Small businesses are usually run by a small team of people who focus more on their core work. Technical people usually manage key processes like accounting and HR, since small businesses do not want to spend money on setting up full-fledged teams.
Accounting is a critical process in an organization. Small businesses may not be able to afford the best professionals to manage this process.
Instead, they would prefer to use accounting software to get the work done. Accounting software has evolved and the software available today is easy to use.
The software used for accounting gets the job done quickly and saves a lot of time. It is advantageous for small businesses that can now spend more time on their core activities. Business owners can now get reports instantly through accounting software to help them make business decisions.
There is no doubt that accounting software is a boon for small businesses. With so many software products available in the market, choosing one is not so easy.
The accounting software you get should help you carry out all your basic accounting operations like billing, receipt scanning, preparing balance sheets, etc.
Most software would also offer additional features like inventory tracking, cash flow management, and many other options. The more options available the lesser your work would be.
Most software is offered through multiple payment plans so you can choose the plan that suits your budget.
List of Top 10 Accounting Software for Small Business
This is why we have a list of the 10 best accounting software for small businesses, curated especially for you. The list is not a ranking but presents ten good software.
1. Xero
Investing in Xero inventory management software comes to you at a very attractive price, and is also offered for $9 a month, making it ideal for small business loans. The software allows you to prepare custom invoices, track inventory, reconcile bank transactions, and do much to make your accounting work easy.
You must note that this pricing limits you to only five invoices a month. If you require to send more invoices you can choose the $30 or $60 per month plan. These are also fairly competitive prices considering the features offered.
With the top package, you also get project management and expense-tracking tools. It integrates seamlessly with third-party apps. The only downside is that the low-cost plan offers very basic functionalities.
2. Zoho Books
Zoho Books offers you software that is very simple to use. This is a user-friendly and can be mastered very quickly. It offers you end-to-end accounting services. It is a part of the Zoho suite of products that offers many other functionalities.
You can integrate accounting software with other products easily. You can manage your cash flow and finances easily when you use this software.
Pricing starts at a very competitive $9 per month for basic functionalities. You can easily accept payments online and create your balance sheet in an instant. Automated workflow options make this great software. The only limitation is that payroll is available only for California and Texas and not for other states.
3. FreshBooks
FreshBooks is an all-in-one invoicing and accounting product for small businesses. It gives you the option to easily send recurring invoices and handle your finances effectively.
The lowest billing plan starts at $15 per month and it gives you access to unlimited invoicing, which is a plus for the software. You can manage your budget easily using the expense tracking option.
FreshBooks has a limit on the number of customers on the bill. This is a minor issue as you can send unlimited bills but only to five clients. The premium plan allows you to bill 500 clients, while the medium plan lets you bill 50 clients.
The software offers several customization options that make it very handy to use.
4. QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks is one of the popular accounting software. Their new cloud accounting software provides the best accounting solution for small businesses.
There is no software to install. Access your software from anywhere at any time. It has all the usual features like invoicing and receipt scanning. It also allows you to track sales tax and categorize auto tax deductions.
QuickBooks Online has an app available that lets you manage your accounting through your mobile phone. This is very handy for entrepreneurs who can access their financial data anywhere in an instant.
It is slightly expensive with the basic plan starting at $25 per month. You get a 30-day free trial to evaluate the product before you decide.
You can also try using QuickBooks POS Hosting for your small business. Learn more about it from Cloud Desktop providers.
5. Wave
A wave is a unique software for accounting available for free! Yes, you got it right, you need not pay anything to use Wave. It is an impressive software with all the basic functionalities with an excellent dashboard to manage the entire accounting operations.
It allows you to raise unlimited invoices, track expenses, and even use a double accounting system.
This is a free tool ideal for new businesses and very small businesses. There are no advanced plans to scale up to. The payroll is not suitable if you have too many employees. Inventory tracking is not available.
For free software, this is extremely useful. Freelancers and small teams would find this software very attractive to use thanks to its zero pricing.
6. Pabbly
This is software ideal for businesses that operate on a subscription model. It helps you carry out all basic accounting operations and automates your workflow.
You can easily get metrics of key factors like revenue, active customers, etc. Customer communication can also be automated using Pabbly, which makes it a very useful software.
It also offers a billing platform that is PCI-compliant. It easily integrates with all popular payment gateways. The pricing of this software starts at $9 per month.
At this pricing, some advanced functionalities may not be available. It is more suited for the subscription business and other types of businesses may not find it much useful.
7. Tipalti
Tipalti is cloud-based accounting software that allows you access from anywhere and at any time. Apart from all the basic accounting operations, Tipalti gives you the advantage of managing administrative overload, and late payments, and can easily manage human errors that crop up in the accounting work. It has a payment processing option available for clients.
It also has a tax compliance module to help you manage your taxes easily. Many advanced report features are offered to help make your work easy. The price of this software is not revealed and you need to contact the company to get a quote.
8. MYOB Essentials
This software is best suited for small businesses that want to automate their accounting and payroll operations. You can create and manage invoices easily using this software.
Tax calculation and finance management options are also available to simplify your work. You can also use the expense tracking module to handle your budgeting.
It has a single-touch payroll module making it easy and convenient to carry out payroll operations. Its pricing plan is a bit complicated. Accounting is available for $10 per month, and payroll is for $10 per month at basic levels.
Accounting and payroll modules together cost $60 and offer a wide range of functionalities. At present, it is available only in Australia and New Zealand.
9. GoDaddy Bookkeeping
GoDaddy is a well-known name in the world of domains and websites. They now have bookkeeping software to help you manage your accounting operations easily and effectively.
It is one of the most competitively priced accounting software with its pricing starting at $4.99 per month. It offers a mobile app to access your data and reports.
The software is known for using the best security features so you rest assured about the safety of your data. You can easily get data from Amazon, eBay, and other portals and use this data for your accounting operations.
It is software with limited uses. It does not have project management and advanced reporting functionalities.
10. NetSuite ERP
This is a complete package in which accounting and financial management are the modules. The entire suite helps you manage your finances, take care of order management, handle production, manage your supply chain, and track your product until order fulfillment.
It is a complete ERP product for small businesses that are planning to expand their operations.
If your operations involve production and warehousing, then this suite would be helpful. It is not a product for small businesses with low-scale operations and is meant for small businesses that have fairly large operations.
The price of this ERP suite is not revealed. You need to contact the company to get a detailed price quote with modules, features, and pricing options available.
The list above will help you in shortlisting the right software to manage accounts in your organization. Compare the features and prices before choosing the best accounting software for your small business operation.
