The Best Accounting Software

All businesses and organizations regardless of tenure need accounting software. This minimizes the amount of time needed to track all the accounts payable and receivable and keep documentation of your organization’s financial flow. 

With good accounting software, you can have immediate visibility, a clear understanding of your profitability, and can easily handle tax season since everything is accounted for.

Thankfully, the market now offers different accounting software that you can adapt and use in your business. Each software has its own capabilities, perks, opportunities, and price tags. All of these are intended to be user-friendly and fully customizable based on your needs.

If you work as a freelancer, you won’t have the same accounting needs as someone who owns and manages a restaurant – so taking the time to explore your options is certainly worth it.

You don’t need to spend a portion of your finances paying for a bookkeeper or an accountant to review your books and ledgers – a reliable accounting software should do everything for you and even more.

Leave the invoicing, accounts payable and receivable, bank and credit syncing, online payment and collection, and preparation of financial statements to your virtual accountant.

The Best Accounting Software

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Quickbooks

A go-to option for millions of businesses, Quickbooks is something of a household name when it comes to accounting. It is ideal for small businesses who want to slowly transition to a fully-automated system.

Quickbooks online is not just for accounting but it is also an excellent resource for virtual training and forums should you need knowledge reinforcements in the course of using the software.

The design of Quickbooks is simple with all its accounting features conveniently accessible on the main dashboard. This makes everything efficient and fluid for any user regardless of technical skill type and level.

Intuit’s QuickBooks boasts non-negotiable accounting features with the advantage of getting third-party applications integrated into the system. Everyone uses this accounting software – from business newbies to tax professionals.

This is a cloud-based application so you need to access and use it on a web browser but Intuit understands that everything is already on-the-go today so there is also a corresponding mobile app so you can have visibility and control over your ledger anytime, anywhere.

If you are still going through what the market has to offer, you can take advantage of QuickBook’s 30-days free trial. Although not all the features are unlocked at this plan, you can have a good idea of how it is to navigate the app and see if it is enough to suit your business’ needs.

QuickBooks has four paid subscription plans: Simple Start which costs $25, Essentials at $40, and Plus for $70 per month. For large-scale businesses, the Advance plan which is $150 per month is the best option.

Usually, there are discounts being offered for the first few months so you need to keep an eye on these perks so you can get the best deals from QuickBooks.

As a bonus, you are not restricted from upgrading your subscription. You can upgrade or downgrade as needed and the mobile app is 100% customizable so that you can use it to handle businesses and collect payments, analyze reports, take photos of receipts, and track your business mileage wherever you are.

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Xero

Xero is a great accounting software for micro-business owners. It is designed to be simple and easy to use – anybody who can navigate a computer and understand accounting language can get by and use this without any problems.

The software has a clean, minimalistic, and modern interface. It also boasts other third-party payroll systems that can make your accounting experience better.

With Xero, you can collect payments from your customers online. It makes cashless transactions easy and truly attainable thanks to Xero’s partnership with GoCardless and Stipe.

This cloud-based accounting software started in New Zealand in 2006. And it has steadily created its database with clients in the US, New Zealand, UK, and Australia.

Xero has three monthly subscriptions, all economically affordable for an organization that is still relatively small. Early costs $11, Growing at $32, and Established at $62 per month. The full Xero service is provided through Gusto and will cost you and your organization an additional $39 per month plus an additional $6 for every employee.

This might be a little overwhelming especially if you have not yet decided if you want Xero to handle your accounting needs, so thanks to the brand’s 30-days free trial, you can have first-hand experience on how Xero works without commitment.

This accounting software also has its own mobile app so you can have a glimpse of your financials anywhere you are. Its payroll functionality is integrated with Gusto and it features a simple inventory management system that anybody from your team can understand and use.

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FreshBooks

If you run a business, it’s absolutely imperative that you have a solid invoicing system in place to handle all client transactions.

FreshBooks’ specialty is exactly this, thanks to its flexible and powerful invoicing tools. It can take care of your sending, receiving, printing, and payment of your invoices. Aside from this, it can also meet your organization’s basic bookkeeping requirements.

As an accounting software, FreshBooks guarantees that you can send invoices, proposals, collect client retainers, request payment deposits, receive payments, and track your time and finances on certain projects.

All these and more can be conveniently accomplished on a user-friendly and efficient platform that has integrated other apps on the market like Gusto, Shopify, G Suite, and Stripe. These apps are all reputable when it comes to their specific functions and using them within the app can make your accounting experience more seamless.

FreshBooks offers four different plan tiers and if you pay yearly, you and your organization can get as much as a 10% discount. The brand also has plenty of ongoing promotions and discounts like a 60% discount per month for six months.

With the $6 Lite plan, $10 Plus, $20 Premium, and fully customizable Select, you can enjoy any of these on a monthly basis and handle any invoicing and accounting needs.

The main difference between these options is the number of clients that are billable on a monthly basis. For example, in Lite, up to 5 clients can be billed while in Plus, 50 clients can be billed monthly. This enables you to use your resources efficiently and economically.

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QuickBooks Self-Employed

Part-time freelancers also need to look into their financial books and ensure that their financial flow is right on track and QuickBooks Self-Employed is the ideal solution for this.

Making a second appearance as one of the best accounting software is Intuit’s Self-Employed system, an accounting software specifically intended for independent contractors, freelancers, and work from home businesses that want to be on top of their expenses and income in preparation for their tax return.

In particular, this is best for business owners who usually file a Schedule C on their tax returns.

QuickBooks Self-Employed is also cloud-based, with a mobile app and a web-based interface. With this software, you can sort your expenses, track mileage, organize receipts and invoices and pay your invoices accordingly, and have a reliable system in estimating and filing your taxes via TurboTax.

You don’t need to go through all your credit card statements and bank statements at the end of the year just to get an overall estimate of your expenses and annual income because this software alone can manage that for you with the least effort coming from you.

Most of today’s accounting software is not made to separate and differentiate your business expenses from your personal transactions, QuickBooks Self-Employed is the exception because it can do this like a pro. With the simple feature of being able to decide which is personal and not, you can easily filter and still use a single bank account.

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Wave

With its headquarters based in Toronto, this company founded in 2010 has now grown to have more than 250 employees and was recently acquired by H&R Block.

This accounting software specifically caters to small businesses that need to accomplish simple invoices. For service-based businesses and freelancers, the free features of Wave are more than enough to cater to their accounting needs.

Yes, for free, you can be confident knowing that all your invoices are intact and by the end of the year, your accountant can just gather all the necessary Wave reports from the platform and prepare your tax return.

The fundamental accounting features that every small business needs like expense and income tracking, financial reporting, scanning receipts, and invoicing are all included on the free platform. Therefore, a significant chunk of your accounting requirements are taken care of, without needing to spend on plans.

As a bonus, Wave doesn’t have any billing or transaction limits and you can involve anyone and everyone in your organization since it can cater to unlimited users. You have the flexibility to run several businesses in a single account and have access to it anytime thanks to its mobile app.

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