Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: Key Differences & What’s Best 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.
Danielle is a writer for the Finance division of Fit Small Business. She has owned a bookkeeping and payroll service that specializes in small business, for over twenty years.
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
Both Sunrise and NCH Express Accounts are free accounting programs that offer powerful financial tools, but Sunrise has better reporting and accounts receivable (A/R) features while NCH Express Accounts excels with its banking functions.
When to Use Sunrise
While Sunrise by Lendio makes its accounting software available for free to any small business that wishes to handle its own bookkeeping. Its cloud-based software has a strong feature set that includes invoicing, creating quotes and estimates, tracking expenses, and financial reporting. Its paid plan also offers additional payment integrations and automatic expense categorization in your bank feed. It’s a great option for freelancers and users that could benefit from assisted bookkeeping.
Sunrise is better for:
- Freelancers seeking online access to their accounts: We selected Sunrise as one of the best accounting software programs for freelancers. Because it’s cloud-based, you can access it from anywhere and can also use the mobile app to perform many functions. We also chose Sunrise as one of the best mobile accounting apps.
- Businesses that want robust invoicing software: Sunrise is featured in our guide to the best free invoice generators, selecting it as the best free bookkeeping software that includes invoicing. Its recurring billing features also earned it a spot in our guide to the best recurring billing software.
- Tracking unpaid bills: Sunrise is our pick for best free accounts payable (A/P) software as it allows you to enter unpaid bills and track them until paid. You can also attach copies of receipts through either the desktop interface or the mobile app.
When to Use NCH Express Accounts
NCH Express Accounts is a free accounting application that provides the tools you need to handle most aspects of financial management for your business. It’s desktop-based software that’s a quick and easy solution for tracking invoices and bills. It also allows you to monitor cash flow and produce basic reports.
While it lacks a cohesive mobile app, you can use the Express Invoice app for all of your invoicing needs. You can also integrate with NCH Software’s other products, such as Inventoria, for inventory tracking functionality. We recommend NCH Express Accounts as one of the best free accounting applications.
NCH Express Accounts is better for:
- Small retail businesses seeking affordable inventory management software: NCH Software’s proprietary stock management software, Inventoria, is available as an add-on at a lower price than what most other accounting programs offer.
- Desktop users that want free accounting software: NCH Express Accounts is available only for the desktop and is free for businesses with less than five employees.
- Freelancers and microbusinesses seeking a way to track account activity: Intended as a quick solution to basic accounting tasks, NCH Express Accounts is best used as a monitoring tool to track your payments and transactions and view balances and reports. With NCH Express Accounts, our pick for best free bank reconciliation software, you can reconcile your bank accounts easily to keep your books accurate.
When to Use an Alternative
Sunrise and NCH Express Accounts are both free, effective accounting software programs. However, they both have limitations, such as not being able to track time or costs for project billing. The following businesses may be better served with an alternative:
- Construction companies: Neither Sunrise nor NCH Express Accounts let you track costs by project. For a more powerful solution, check out QuickBooks Online Plus, which we selected as the best general-purpose accounting software for tracking job costs in our article about the best construction accounting software programs.
- Ecommerce businesses: Both Sunrise and NCH Express accounts lack the features that are designed to support ecommerce, such as point-of-sale (POS) functions and Shopify integration. We recommend Xero for a budget-friendly alternative. We also chose Xero as the best small business accounting software for unlimited users.
- Contractors that track their time: Sunrise doesn’t have time tracking features, and you must add on an NCH Express Accounts software package for an additional fee. For a better option, check out Zoho Invoice, which is excellent for automating your invoicing workflows. It allows you to run integrated time tracking for project billing.
Fit Small Business Case Study
Our case study evaluates Sunrise and NCH Express Accounts across 11 categories. The results show that they’re evenly matched in a few categories, except for Banking, in which NCH Express Accounts excels. In a couple of categories, they ranked essentially the same, such as General Features, A/R, and Tax. You can review the detailed results of our case study in our Sunrise review and NCH Express Accounts review.
Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts at a Glance
Sunrise | NCH Express Accounts | |
|---|---|---|
Who It’s Best For | Freelancers | Desktop users and small retail businesses |
Pricing Plans | $0 to $19.99 per month | $0 to $129 |
Maximum Users | One to unlimited | One to unlimited |
Send Estimates | ✔ | ✔ |
Send Invoices & Track Collections | ✔ | ✔ |
Track Sales Tax Collections & Payments | ✔ | ✔ |
File Sales Tax Returns | N/A | N/A |
Manage Unpaid Bills | ✔ | ✔ |
Track Inventory | N/A | With Inventoria add-on |
Assign Time & Costs to Projects | N/A | N/A |
Capture & Organize Receipts | ✔ | N/A |
Integrated Payroll | ✔ | N/A |
GPS Mileage Tracker | N/A | N/A |
Track 1099 Payments | ✔ | N/A |
Multiple Entities | ✔ | ✔ |
Print 1099s | N/A | N/A |
Multiple Currencies | N/A | N/A |
Track Activity by Class & Location | N/A | N/A |
Create Sales Orders | N/A | ✔ |
Client Portal | N/A | N/A |
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Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: Pricing
Both Sunrise and NCH Express Accounts offer two subscription plans, but the difference is that Sunrise’s free self-service plan is restricted to one user with no limits on the number of employees in your business. NCH Express Accounts’ free plan is limited to small businesses with fewer than five employees. Larger businesses can choose between the Basic plan for $80 and the Plus plan for $129 (a one-time payment). The Plus plan can also be paid quarterly, which works out to $10.75 per month.
Sunrise Pricing
Sunrise offers a choice of two plans—you can choose the free self-service version or you can upgrade to Sunrise Plus for $19.99 per month. Most of the bookkeeping features are offered in the free version, and with Sunrise Plus you also receive automatic expense categorization in your bank feed and additional payment integrations with unlimited companies and users. Customers also receive a 1% savings on Sunset Pay transactions, which is Sunset’s integrated payment gateway.
- Free Self-Service: Free forever—includes most features discussed in this article, but limited to one user and one company
- Sunrise Plus: $19.99 per month for unlimited companies and users
NCH Express Accounts Pricing
NCH Express Accounts offers a free program for small businesses with fewer than five employees. Larger companies can choose between two paid plans, Basic and Plus. You can purchase a single-user license with a one-time payment or opt for a subscription with the quarterly plan, which is available with Express Accounts Plus.
Express Accounts Basic | Express Accounts Plus | |
|---|---|---|
Pricing (One-time Payment) | $80 | $129 |
Quarterly Plan | N/A | $21.48 |
Billing & Invoicing | ✔ | ✔ |
A/P and A/R Tracking | ✔ | ✔ |
Web Access | ✔ | ✔ |
Quotes & Sales Order Generation | N/A | ✔ |
Sales Analysis by Customer/Salespersons | N/A | ✔ |
Creating & Printing Checks | N/A | ✔ |
Access to NCH Express via Email | N/A | ✔ |
Inventoria, which we highly recommend if you have inventory, is available in either a Business or Corporate edition as a fully-featured, single installation license. The prices listed below are one-time payments.
- Business: $139—includes all Corporate edition features without multiple user or web access support
- Corporate: $190—includes ordering and receiving, inventory control, item control, and the ability to manage inventory by location
Takeaway: Sunrise’s free self-service plan offers many of the same features as the paid version, with the exception of enhanced customization options and discounts on Sunset Pay transactions. While NCH Express Accounts may offer a free program for small businesses with fewer than five employees, it charges a one-time fee to larger companies.
Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: Features
There are a few features that Sunrise and NCH Accounts share in common, such as the ability to create invoices and track payments and unpaid bills. But there are other cases where NCH Express Accounts is lacking, such as the inability to connect bank accounts and upload statements. Both also cannot assign time and expenses to jobs and convert purchase orders (POs) to bills.
Sunrise Free | Sunrise Plus | NCH Express Accounts | |
|---|---|---|---|
Users Included | 1 | Unlimited | 1 to Unlimited |
Estimate Quarterly Income Taxes | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Connect Bank Accounts & Upload Statements | ✔ | ✔ | N/A |
Scan & Upload Expense Receipts | ✔ | ✔ | N/A |
Create Invoices & Track Payments | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Track Sales Tax & Calculate Liability | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Integrated Payroll (Fee) | ✔ | ✔ | N/A |
Prepare 1099s for Contractors (Payment Tracking & Reports Only—Not Printing 1099s) | ✔ | ✔ | N/A |
Track Unpaid Bills | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Assign Time & Expenses to Jobs | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Create Purchase Orders & Convert to Bills | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Dedicated Account Support Team | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Advanced Reports | ✔ | ✔ | N/A |
Based on our case study, we’ll discuss in detail four key features of Sunrise and NCH Express Accounts that are significantly different.
Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: General Features
Sunrise and NCH Express Accounts both have strong general features, but they cannot create classes and locations to track job costs, and neither has dedicated time or project tracking features. Also, you’re restricted to only one user with Sunrise’s free self-service plan and NCH Express Accounts’ Basic plan.
The standard chart of accounts that is available with NCH Express Accounts is more comprehensive than Sunrise’s—for example, it comes preloaded with the Accumulated Depreciation account for fixed assets. With NCH Express, you also must classify accounts for cash flow statements, which is something that most accounting programs do automatically based on account type.
Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: Banking
NCH Express Accounts excels with its banking features, specifically bank reconciliation. While both applications have automatic reconciliation features, Sunrise won’t let you reconcile accounting periods with timing differences. You also can’t view outstanding transactions, enter the monthly service fee, or save the transaction and return later. We featured NCH Express Accounts as one of the best bank reconciliation applications because of its free desktop program.
One of the drawbacks to using NCH Express Accounts is that you can’t connect your bank accounts, although you can upload your transactions using a comma-separated values (CSV) file. Once the file is uploaded, the software will assist you with mapping the transaction fields. It also lets you create adjusting entries directly for bank statement transactions that haven’t yet been recorded in the books without leaving the reconciliation.
Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: A/R
One of Sunrise’s strongest features is A/R, with the Sunrise Plus plan offering invoice customization features. With Sunrise, you can create and send invoices to customers, create sales tax items, and add inventory to an invoice, although inventory tracking isn’t available.
NCH Express Accounts also allows for invoice customization, including uploading your logo. Like Sunrise, you’re not able to add unbilled labor and expenses to invoices or combine multiple checks received into a single deposit.
Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: Ease of Use
While both Sunrise and NCH Express Accounts are user-friendly with an easy set-up process, Sunrise has a slight edge with its attractive user interface and navigation. Also, because Sunrise is cloud-based, it’s more accessible than the desktop version of NCH Express Accounts since you can log in from anywhere.
Sunrise Ease of Use
Sunrise is extremely easy to use, with an excellent user interface and intuitive navigation. Setting up your account takes just a few minutes with the built-in tutorial, allowing you to quickly connect your accounts. All of the features are marked clearly on your main dashboard, and even users with limited bookkeeping experience will be able to use the software easily. If you encounter any issues, you can contact customer support or view related resources with ease.
NCH Express Accounts Ease of Use
The installation of NCH Express Accounts is relatively simple. Once you have installed the program, you can choose to add on several different options. Some of these are paid options and include facilities like project management and inventory management. The user interface is clean and straightforward, and while it may not be the most visually appealing, it’s easy to navigate.
Takeaway: Whether you opt for Sunrise’s cloud-based user interface or NCH Express Accounts’ desktop version, you won’t be intimidated by the account set-up process or navigation. NCH Express Accounts allows you to add on both free and paid features.
Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: Integrations
Depending on the nature of your business, you may not need third-party integrations. However, if you anticipate a need for payroll, then Sunrise’s integration with Gusto will accommodate that need. Sunrise also integrates with Zapier, which will give you thousands of app options. NCH Express Accounts integrations are limited to its other software products like Inventoria and Express Invoice.
Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: Mobile App
While Sunrise has a mobile app that handles almost all of the same features as the web version, the NCH Express Accounts mobile app allows you to handle your accounts receivable, with the ability to create invoices, quotes, and sales orders. If you’re looking for a more well-rounded mobile app and envision that you’ll need to do more than just invoice customers, then Sunrise is the better choice.
Sunrise Mobile App
Sunrise has a comprehensive mobile app available for both iOS and Android that allows you to track expenses, create invoices and estimates, collect customer payments via credit card, and capture receipts. We ranked Sunrise as the best free accounting software for mobile app users.
The invoices and payments functions are fully customizable, allowing you to give detailed descriptions. Invoice templates are professionally branded with your name and logo, and you can customize payment terms. Sunrise’s mobile app received a rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars at the Apple Store and 4.5 out of 5 stars on Google Play.
NCH Express Accounts Mobile App
NCH Express Accounts doesn’t currently have a mobile app.
Takeaway: Sunrise’s ability to collect customer payments and capture receipts makes it a very useful mobile app for many businesses.
Sunrise vs NCH Express Accounts: Customer Support
Sunrise and NCH Express Accounts both offer some form of customer support, but Sunrise’s is more responsive, and there are also more ways to get in contact. Neither offer phone support, but you can communicate via live chat and email with Sunrise and via email with NCH Express Accounts. You can also browse a library of online resources with both companies.
Sunrise Customer Support
Although you’re not able to contact Sunrise’s customer support by phone, it receives high marks in this category because of how quickly and efficiently it responds to inquiries via live chat and email. If you initiate a live chat session, the correspondence starts with a bot, and then you’ll be transferred to a representative. You can also submit a trouble ticket on the website, and you’ll receive a response via email. There are a couple of resources on the website, including help articles and blog posts.
NCH Express Accounts Customer Support
NCH Express is very limited in its customer support, with no option to speak with someone on the phone or via live chat. If you need technical support, you can either email the company or check their online help center. Included are video tutorials, a help manual, answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), and a user forum.
Takeaway: Neither Sunrise nor NCH Express Accounts offer phone support, but this isn’t surprising with free accounting software. Sunrise has more customer support options, but NCH Express Accounts offers a wide variety of resources within its online help center.
Bottom Line
Sunrise and NCH Express Accounts have many of the same features, but each has its own strong points. Both offer free plans that are ideal for freelancers or microbusinesses, but there are important factors to consider that will influence your decision. If you want access to assisted bookkeeping and strong A/R features are important to you, then you’ll appreciate Sunset’s capabilities. If you’re a desktop user that could benefit from add-ons like inventory tracking, then NCH Express Accounts is an excellent choice.
