You might need more resources to hire a full-time accountant if you’re a small business owner.
You may be super focused on creating content for your website using generative AI. If you’re just starting out and you don’t have that much money coming in, you need to focus on creating content so you can generate revenue. But, you’re also going to need to spend at least *some* time on accounting, even if you don’t want to; those finance calculations will add up quickly.
Unfortunately, if you don’t have the cash to pay for help, you may have to do the accounting yourself until you generate enough revenue to hire a professional accountant. Luckily, there are several accounting software tools available that can simplify and streamline the process.
In this blog post, we will look at some of the best accounting software tools for small business owners. We’ll provide a brief overview of each tool, and cover features, pricing, and what I like and don’t like about each tool. After reading this article, you can select the best tool for you!
What Are The 6 Best Accounting Software Tools For Small Business Owners?
1. Quickbooks.
Perhaps the most well-known brand in the accounting software space, Quickbooks is a software tool that is more than capable of helping small business owners track their finances. Not only do the majority of small business owners use Quickbooks as their accounting tool of choice, but it’s also very well-designed, with all accounting features easily accessible on one central dashboard.
Quickbooks Key Features:
- Bill Management – Track and manage your bills online so you never miss a payment.
- Expense Management – Track expenses across all different accounts.
- Inventory Management – Know what’s in stock and what’s on order in real time.
- Invoicing & Payments – Quickly send invoices to clients and customers.
- Tax Deduction Management – Find tax deductions you learned about to help maximize your tax return.
What I Like/Dislike About Quickbooks:
Likes:
- Quickbooks design is simple to use and prioritizes speed over flashy design. I love how easy it is to track expenses on the go.
- It’s an ideal small business accounting software choice because it is affordable.
- I love how it calculates tax deductions for you. Using this feature, I’ve gotten a good chunk of change back last tax season.
Dislikes:
- Not a huge fan of how long it can take for their support team to get back to you. They need to be more staffed, especially around tax season.
Quickbooks Pricing:
Quickbooks offers four tiers of pricing: Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced.
- Simple Start: $30/month – For small business owners just starting out.
- Essentials: $55/month – For growing businesses with multiple employees.
- Plus: $85/month – For established businesses that need a robust bill management system.
- Advanced: $200/month – For large companies looking to use Quickbooks as their accounting tool of choice.
2. Xero.
Xero is a cloud-based accounting software tool that offers a wide range of features, including expense tracking, inventory management, and bank transaction syncing. It’s ideal for small business owners who need to access their financial data from anywhere at any time. It’s also one of Quickbooks’ biggest competitors.
Xero Key Features:
- Pay Bills – This feature allows you to track and pay bills on time and clearly understand your cash flow.
- Expense Management – Allow you and your team to submit and reimburse expense claims through Xero.
- Bank Connections – Integrations and connections with commercial and community banks.
- Accept payments – Collect credit and direct debit payments directly within the Xero invoice.
- Project management tools – Tools to ensure that you and your team keep the project on track so you can get paid for all your hard work.
What I Like/Dislike About Xero:
Likes:
- I like how many integrations Xero has with banks. It makes transferring and reporting funds super easy if you have multiple bank accounts.
- Xero offers a great mobile app that allows you to access your finances on the go.
- The customer service is excellent, and their support team is very responsive.
Dislikes:
- Not a big fan that you can only send up to 20 quotes and invoices per month on the Early plan.
- Just generally not a huge fan of the lack of features on the Early plan.
Xero Pricing:
Xero provides three pricing tiers: Early, Growing & Established—many options for your small business accounting software.
- Early: $13/month – For small business owners just starting out.
- Growing: $37/month – For small business owners with small teams.
- Established: $70/month – For well-established small business owners looking to use Xero as their dedicated accounting software.
3. Freshbooks
Freshbooks is a user-friendly accounting software tool focusing primarily on invoicing and payment processing. It’s ideal for small business owners who need a simple solution for managing their cash flow.
Freshbooks Key Features:
- Balance Sheet – Track financial performance and assets with the balance sheet.
- General Ledger – Create, track, and report customer invoices in the cloud.
- Cost of Goods Sold – Track your Cost of Goods Sold to report your Gross Margin accurately.
- Accounts Payable – Pay bills in one centralized place.
Freshbooks Pricing:
Freshbooks offers three tiers of pricing: Lite, Plus & Premium. As well as a custom “Select” pricing option for Enterprise customers.
- Lite: $22/month – For small business owners that need a simple online accounting software tool.
- Plus: $35/month – For growing small businesses with more complex accounting software needs.
- Premium: $60/month – For large businesses looking to use Freshbooks as their main inventory management and accounting software tool.
- Select: Custom pricing – For businesses with more complex needs. Typically for enterprise clients or larger B2B businesses.
4. Wave.
Wave is a free accounting software tool for small business owners needing a basic invoicing, payment processing, and receipt scanning solution. It’s ideal for startups and freelancers who are just getting started with their business finances.
Wave Key Features:
- Create invoices quickly – Generate invoices for your customers in seconds.
- Recurring billing for repeat customers – Set up recurring invoices so you don’t have to chase down customers for payments.
- Automatic Bookkeeping – Invoicing and payment information is automatically synced to the cloud, so you never have to track anything manually.
- Instant Notifications – Know when invoices are viewed, so you can take the right actions to follow up with customers.
Wave Pricing:
Wave has some attractive pricing options. The invoicing and accounting options are entirely free, and they provide payment options for payment processing, payroll staff, and accounting staff.
Check out their website for a detailed breakdown of their complicated pricing setup.
5 . Zoho Books.
Zoho Books is a cloud-based accounting software tool with time tracking, expense management, and project management features. It’s ideal for small business owners who need to track their time and expenses on projects.
Zoho Books Key Features:
- Send invoices – Remember to send an invoice to clients. Zoho Books will help you generate this quickly to ensure you get paid on time.
- Banking Integrations – Connect Zoho Books to your bank account to get accurate reporting on your cash flow and transactions.
- Powerful reporting – Generate reports to help you when the tax man comes to visit in spring.
- Inventory management – Manage your business’ goods as imported and exported from your warehouse.
- Expense Management – Enable your team to organize and submit their expenses quickly.
Zoho Books Pricing:
Zoho Books has six different tiers of pricing; Free, Standard, Professional, Premium, Elite, and Ultimate.
- Free: $0/month – For small businesses looking to try Zoho Books.
- Standard: $20/month – For small businesses that just need a lite accounting software solution.
- Professional: $50/month – For growing businesses looking to begin to build out their accounting team.
- Premium: $70/month – For established businesses with a fleshed-out finance team.
- Elite: $150/month – For large companies looking to utilize Zoho Books on an Enterprise level.
- Ultimate: $275/month – For enterprise clients with complex business needs.
6. ZipBooks
ZipBooks is a cloud-based accounting software tool that offers invoicing, payment processing, and reporting features. It’s ideal for small business owners who want a modern and user-friendly solution for managing their finances.
ZipBooks Key Features:
- Invoicing & Billing – Send professional invoices in real-time.
- Payment processing – Get paid using Paypal and every major credit card.
- Auto-payment reminders – Never miss a bill again.
- Bookkeeping & Reporting – Make tracking your expenses and purchases easy with full reporting and a sleek user interface.
- Intelligence – Smart reports help you see how you’re faring versus your competitors.
ZipBooks Pricing:
ZipBooks offers four pricing tiers: Starter, Smarter, Sophisticated & Accountant.
- Starter: $0/month – For solopreneurs looking to give ZipBooks a trial run.
- Smarter: $15/month – For serious small businesses that need a lite accounting software solution.
- Sophisticated: $35/month – For growing small businesses that still need to build a dedicated accounting team.
- Accountant: Custom pricing – You’ll need to speak with the sales team for complex, custom needs.
Wrap Up
Managing your finances as a small business owner doesn’t have to be a headache. With the plethora of accounting software tools available on the market, there’s bound to be a solution that fits your needs and budget. Whether you opt for a traditional desktop app or a modern cloud-based tool, the key is to find a solution that works for you and helps you stay on top of your financial responsibilities. Hopefully, this guide was able to help you do that, so you can start tracking your expenses in the back half of 2023.
Author Bio:
Adam Purvis is an Enterprise SaaS Sales Account Manager. You can find him blogging about sales outreach, business software, and SEO at adamjohnpurvis.com. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.
