Building a small business takes time management, along with a healthy dose of administrative skills. Accounting for the finances, however, is one the challenges that many business owners tend to shy away from, simply because working with the numbers can be so intimidating. Today, many accounting software is geared toward small business owners, making it easy for them to record and categorize transactions while creating financial statements that reflect the financial health of their business.
There are 8 factors for selecting a perfect accounting software:
- Is it cloud-based or off-line?
- What are their data security options?
- Make a list of the essential features.
- What is the user interface and complexity like?
- Is it scalable?
- Does it offer exit options?
- Are there hidden costs?
- Does it offer post-sale support?
By keeping these things in mind, you can find the right accounting software for your business. Here are the 11 most loved accounting software options for small businesses in 2023. These services offer options that can allow you to customize them for the needs of your business, giving you value while not being intimidating.
1. QuickBooks
Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses
Pricing: Tiered pricing
Description: Quickbooks offers a variety of bookkeeping and accounting options for businesses, from self-employed individuals to larger businesses. They also offer the ability add multiple users to your account, making it easier for staff to print reports, create invoices, and enter transactions.
2. Xero
Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses
Pricing: Tiered monthly pricing
Description: Cloud-based software allows you to streamline and automate core bookkeeping and accounting tasks, along with related business processes. Offers free 30-day trial before you sign up for a subscription.
3. Wave
Best for: Small businesses
Pricing: Free with optional paid features
Description: Uses double-entry accounting software that makes it easy to manage your cash flow and keep you organized for tax time. Paid features include online payment processing, payroll software, and access to personalized bookkeeping services and coaching.
4. FreshBooks
Best for: Business owners and accountants
Pricing: Monthly tiered pricing
Description: Offers easy-to-use cloud-based accounting and bookkeeping features, along with professional invoicing. Give your clients multiple payment options, as well as be able to send automatic late payment reminders.
5. ZohoBooks
Best for: Medium-sized businesses
Pricing: Monthly or annual pricing based on revenue volume
Description: Online platform geared for collaboration across departments, while providing end-to-end accounting, such as negotiating deals, raising sales orders, and invoicing. Provides an integrated platform for additional apps as your business grows.
6. Bench Accounting
Best for: Small businesses
Pricing: Monthly or annual pricing
Description: Provides a dedicated bookkeeping team, along with direct, unlimited communication with an in-house research team. With a simple platform, it is easy to view your financials, update information, and collaborate with your team. They also provide staff to make sure your financials are IRS compliant.
7. MaginEdge
Best for: Accountants Working for Restaurants
Pricing: Monthly pricing options
Description: Offers ability to eliminate data entry, streamline reporting, central client access, seamless integrations, and unlimited support. Allows accountants to automate manual processes and streamline client communication and the A/P process. Line-item details on invoices are processed quickly, while giving you the ability to sort invoices by due date, vendor, and payment status.
8. Kashoo
Best for: Entrepreneurs, growing small businesses
Pricing: Annual pricing
Description: Provides the ability to track income and expenses with customized double-entry accounting software that provides detailed reporting. Software is easy to use and provides built-in safeguards to ensure your data is accurate and up-to-date.
9. Netsuite
Best for: Growing small to mid-sized businesses, manufacturing
Pricing: Customized to your business
Description: Provides a cloud-based software with one system for your entire company. Customized software that grows with your business, while eliminating IT maintenance and upgrade costs.
10. Sage Accounting
Best for: Small and medium sized businesses, construction and real estate
Pricing: Customized to your business
Description: Provides accounting, finance, and payroll options using cloud-based software. Also offers billing and time tracking software, as well as HR options. Can include inventory and supply chain management options.
11. Tipalti
Best for: Small to medium sized businesses
Pricing: Customized to your business
Description: End-to-end automated solutions for every step of the payables cycle. Cloud-based software can be integrated with your ERP. Built to handle the evolving needs of your business by focusing on scale, spending control, and efficiency.
In Summary
Most of today’s accounting software geared toward small and medium-sized businesses provides invoicing, payables, and more. While each software option offers similar attributes, each offers customizable aspects that can be tailored to meet the needs of your business and its budget.
- Before choosing a software, start by determining the bookkeeping and accounting needs of your business.
- Additionally, many of these software options offer demos and free trials, allowing you to determine if their software is going to be the best fit. Take advantage of these options to get a clear idea of the pros and cons.
- Talk with the employees who will be using the software to find out what they need to get the job done.
- Finally, know your budget and stick to it. There are plenty of features available, so you can customize your plan to fit your budget and your business’s bookkeeping needs.
By putting these steps in place, you can find the right software to grow with your business.
