I signed up for a free trial of FreshBooks’ accounting software and tested it on a Mac laptop using the Safari browser. All action items were clearly labeled and I was walked through how to complete all tasks. Send quotes or invoices in minutes, track your expenses easily, and stay on budget. In the cloud, you have access to your business data any where with an internet connection, on any device.

With its straightforward accounting software, QuickBooks is an easy favorite amongst freelancers, and not just because many of them bundle it when filing their own taxes with TurboTax. We prioritized software that was either low-cost or had an affordable plan in a series of pricing plans. We also gave credit to those apps that either provided users with a free version of the software or at least a free trial period. When considering the affordability of cloud accounting software, many providers have promotions going where the software is greatly reduced for a brief period, then goes up in price. Those that had price increases that were reasonable fared better in our ratings.

Accounting software that works as hard as you do

Unlike data stored on a hard drive, data in the cloud is typically not susceptible to being lost due to hardware malfunctions. Sage Business Cloud Accounting, like the others we’ve mentioned, is cloud-based accounting software that doesn’t require any accounting knowledge to use. In fact, it recommends the best accounting solutions based on your industry, company size, and unique business needs. Wave offers a nice balance for those who want to keep accounting costs low while still having access to additional features if needed.

1. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made when it comes to making sure my accounting is on point.
2. The cheapest QuickBooks plan starts at $30 a month—higher than any of our other recommended bookkeeping solutions.
3. Other small-business owners can benefit from doing the same early on.

Is accounting software secure?

Below, our full list of the best small-business accounting software includes why we selected each product, monthly price details and features checklists for easy product comparisons. Once I filled out the form, I was asked to enter my password again and taken to my account dashboard. First, I was immediately presented with a list of action items to further set up and customize my account. I tested OneUp on a MacBook Pro computer using the Safari browser. I found the software to be extremely easy to set up and start using.

By submitting this form, you agree to the processing of personal data according to our Privacy Policy. Join us online for a live webinar to make the best out of Zoho Books. Start with a 14-day free trial to experience effortless accounting. When an invoice is past due, follow these five steps to collect outstanding payments so you can get paid sooner. Customize estimates and convert them to invoices what is a note receivable automatically. Solves the tedious process of accessing data for you and your clients.

Intuit QuickBooks

The best accounting software received top marks when evaluated across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories. Learn more about how we rate small-business accounting software. Other features include inventory tracking, reporting, invoicing, project management tools and the ability to categorize transactions using classes. If you don’t want to manually enter transactions into Wave, you can opt for the Pro plan to link an unlimited number of bank and credit card accounts for automated reconciliation.

It also doesn’t offer additional plans if your business grows in the future, which means you could eventually have to transfer your data to another provider. Unlike some competitors that require you to pay extra for a time-tracking module, all FreshBooks plans come with unlimited time tracking. You can start a timer from within the mobile app to log hours spent on a particular project or sync data from tools like Asana and Trello. Want to check out software ranked by accounting features, not just bookkeeping basics? Read through our reviews of the best accounting software options for small businesses like yours.

The paid plan offers more competitive online payment processing rates, too (starting at 2.9% per transaction vs. the free plan’s 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction). Also sometimes called on-premise software, desktop accounting software must be locally installed on a specific computer and can only be accessed from that one device or location. Robust feature set includes thorough record-keeping, comprehensive reporting, excellent invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app. The best accounting software makes it easy to track how money moves in and out of your small business and helps you keep a detailed financial record so that you’re ready come tax season. QuickBooks Online is one of the most popular bookkeeping software choices in the US. Its comprehensive reports are easy for first-time business owners to generate and understand, and it offers more thorough reporting than just about any other software out there.

Answer a few questions about your accounting software needs and we’ll send you up to five customized recommendations. If you send invoices on the go, want to up your chances of getting paid on time by sending recurring invoices to repeat clients, and bill customers all over the world with multilingual invoicing, Zoho has you covered. And while Zoho Books does a great job of tackling all things invoice, you’ll get an even better deal by adding Zoho Invoice to your Zoho Books plan.