Best Small Business Accounting Software in 2023
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
The best small business accounting software is easy to use and has all the essential features you need to manage your finances, including invoicing, income and expense tracking, and bill payment. While some businesses may do well with basic and free software like Wave, others require a solution with more developed features, like QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books.
Here are the six best accounting software for small businesses:
- QuickBooks Online: Overall best accounting software for small businesses with project, class, and location tracking
- Wave: Best free solution for tracking income and expenses
- FreshBooks: Best for small service-based businesses
- Zoho Books: Best for mobile accounting
- QuickBooks Desktop: Best desktop accounting software for managing multiple companies
- Bench: Best online bookkeeping service as an alternative to do-it-yourself (DIY) accounting software
While the accounting software above provides great solutions for most small businesses, you might need something a little more specific to your needs. Keep reading until the end, or jump directly to our section on choosing software based on industry or selecting a platform based on desired features.
We are committed to providing you with an unbiased, thorough, and comprehensive evaluation to help you find the right accounting software for your business. We meticulously and objectively assess each software based on a fixed set of criteria—including pricing, features, ease of use, and customer support—in our internal case study.
To delve deeper into our best small business accounting software, we tested and used each platform to evaluate how the features perform against our metrics. This hands-on approach helps us strengthen our accounting software expertise and deliver on the Fit Small Business mission of providing the best answers to your small business questions.
Quick Comparison of Best Small Business Accounting Software
Provider | Price | Users Included | Free Trial | Highlights | Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $30 to $200 per month | 1 to 25 | 30 days |
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 | Free | Unlimited | None, as platform is free forever |
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 | $17 to $55 per month or custom priced | 1 | 30 days |
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 | $0 to $249 per month | 1 to 15 | 14 days |
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 | $549.99 to $1,410 per year | 1 | None; but has a 60-day money-back guarantee |
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 | $299 or $499 per month | N/A | Fit Small Business readers get 2 months free |
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QuickBooks Online: Best Overall Small Business Accounting Software
Overall Score:
4.40 / 5
Pros
- 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
- Free meeting with QuickBooks ProAdvisor to get set up
Cons
- A bit expensive compared to similar software
- Requires Plus subscription to track inventory and project profitability
- Unable to enter bills or record time worked from the mobile app
- Requires one subscription per organization
Pricing & Plans
You can try QuickBooks Online for 30 days or get 50% off for three months if you subscribe immediately:
- Simple Start: $30 per month for one user
- Essentials: $60 per month for up to three users
- Plus: $90 per month for up to five users
- Advanced: $200 per month for up to 25 users
See how the tiers differ through our comparison of QuickBooks Online plans.
QuickBooks Online is our best small business accounting program because it is widely used by business owners and accountants. It has a 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. It is also easy to use and allows you to share data and files effortlessly with employees, certified public accountants (CPAs), and tax professionals.
In our accounting rubric, QuickBooks Online consistently stands out across various criteria, such as banking, accounts payable (A/P), accounts receivable (A/R), and inventory. It earned near-perfect marks for its support network because of the availability of QuickBooks ProAdvisors. If you need one to help you use the platform to its full potential, read our guide on how to find a local QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
Also, QuickBooks Online offers many self-help guides to help new users get the most out of QuickBooks. If you need additional training resources, you can check out our free QuickBooks Online training courses.
QuickBooks Online now provides new subscribers a one-on-one meeting with a QuickBooks ProAdvisor to set up your company file at no additional charge.
Wave: Best Free Solution for Tracking Income & Expenses
Overall Score:
2.60 / 5
Pros
- Easy to setup and use
- Tracks expenses with automatic bank feeds
- Send invoices
- Receipt scanning
- Unlimited users with different roles
Cons
- No inventory accounting
- Not scalable in the long run
- Can’t reconcile bank statements when timing differences exist
Pricing & Plans
Wave is free for accounting and invoicing. However, it will charge you transaction fees when processing payments within the app.
Wave is our recommended free solution for small business accounting and our overall best free accounting software. It includes free bookkeeping, invoicing, and expense tracking features, making it a great fit for freelancers and small businesses with simple accounting needs.
One of the advantages of Wave is that it supports unlimited users, which can be useful for small businesses or freelancers working with a team. Additionally, it offers some paid features that can be added as needed, such as payroll processing, credit card processing, and bookkeeping services.
However, it has some limitations, such as the lack of inventory management and project accounting. We recommend choosing QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books if you need a complete bookkeeping solution or have plans to upgrade in the future.
FreshBooks: Best for Small Service-based Businesses
Overall Score:
3.20 / 5
Pros
- 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
Cons
- Requires an additional fee for an extra user
- Can’t reconcile accounts without bank feeds
- Can’t track activity by class
- Lacks inventory management
Pricing & Plans
- Lite: $17 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 60% off for six months.
Add-ons:
- Additional team members: $10 per person, per month, in all plans
- Gusto Payroll (separately billed from Gusto) (read our full review of Gusto)
- Advanced payments at $20 per month (for Plus, Premium, and Select plans only)
FreshBooks is also one of our best accounting software for small businesses and is our top choice for project-based companies because of its robust project management and time-tracking features. We recommend it for small service-based businesses that bill clients based on the time worked by their employees, including consulting firms and marketing agencies.
Another useful feature is its ability to compare estimated and actual project costs, which isn’t possible with QuickBooks Online. This helps you determine whether you are over budget or under budget, which allows you to make the necessary adjustments to your project plan or budget if needed.
We docked points from FreshBooks mainly in general accounting features and inventory management. We recommend QuickBooks Online if both of those are crucial to your small business.
You might enjoy our free FreshBooks tutorials for an in-depth view of how to use the platform.
Zoho Books: Best Accounting Software for Mobile Accounting
Overall Score:
4.40 / 5
Pros
- Fee plan has many features
- Excellent inventory and COGS accounting
- Mobile app can perform almost any accounting function
- Integrates with other Zoho apps easily
Cons
- 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
Pricing & Plans
You can try any paid plan for 14 days with no credit card requirement:
- Free: For businesses making less than $50,000 in annual revenues—includes one user plus one accountant and up to 1,000 invoices per year
- Standard: $12 per month—limited to three users and 5,000 invoices
- Professional: $24 per month—limited to five users with unlimited invoices
- Premium: $36 per month—limited to 10 users
- Elite: $129 per month—limited to 10 users—includes advanced inventory
- Ultimate: $249 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
Zoho Books stands out from the other accounting software with its powerful mobile app. It tops our list of the leading mobile accounting apps because users can perform advanced accounting tasks on the app, including sending invoices, accepting online payments, entering bills, and viewing reports. You can also create recurring invoices and track time worked, making Zoho Books our pick for the overall best accounting software for freelancers.
We believe that conducting business with clients on the go is easier when you have a powerful mobile app. However, that’s not the only thing Zoho Books can offer as it’s also remarkable in other aspects, such as inventory and project accounting. It has features similar to QuickBooks Online—but at a more affordable price. This makes Zoho Books our best alternative to QuickBooks Online.
The provider nearly aced the majority of our rubric criteria, but it fell short in terms of ease of use and tax management. Again, QuickBooks Online is our top contender for these areas.
QuickBooks Desktop: Best Desktop Accounting Software for Managing Multiple Companies
Overall Score:
4.10 / 5
Pros
- 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
Cons
- Desktop software requires installation and setup
- Not as easy to use as a cloud-based accounting software
- Additional users require a separate subscription fee
- Difficult to share books with an external accountant
Pricing & Plans
- QuickBooks Pro: From $599 per year for one user
- QuickBooks Premier Plus: From $799 per year for one user
- QuickBooks Enterprise: From $1,410 per year for one user
- QuickBooks Accountant: Included with $799 annual QuickBooks’ ProAdvisor membership
There is no free trial, but all QuickBooks Desktop products come with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
To help you determine which version of QuickBooks Desktop is right for you, read our:
We recommend this program if you don’t want cloud-based software like QuickBooks Online. As our best multicompany accounting software, you can manage the books of an unlimited number of companies for a single subscription price. With QuickBooks Online, you can set up and manage multiple companies, but each company requires its own subscription.
For businesses with complex accounting needs, including those with multiple locations, inventory management, or job costing, QuickBooks Desktop is a great fit. However, it has some drawbacks. For instance, you can only access your data from the computer it is installed on. Also, it may be more challenging to collaborate with your team or accountant since you need to share the actual data file.
Read our in-depth comparison of QuickBooks Online vs Desktop to choose the best software for your business.
In our evaluation, QuickBooks Desktop took a huge hit in pricing. Since each license includes one user only and requires an additional fee for extra users, it can be expensive for large teams. If you need a more affordable cloud-based alternative without sacrificing features, Zoho Books is a great option.
QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise are the most popular desktop versions of QuickBooks for Windows. For Mac users, check out our list of the best accounting software for Mac.
Bench: Best Online Bookkeeping Service as an Alternative to DIY Accounting Software
Pros
- 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
Cons
- 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
Pricing & Plans
Annual contract:
- Essential: $299 per month
- Premium: $499 per month; includes income tax advice and return filing
Pay-as-you-go:
- Essential: $349 per month
Add-ons:
- Historical bookkeeping: Catch up on prior bookkeeping periods for $299 per month
- Specialized bookkeeping: Track A/R, A/P, or segments starting at $100 per month
Fit Small Business readers receive two months of free bookkeeping service with no commitment.
When you outsource your bookkeeping to Bench, our best online bookkeeping service, you can free up time to focus on more important aspects of your business rather than getting bogged down in administrative tasks.
Whether you are short on time or don’t have the bandwidth or resources to manage your books, Bench’s team of bookkeeping professionals can help you manage your accounting tasks, such as data entry, reconciliations, and financial reporting. For as little as $299 monthly, Bench costs far less than you would pay a local independent bookkeeper, and you can even add on tax filing and advisory services.
However, the service doesn’t 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.
Freelancers may want to see our roundup of the best online bookkeeping services for freelancers to find a service provider that can cater to your bookkeeping needs.
Guide To Choosing Industry-specific Software
You may need industry-specific accounting software if you have unique bookkeeping needs that are specific to your niche. For instance, law firms require trust accounting features, which are often not offered in general-purpose bookkeeping solutions, such as the best small business accounting software presented above.
To help you select the right solution for your niche, check out our following guides to the best accounting software across various industries:
- Best law firm accounting software
- Best farm accounting software
- Best church accounting software
- Best restaurant accounting software
- Best ecommerce accounting software
- Best nonprofit accounting software
- Best trucking accounting software
- Best real estate accounting software
- Best construction accounting software
- Best accounting practice management software
- Best retail accounting software
- Best hotel accounting software
- Best startup accounting software
- Best accounting software for manufacturing businesses
- Best cryptocurrency accounting software
- Best accounting software for handyman business
Guide To Choosing Accounting Software for Specific Features
There’s no one-size-fits-all accounting software; each program has its own benefits and drawbacks, especially in terms of features. That said, if there’s a specific accounting aspect or task you want to automate or achieve within your company, select a platform that is excellent in that area.
Below are our helpful guides to finding the right bookkeeping software tailored to specific features or areas of accounting:
- Best bank reconciliation software
- Best invoicing software
- Best A/P software
- Best project accounting software
- Best fixed asset management software
- Best small business budgeting software
- Best mobile accounting apps
- Best multicompany accounting software
How We Evaluated Small Business Accounting Software
We evaluated the best small business accounting software using our internal case study, which we developed to assess the products we recommend objectively. During our evaluation, we focused on the following key categories:
5%
Pricing
7%
General Features
7%
Banking
7%
A/P
7%
A/R
10%
Inventory
10%
Project Accounting
4%
Tax
4%
Reporting
30%
Ease of Use
5%
Mobile App
4%
User Reviews
5% of Overall Score
In evaluating pricing, we considered the billing cycle (monthly or annual) and number of users.
7% of Overall Score
This section focuses more on first-time setup and software settings. The software must be quick and easy to set up for new users. Even after initial setup, the software must also let users modify information like company name, address, entity type, fiscal year-end, and other company information.
7% of Overall Score
The banking section of this case study focuses on cash management, bank reconciliation, and bank feed connections. The software must have bank integrations to automatically feed bank or card transactions. The bank reconciliation module must also let users reconcile accounts with or without bank feeds for optimal ease of use. Lastly, the software must generate useful reports related to cash.
7% of Overall Score
The A/P section focuses on vendor management, bill management, bill payments, and other payable-related transactions. A/P features include creating vendors and bills, recording purchase orders and converting them to bills, creating service items, and recording full or partial bill payments.
7% of Overall Score
This takes into account customer management, revenue recognition, invoice management, and collections. The software must have A/R features that make it easy for users to collect payments from customers, remind customers of upcoming or overdue invoices, and manage customer obligations through analytic dashboards or reports.
10% of Overall Score
Businesses with inventory items should choose accounting software that can track inventory costs, manage COGS, and monitor inventory units.
10% of Overall Score
Service or project-based businesses should choose accounting software that can track project costs, revenues, and profits. The software must have tools to track time, record billable hours or expenses, send invoices for progress billings, or monitor project progress and performance.
4% of Overall Score
In this section, we’re looking at sales tax features. The software must have features that allow users to set sales tax rates, apply them to invoices, and enable users to pay sales tax liability.
4% of Overall Score
Reports are important for managers, owners, and decision-makers. The software must have enough reports that can be generated with a few clicks. Moreover, we’d also like to see customization options to enable users to generate reports based on what they want to see.
30% of Overall Score
Ease of use gets the highest weight in this case study because we want to give more credit to easy accounting software. For this section, we considered customer service, support network, and a subjective expert opinion score. Users must have easy access to customer service channels in case of problems, questions, or assistance.
Support network refers to a community of software users that can extend professional help to businesses. Having an independent software expert perform the bookkeeping is good for overall ease of use. Lastly, our expert opinion score is our subjective rating based on our experience in trying the software.
5% of Overall Score
The software must also have a mobile app to enable users to perform accounting tasks even when away from their laptops or desktops.
4% of Overall Score
We went to user review websites to read first-hand reviews from actual software users. This user review score helps us give more credit to software products that deliver a consistent service to their customers.
*Percentages of overall score
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
QuickBooks is by far the most popular and top small business accounting software in the US. However, there are some less expensive alternatives to QuickBooks you may consider, such as Wave and Freshbooks.
Some key factors you need to consider when selecting the best business accounting software include cost, ease of use, deployment method, scalability, features, and customer support.
Prices range from $0 to $200 per month for cloud-based software. Desktop accounting software can go as high as more than $1,000 per month, depending on the number of users included in the plan.
For businesses with basic accounting tasks, Wave might be the simplest solution. It lets you create and send unlimited invoices, track income and expenses, and create financial reports.
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.
If you only need basic accounting features like income and expense tracking, then you may benefit from free accounting software like Wave.
No, you don’t. There is 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 needs special industry features, you choose one of QuickBooks Desktop Premier’s five industry-specific editions.
