Best Small Business Accounting Software for 2022
Tim is a Certified QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) Pro, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and CPA with 25 years of experience. He brings his expertise to Fit Small Business’s accounting content.
Mark has researched and reviewed accounting software at Fit Small Business since 2019 and has developed an extensive knowledge of accounting software features and how unique business needs determine the best accounting software.
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
The best accounting software for your small business vary greatly by industry and your personal preferences, which we’ll cover in this guide. We selected our top accounting software for small businesses based on pricing, ease of use, and how they perform against various accounting tasks, such as invoicing, project management, and inventory accounting.
Here are the eight best accounting software for small businesses:
- QuickBooks Online: Best overall industry-customizable small business accounting software with project, class, and location tracking (8.8 out of 10)
- Zoho Books: Best for use on a mobile app (8.7 out of 10)
- QuickBooks Desktop: Best for managing the books of multiple companies (8.5 out of 10)
- Xero: Best for unlimited users (8 out of 10)
- FreshBooks: Best for small service-based businesses (6.3 out of 10)
- Lendio Accounting: Best free solution for tracking income and expenses (5.7 out of 10)
- Bench: Best online bookkeeping service as an alternative to do-it-yourself (DIY) accounting software (no score)
- Bill: Best accounts payable (A/P) software for advanced bill pay features and approval workflows (no score)
Comparison of Best Small Business Accounting Software
Software | Pricing | Users Included | Invoicing | Inventory | Project Accounting | Mobile App |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $30 to $200 per month | 1 to 25 | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
 | $0 to $275 per month | 1 to 15 ($3 per additional user) | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
 | $349.99 to $1,340 per year for one user | 1 | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Limited |
 | $12 to $65 per month | Unlimited | Very good | Excellent | Excellent | Limited |
 | $15 to $55-plus | 1 ($10 monthly per additional user) | Excellent | Excellent | ✕ | Excellent |
 | $0 or $19.99 per month | 1 (Free plan) or Unlimited | Very good | ✕ | Limited | Very good |
 | $299 or $499 per month | N/A | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | Limited (iOS only) |
 | $45 to $79-plus per user per month | Unlimited | Very good | ✕ | ✕ | Limited |
QuickBooks Online: Best Overall Small Business Accounting Software
QuickBooks Online is our best small business accounting software because of its strong feature set, including the ability to create classes and locations for tracking income and expenses. It’s a versatile program that you can customize to specific industries, such as churches, restaurants, and nonprofits. QuickBooks Online is also easy to use and allows you to share data and files effortlessly with employees, certified public accountants (CPAs), and tax professionals.
With tiered subscription levels, it can scale as your business grows or your needs change—making it the top accounting choice for 5.5 million small business subscribers.
QuickBooks Online
Overall Score: 8.80
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Track income and expenses by classes and location
- Excellent inventory tracking with automatic calculation of cost of goods sold (COGS)
- Easy access to local independent QuickBooks ProAdvisors
- Excellent bank reconciliation features
What's Missing
- A bit expensive compared to other similar software
- Requires Plus subscription to track inventory and project profitability
- Unable to enter bills or record time worked from the mobile app
Pricing & Plans
- Simple Start: $30 per month for one user
- Essentials: $55 per month for up to three users
- Plus: $85 per month for up to five users
- Advanced: $200 per month for up to 25 users
Who QuickBooks Online Is Best For
- Construction: QuickBooks Online, when integrated with Buildertrend, provides excellent project accounting and construction management tools like employee time and location tracking, customer relationship management (CRM), and a customer portal.
- Ecommerce retailers: QuickBooks Commerce can be added to QuickBooks Online to provide direct integrations with most ecommerce platforms, reducing the need for expensive third-party connectors.
- Real estate businesses: The ability to separate activity by class and location makes QuickBooks Online a viable option for property management companies that need to track income and expenses for various segments and locations.
- Invoicing: QuickBooks Online is our best invoicing software as it calculates sales tax rates automatically based on the customer address or transaction location.
- Trucking companies: TruckingOffice provides a great integration that adds fleet management, IFTA tracking, and dispatching to your QuickBooks Online software.
- Mac users: QuickBooks Online’s intuitive design and navigation are optimized for Mac users.
- Bank reconciliation: QuickBooks Online has the most comprehensive bank reconciliation of all the leading accounting software programs on the market. You can reconcile transactions by connecting your bank accounts or uploading your files of statements manually.
Standout Features
- Location and class tracking: Set up tags to track your income and expenses across different departments, properties, or locations of your business. You can use this feature to determine which department brings the most money to your business.
- Inventory: Track the cost of inventory on hand and allocate that cost between ending inventory and the COGS.
- Project accounting: Set up projects to include income, expenses, and wages, and create project estimates. A huge drawback we found in QuickBooks Online’s project accounting, however, is that you cannot compare estimated to actual project costs.
- Invoicing: The best thing about QuickBooks Online’s invoicing feature is that it calculates the sales tax rate automatically to apply to your invoice based on the customer address.
- Bill Pay: Pay your bill electronically directly from your QuickBooks account.
We compare the features of each plan in our QuickBooks Online comparison guide.
Expert Opinion
It’s hard to go wrong with QuickBooks Online if you can afford the price. It’s very flexible and powerful software that can be customized for nearly any business. The ability to track profit and loss (P&L) by class and location allows you to see how profitable your business is across different offices, locations, and properties. Another benefit of QuickBooks Online is that you can find a local QuickBooks ProAdvisor in your area easily if you need one. To get the most out of the platform, check out our free QuickBooks Online tutorials.
Zoho Books: Best Accounting Software for Use on a Mobile App
Zoho Books stands out from the other accounting software with its powerful mobile app. We recognized it as the leading mobile accounting app because it can perform almost any accounting task, including sending invoices, accepting online payments, entering bills, and viewing reports. The app also allows the creation of recurring invoices and tracking of time worked, making it our pick for the overall best accounting software for freelancers.
The software is one of the many Zoho apps—which includes Zoho CRM, Zoho Inventory, and Zoho Projects—that can be integrated to give you a comprehensive solution to all your business needs. Zoho Books can be purchased separately as part of the Zoho Finance bundle or as part of Zoho One, which includes all of Zoho’s apps.
Zoho Books
Overall Score: 8.70
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Fee plan has many features
- Excellent inventory and COGS accounting
- Mobile app can perform almost any accounting function
- Integrates with other Zoho apps easily
What's Missing
- Free and Standard plans limit the number of invoices that can be sent
- Can’t track unpaid bills in the Free and Standard plans
- Could be difficult to find third-party bookkeeping assistance using Zoho Books in the United States
Plans & Pricing*
- Free: For businesses that make less than $50,000 in annual revenues—includes one user plus one accountant and up to 1,000 invoices per year
- Standard: $20 per month—limited to three users and 5,000 invoices
- Professional: $50 per month—limited to five users with unlimited invoices
- Premium: $70 per month—limited to 10 users
- Elite: $150 per month—limited to 10 users (includes advanced inventory)
- Ultimate: $275 per month—limited to 15 users
Add-ons:
- Additional users: $3 per user per month
- Receipts scanning: $10 for 50 scans per month
- Snail mail credits for sending invoices: $2 per credit
*Elite and Ultimate were launched in 2022. Elite is designed for those needing improved inventory management features like serial number tracking, while Ultimate is great for those wanting advanced analytics such as collaborative reporting.
Standout Features
- Mobile app: Mobile accounting is one of Zoho Books’ biggest strengths. The mobile app can perform plenty of accounting tasks—including invoicing, accepting online payments, recording bills and bill payments, categorizing expenses from the bank feed, and viewing financial reports.
- Inventory: Zoho Books has complete features for tracking inventory. You can track inventory on hand and the COGS, adjust the cost of inventory, and categorize expenses based on vendor details, product details, and stock-keeping units (SKU).
- Project accounting: Track time worked and assign it to a project or customer, create expenses from a project, and generate an invoice straight from the project.
Expert Opinion
We believe that conducting business with clients on the go is easier when you have a powerful mobile app like Zoho Books. However, that’s not the only thing it can offer, as it’s also remarkable in other aspects, like inventory and project accounting. Whether you’re a large enterprise needing inventory software or a very small business wanting a free package, it can be a great option.
QuickBooks Desktop: Best Multicompany Accounting Software
If you manage multiple businesses, then QuickBooks Desktop is for you. All its editions, which we cover later, can be used to keep the books of an unlimited number of companies for a single price—a big advantage over QuickBooks Online. Because of this, QuickBooks Desktop is our top-recommended multicompany accounting software.
Another reason to use the program is it works even when you have no internet connection because it’s locally installed. QuickBooks Pro and Premier are the most popular desktop versions of QuickBooks for Windows. Meanwhile, QuickBooks for Mac, one of our best accounting software for Mac, has features similar to Pro.
QuickBooks Desktop
Overall Score: 8.50
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Doesn’t require an internet connection after the initial setup
- Can manage the books for multiple companies
- Industry-specific editions available with Premier
- Eliminates security issues associated with cloud access
What's Missing
- Desktop software requires installation and setup
- Not as easy to use as a cloud-based accounting software
- Additional users requires a separate subscription fee
- Difficult to share books with an external accountant
Plans & Pricing
- QuickBooks for Mac: $349.99 per year for one user; $749.99 per year for three users
- QuickBooks Pro: From $349.99 per year for one user to $749.99 per year for three users
- QuickBooks Premier: From $799 per year for one user to $1,999 per year for five users
- QuickBooks Enterprise: $1,340 per year for one user, $3,744 per year for five users; customized pricing for 6 to 40 users
- QuickBooks Accountant: Included with $499 annual QuickBooks’ ProAdvisor membership
Standout Features
- Multicompany accounting: Manage the books for an unlimited number of companies with a single subscription.
- Advanced inventory management: QuickBooks Desktop offers more advanced inventory tracking than QuickBooks Online. For instance, you can create assembly items to build and track finished goods, which can be useful for manufacturing teams.
- Class tracking: Classes can be customized to represent cost centers or enterprises, making QuickBooks Desktop our leading farm accounting software.
Expert Opinion
If you prefer locally installed software over a cloud-based program and mobile accounting app, then go with QuickBooks Desktop. Its Pro and Premier editions are very powerful accounting software, perhaps even more powerful than QuickBooks Online. However, they’re more difficult to master and don’t provide the advantages of mobile accounting. Read our in-depth comparison of QuickBooks Online and Desktop to choose the best software for your business.
Also, read our QuickBooks Desktop Pro review, QuickBooks Desktop Premier review, and QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise review to learn more about each version of QuickBooks Desktop.
Xero: Best Accounting Software for Unlimited Users
Xero is a cloud-based accounting software with features similar to QuickBooks and Zoho Books. However, unlike those two, all Xero plans include unlimited users. If you need multiple seats to access and work on your accounting software, then this provider is an ideal choice. Its features are comparable to QuickBooks, and it’s considerably less expensive, making it one of our best alternatives to QuickBooks.
Xero
Overall Score: 8.00
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- All plans include unlimited users
- Can manage and track fixed assets
- Strong project accounting features
- Excellent inventory management
What's Missing
- Limited invoices and bills in the Early plan
- Cannot keep the books for multiple companies
- No customer service via telephone
- Features in the mobile app are limited compared to Zoho Books
Pricing & Plans
- Early: $12 per month for up to 20 invoices and five bills
- Growing: $34 per month for unlimited invoices and bills
- Established: $65 per month for unlimited invoices and bills plus project accounting
Standout Features
- Unlimited user access: Xero offers a good value for your money, as all its plans support an unlimited number of users without any extra cost.
- Fixed asset management: What makes Xero unique from other accounting software is its fixed asset manager. You can record and track fixed assets (like machinery, vehicles, and equipment), set up depreciation entries, and account for gain or loss from a disposal of a fixed asset.
- Inventory management: Create and track inventory, monitor inventory levels, add inventory items to invoices, and track COGS.
Expert Opinion
Xero’s unlimited user access makes it a great option for collaborative teams. Its fixed asset manager, which is unique among accounting programs, is useful for manufacturing teams that use different kinds of machinery and equipment in their production. A major drawback to Xero compared to QuickBooks Online is the lack of bookkeeping professionals who support it. While Xero has 2.3 million users, most of them are located outside of the United States.
Check out our free Xero courses to learn how to make the program more useful for your business.
FreshBooks: Best for Small Service-based Businesses
FreshBooks has many project management features beneficial for service-based businesses, such as the ability to create estimates and convert those estimates to invoices once approved, track time spent by team members on a project, and communicate with members through its built-in collaboration tool. Another useful feature is the ability to compare estimated and actual project costs, which isn’t possible with QuickBooks Online.
FreshBooks
Overall Score: 6.30
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Can compare estimated costs against actual costs
- Track time and expenses and easily add them to customer invoices
- Can send unlimited invoices in all plans
- Has a mobile app for invoicing and accounting
What's Missing
- Requires an additional fee for an extra user
- Can’t reconcile accounts without bank feeds
- Can’t track activity by class
- Lacks inventory management
Plans & Pricing
- Lite: $15 per month; up to five billable clients
- Plus: $30 per month; up to 50 billable clients
- Premium: $55 per month; unlimited billable clients
- Select: Custom pricing for unlimited billable clients and specialized features
FreshBooks is now available at 70% off for three months.
Add-ons available:
- Additional team members: $10 per person, per month, in all plans
- Gusto Payroll (separately billed from Gusto)
- Advanced payments at $20 per month (for Plus, Premium, and Select plans only)
Standout Features
- Project accounting: FreshBooks allows you to create estimates with items like inventory and sales taxes, convert estimates to projects, track time and instantly convert time entries to invoices, and more.
- Excellent customer service: FreshBooks offers plenty of customer support options, including phone and email support and self-help guides and resources. However, its biggest advantage over other software providers is that it allows FreshBooks users to directly call its customer support over the phone. With other providers like QuickBooks Online, you have to send a request and wait for them to call you.
- Mobile app: The FreshBooks mobile app lets you create and send invoices, enter and pay bills, accept payments online, and record billable time from your smartphone.
Expert Opinion
FreshBooks doesn’t have inventory accounting features, so we highly recommend it for small service-based businesses needing a strong project management solution. If you have team members working on multiple projects and you want to make sure that no billable time is missed, then its time tracking tool is a great help. Billable hours and expenses entered by employees and contractors will be saved until added to a customer invoice.
You might enjoy our free FreshBooks tutorials for an in-depth view of how to use the platform.
Lendio Accounting: Best Free Solution for Tracking Income & Expenses
Lendio Accounting (formerly Sunrise) offers free accounting software for small businesses needing basic tracking of income and expenses and a solid invoicing function. Its main drawback is the inability to reconcile your bank accounts to your bank statements, which isn’t a major problem unless you issue a lot of paper checks. If you’re a small business or a freelancer wanting to know where money is going, you should do well with Lendio Accounting, our best free accounting software.
Lendio Accounting
Overall Score: 5.70
OUT OF 5
What We Like
- Free plan contains almost all of Lendio’s features
- Set up and manage multiple companies with paid plan
- Good invoicing feature
- Mobile app can perform many accounting tasks
What's Missing
- No inventory accounting
- Can’t track costs by project
- Cannot reconcile bank accounts
Plans & Pricing
- Free: Free forever for one user and one company
- Plus: $19.99 per month for unlimited users and companies
Standout Features
- Receipt capture: Lendio Accounting lets you capture and store receipts from your browser or with the Sunrise mobile app, helping you organize your expense claims easily.
- Automatic expense categorization: Upgrade to Plus to get automatic expense categorization in your bank feed.
- Invoicing: You can create customized invoices, send them on a recurring basis, track sales taxes by jurisdiction, and accept short payments from customers.
Expert Opinion
Lendio Accounting is a great choice if you’re a solo business owner or freelancer looking for a free invoicing solution without the need for professional bookkeeping assistance. It has a decent mobile accounting app and good customer service. If you’re looking for a zero-cost platform that allows more than one user, we recommend Wave; and if you need the option to track inventory and project profitability, you’ll need a paid program like QuickBooks Online.
Explore our free Lendio tutorials to learn how to use the platform.
Bench: Best Online Bookkeeping Alternative to DIY Accounting Software
Your time is valuable, and you should definitely consider outsourcing some of your bookkeeping tasks. Bench, our best online bookkeeping service, will complete your bookkeeping for you in its proprietary software, starting at only $299 per month. This is far less than you would pay a local independent bookkeeper, and you can even add on tax filing and advisory services for an additional charge. Bench is a flexible bookkeeping service that can be customized to different industries, including real estate.
Bench
What We Like
- Very affordable bookkeeping service
- Add customized reporting starting at $100 per month
- All plans include tax-ready financial statements
- Tax filing will be very simple using its Premium plan
What's Missing
- You’ll still have to issue your own invoices
- Proprietary software could make it hard to switch to another provider
- Software doesn’t sync with QuickBooks for invoicing
Plans & Pricing
Annual contract:
- Essential: $299 per month
- Premium: $499.99 per month; includes income tax advice and return filing
Pay-as-you-go:
- Essential: $349 per month
Add-ons:
- Historical bookkeeping: Catch up prior bookkeeping periods for $299 per month
- Specialized bookkeeping: Track A/R, A/P, or segments starting at $100 per month
*Bench isn’t a complete bookkeeping system and was, therefore, not evaluated in our case study. However, it’s an excellent alternative to traditional accounting software for small businesses with specific needs.
Standout Features
- FreshBooks partnership: Bench is FreshBooks’ largest accounting partner. It can import your invoicing activity from FreshBooks to include in your accounting records.
- Human bookkeepers: You’ll be assigned a dedicated team of bookkeepers that will produce monthly financial reports based on managing and reconciling your bank accounts.
- Tax pros: In the Premium plan, you’ll be assigned a tax pro who is available for unlimited tax consultations and who will oversee the preparation of your annual income tax returns.
Expert Opinion
Bench will take care of the most crucial tasks in your bookkeeping process, which are overseeing the import and classification of your bank transactions and reconciling your bank accounts. We firmly believe that services like Bench should replace the DIY accounting software that many small business owners wrestle with every month.
However, the service doesn’t completely eliminate your bookkeeping tasks. You’ll still need to issue invoices to your customers, collect payments, and pay your bills. These tasks are closely tied to businesses, and we believe most business owners like maintaining control over these activities. We recommend Zoho Invoice as a great free invoicing program to use if Bench is doing the rest of your bookkeeping.
Bill: Best A/P Software for Advanced Bill Pay Features & Approval Workflows
Bill (formerly known as Bill.com) makes it easy for businesses to track and pay large numbers of bills quickly and easily by importing bills from email automatically and allowing for a customized approval process—which is why it’s our top-recommended A/P software. What’s more, it integrates easily with both QuickBooks Online and Xero.
Bill.com
What We Like
- Auto-import of bills saves hours of data entry
- Great approval process
- Affordable pricing for a few users
- Direct connection with vendors and customers that also use bill.com
What's Missing
- Can be expensive if you need many users
- A/R functions are pretty basic
- Not a full accounting software
Plans & Pricing
- Pay Bills: From $45 per user, per month
- Get Paid: From $45 per user, per month
- Pay Bills & Get Paid: $79 per user, per month; customize for enterprises
*As with Bench, Bill isn’t a complete bookkeeping system; thus, it wasn’t evaluated in our case study. However, we consider it a great alternative for processing A/P.
Standout Features
- Invoice capture: Bills received via email are transferred to your bill list automatically, where you can modify them and then send them on for payment approval.
- Automatic bill approvers: Bill approvers can be assigned by bill, or you can allow Bill to choose approvers based on the settings in your Bill Approval Policies.
- Dedicated approvers page: Approvers have their own login, where they’ll see only bills that have been submitted for their approval.
- Bill payments: Once bills have been approved, you can schedule payment through e-payments, internal wire transfers, or check payments.
- Issue invoices: With the Get Paid plan, you can issue invoices and track the payment of your invoices for customers who use Bill.
Expert Opinion
We recommend Bill as it’s a great bill payment solution for managing your A/P. Most accounting software come with some features to manage your bills, but Bill goes far beyond these built-in features. Its import process and accuracy are better, and the customized approval process is a necessity for larger organizations.
If you choose to use it for payments, you might opt to add the Get Paid plan for accounts receivable (A/R), but we don’t view that A/R function to be any better than the invoicing features built into most accounting software. The only exception is if your customers also use Bill, in which case, the payment can be collected within the platform and the tracking is done automatically.
How We Evaluated Small Business Accounting Software
We evaluated accounting software based on pricing, ease of use, and how well it performed against the ideal features we’re looking for, including project accounting, inventory management, and mobile accounting. Our evaluation was based on a rubric scoring methodology in six categories, each with designated appropriate percentages.
Our criteria for choosing the best small business accounting software are as follows:
5%
Pricing
40%
General Features
10%
Inventory
10%
Project Accounting
30%
Ease of Use
5%
Mobile App
5% of Overall Score
We evaluated pricing based on how each plan compares with the other similar software packages as well as how many users are included in each plan and the extra costs incurred per additional user.
40% of Overall Score
The biggest percentage comes from general features because the main reason small businesses need accounting software is to automate business processes like banking, A/P and A/R, sales taxes, and reporting.
10% of Overall Score
Many businesses are involved in the sales of products, so it’s essential that the best accounting software has a dedicated inventory management system.
10% of Overall Score
At the very least, a good accounting system should include features for tracking project-related costs for labor, materials, services, and inventory items.
30% of Overall Score
In addition to user interface (UI) and navigation, we also consider the available customer support options, including live chat and email and phone support.
5% of Overall Score
Mobile apps are evaluated based on their ability to perform certain tasks like invoicing, online payment processing, and expense receipt capture.
*Percentages of overall score
Accounting Software for Niche Industries
Some industries have accounting needs that require specialized software. Here are our top picks for niche industries:
Niche Accounting Software | Description |
|---|---|
Triple reconciliations between bank statements, client ledgers, and client trust accounts make it our best law firm accounting software. | |
Our pick for the leading church accounting software combines great church management software with accounting software at a low price. | |
It is our top-recommended restaurant accounting software because of its great restaurant management and solid accounting tools. | |
While it is fairly expensive for small businesses, it is incredibly powerful and is even our best cryptocurrency accounting software. | |
This is our top accounting practice management software for its robust feature set and strong integration with programs like QuickBooks, Lacerte, and Microsoft 365. |
Why You Need Small Business Accounting Software
Approximately 64% of business owners do their own bookkeeping and 64.4% of small businesses use accounting software to streamline their operations. To achieve financial stability, small businesses can use bookkeeping software that help them make informed decisions.
In addition to helping you understand and manage your business’s finances, good accounting software can save you time. You can read our top bookkeeping and accounting tips to help simplify your bookkeeping and use it effectively.
How Small Business Accounting Works
All businesses should have accounting software that can bill customers, help manage their bills, track their payments, and provide reports to see how a business is performing. Beyond that, the features needed in accounting software will vary by industry and personal preference.
Invoicing & Tracking Customer Payments
Your accounting software should be able to issue invoices and track them until they’re paid by your customer. It’s also helpful if your software will print an A/R aging report, which shows all of your outstanding invoices grouped by how long they’re past their due date. Finally, the best accounting software will track inventory, time, and expenses and allow you to add them to your invoices easily without much manual data entry.
Managing Bills & Tracking Expenses
Ideally, your accounting software should allow you to input bills when you receive them, including their due date. You can receive reminders of upcoming due dates and print an A/P aging report, grouping bills by how long they’re overdue.
Reporting
At the very least, your accounting software should print a profit and loss (P&L) statement and a balance sheet that can be used to prepare your tax returns. It’s helpful if software prints comparative financial statements that show both current and prior year numbers side by side.
The best accounting software will print many more reports than just basic financial statements. For instance, if your business deals with inventory, a report summarizing the quantity and cost of the current inventory on hand is essential. If your company works on large projects (e.g., a construction company), you’ll want reports that track the profitability of individual projects and compare the actual results to the estimated costs.
Fulfilling Industry-specific Needs
Many industries have specific requirements for their accounting software that might not apply to other industries. For example, restaurants and brick-and-mortar retail stores need a strong point-of-sale (POS) system. For these businesses, it’s important to choose an accounting system that will integrate with a POS system to transfer the data automatically without manual entries, which can cost time and create mistakes.
Other industry-specific needs include time and location tracking of employees, ecommerce platforms, CRM, and subcontractor management.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the best small business accounting software?
QuickBooks is by far the most popular small business accounting software in the US. However, there are some less expensive alternatives to QuickBooks you should consider.
What is the difference between cloud-based and on-premise accounting software?
A cloud-based software like QuickBooks Online allows you to access your books from the internet. On-premise programs like QuickBooks Desktop can be accessed only from the computer where it’s installed. Read our comparison of QuickBooks Online vs QuickBooks Desktop to learn more.
Is free accounting software good for my business?
If you only need basic accounting features like income and expense tracking, then you may benefit from free accounting software. Some free accounting programs, such as Lendio Accounting, also offer great invoicing functions.
Do I need to be an accountant or bookkeeper to use accounting software?
No, you don’t. There are some easy-to-use accounting software that doesn’t require prior bookkeeping experience. Examples are QuickBooks Online, Lendio Accounting, and FreshBooks. However, to get the most out of accounting software, we recommend that you work closely with your accountant.
Bottom Line
There are many terrific small business accounting software applications available, but none of them are as versatile and comprehensive as QuickBooks Online. However, it isn’t always the best solution, especially if you only have very basic needs and wish to save money. If your priority is mobile accounting, Zoho Books is more suitable. If your business operates in a very specialized industry, you may find QuickBooks Desktop Premier a great choice.
