The Best Business Accounting Software Services of 2025

What is Accounting Software?

Accounting software offers features for tracking the revenue and expenses of a business. The best small business accounting software has a wide range of reports that allow you to analyse the financial health of your business, as well as 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, ensuring you’re accurately estimating all your tax liabilities and saving money accordingly. The best accounting software integrates with other key business systems like payroll software and HR software, eliminating the need to enter the same data manually in multiple systems.

Small business accounting software offers features for tracking the revenue and expenses of a business. The best accounting software for small business offers a wide range of reports that allow you to analyse the financial health of your business, as well as 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 keeping on top of your taxes, ensuring you’re accurately estimating all your liabilities to HMRC and saving money accordingly.

The best accounting software integrates with other key business systems, like payroll software and HR software, eliminating the need to enter the same data manually in multiple systems. We reviewed dozens of the most popular accounting software platforms available today and narrowed it down to the best 11 options. Cost, ease of use and setup, customisability, key features, and ideal use cases were among our top considerations.

Accounting software is an essential ingredient for a successful business. Depending on the program, it can help you create professional invoices, record incoming and outgoing payments, identify and follow up on past-due receivables, streamline tax management, and run reports that analyse your company’s financial health and project for the future.

To help you find the best accounting software for your small business, we examined a selection of the most popular platforms on the market today. We looked for affordable, easy-to-use accounting programs that included time-saving features like automated bank feeds, automatic payment reminders, and online invoicing and payment acceptance. We also searched for software with comprehensive, customisable, real-time financial reporting because that will help you better monitor and understand your company finances.

Accounting software helps business owners streamline billing and accounting, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Most programs offer several plans to accommodate your needs and budget.

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 access to the software.

For subscription pricing, expect to pay anywhere from around £6.75 per month for a basic starter plan to as much as £275 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, which can include charges for customisation 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, offers many of the accounting and invoicing features you would find in paid programs. Zoho Books also offers a free plan for businesses with under £35,000 in annual revenue.

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

Many aspects of accounting software make it a useful tool. If you’re a small business owner, it’s important to know which features you’ll need. Most online accounting software offers accounts receivable, accounts payable, banking and reporting features. Some programs include stock 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 receive a daily update of your transactions. This saves time, as you don’t 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 customise what you see first by rearranging the information in the order you prefer.

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 also.

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.

Automatic Payment Reminders

This feature helps you remind customers about upcoming and past-due payments. Some have sample email text that you can use as is or customise. 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 bills and invoices you’ve entered into the accounting software, saving you the hours 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 are included in the app that 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.

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 for freelancers, contractors and the self-employed.

Stock Management

If you have a retail, e-commerce or distribution business, you need an application that helps with stock 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  functionality, look for software that integrates with a dedicated stockmanagement 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.

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. Also, the types of accounting tools that are important to you will depend on the specific needs of your business. For example, if you’re a freelancer project-based billing might be the most important feature on your list. 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.

Managing your finances is vital to the success of your business, and choosing the right accounting software can make that much easier. You’ll reap a lot of benefits when you swap out pen and paper or an Excel spreadsheet for accounting software. Here’s a look at a few of them:

Reduces Mistakes

Human error is by far the biggest cause of accounting and bookkeeping errors. Many accounting professionals cite common mistakes such as spreadsheet errors and incorrect manual entries. Accounting software can help cut down on these costly blunders by eliminating clunky spreadsheet inputs and pulling data directly from third-party business apps.

Improves Organisation

Small businesses can’t afford not to have their finances in order. Whether it’s time to pay the tax bill or forecast for the next year, it can be difficult to get the information you need if you are not organised. Accounting software helps you stay on top of your financial data. It organises financial information, stores it in one location and automates many time-consuming accounting processes, which frees you up to focus on running your business.

Bolsters Internal Controls

Internal controls refer to the rules and procedures established by a company to ensure the integrity of accounting and bookkeeping processes. Accounting software increases the reliability of your measures to help prevent and detect fraud. This can significantly reduce the risk of loss and theft from your business.

Doesn’t Break the Bank

Thanks to cloud-based offerings, the price of accounting software has come down a lot over the years. Today, small business owners have a lot of choice: Accounting software costs range from free to £275 per month. The size of your business and your accounting needs dictate how much you pay. But if that monthly cost means you’ll optimise cash flow, meet tax obligations and identify growth opportunities, it’s probably worthwhile.

Ensures Tax Compliance

Calculating and paying taxes is an essential part of running a business, but it is also complex and often involves a lot of tedious paperwork. Accounting software can help you manage this task. Many accounting software providers have designed programs that calculate VAT, prepare tax forms, and even file taxes with no intervention on your part, which can save you time and hassle. Reporting features can also keep you compliant with HMRC, which increasingly require real-time reporting in the era of Making Tax Digital. AI technology increasingly enables businesses to upload their profits and losses in real time. This is especially important in an era when businesses deal with tax requirements not only in their own countries, but around the world. Fines and punishments for non-compliance can be incredibly burdensome for business owners.

In 2020, the global accounting software market reached a value of £9.35 billion, according to data from Allied Market Research. This figure reflects the sector’s steady growth throughout the 21st century. By 2030, the market is expected to reach a value of £55.2 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 19.6 percent across the decade.

Here are some trends to watch going forward.

• Cloud computing: Prior to the growth of cloud-based technology, accounting software existed solely on one’s computer, with few to no connections with other technologies. This imposed limitations on bank connections and 24/7 access, two major issues that cloud-based technology has solved. Plus, cloud-based technology has fueled the growth of accounting software mobile apps, which are a major asset for any small business.
• Artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence is also set to drive continued growth in the accounting software sector. This technology is powering automation tools that streamline key accounting processes, minimising tedious work among finance teams. It’s also behind the early stages of obtaining support from a live chat tool, making customer service easier to provide for suppliers as well.
• Blockchain: Blockchain technology is another major development revolutionising accounting software. With blockchain, businesses will eventually see transaction records moved to a tamper-proof ledger. We expect this to greatly enhance the security and internal controls provided by accounting software.