Plus, Zoho Books is just one piece of software in the larger suite of Zoho products. There are some easy-to-use accounting software that don’t require prior bookkeeping experience. However, to get the most out of accounting software, we recommend that you work closely with your accountant.
The 9 Best Small-Business Accounting Software of 2023
From forecasting to invoicing, business accounting works with more extensive decision-making and granular levels of operations through financial tracking, analysis, recordkeeping, budgeting, and more. Beyond automation, OneUp showcases flexibility in its approach to client management. It offers two distinct operational modes—“Do-It-For-Me” and “I-Do-It-Myself”—allowing businesses to choose the level of control they wish to exert. This adaptability ensures businesses can navigate growth phases while maintaining financial oversight.
Accountant vs. CPA vs. Tax Pro
Slow-paying customers can impact your ability to pay your own bills, and the earlier you can identify problems in collecting payments, the sooner you can resolve them. Consider sending a reminder the day before an invoice is due or the moment it becomes past due. When you start a business, business accounting open a separate bank account that will keep your business finances separate from your personal ones. The first step of the accounting process involves the preparation of source documents. A source document or business document serves as the foundation for recording a transaction.
How to choose accounting software
- Small businesses make projections to prepare for the future, and business accounting provides companies with the financial insight and records to make strategic and smart projections and budgets.
- A certified public accountant (CPA) is a type of professional accountant with more training and experience than a typical accountant.
- Head over to our piece on the best payroll software for small businesses.
- From there, you can track job progress based on its income, expenses and profit margin, then easily turn timesheets into invoices.
- With a clear interface and features such as easy invoicing, expense tracking and timekeeping, users can navigate their financial tasks without a steep learning curve.
- Others only analyze data gathered during bookkeeping a few times a year to assist in financial budgeting and projections.
Sure, QuickBooks could be the best software for your small business, or you might find its prices too high and its features too limited. Depending on what you need, another bookkeeping software pick like FreshBooks or Sage could be better for your business. Check out our list of the year’s best QuickBooks alternatives to get started. Want to learn a little more about bookkeeping and accounting before you dive into our top reviews? You can set up Kashoo in 60 or so seconds, and the app immediately starts to categorize your expenses and learn your business spending habits.
What is the easiest accounting software to use?
Additionally, it doesn’t necessarily excel at some functions that typical accounting software emphasizes, like invoicing and income management. But if your primary goal is to streamline nonprofit accounting, Aplos is our pick. While the interface is well-designed and the software is packed with great accounting features, newcomers might face a learning curve. Also, QuickBooks Online can be a little pricey; it operates on a monthly subscription model with plans like EasyStart, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. However, for those willing to invest a bit more in their accounting solution, QuickBooks remains unmatched due to its extensive features – and to be clear, it’s still not overly expensive.
- Many also offer free tutorials and support, so you can get help when you need it.
- The Ascent is a Motley Fool service that rates and reviews essential products for your everyday money matters.
- You can filter reports by date, customer, vendor, item and other fields.
- The “My Cabinet” menu option was accompanied by a folder image with a plus sign on the image.
- You’ll still need to issue invoices to your customers, collect payments, and pay your bills.
- 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.
If you prefer a completely hands-off approach to bookkeeping and accounting, Bench might be right for you. Connect your business bank accounts to have transactions automatically imported, categorized, and reviewed by your personal bookkeeper. For instance, suppose you want to apply for a Small Business Association (SBA) loan through one of the big banks. You’ll need to provide, on average, three years of financial statements, plus a one-year cash flow projection. It’s virtually impossible to deliver any of these if you don’t have an accounting system in place.
And even if you, like me, love your spreadsheets and feel like you’ve got a good system in place? We analyzed each software brand’s value based on the number of features offered for free, customer service, business reputation, scalability, paid options, and user-friendliness, among other factors. Want affordable payroll to match your free cloud-based accounting solution? Check out our piece on the best free payroll software for small-business owners.
Add-Ons and Extras
Payroll involves the payouts to a business’s employees, including benefits, salaries, taxes, garnishments, and other deductions. Companies will use payroll processing software to streamline the process or outsource the task entirely. Stagger bill payments and have a system or methodology behind when and how you pay certain bills. Allow electronic payment systems, which is more convenient and faster in many cases. Finally, structure payroll in billing cycles that flow well with the company’s income stream.
Xero gives companies with inventory a solid option for unlimited users and a much lower price. Unfortunately, FreshBooks isn’t a great fit for product-based businesses as it has no inventory and COGS tracking features. If you have inventory to manage, we recommend QuickBooks Online for five or fewer users and Xero if you need more than five users. In our accounting rubric, QuickBooks Online consistently stands out across various criteria, such as banking, A/P, A/R, and inventory. It earned near-perfect marks for its support network because of the availability of QuickBooks ProAdvisors. However, we docked a few points for project management because you can’t track estimated and actual project costs in the Plus plan.
