7 Best Accounting Software for Mac

New users can get either a 50% discount for three months or a 30-day free trial. The Plus or Advanced plan is required to track inventory or projects.

• Simple Start: $35 per month for one user
• Essentials: $65 per month for three users
• Plus: $99 per month for five users
• Advanced: $235 per month for 25 users

You can check out our QuickBooks Online plans comparison to find out which plan is right for you.

We selected QuickBooks Online as our overall best accounting software for Mac because of its extensive feature set and vast support network. It has all of the accounting features that most businesses need—including invoicing, banking, bill management, inventory, and reporting—and they work well on Mac and Windows devices.

While the platform has no Mac-specific features, all of its features perform well on Apple devices, plus it has an iOS mobile app that lets you track mileage, create and send invoices, track sales and expenses, and more.

Additionally, as our best small business accounting software, QuickBooks Online provides easy access to bookkeeping support through QuickBooks ProAdvisors, who are trained to provide assistance with installation, setup, troubleshooting, and general support for QuickBooks users. Since it’s popular in the US, you can easily find a QuickBooks ProAdvisor if needed.

Alternatively, you can sign up for the QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping add-on if you need professional help with categorizing transactions, reconciling accounts, and generating reports. You’ll be matched with your own dedicated bookkeeper who will provide you with personalized support, guidance, and expertise. Head out to our QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping review to learn more.

QuickBooks Online also has a vast community of users who provide support and guidance. An active online forum allows users to post questions and receive answers from other users, including QuickBooks ProAdvisors.

QuickBooks Online aces almost all the categories in our evaluation, but its most notable strengths lie in its accounting features, including banking, A/P and A/R management, reporting, inventory, and integrations. It also did well in customer support because of access to a huge network of QuickBooks ProAdvisors, but we docked a few points because you can’t directly initiate a phone call to an agent unless you subscribe to Advanced.

Additionally, the mobile app lost some points because it doesn’t allow you to enter and track bills and record billable time—things you can do with Zoho Books’ mobile app. QuickBooks earned a relatively high mark for pricing; however, we deducted a few points because of its slightly higher cost compared with most other similar software. It also did well in ease of use, but it takes time to set up a company.

AccountEdge is available in three versions:

• AccountEdge Pro: $20 per month; one user only
• AccountEdge Network Edition: $30 per month for two users
• AccountEdge Hosted: $50 per month, per user; can add as many seats as needed

Add-ons:

• Bank feeds: $5 monthly
• Telephone support: $10 monthly
• Payroll: $20 monthly for unlimited employees
• Workstation licenses: $10 monthly
• Credit card processing: From 1.79% per transaction

AccountEdge is one of the few budget-friendly desktop solutions that offer advanced features typically found in more expensive software. For instance, it’s the only low-cost desktop tool we found that can help you effectively separate COGS from the cost of inventory on hand.

Additionally, it provides many other tools to manage other aspects of your business, including bank reconciliations, A/P and A/R management, project management, and reporting. These features aren’t as extensive as those in more sophisticated tools like QuickBooks Online, but they are sufficient for most small businesses, especially those with simple bookkeeping needs.

A huge downside we found in AccountEdge is that it has no mobile accounting app, either for Windows or Mac users. You may consider purchasing the Hosted edition to access your data remotely, but if you need a dedicated app to work on the go, you should consider cloud software like Zoho Books, as it has the best mobile app of those we’ve evaluated.

AccountEdge’s biggest assets are its low cost and strong inventory management features, which is why it nearly aced those two criteria in our rubric. Additionally, it excels in reporting and integrations, and it could have earned a perfect mark for banking if bank feeds were included in the base cost and the reconciliation process was more user-friendly. The problem is that you can’t pause a reconciliation and then resume later, which is possible with other software like QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books.

While AccountEdge offers some invoicing and bill management features, we found some limitations. For instance, we could’ve awarded more points in A/R management if the invoices were more customizable. If you want more professional-looking invoices, go with QuickBooks Online, our overall best invoicing software.

Furthermore, while AccountEdge is simpler than similar desktop solutions, it’s still not as streamlined as cloud software like QuickBooks Online. When navigating through AccountEdge, you have to rely on traditional flowcharts and desktop-based menus, which isn’t that intuitive. It also took a hit in customer support because you have to pay an additional fee to be able to contact someone over the phone. Meanwhile, when you sign up for any Zoho Books paid plan, you’ll be able to place a phone call to an agent directly.

Zoho Books offers six plans, each accommodating a specific number of users. All plans include basic features, like invoicing and bank reconciliation, but the higher subscription options include advanced functionality, like unlimited invoicing, enhanced inventory, and advanced analytics.

• Free: $0 for businesses that make less than $50,000 in revenue per year
• Standard: $20 per organization, per month, for up to three users
• Professional: $50 per organization, per month, for up to five user
• Premium: $70 per organization, per month, for up to 10 users
• Elite: $150 per organization, per month, for up to 10 users
• Ultimate: $275 per organization, per month, for up to 15 users

Zoho Books has a 14-day free trial, and additional seats are available for $3 monthly per user. You may also purchase the following add-ons:

• Advanced autoscans: $10 for 50 scans per month in all plans
• Snail mails: $2 per credit in all plans

We included Zoho Books in our list of the best accounting software for Mac because of its fantastic mobile app, which leads our roundup of the best mobile accounting apps. It lets you perform all the basic accounting functions you need to manage your business, like sending invoices and accepting online payments. Unlike QuickBooks, the app can do more by allowing you to enter unpaid bills, record bill payments, and log time entries.

Another key feature that sets Zoho Books apart from the competition is that it has many integrated Mac-specific features, including Quick Notes, Live Text, Lock Screen widgets, and Weather Kit. These can help improve different aspects of your business, such as workforce identity and access management, document signing, and mobile invoicing. For example, a construction company can use the Weather Kit feature to check the weather conditions at a job site before sending workers out.

Zoho Books earned perfect marks for mobile app, inventory, general features, integrations, and pricing. We also found it commendable in other areas, like A/P and A/R management, banking, and reporting. On the flip side, it took a hit for pricing because only a certain number of users can access the software. For instance, in the Zoho Books Professional plan, which is the basis for this evaluation, only five users are included, and you have to pay $3 monthly for each additional member.

Zoho Books could have done better in customer support if it had an extensive network of certified advisors. Compared with QuickBooks Online, it can be more difficult to find professional bookkeepers who are proficient in Zoho Books. However, we appreciate that Zoho Books offers direct phone support to all paid users, unlike QuickBooks Online where you have to wait for customer support to call you.

FreshBooks has four plans, and if you buy now, then you get either 60% off for four months or a 30-day free trial:

• Lite: $19 per month for one user and five billable clients
• Plus: $33 per month for one user and 50 billable clients
• Premium: $60 per month for one user and unlimited billable clients
• Select: Custom-priced

All plans come with one user, and additional seats can be added to any plan for $11 per user, per month.

FreshBooks is focused on the needs of service-based businesses and freelancers because of its strong project accounting features. It includes a built-in time tracking tool that makes it easy to monitor the time spent on projects and bill clients accurately. After tracking work hours, you can create invoices from the time entries directly on the platform and then send them out to your clients.

Other software also have standard project accounting features, but FreshBooks stands out because of its ability to compare estimated costs against actual costs. QuickBooks also has this feature, but it’s only offered in the most expensive plan, QuickBooks Online Advanced.

Additionally, FreshBooks includes the ability to easily create professional-looking documents with your customized logo, set up recurring invoices, and automatically calculate late fees. This makes it our best invoicing software for freelancers and solopreneurs.

FreshBooks’ highest scores come from project accounting, A/R management, integrations, and ease of use. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet our expectations in other areas, like pricing, inventory, and customer support. We docked significant points for pricing because only one user is included in all plans, and you have to pay $11 monthly for each additional user. It also scored poorly in inventory mainly because of its inability to track COGS and inventory items.

While FreshBooks offers direct phone support to users, we deducted points for customer service because it has no live chat feature and online user communities. Also, seeking bookkeeping support is difficult because of the limited network of independent bookkeepers who are knowledgeable about the FreshBooks program.

• Early: $20 per month up to 20 invoices and five bills
• Growing: $47 per month for unlimited invoices and bills
• Established: $80 per month for unlimited invoices and bills plus project accounting

All plans come with unlimited seats. You can try Xero for free for 30 days.

Xero has almost the same features as QuickBooks Online, including project accounting, inventory management, and an iOS mobile app. However, unlike QuickBooks, it comes with an unlimited number of users in all its plans, making it ideal for SMBs with more than the five users allowed by QuickBooks Online Plus. This means you can easily collaborate with team members, accountants, or stakeholders without any additional costs.

While the platform doesn’t have Mac-specific accounting tools, all its features and apps run smoothly on Apple devices. Mac users can access invoicing, bill payment, project management, expense tracking, and financial reporting.

Xero is exceptional in almost all accounting features, including inventory, project accounting, A/P and A/R management, and reporting. However, it needs some improvement in other aspects, such as pricing, ease of use, customer support, and mobile app. It lost points for pricing because some of the essential features, such as expense claim management and project tracking tools, are available only in the most expensive plan.

Meanwhile, we wish that Xero enhances its customer service by offering live support features, like phone support or live chat. Currently, the only ways to contact Xero are through a chatbot and email. Moreover, Xero’s mobile app is a bit limited, as you can’t use it to capture expense receipts, accept payments, record time worked, and view reports.

Wave offers a free version (Starter) for accounting and invoicing and a paid plan (Pro) for unlimited users at $16 monthly or $170 annually. With Pro, you’ll get access to additional features, such as bank connections, receipt capture, and live chat and email support.

If needed, you can also purchase add-ons, including:

• Bookkeeping support (Wave Advisor): $149 per month (available in Starter and Pro)
• Assisted payroll (Wave Payroll): $40 per month for tax service states and $20 per month for self-service states plus $6 monthly per employee (available in Starter and Pro)
• Unlimited receipt scanning: $11 per month or $96 per year (Starter only; included in Pro)

If you want a free option for accounting and invoicing, then you might want to give Wave Starter a try. It lets you create and send an unlimited number of invoices to clients and offers an extensive list of accounting features, making it our top-recommended free accounting software.

It offers a range of features that are typically only available with paid accounting software, including invoicing, expense tracking, bill payment, and financial reporting. In addition, it has several premium features at an affordable cost, including payroll and payment processing.

Another benefit of Wave is that it has a simple user interface that is optimized for both PC and Mac users. The Mac interface is clean and organized, with all of the important features and functions easily accessible—making it a great option for users with no accounting background.

Wave stood out in pricing and ease of use which is expected from the free plan. However, as a trade-off, it didn’t quite measure up in terms of features. For instance, while it did a good job at A/R and tax management, it lacks inventory management and project accounting. It also scored poorly in customer service because it doesn’t offer live chat unless you purchase an add-on or upgrade to Pro. Additionally, there’s a mobile app available, but you can only use it for sending invoices and processing online payments.

GnuCash is completely free; however, you can make donations to its creators through its dedicated donation page. You can download the program for free on Mac OS X, Linux, and Microsoft Windows devices.

GnuCash is a free open-source desktop program that we recommend for Mac users who have basic coding skills or those who are working with developers. As an open-source software, you can access and modify the codes based on your specific requirements and integrate the program with other systems if needed. If you’re not planning on customizing the software, we highly recommend using Wave instead, as we find it much simpler.

One key feature of GnuCash is that it can be used for both personal and business use. For instance, it allows you to set up separate files for your personal and each of your business entities. This allows you to better track your income and expenses associated with each entity and helps you better allocate your resources.

The program has a good set of accounting features, including A/P and A/R management, banking and cash management, and reporting. However, it’s not as extensive as other leading Mac accounting software like Zoho Books and QuickBooks Online. For instance, it has no iOS mobile app and doesn’t allow you to track inventory and COGS. If you have basic accounting needs and prefer locally installed software that you can use for free, then GnuCash should be enough.

GnuCash aced pricing and received a fairly high score for banking. On the downside, as a free software, we found many missing features, including project accounting and inventory. It has A/P and A/R management tools, but they are somewhat limited. For instance, we don’t recommend GnuCash for invoicing because of its limited invoice customization options.

Additionally, the program received low marks for ease of use and customer support. It has a steep learning curve as it requires coding skills to customize, and there’s no way to contact support in case you need help. You can only rely on self-help guides like blogs and setup guides.