﻿Accounting software lets you tackle every aspect of keeping financial records. You can
quickly and easily keep track of all costs, monitor profit and loss as well as build up
a bigger picture of your finances. Having the right package is essential if
you're trying to run your own business, and by arming yourself with one of the
best accounting bundles you'll be in a much better position to take on your finances.
While there are standalone options for invoicing software and tax software,
you'll generally find that dedicated accounting platforms will be more comprehensive.
To help with the decision process when it comes to picking out the right solution for your business,
we’ve reviewed the best invoicing software available on the market.
We evaluated capabilities, price tags, and industry suitability. For example,
a freelancer wouldn't need the same features as a service-based business.
So, let’s get started. 1. QuickBooks - Best Accounting Software Overall
QuickBooks has been one of the most common accounting softwares used by small businesses
and their bookkeeping and tax professionals. With over 4.5 million businesses around the world
relying on its services, accounting software powerhouse QuickBooks must
be doing something right. And, it's not hard to see why
they're so popular – their plans are loaded with great features and they have some of the most
transparent, affordable pricing around. All accounting features can be accessed
on one main dashboard, making bookkeeping more efficient.
There are also many customization options with the mobile app that can be used to receive payments,
review reports, capture an image of a receipt, and track business mileage.
QuickBooks offers small business owners a feature-rich accounting platform with tools
like inventory management, time tracking, additional users, and cash flow.
And for businesses looking for a payroll solution, QuickBooks Payroll
fully integrates with QuickBooks Online. With QuickBooks, you can create professional
invoices, accept payments, track expenses and keep a steady eye on your cash flow - and
that’s just with the Basic plan. The higher-priced plans let you send
batch invoices, engage in deep analytics and even access a dedicated accounting team.
Most service-based small businesses will find that the Simple Start plan meets all of their
needs. For product-based small businesses, Essentials or Plus will have more options
for inventory and customizations. QuickBooks also integrates with several
popular business tools, including Bill.com, Salesforce, and HubSpot.
Plus, QuickBooks offers our audience 30% off for 6 months with a 30-day free trial.
2. Freshbooks - Best For Service-Based Businesses & Solopreneurs
The most crucial accounting need for most service-based businesses is invoicing. FreshBooks
offers more customizations for invoicing compared to other accounting software.
Its primary function is to send, receive, print, and pay invoices,
but it can also take care of a business’ basic bookkeeping needs as well.
This accounting software makes it easier for service-based businesses to send proposals,
track time on projects, and receive payments. Key features of FreshBooks include invoicing,
expense tracking, time tracking, reporting, and payment management.
The platform lets you set up automated invoicing, online payment options like
ACH and Credit Card, and late payment reminders to get paid 2x faster.
With Freshbooks, you can brand your invoices, accept online payments,
and set auto payment reminders. You can also boost team productivity with
precise time tracking and collaborative project tools, so every minute, file,
and conversation is tracked and logged. The system's time tracking module can extract
unbilled project hours into invoices, record billable time and provide an
analysis of time spent on projects. Time Tracking in FreshBooks makes it easy
for teams to log time and automatically add it to invoices, so all time is accounted for.
Tracking every dollar keeps you ready for tax time. With the FreshBooks Expense Tracking module,
you can snap receipt photos, email receipts to your account,
and import expenses from your bank account. Then organize and assign them to clients.
You can view financial statuses through profit and loss statements, tax summaries,
and expense reports. FreshBooks categorizes credit card transaction fees and provides a
summary of all deposits on its dashboard. FreshBooks can also be integrated with Paypal,
MailChimp, Zenpayroll, and Basecamp. If this sounds appealing, FreshBooks also
offers our audience a 30-day free trial where no credit card is required.
3. Sage Accounting - Best SMB Accounting Solution For Multiple Users
Sage delivers a slick but simple-to-use accountancy package that will appeal to
small businesses. The British company has been for 40 years, and as a result,
has evolved its software to suit the needs of a very diverse portfolio of customers.
The great thing about this package is its flexibility and can be configured
so that multiple users can make use of its many varied accounting tools.
The top Sage Accounting plan offers decent value and there is also a 30-day free trial.
For this, you get modules to manage quotes, and invoices, handle and submit VAT online,
smart bank feeds and reconciliation, cash flow forecasting, multiple currency support,
and project tracking. All of this is available from your desktop or via a mobile app.
All this is well presented and generally easy to use. If you run into trouble,
detailed web help and video tutorials are only a click or two away, with the offer of “free
unlimited 24/7 telephone and email support” that should help make any newbie comfortable.
Sage also has a more basic offering called Accounting Start. This doesn't include
support for quotes, estimates, or vendor bills, and has no cash flow forecasts,
but it could be enough for start-ups as well as small businesses.
4. Zoho Books - Best Accounting Software with an Automated Edge
Zoho Books is just one small part of a much greater business concern
based in India that offers all manner of solutions for anyone and everyone.
Zoho Books makes a great choice if you’re a small or medium-sized business owner who
needs plenty of features and functions. It’s made even more appealing thanks to
a high level of automated functionality. With its clean and simple cloud-based interface
Zoho Books makes a great cost-effective option if you’re a freelancer, sole trader,
or someone running a small business. While the desktop route is a solid one Zoho
Books also has an impressive app presence, making it a good mobile bet too. The basic plan offers a
limited number of contacts (as in the maximum amount of customers or vendors you can create
transactions for), 2 users (as in yourself and your accountant), and 5 automated workflows.
The most popular package is Standard, which comes with up to 500 contacts,
3 users and 10 automated workflows. Professional, meanwhile, is a full bells-and-whistles experience
that offers 500 contacts, 10 users, and 10 automated workflows.
Incidentally, sign up for a yearly package and you get 2 months off.
Zoho does offer additional add-ons, more about which you can glean from its website.
There’s also a free 14-day trial available. 5. Bonsai - Best Freelance Accounting Software
Bonsai is a cloud-based solution that helps small to large businesses create client
proposals, manage ongoing projects, track development time, generate payment invoices,
and estimate taxes. Bonsai freelance accounting
software lets you keep a pulse on your business finances with income reports,
expense tracking, tax reminders, and more. You can simply connect your bank account and
your expenses will automatically be categorized for tax season and maximizing write-offs.
The platform lets you track your profit for different times of the year with
your income and expense totals. With Bonsai, you’ll also get quarterly
and annual tax reminders along with tax estimates and due dates.
The platform offers other features such as multi-currency and project billing,
reporting, questionnaires, expense tracking, and pre-made templates.
It’s also worth mentioning that Bonsai is trusted by 500K+ self-employed workers
and small businesses 6. Melio - Best For Processing Accounts Payable
Melio is an accounts payable solution that helps small businesses manage online payments via bank
transfers and debit or credit cards. The platform lets you simplify bookkeeping
and taxes and improve your payment workflow by syncing your accounts receivable with QuickBooks,
FreshBooks, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and more. Melio enables employees to manually add vendor
or billing details and upload documents or invoice images on a unified platform.
It allows administrators to invite accountants or team members from different business units, define
role-based permissions, and control approval workflows to streamline payment processes.
Additionally, the centralized dashboard lets accountants view multiple client
accounts and track the status of their payments in real time.
Melio's key features include payment scheduling, automated data synchronization, reporting,
invoicing, payment reminders, and more. The application is available to users for
free and a processing fee is charged for credit card transactions.
7. Personal Capital - Best For Home Use
Having a holistic view of your finances in one centralized location is a great first
step to mastering your household budget. With Personal Capital, you’ll get an accurate
view of your net worth—what you have minus what you owe. Understanding this number
can help you make smarter decisions about how to manage your money.
The platform lets you organize your spending and savings automatically by date, category,
or merchant. You can set a monthly spending target and easily see if you
are tracking over or under your plan. You can plug in all of your investment and
bank accounts; checking, saving, credit cards, 401k, loans, and investments.
This gives you a real sense of how your bottom line has moved by the end of the month.
Bonus: Xendoo - Best Online Accounting & Bookkeeping Services
Xendoo is a technology-based bookkeeping and accounting service
focused on small business owners. With Xendoo not only do you have access
to awesome online bookkeeping tools, but each client also has access to a dedicated
bookkeeper, CPA, and accountant. Whether you use Xero or QuickBooks Online,
Xendoo software easily integrates with yours, making setup a cinch. Your onboarding specialist
will get you set up and help you connect your accounts for view-only access.
Xendoo online bookkeeping services provide you with a profit and loss statement, plus a balance
sheet at the close of each month and a dashboard that shows your business trends over time.
With a dedicated US-based bookkeeping team on your side, you can keep your eyes on the latest
industry trends and grow your business. So if you want to let Xendoo handle the hassles
while you put more money in your pocket, reduce your stress, and get back to running
and growing your business, check out the link in the description to get started.
So these are the best accounting software available in the market.
We hope this list will help you choose the right software for your business.
If you are undecided about which tool to choose, in the video descriptions you’ll
find free trials and the latest discounts to all of these platforms, so I highly recommend
checking them out and doing your own research to see which platform suits your needs best.
Thanks for watching, and see you in the next video.