, the software is easy to use and navigate. They also like that it has lots of reporting features and easy data backup capabilities.
Wave is not a good solution if growth is on the horizon for your business, but if you’re small and planning to stay that way, this free (yes, free) application may be right for you. In addition, you can enter up to three levels of pricing for each product or service offered, as well as track any product by barcode if desired. On the flip side, if connecting your software to your bank makes you uneasy, look for an application that makes it easy to record amortization schedule your transactions manually. When buying any kind of software application, there are a lot of things you should consider, starting with cost.
- Kashoo also includes the option to pay your vendors with a check run, something that is becoming increasingly rare in comparable applications.
- TrulySmall Accounting is full accounting software for small businesses for $18 per month.
- Features include downloading bank transactions, sending invoices, tracking expenses, accepting payments and running essential accounting reports.
When I clicked on that link, I was taken to a simple form to name my new widget, choose its data focus (invoices or purchase orders, for example) and filter the report by time period, vendor, item and more. Once I saved the new widget, it was automatically added to the dashboard. NetSuite’s accounting software is a good choice for businesses that need help with financial compliance and those that want to automate as many accounting tasks as possible.
Other factors considered are user reviews specific to ease of use and a subjective evaluation by our experts of both the UI and general ease of use. It provides granular tracking of inventory items and costs through location, category, and stock tracking. However, AccountEdge took a hit in ease of use because of the difficulty due to its outdated interface.
