Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships. Each pricing level adds more features and users, with the most expensive plan supporting unlimited users. QuickBooks offers business accounting essential features, but the platform also offers some advanced accounting features that come in handy when automating your business’s accounting processes.

Completing tasks within the platform was as simple as filling out simple forms and following instructions that walked me through how to complete tasks (like connecting my bank account). Reports offered instructions to help me interpret them and easy filtering options to customize them to my needs. NetSuite’s accounting software is all about automation, which can be a huge time-saver (and stress-reducer) for businesses. Automation features include creating journal entries and statement reconciliation.

How We Picked the Best Accounting Software for Small Business

In addition to offering accounting features, ZarMoney offers a robust cloud-based inventory management solution. Using this system, you can track the inventory status of all warehouses within your company, analyzing each location’s product status and sales and purchase histories. It offers a real-time understanding of your stock levels and demand prediction reports so you know when you’re likely to run low.

Is free accounting software good for my business?

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. Sage 50 scored very well across all the major accounting features that we have in our case study. It’s exceptionally strong in project and inventory accounting, which is why it received a perfect mark in the category. One of the few missing accounting features was a way to group paper checks and cash into a lump sum deposit amount so that the check register matches your bank statement.

However, Xero’s $13 a month plan limits you to entering only five bills and sending only 20 invoices a month. You can send unlimited invoices and quotes with only the Growing and Established plans, which start at $37 and $70 a month, respectively. In contrast, both QuickBooks and FreshBooks offer small-business expense tracking up front. Most accounting software goes beyond these tasks with additional built-in modules for invoicing and billing as well as inventory management, among other functions. The more your accounting software becomes a one-stop shop for these financial chores, the fewer integrations you need to consider. NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, reasonably priced, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business.

FreshBooks will best serve service-based businesses that want the best invoicing tools and customization. And if you’re looking for a free solution to a business’s invoicing and accounting needs, Wave is a good option. We like FreshBooks for service-based businesses because it excels at producing proposals, tracking time on projects, and receiving payments—all key processes for service-based businesses.

1. With the Pro Plan, automatically import, merge, and categorize your bank transactions.
2. The more expensive payroll plan is full-service, automatically filing and paying payroll taxes for your business.
3. FreshBooks’s combination of stellar features, customizable invoices, and well-reviewed mobile apps make it pretty much perfect—especially for freelancers.
4. I could also invite team members to join the project and assign and invite a client with just a couple of clicks.
5. We chose Wave as one of the best accounting software options for small businesses because we believe it’s one of the best free accounting software options available.

Xero: Best Value With Inventory and Over 5 Users

But if Wave doesn’t have the right features for your small business, you do have other free accounting options—ZipBooks, SlickPie, or another free accounting software provider could work better for you. While you can track data and create financial documents by hand, accounting software can do it for you—and while requiring less time, effort, and energy on your part. Accounting software also generates financial reports for you, which is a crucial part of creating a small business that many first-time business owners aren’t aware of.

However, the service doesn’t eliminate all of 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 adp run 2020 like maintaining control over these activities. While Bench is doing the rest of your bookkeeping, you can consider using free invoicing software like Zoho Invoice, one of our top free invoice generators. We believe that conducting business with clients on the go is easier when you have an excellent mobile app.

After creating the project, I was taken to a page designated to that project. Here, I could post updates on the project’s status, track hours worked and view project invoices, estimates, expenses and profitability reports, all from the project’s page. By clicking “more actions,” then “generate invoice” from the top of the page, I could also easily bill a client.