The best accounting software for small businesses should be affordable, easy to use, and allow you to easily track income and expenses. The software should also include detailed financial statements to give you insight into the health of your business. We looked at over two dozen products and narrowed it down to our top 10.
Top 10 Accounting Software Options for Small Businesses
| QuickBooks Online | |
| FreshBooks | |
| Xero | |
| Wave | |
| Zoho Books | |
| QuickBooks Premier | |
| ZipBooks | |
| JobPower | |
| Truckn Pro | |
| PC Law by Lexis Nexis |
How We Evaluated Accounting Software for Small Businesses
We looked at over two dozen accounting software products and compared them based on cost, user friendliness, and their ability to pay bills, invoice customers, pay employees, accept online payments from customers, connect bank and credit card accounts, and run key financial statements.
Listed below are eight key areas that we used to evaluate small business accounting software:
- Cost – The software should be affordable for small or large-sized businesses.
- Setup/Ease of Use – Anyone without bookkeeping knowledge should be able to use it.
- Manage Accounts Receivable – Ability to create invoices and track payments.
- Manage Accounts Payable – Ability to enter and pay bill payments.
- Connect Bank and Credit Card Accounts – You can download transactions from your bank/financial institution.
- Payroll Processing – Includes payroll or you can add payroll once you hire employees.
- Accept Online Payments – Ability to allow customers to pay their invoices online.
- Prepare Key Financial Statements – Prepare Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows
Based on the above criteria and the time we invested in learning how each product performed, we recommend QuickBooks Online as the best accounting software for small businesses. QuickBooks has a pricing plan that will fit most SMB budgets ($17 to $60 per month), and whether you are a solopreneur or a large corporation, it can meet your business needs.
How to Choose Bookkeeping Software
The key to choosing the right bookkeeping software is to make sure the software includes features you need to manage your business finances. At a minimum, bookkeeping software should track income and expenses, give multiple users access, generate detailed reports to file your taxes, and give you 24/7/365 access to your data.
The four primary features that should be included in the bookkeeping software you choose are the ability to:
- Invoice Customers – Create custom invoices you can email to customers.
- Pay Bills – Enter bills and pay them with a check or credit card.
- Integrate with Bank and Credit Card Accounts – Connect all bank and credit card accounts so transactions automatically download into your bookkeeping software.
- Review Detailed Reports – Access detailed reports such as profit and loss and balance sheet to make tax time a breeze.
In addition to the features listed above, your bookkeeping software should be scalable so that you can give other users access (like your accountant), add-on payroll services, and accept credit card payments from customers when you are ready.
Why Online Bookkeeping Software Is Recommended
When I purchased my first computer, online bookkeeping software was not an option. Nowadays, the majority of software companies only offer online bookkeeping software and desktop software has become obsolete. While you can still purchase desktop software, you cannot access your data from any device and you have to pay an additional fee to access new features. On the other hand, online bookkeeping software offers more flexibility, saves you time, and gives you access to the most recent product updates.
Some key benefits of using online bookkeeping software over desktop versions are:
- Provides the Ability to Access Data on Any Device – Since there is no software to install, you can access your data using any mobile device, computer, or laptop with an internet connection.
- Allows for Increased Automation – Having the ability to connect your bank account will eliminate time you would have spent manually entering transactions.
- Simplifies the Communication with Tax and Accounting Professionals – You can give your tax preparer or accountant access to your data so that they can pull the reports needed to file your taxes without bothering you.
- Allows for Frequent and Automatic Updates – Online bookkeeping software is constantly being updated with new features and options. You automatically have access to these improvements without having to upgrade out of pocket, like you would with desktop software.
The accounting software products that made our list include online software options that allow you to do basic bookkeeping, such as invoicing customers and paying bills. In addition, you, your accountant, and tax preparer can access your data from anywhere at anytime.
The 10 top small business accounting software options are:
QuickBooks Online: Best Overall Small Business Accounting Software
QuickBooks Online (QBO) is ideal for businesses of all shapes and sizes. If you’re looking for an accounting software that you can grow from a sole proprietor to an S-corp or C-corp, choose QBO. While the QBO plans are pricier than its competitors, between $17 and $60 per month, it gives you the most bang for your buck.
QuickBooks Online Pricing & Features
QuickBooks Online offers four pricing tiers (Self-Employed, Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus). Pricing starts at $17 per month for Self-Employed and $20 for Simple Start. While these two plans are the most affordable, they are also limited in the features included. However, all four plans include the following features:
- Ability to connect bank and credit card accounts
- Unlimited tech support via telephone or chat
- Ability to accept online payments from customers
- Access key financial statements such as Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet
QuickBooks Online Accounting Software Plan Comparison & Summary
TurboTax Bundle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Pricing | ||||
| # Users Included | ||||
| Setup/Ease of Use | ||||
| Connect Bank/Credit Card Accounts | ||||
| Accept Online Payments | ||||
| Manage Accounts Receivable | ||||
| Payroll Processing | ||||
| Manage Accounts Payable | ||||
| Prepare Key Financial Statements |
Listed below are the QuickBooks Online pricing plans and the type of business each is right for:
QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) TurboTax Bundle:
QuickBooks Self-Employed is ideal for an individual or a business that files a Schedule C and pays most of their expenses with a debit or credit card. QBSE does not have payroll processing or the ability to manage and pay bills. Unlike the other QBO plans, it includes the ability to transfer your data to TurboTax and file both your federal and state tax returns!
QuickBooks Online Simple Start:
QBO Simple Start is ideal for a small business that doesn’t need to give other users access to their data but needs the ability to pay employees. Unlike QBSE, you can add payroll processing to QBO Simple Start for an additional fee. QBO Simple Start also includes more than 20 reports, like Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows.
QuickBooks Online Essentials Plan:
QBO Essentials is ideal for a small to medium-sized business that needs to give other users access to their data and has heavy accounts payable needs. Unlike QBSE and QBO Simple Start, QBO Essentials allows you to manage the full accounts payable cycle, including entering bills, managing due dates, and printing checks to pay bills. It also includes double the amount of reports that QBO Simple Start has (40 versus 20).
QuickBooks Online Plus Plan:
QBO Plus Plan is ideal for a product-based business that needs to keep track of inventory purchases and sales. Unlike the other three QBO plans, QBO Plus includes the ability to track inventory, create budgets and forecasts, and more reports than any other QBO plan at 65+.
For a more in-depth look at QBO Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus, check out our QuickBooks Online Comparison guide.
Based on our minimum criteria, here is how QBO stacks up against its competitors:
Cost
When it comes to cost, QBO gives you the most bang for your buck when compared to its competitors. The QuickBooks Self-Employed plan starts at $17 per month, which is almost double the cost of the starter plans for Xero and Zoho Books.
However, it includes the following features that you won’t find in any of its competitors on our list:
- Ability to separate personal expenses from business expenses
- Automatically calculates quarterly estimated tax payments
- A mobile app that will keep track of miles driven for business
- Automatically transfers income expenses to TurboTax and files both your federal and state tax returns, if applicable
Setup/Ease of Use
When compared to FreshBooks, Zoho Books, and Wave, QBO is a bit more complex to set up. This is primarily due to the fact that like Xero, it is much more robust than its competitors. However, when it comes to navigating the program, it’s very easy to do.
Like its competitors, you don’t need a bookkeeping background to setup your business in QBO. We’ve got a free QuickBooks Course that includes step-by-step video tutorials to get you up and running in no time.
Manage Accounts Receivable
Similar to all of the competitors we have listed, QBO allows you to create customized invoices to bill your customers for the products and services you have provided. In addition, you can stay on top of unpaid invoices by running an accounts receivable report. Staying on top of your accounts receivable balances will help you to avoid the need to send collection letters.
Manage Accounts Payable
Two out of the four QBO plans allow you to keep track of the outstanding balances that you have with your suppliers. QBO Essentials and Plus include the ability to enter bills, pay bills, and run an accounts payable report to review open balances, whereas the ability to keep track of accounts payable balances is not available in Wave, Zoho Books, or FreshBooks.
Connect Bank/Credit Card Accounts
The beauty of using cloud accounting software like QuickBooks is that you can connect your bank accounts, as well as your credit card accounts, to the software. Similar to Xero Early plan, QBO Self-Employed and Simple Start are limited in the number of transactions you can download. However, QBO Essentials and Plus allow you to connect an unlimited number of bank and credit card accounts.
Payroll Processing
Unlike FreshBooks and Zoho Books, which do not have a payroll add-on, you can easily add payroll services to QBO Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus. There are two QBO payroll plans: enhanced and full service.
Below is a brief description along with the fees associated with each plan:
Enhanced Payroll:
- Cost – $39 per month plus $2 per employee per month
- Services included – Ability for the employer to process payroll for all employees, including direct deposit payments and check payments, file and pay all payroll taxes directly from QuickBooks, and print and mail W2 forms.
Full Service Payroll:
- Cost – $99 per month plus $2 per employee per month
- Services included – The employer will provide hours worked each payroll and the system will process payroll for all employees, including direct deposit and check payments, file and pay payroll taxes on your behalf, and print and mail W2 forms.
Accept Online Payments
Like all of its competitors, you can get paid faster by adding online payments to your QBO account. Unlike its competitors, QuickBooks is the only product that has its own online payments processor, QuickBooks Payments.
Below you will find the fees associated with adding online payments to any QBO plan:
| Bank Transfer (ACH) | |
| Card - Swiped | |
| Card - Invoiced | |
| Card- Keyed |
Prepare Key Financial Statements
Out of its competitors, QBO Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus include more reports than its competitors, with more than 20 in the Simple Start plan and over 65 in the QBO Plus plan.
In addition to the standard Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows, here is a list of just a few of the reports that you will find in QBO:
- Accounts Receivable Aging Report
- Accounts Payable Aging Report
- Sales by Customer Report
- Sales by Product Report
- Budget vs. Actuals Report (QBO Plus only)
What QuickBooks Online Is Missing
At this time, I do not believe that QBO is missing any key feature that a small business would need to start, run, and grow their business.
QuickBooks Online User Reviews
QBO users like how easy the software is to navigate and the ability to access their data from any mobile device using the QBO app. A few users feel that QBO is a bit pricey, but quickly admit that it is more than capable of handling all aspects of their business. Check out all of our QBO user reviews or leave your own review.
Where to Find QuickBooks Online
To get up and running with QuickBooks, head over to their website and sign up. You can save up to 50% off a paid subscription.
FreshBooks: Best Accounting Software for Solopreneurs & Freelancers
FreshBooks is perfect for solopreneurs and freelancers looking to streamline their billing process to get paid faster. FreshBooks makes it easy to track hours worked by employees and contractors, transfer hours to an invoice, and email invoices to your customers. Pricing plans start at $15 per month for the Lite plan and $50 per month for the Premium plan.
FreshBooks Pricing & Features
Similar to Xero and Zoho Books, FreshBooks has three pricing plans that start at $15 per month. Besides cost, there is only one primary difference between the three plans, and that is the number of clients that can be invoiced monthly. The Lite plan allows you to invoice up to five clients and the Premium allows for up to 500 clients.
All FreshBooks plans include the following additional features:
- Time tracking
- Project tracking
- Over 100 custom invoice templates
FreshBooks Accounting Software Plan Comparison & Summary
| Monthly Pricing | |||
| # Users Included* | |||
| # Clients | |||
| Setup/Ease of Use | |||
| Connect Bank/Credit Card Accounts | |||
| Accept Online Payments | |||
| Manage Accounts Receivable | |||
| Payroll Processing | |||
| Manage Accounts Payable | |||
| Prepare Key Financial Statements |
*Additional users can be added for $10 per user per month.
Listed below are the pricing plans for FreshBooks and who each is right for:
FreshBooks Lite Plan:
FreshBooks Lite is ideal for a brand-new startup business with no more than five clients that they need to invoice each month. This plan is the most economical out of the three plans at $15 per month ($180 per year).
Similar to the Plus and Premium plans, you cannot keep track of your accounts payable balances nor can you process payroll for employees. However, FreshBooks does integrate with Gusto payroll.
FreshBooks Plus Plan:
FreshBooks Plus plan is ideal for a solopreneur who has no more than 50 clients that they need to invoice each month. This plan is $10 per month more than the FreshBooks Lite plan and will cost you $300 per year.
Similar to the Lite plan, you cannot manage accounts payable or process payroll with this plan. However, you can add the Gusto payroll app, which can process paychecks, payroll tax payments, and filings.
FreshBooks Premium Plan:
FreshBooks Premium is ideal for a small to medium-sized business with up to 500 clients that they need to invoice monthly. This plan is $35 per month more than the Lite plan and will run you $600 per year, double the cost of the Plus plan!
Similar to the Lite and Plus plans, it does not have accounts payable or payroll processing. However, you can add the Gusto app in order to process payroll for your employees.
Based on our minimum criteria, here is how FreshBooks stacks up against its competitors:
Cost
When it comes to cost, FreshBooks plans run between $15 and $50 per month, which is slightly less than QBO plans ($17 to $60 per month). However, all FreshBooks plans are missing or limited in the following features:
- No ability to track accounts payable balances
- Limited in number of clients that can be invoiced monthly
- All plans only include one user; an additional $10 per user per month is required to share your data
Setup/Ease of Use
As mentioned previously, FreshBooks is easier to set up than QuickBooks because it is not quite as robust. Similar to all of the competitors on our list, it’s very easy to navigate around the FreshBooks program.
Manage Accounts Receivable
Out of all of its competitors, FreshBooks allows you the most flexibility to create invoices that suit your brand. With FreshBooks, you can choose the style, font, and colors that match your brand. In addition, you can set up automatic payment reminders and automatically charge late fees for overdue customer invoices. You can also stay on top of open balances by running an Accounts Receivable Aging report.
Manage Accounts Payable
Similar to Wave and Zoho Books, FreshBooks does not have the ability to manage and pay bills. Unlike QuickBooks, you can’t stay on top of the balances that are owed to your vendor suppliers and you can’t print checks to pay your bills. However, if you pay most of your expenses online with a debit or credit card, FreshBooks will work for you.
Connect Bank/Credit Card Accounts
Unlike QuickBooks Self-Employed and Simple Start, FreshBooks does not limit the number of transactions or bank and credit card accounts that you can connect. You are able to connect all of your bank and credit card accounts to FreshBooks.
Payroll Processing
Unlike QBO, which has a built-in credit card process tool that you can just turn on, FreshBooks does not. However, the good news is that you can visit the FreshBooks Apps page to sign up for Gusto Payroll, which integrates with FreshBooks.
Accept Online Payments
Like QuickBooks and the other competitors, FreshBooks allows you to accept online payments for an additional fee. Unlike QuickBooks, FreshBooks does not have its own credit card processing system, so you will need to visit the FreshBooks Apps page to select a payment to use for your online customer payments.
Prepare Key Financial Statements
Unfortunately, FreshBooks can only produce one out of the three primary financial statements. You can create a profit and loss report, but you cannot run a balance sheet or a statement of cash flows report in FreshBooks.
What FreshBooks Is Missing
As mentioned previously, FreshBooks can only generate one out of the three primary financial statements required. In addition, you have to create a manual bank reconciliation report to ensure all bank and credit card balances match up with your bank and credit card statements.
FreshBooks User Reviews
FreshBooks users like how easy it is to do their billing, and how much time is saved by using the automatic invoice reminders and by applying late fees to past due invoices. On the negative side, customers don’t like that FreshBooks is missing key financial reports like the Balance Sheet and the Statement of Cash Flows. Check out our accounting software reviews here.
Where to Find FreshBooks
If you’re looking for a way to streamline your billing process, choose FreshBooks. Head over to the FreshBooks website to sign up for your FreshBooks account. It will be set up in minutes and you can start invoicing your customers right away!
Xero: Best QuickBooks Alternative Small Business Accounting Software
If you’re looking for an alternative to QuickBooks, choose Xero. Out of all the competitors we included, Xero comes closest to offering the features found in QuickBooks. Unlike its competitors, Xero does not charge a fee per user or limit the number of users you can have. Pricing run between $9 and $60 per month.
Xero Pricing & Features
Xero has three pricing plans: Early, Growing, and Established. The plans range between $9 and $60 per month and include the following features:
- Unlimited number of users
- Ability to connect bank/credit card accounts
- Unlimited email tech support
- Access key financial statements such as Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet
Xero Small Business Accounting Software Plan Comparison & Summary
| Monthly Pricing | |||
| # Users Included | |||
| Setup/Ease of Use | |||
| Connect Bank/Credit Card Accounts | |||
| Manage Accounts Payable | |||
| Accept Online Payments | |||
| Manage Accounts Receivable | |||
| Payroll Processing | |||
| Prepare Key Financial Statements |
Listed below are the Xero pricing plans and the type of business each is right for:
Xero Early Plan:
Xero Early plan is ideal for a startup business that has not generated many transactions. While the Early plan does have accounts payable and accounts receivable, you are limited to only five transactions per month. This means that you can manage and pay up to five bills and send no more than five invoices/quotes to customers each month.
Xero Growing Plan:
Xero Growing plan is ideal for a small business that needs the ability to keep track of accounts payable, accounts receivable, and unlimited bank and credit card accounts. Unlike the Xero Early plan, you can process unlimited bills, invoice an unlimited number of customers, and connect all of your bank and credit card accounts.
Xero Established:
Xero Established plan is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that have expanded or have plans to expand globally. Unlike the Early and Growing plans, the Established plan includes multi-currency accounting so that you can create invoices, pay bills, and track bank accounts in multiple currencies. In addition, this plan also includes the ability to track expenses using the mobile app and track project time and costs.
Based on our minimum criteria, here is how Xero stacks up against its competitors:
Setup/Ease of Use
Xero is similar to QuickBooks when it comes to setup and ease of use. Because Xero is a much more robust program than FreshBooks, Zoho Books, and Wave, it will take some additional time to set up areas like the chart of accounts and multi-currency. However, it is very easy to navigate in Xero, and they do a good job of using simple language as opposed to accounting jargon throughout the program.
Manage Accounts Receivable
Like its competitors, Xero plans include the ability to invoice customers, track payments, and stay on top of open accounts receivable balances. However, as with most features, you are limited to invoicing up to five customers per month with the Xero Early plan.
Manage Accounts Payable
All three Xero plans include the ability to manage accounts payable. However, like most starter plans offered by its competitors, you are limited in the number of transactions that can be processed in Xero Early. You are only allowed to manage up to five bills per month with the Early plan. However, both the Xero Growing and Established plans allow you to manage an unlimited number of bills.
Connect Bank/Credit Card Accounts
All three Xero plans include the ability to connect bank and credit card accounts. However, like QuickBooks Self-Employed and Simple Start, you are limited in the number of transactions you can reconcile in the Xero Early plan, although the Growing and Established plans allow you to connect an unlimited number of bank and credit card accounts.
Payroll Processing
Like its competitors, payroll processing is not included in any of the Xero pricing plans, but it can easily be added for an additional cost. You can visit the Xero App marketplace to add Gusto Payroll to your Xero account. Gusto can handle all paycheck processing as well as payroll tax payments and filings.
Accept Online Payments
Similar to its competitors, you can offer online payment processing to your customers. You can choose to accept payments using PayPal, Stripe, or Apple Pay. Just visit the Xero app store to select a payment app and follow the instructions to get started.
Prepare Key Financial Statements
Similar to its competitors, Xero has detailed reports like the profit and loss statement as well as aging reports to help you stay on top of open customer invoices and outstanding bills. You can also run bank reconciliation reports to ensure that your accounts agree with the actual bank account balances.
Check out our Best QuickBooks Alternative guide to see why Xero is ranked #1.
What Xero Is Missing
When it comes to product features, Xero is not missing any key feature that a small business would need. However, there are a couple of areas where QuickBooks beats Xero. First, all QBO plans include live telephone support—Xero only offers support via email.
In addition, it is a lot easier to find a QuickBooks expert than it is to locate a bookkeeper or accountant who is familiar with Xero. However, if you need to get up to speed in Xero, we have a free Xero course that will help you get your business up and running on Xero.
Xero User Reviews
Xero users like how intuitive the user interface is and how easy it is to navigate within the program. However, users also feel that the program lacks relevant features that small businesses need, like cloud storage and tax software integration. Check out the Xero user reviews page to see all customer reviews or leave a Xero review.
Where to Find Xero
To get started with Xero, you can visit the Xero website and provide basic contact information about your firm to create your account. Once you do that, you can start entering your data right away.
Wave: Best Free Small Business Accounting Software
Wave is best for businesses that are on a tight budget because it’s free. It is the best free small business accounting software overall. In fact, Wave meets seven out of the eight criteria listed above. The one area where it falls short is the inability to track and pay vendor bills.
Wave Pricing
With a price tag of free, Wave is the most affordable bookkeeping software on our list. Wave is fairly robust and has much of the functionality you’d expect from a small business bookkeeping software product.
Wave Features
Like its competitors, Wave includes most of the features needed to run a small business. However, it falls short when it comes to managing accounts payable. You can enter unpaid bills into Wave, but you will have to manually mark them as paid.
Set Up/Ease of Use
Similar to its competitors, Wave is very user-friendly. Like FreshBooks and Zoho Books, setup doesn’t take long and you don’t need an accounting or bookkeeping background to do it.
Manage Accounts Receivable
Wave allows you to create custom invoices to send to your customers. You can also manage open invoice balances using the Accounts Receivable Aging report and follow-up with customers before invoices are due or immediately after.
Manage Accounts Payable
As discussed, Wave does not include accounts payable functionality. However, you can enter your bills and manually mark them as paid. However, you cannot print checks directly from Wave to pay your bills like you can with QBO.
Connect Bank/Credit Card Accounts
Similar to QuickBooks, you can connect all of your bank and credit card accounts to Wave. Unlike QBO Self-Employed and Simple Start, you are not limited to a certain number of transactions or accounts.
Payroll Processing
Similar to FreshBooks, Xero, and QBO, you can easily add payroll processing to Wave for an additional cost. Wave Payroll allows you to process paychecks as well as calculate and file payroll taxes and forms.
The fees associated with using Wave Payroll are:
| Tax Service States: CA, FL, NY, TX, IL, WA | Plus: $4 per active employee Plus: $4 per independent contractor | |
| Self-Service States: All other 44 States | Plus: $4 per active employee Plus: $4 per independent contractor |
Accept Online Payments
Wave allows you to accept online payments from customers. Similar to QuickBooks Payments, Wave Payments integrates seamlessly with Wave accounting software. Once you activate Wave Payments, you can send invoices to your customers that include a Pay button they can use to make payments via ACH, debit card, or credit card.
The applicable fees to use Wave Payments are:
| Credit Card Payments | |
| Bank Payments |
Prepare Key Financial Statements
When it comes to financial reports, Wave has a number of detailed reports to help you stay on top of the health of your business. Similar to QuickBooks and Xero, you can run a Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and a Statement of Cash Flows report.
What Wave Is Missing
Like FreshBooks, Wave falls short when it comes to managing unpaid vendor bills. Since you cannot pay your bills directly from Wave, entering and paying bills is a completely manual process. Unlike QuickBooks, you can’t run an accounts payable report to see what you owe until you have entered all bills and payments into Wave.
Wave User Reviews
Wave users like the fact that this is a free bookkeeping software. However, Wave users feel that a significant improvement is needed when it comes to customer service, as live customer support isn’t available. To get help, you need to send an email to the support team and wait for a response.
Where to Find Wave
Wave is the easiest bookkeeping software to sign up for because there is no trial and no paid subscription. You simply go to the website and provide basic contact information about your business (i.e., name, email address, and type of business), and your account will be created in just a few minutes.
Zoho Books: Best Accounting Software for Zoho Users
Zoho Books is ideal for existing Zoho users because it integrates with a suite of Zoho products, setting it apart from its competitors. Instead of using several products to manage your business (e.g., CRM, inventory), connect a Zoho app and it will automatically sync with Zoho Books. Pricing plans are $9 to $29 per user per month.
Zoho Books Pricing & Features
Zoho Books is the most economical paid bookkeeping software on our list. The plans cost between $9 and $29 per month versus the QuickBooks plans, which run between $17 and $60 per month!
All Zoho Books plans include:
- Multi-user access
- Ability to connect bank/credit card accounts
- Able to accept online payments
- Key financial reports (e.g., Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet)
Zoho Books Accounting Software Plan Comparison & Summary
| Monthly Pricing | |||
| # Users Included | |||
| Contacts (customers, vendors, employees) | |||
| Setup/Ease of Use | |||
| Connect Bank/Credit Card Accounts | |||
| Manage Accounts Payable | |||
| Accept Online Payments | |||
| Manage Accounts Receivable | |||
| Payroll Processing | |||
| Prepare Key Financial Statements |
Listed below are the pricing plans for Zoho Books and who each is right for:
Zoho Books Basic Plan:
Zoho Books Basic is ideal for a small business that has no more than 50 customer, vendor, and employee contacts to manage. Since there is no accounts payable functionality in this plan, it works best for those businesses that pay most of their bills using a debit or credit card.
Zoho Books Standard Plan:
Zoho Books Standard is ideal for a small to medium-sized business that has no more than 500 customer, vendor, and employee contacts to manage. Unlike the Zoho Basic plan, you can manage your open accounts payable balances by entering bills, paying bills, and running an Accounts Payable Aging report to see open balances.
Zoho Books Professional Plan:
Zoho Books Professional is ideal for small businesses with more than 500 customer, vendor, and employee contacts to manage. In addition, you can give up to ten users access to your data versus one user (Zoho Basic) and three users (Zoho Standard).
Based on our minimum criteria, here is how Zoho Books stacks up against its competitors:
Number of Contacts
Similar to FreshBooks, which limits the number of customers you can invoice in two out of their three plans, Zoho Books limits not only the number of customers, but also vendors and employees that can be managed in two out of their three plans. QuickBooks, on the other hand, allows you to manage an unlimited number of customers, vendors, and employees in all of their plans.
Setup/Ease of Use
Like its competitors, Zoho Books is very easy to setup and navigate. Since it doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles that QuickBooks includes, you can set up your chart of accounts and products/services list pretty quickly.
Manage Accounts Receivable
Similar to QBO, all Zoho Books plans allow you to manage full-cycle accounts receivable; this includes creating custom invoices, managing customer payments, and staying on top of balances with the Accounts Receivable Aging report.
Manage Accounts Payable
Like QBO Self-Employed and QBO Simple Start, Zoho Books Basic does not include accounts payable functionality. This means that you cannot enter and pay your bills with the Zoho Books Basic plan. However, you can with the Zoho Books Standard and Professional plans.
Connect Bank/Credit Card Accounts
Like all of the competitors on our list, you can easily connect all of your bank and credit card accounts to Zoho Books. Unlike QuickBooks Self-Employed and Simple Start, there is no limitation on the number of accounts or transactions that you can process with any of the Zoho Books plans.
Payroll Processing
Unfortunately, payroll processing is the one area where Zoho Books falls short. Currently, they are only able to process payroll for California employers. Unlike their competitors, they are not compatible at this time with any other payroll apps.
Accept Online Payments
All Zoho Books plans allow you to offer your customers the ability to pay their invoices online. Similar to its competitors, you can choose a payments app from the Zoho Apps center and connect it to your Zoho Books account.
Prepare Key Financial Statements
Similar to its competitors, you can prepare the three key financial statements: Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows. In addition, you can run detailed sales reports and expense reports.
What Zoho Books Is Missing
The biggest drawback to using Zoho Books is the fact that the payroll processing is limited to one state (California). As a result, if you do decide to use Zoho Books, you will need to use a payroll service like Gusto to pay your employees.
Zoho Books User Reviews
Zoho Books users like how user-friendly the product is and the affordability to small businesses. However, Zoho Books users don’t like that they cannot process payroll for their employees through Zoho Books.
Where to Find Zoho Books
You can take Zoho Books for a test drive for the first 14 days. At the end of the trial, if you want to continue using Zoho Books, you just need to sign up for a paid plan.
QuickBooks Premier: Alternative Accounting Software for Niche Industries
QuickBooks Premier is a desktop software that meets all of the criteria on our list. It starts at a one-time fee of $499.95, and it is ideal for companies in the nonprofit, manufacturing, professional services, contractor, or retail industries that make less than $1,000,000 in annual sales and have no more than 20 employees. QuickBooks Premier comes with a customized chart of accounts and custom reports for the above-mentioned industries.
Most of the online reviews about QuickBooks Premier are positive.
ZipBooks: Alternative Bookkeeping Software for Startup Businesses
ZipBooks is best for startup businesses that are currently using an Excel spreadsheet or the old “shoe box” method to keep track of income and expenses. The ZipBooks Starter plan is free and their paid plans run between $15 and $125 per month. Their top tier plan, ZipBooks Services, comes with a dedicated bookkeeper! ZipBooks met all but two of our criteria—it does not track accounts payable and you cannot process payroll for employees.
To learn more about ZipBooks and other free accounting software options, check out our best free accounting software guide. The majority of the reviews for ZipBooks are positive.
JobPower: Alternative Accounting Software for Contractors & Home Builders
JobPower is ideal for general contractors, subcontractors, and home builders in the industrial, commercial, and residential industries. While price varies based on your business needs, plans start at $200 per month. JobPower met all of the criteria we used to evaluate the best small business accounting software.
JobPower includes the following features:
- General accounting
- Full CRM
- Document management and scheduling features
- Detailed reports that meet all union and certified payroll requirements
Truckn Pro: Alternative Bookkeeping Software for Independent Trucking Company Owners
Truckn Pro by Fog Line Software is ideal for any independent owner of a small fleet of trucks. It meets all of the criteria that we used to evaluate the best accounting software. Pricing plans run between $79 and $219, and include the following features:
- General accounting
- Payroll processing
- Trucking management features (e.g., vehicle maintenance logs and trip planners)
PCLaw by Lexis Nexis: Alternative Accounting Software for Lawyers & Law Firms
PCLaw by Lexis Nexis is our top pick for the best accounting software for law firms. It includes all of the criteria we used to evaluate the best accounting software. PCLaw is $39 per user per month and includes features that allow you to manage your practice and client trust accounts, including:
- Trust (IOLTA) accounting
- Track billable time
- Track client expenses
Bottom Line
Now that we have presented you with our ten best accounting software options for small businesses, it’s time for you to choose one. If you’re looking for an accounting software that you won’t outgrow anytime soon and one that your tax professional or bookkeeper will most likely be familiar with, go with QuickBooks.
QBO allows you to manage all aspects of your business, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, and online customer payments. As a Fit Small Business reader, you may qualify for up to a 50% discount on a paid subscription.
FieldServiceManagementFSM
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BasicAccountingHelp
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Himani
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Crystalynn Shelton
Hey Himani, so glade you liked our Best Accounting Software for SMB’s article!
Thank you for adding us to your favorites list!
All the Best-
Crystalynn Shelton
John Lee
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Crystalynn Shelton
Thanks for the kudo John!
All the Best-
Crystalynn Shelton
sage crm app
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Laura Handrick
Our accounting expert Crystalynn Shelton is awesome, right?!
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Laura