The Best Business Accounting Software Services of 2024

This example of an accounting software dashboard comes from our test of QuickBooks Online, one of our best picks.

Accounting software provides the tools needed to track the revenue and expenses of a business. The best small business accounting software has a wide range of reports that allow you to analyze the financial health of your company. These platforms also have dashboards that provide an at-a-glance overview of key financial aspects, like accounts receivable, accounts payable, historical sales data and cash flow.

Small business accounting software is also useful for tax management, as it ensures you accurately estimate your tax liabilities and save money accordingly. The best accounting software integrates with other key business systems, like payroll and HR software, thereby eliminating the need to enter the same data manually in multiple systems.

Running a business involves managing finances carefully, and accounting software makes that process much easier by offering several key advantages:

• Organized finances: Accounting software centralizes your financial data, automating processes like invoicing, expense tracking and bank reconciliations. This leads to better financial management and reduces errors from manual entry. For small businesses, organized financial data prevents surprises, making audits, tax filing and reporting smoother.
• Affordable solutions: While professional accounting services or manual bookkeeping can be costly, accounting software provides a cost-effective alternative. Various pricing plans, including free tiers, allow small businesses to manage their finances without high overhead costs. Software like QuickBooks and Wave offer low-cost or free solutions that don’t compromise on functionality. This means you can start managing finances with minimal investment and a small learning curve.
• Tax law compliance: Filing taxes is often stressful for small business owners, but accounting software simplifies tax compliance by automatically calculating sales tax and generating necessary tax forms. Many programs integrate directly with tax filing services, ensuring you meet deadlines and avoid penalties. Additionally, accounting software keeps track of deductible expenses, helping you take advantage of tax-saving opportunities such as the Section 179 deduction, which allows businesses to deduct the cost of certain assets in the year they are purchased.
• Enhanced internal controls: Fraud prevention and asset protection are critical, and accounting software helps enforce strong internal controls. By logging every transaction and automating checks and balances, the software reduces the likelihood of financial mismanagement or theft. You can assign roles and permissions within the software, allowing you to restrict access to sensitive financial data and detect irregularities more easily. This ensures that every transaction is monitored, minimizing the risk of fraud or loss of business assets.

There are typically two types of pricing models for accounting software: perpetual licensing or a recurring subscription. With a perpetual licensing model, you make a one-time payment for unlimited access to the software. With a subscription pricing model, you pay a monthly or annual fee.

For subscription pricing, expect to pay anywhere from $15 per month for a basic starter plan to $350 per month for a more advanced service plan. Other factors, like the included features and number of users, affect the monthly cost as well.

Regardless of the pricing model you select, watch out for hidden fees. These can include charges for customization options, installation or setup services, integrations, and maintenance or support services.

If your business is on a tight budget, consider free accounting software. Wave, for instance, provides many of the accounting and invoicing features you would find in paid programs. Zoho Books also offers a free plan for businesses with under $50,000 in annual revenue.

When choosing accounting and billing software for your business, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of free trials to test the solutions and see which one offers the tools you need. Plus, spending time with the software beforehand will help you feel more confident in your decision.

Selecting accounting software depends on the scale and complexity of your business. Here are the main options, with typical price ranges:

• Commercial accounting software: Ideal for small to midsize businesses, this software handles tasks like bookkeeping, invoicing and payments. Examples include QuickBooks, FreshBooks and Xero, with prices ranging from $15 to $60 per month depending on the plan.
• Enterprise accounting software: Built for large businesses, enterprise accounting software integrates various departments into a single system. Depending on customization and features, prices typically range from $1,000 to over $10,000 per year.
• Custom Accounting Software: Custom-built solutions cater to unique business needs but can be expensive, often ranging from $20,000 to over $100,000 for development and ongoing maintenance. However, this option is rarely used by small businesses.

Selecting the optimal accounting software is crucial for a small business’s financial health, but many small business owners overlook its importance.

“Accounting software is often undervalued by the SMB owners,” said Tatiana Tsoir, a CPA and director at Linza Advisors Inc.

Think about your business needs

Consider the specific requirements of your industry and the features you need in accounting software. For example, service-based businesses might prioritize invoicing, while construction companies may focus on inventory management.

Kathy Gilchrist, CFO at Cardinal Bookkeeping & Advisory, focuses on features, integrations, and automation.

“Does the accounting software have the features to meet the transactional and reporting needs of the business?” is one key question that Gilchrist advised business owners to ask.

The right accounting software is also influenced by your business’s current growth stage.

“It depends a lot on the size of the small business, Gretchen Roberts, CEO of Red Bike Advisors, a financial and tax advisory firm, told us. “For a solopreneur or a small company, Wave or Freshbooks or a niche solution is perfectly capable of taking care of their needs.”

However, businesses with more complex needs should look into other providers on our list. “For larger small businesses with employees, extensive invoicing, payroll, and companies with balance sheets, we work with small business owners exclusively on Quickbooks Online,” Roberts said.

Ensure your chosen software aligns with your industry’s unique needs, and that your accountant is familiar with it.

Compare and contrast options

Research and evaluate various accounting software options. Consider their features, pricing, scalability, and user-friendliness. Look for software that is intuitive to learn and navigate, and that integrates well with other business applications that you use for your company.

“[QuickBooks and Xero] have multiple integrations with other software which is important to streamline and automate processing,” Roberts said.

Mark Wilkinson, co-founder and CFO at TileCloud, agrees. “Try and find software that will seamlessly integrate with other tools you use, like payroll systems, CRM and inventory management,” he said.

Get hands-on experience

“Make sure the software is easy to navigate and understand, especially if you don’t have an extensive amount of experience in accounting,” Wilkinson advised.

Request demos or free trials from your shortlisted options to experience the software firsthand. Test its functionality, assess its ease of use, and evaluate how it handles data import and export. Also, read reviews from other businesses that have used the software to gain insights into its strengths and weaknesses. Platforms like Trustpilot and TrustRadius offer valuable feedback from real users.

Consider the future

As your business grows, your accounting needs are going to change. Free or entry-level accounting software will work well for a solopreneur or startup business, but may prove inadequate for a business with multiple locations or employees.

“The ultimate goal of a business is for it to grow, so make sure that the accounting tool you pick can grow with your business,” Wilkinson said.

Many aspects of accounting software make it a useful tool. If you’re a small business owner, it’s important to know which features to look for. Most online accounting software offers accounts receivable, accounts payable, banking and reporting features. Some programs include inventory management, project management, time tracking and payroll tools.

Here are some of the core features to look for in accounting software:

Bank Feed

This feature connects the software to your business bank and credit card accounts to provide a daily update of your transactions. This saves time, as you will not have to upload transactions manually. It also gives you a daily, rather than monthly, overview of your accounts. A real-time bank-feed feature can assist with reconciliation, which allows you to make it a small daily task rather than a monthly ordeal.

Dashboard

When you log in to your account, you’ll be greeted by a dashboard that shows you an overview of your account activity and key metrics, such as cash flow, profit and loss, account balances, expenses, accounts payable and receivable, and sales. Some accounting programs allow you to rearrange the information.

Online Invoicing

If your business sends invoices, the ability to email them and accept online payments helps you get paid faster. Most accounting programs integrate with third-party payment processors; others require you to use their in-house processing services. It’s a plus for accounting software to serve as an invoice generator.

Recurring Invoices

With this feature, you can schedule the system to automatically generate and send invoices for recurring charges, such as subscriptions. You can choose how frequently invoices are sent — daily, weekly, monthly or annually — and indicate whether there’s an end date to the billing.

The best accounting software offers easy ways to track your outstanding invoices and accounts receivable. This example comes from our test of Xero.

Automatic Payment Reminders

This feature helps you remind customers about upcoming and past-due payments. Some have sample email text that you can use or customize. You can then choose when you want the reminders to be sent. Some programs give you the option to send thank-you emails to customers after you receive their payments.

Bank Reconciliation

Smart reconciliation tools identify potential matches between your bank transactions and the invoices you’ve entered into the accounting software. This saves you the time it would otherwise take to sift through your bank account for this information. You can then approve or deny the suggested matches. The best applications suggest potential matches as you reconcile your accounts, and a few include a reconciliation tool in their mobile apps.

Financial Reporting

Every accounting program can generate financial reports. But some are more basic than others, and some require you to subscribe to a pricier plan for advanced reporting. If you need specific types of financial reports, make sure they’re included in the software application and plan you choose. Detailed reports can help you interpret your financial data to make informed business decisions.

Mobile Apps

Not all accounting and invoicing programs have mobile apps, but the best ones do. There is, however, quite a range in the capabilities of mobile apps. Some can only capture receipts for expense tracking, some allow you to create and send invoices, and others have almost every feature the web-based software does. It’s worth checking if the software you’re considering offers a mobile app and, if so, what features will help you manage your business while you’re away from the office.

Integrations

The ability to connect your accounting software to other business programs you use saves you valuable time because you don’t have to manually transfer data from one system to another. Payroll, payment processing, the best point-of-sale (POS) systems and the best customer relationship management (CRM) software are just a few of the popular types of integrations that are available with accounting software. Integration with systems you already use also cuts down on training time for employees who will use the software.

Most accounting software comes with a third-party app marketplace for integrations. This example comes from our test of QuickBooks Online. 

Tracking for Billable Hours

If you’re a consultant or your business bills clients by the hour, you need accounting software that allows you to track and bill your time or that integrates with the time-tracking program you already use. This is an important feature in the best accounting software for freelancers.

Inventory Management

If you have a retail, e-commerce or distribution business, you need an application that helps with inventory tracking and purchase orders. You may need to subscribe to a top-tier plan to get this feature, unless you use ZarMoney. If you need more advanced inventory features, look for software that integrates with a dedicated inventory management system.

Project-Based Billing

Firms, freelancers and consultants who work with clients on projects or jobs should look for accounting software that helps them track their projects’ tasks and budgets. The software should allow you to invoice customers for tracked time and bill them for project expenses.

Xero’s project-based billing tools are ideal for businesses that need to track materials and labor costs, ensuring each project stays on track and profitable.

Support for Multiple Businesses

Several programs we evaluated let you add more than one business to your account, though some companies charge extra for this convenience. Also, the types of accounting methods that are important to you will depend on the specific needs of your business. For example, if you run a small freelance business, project-based billing might be the most important feature. Or, if you plan to do some work on your mobile device, a full-featured mobile app might be at the top of your list.

Want more options to choose from? These accounting software options are viable alternatives to the best picks listed above and may deserve your consideration if none of our favorites seem to fit the bill for your business.

Oracle NetSuite

For larger businesses that need a more powerful platform, Oracle NetSuite’s accounting software checks all the boxes. While its higher price point kept it off our list of best picks, it’s powerful enough to warrant it for enterprise-level companies that need sophisticated software that can manage the books and then some. As a sprawling enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Oracle NetSuite is tailored to the needs of the individual business and pricing is custom. The company offers a 14-day free trial, though, so you can get a sense of how the software works and whether it’s right for your business. Check out our full review of Oracle NetSuite for more information.

Sage 50

If you’re looking for robust reporting and deep data-driven insights, Sage 50 is the accounting software for you. Starting at $49.58 per month, Sage 50 offers some of the strongest reporting tools we encountered in our review. While its higher price point and lack of a free trial kept it off our best picks list, it’s still a viable option for businesses that thrive on data analysis for decision making. Check out our full review of Sage 50 for more information.

Melio

Businesses that are looking for a free tool to support their bill pay and manage accounts payable should look no further than Melio. As you might expect from a free tool, Melio’s capabilities are somewhat limited compared to platforms that we named to our best picks list — but Melio does quite a lot without impacting a business’s budget. Very small businesses or new businesses can rely on Melio to make sure their accounts payable is organized and bills are paid on time and with ease, making it a useful tool to help get your accounting in order for no additional charge. It can also integrate with more comprehensive accounting tools as your business grows, so there’s no unwieldy data migration needed when adopting new accounting software. Check out our review of Melio for more information.

ZarMoney

Retail businesses and others that require advanced inventory management tools should consider ZarMoney. This cost-effective platform starts at just $15 per month and includes useful features for monitoring your inventory, whether that’s the goods you’re selling or the raw materials used in your manufacturing process. ZarMoney offers a 15-day free trial so you can take it for a test spin before buying. Although we were disappointed by the lack of a mobile application, we found ZarMoney an effective tool with strong integrations to other common business software, so you can easily tie it into your existing tech stack. Check out our review of ZarMoney for more information.

Neat

If you like to keep meticulous records, Neat is the accounting software you need in your corner. A strong tool for managing receipts and tracking expenses, Neat starts at $16.66 per month when billed annually and gives you all the tools to stay organized. If you want to test it out before committing, you can sign up for a 14-day free trial. You can even integrate Neat with your document management software to ensure nothing is filed out of place. Check out our review of Neat for more information.

At Business News Daily, our team of small business finance experts have been researching and testing accounting software for years, comparing some of the leading solutions across more than 20 key metrics. We considered 88 accounting software platforms and closely reviewed and tested 31 of them before selecting our six best picks above.

Below are the factors we considered when determining our best picks. Each is weighted according to how much the criteria typically influences business owners’ buying decisions.

• Pricing (30%): We considered not just the base cost of the software but also the number of pricing plans, per user fees, and add-on costs to determine which provide the most value per dollar.
• Features (25%): We particularly evaluated the dashboard and tested accounts receivable and payable tools, inventory management options and financial reporting. We also considered integrations for connecting each platform to other popular business software.
• Usability (25%): We paid close attention to the ease with which the software could be set up, how intuitive we found the navigation and use of key features, and the training and informational resources available to new users. We also considered whether the software offered a responsive mobile app or mobile browser.
• Customer Support (20%): We examined the ease with which customers can contact the team in need of help. We reviewed customer feedback to determine how well the customer service team meets the needs of existing customers.

In addition to scoring each accounting software we reviewed based on this criteria, we also determined the best use case scenarios for each. No two businesses are exactly alike, so we put ourselves in the shoes of different types of small business owners and identify the best accounting software for a variety of needs.

To learn more about how we review and test financial products and services for small businesses, read about our editorial process here.