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Writer's pictureHannah Nguyen

Best Accounting Software for Small Business of 2023

Updated: May 22

Are you finding the best accounting software that fits your business needs? We’ve rounded up the best accounting software that makes it simple and easy to manage financial records for all costs and profits.

This accounting software will reduce the amount of time you spend on back-office and administrative tasks, including accounts payable, payroll, billing, general ledger, etc. Additionally, the accounting software we’ll mention below is integrated with many applications that allow for comprehensive, real-time analytics of your financial status. Therefore, don't hesitate to pay for it. Every dollar you invest in the best accounting software will pay off.

Best Accounting Software for Small Business

QuickBooks Online


QuickBooks Online is one of the most popular accounting solutions, this scalable, simple accounting software is a great option for a variety of small businesses. It is obvious that it is well-known as the industry standard for small businesses, especially those that plan to work with a bookkeeper or accountant. Moreover, there are endless online training resources and forums to get support when needed. All accounting features can be conveniently accessed on one main dashboard, showing your cash flow, invoices, expenses, sales, and more. It makes bookkeeping more fluid and efficient.


After a 30-day free trial, you have four options for subscription plans including Simple Start at $25 per month, Essential at $40 per month, Plus at $70 per month, and Advanced at $150 per month. This best accounting software seems expensive for many businesses, but typically there is a significant discount offered for the first few months.

With a high level of functionality, flexibility, and scalability, QuickBooks Online allows you to customize to meet your business’s demands. There are many customization options with a mobile app that can be used to receive payments, review reports, capture an image of the receipt, and track business mileage. If you are looking for a payroll solution, QuickBooks Payroll fully integrates with QuickBooks Online as well.

You can upgrade your QuickBooks Online account as your business grows. Each plan offers more advanced features like inventory management, time tracking, additional user, and budgeting.

All plans allow you to access an impressive marketplace of over 600 apps. They really give you extended functionality and help your cat back on duplicating work across different platforms.

Additionally, as the industry standard for accounting software, it’s easy to find experts who are well-versed in the platform to help you manage your bookkeeping and access your resources related to Quickbook Online.

The table below summarizes the pros and cons of QuickBooks Online

​Pros

Cons

  • Double-entry bookkeeping

  • Thorough record-keeping and comprehensive reporting

  • Scalable

  • Hundreds of third-party app integrations Cloud-based, flexible accessibility through a web browser or through mobile apps

  • Easy to share information with your accountant, easy to find QuickBooks online resources if needed.

  • ​Occasional syncing problems with banks and credit cards

  • Limited account users with each plan, upgrade required for more users

  • Monthly plans are expensive compared to other competitors.

Sage Accounting and Sage 100 Contractor


Sage Accounting is a cloud-based small business accounting software. Sage 100 Contractor is built to help contractors succeed. Sage Accounting delivers fundamental bookkeeping and accounting functions, extensive reporting, and inventory management. Sage 100 Contractor features make it easy for contractors to do accounting and project management. So, if you're a home builder or a general contractor, you can run your business more effectively with Sage 100 Contractor

Pros

Cons

  • Cloud-based

  • Easy to use

  • Easily customized for management reporting.

  • Features make it easy for contractors to do accounting

  • Allows for multiple companies in one location with ease of moving between them

  • Complicated with advanced features

  • Supports only English language

  • Does not offer the features of the daily log, facility management, and punch list



sage 100 contractor and  benefit



QuickBooks Self-Employed




If you are looking for the best accounting software for your side hustle? QuickBooks offers a separate product - QuickBooks Self-Employed. This accounting software is designed for freelancers and independent contractors who primarily want to track their income and expenses for their tax returns.

QuickBooks is Self-Employed with a cloud-based online interface and a mobile app, it was created to help freelancers stay organized each year for tax seasons. The feature set of the accounting software is robust, including mileage, sorting expenses, organizing receipts, sending invoices, and estimating and filing taxes seamlessly through TurboTax.

With the mobile app, you can easily track mileage by capturing photos of receipts for business expenses. Most accounting software in the market is not designed to separate business transactions from personal transactions, but a special feature of QuickBooks Self-Employed this special feature of QuickBooks Self-Employed makes it outstanding in the pool of accounting software options.

There are also different plan options consisting of Self-Employed at $15 per month, Self-Employed Tax Bundle at $25 per month, and Self-Employed Live Tax Bundle at $35 per month. For the first three months, you have a 50% discount.

The table below will give you an insight into the advantages and disadvantages of accounting software:

Pros

Cons

  • Cloud-based

  • Mobile app

  • Track mileage

  • Differentiate between business and personal expenses

  • Syncs with TurboTax


  • Data can not be easily transferred to other accounting software

  • Limited reporting

  • Limited invoicing functionality and customization



Wave

Wave is a free accounting software platform that boasts a solid set of accounting features suitable for a service-based small business. It allows you to send simple invoices and doesn’t need to track inventory or run payroll. For small businesses, Wave’s free foundational features will cover all of their demands, such as income and expense tracking, financial reporting, invoicing, and scanning receipts. You can access these features online or on the mobile app. While all of the bookkeeping services, invoicing, and reporting features are completely free, you need to pay extra costs for customer payment processing and payroll as premium services.





Wave charges you on payments from customers, it charges 2,9% plus 30¢ per transaction for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, and 3.4% plus 30¢ per transaction for American Express. For an ACH payment, Wave charges 1% per transaction with a $1 minimum fee.

There are two options for payroll plans as an add-on service. The first plan is $20 per month plus $6 per employee or contractor. Within the plan, Wave will process payroll and prepare payroll tax calculations but you have to manually complete payroll tax forms and submit tax payments. The cost of the second plan is higher, at $35 per month plus $6 per employee or contractor, but Wave will manage all tax filings and payments.

Pros

Cons

  • Free accounting software, free invoicing, and receipt scanning

  • No transaction or billing limits

  • Run multiple businesses at one account

  • Unlimited number of users

  • Mobile app


  • Limites third-party integrations

  • Higher fees for credit card and ACH payments

  • Full-service payroll is limited to only 14 states

  • No inventory management



FreshBooks

The most crucial accounting need for most service-based businesses is invoicing and FreshBooks is the best choice for it. It offers a well-rounded, intuitive, and attractive double-entry accounting experience that supports invoices manages receivable, payable, inventory, payroll, and bookkeeping services through integration with Gusto. Besides Gusto, it is integrated with a variety of third-party apps, such as Shopify, Stripe, G Suite, and more.



There are four different plans and if you choose to pay yearly, you can get a 10% discount. It also offers a 60% discount per month for six months. The four plans include Lite at $6 per month, Plus at $10 per month, Premium at $20 per month, and Select with custom pricing. With different plans, the number of clients that are allowed to be billed per month is different. There is an additional $10 per month if multiple team members use the accounting software and The mobile$20 per month for the advanced payment feature, which allows users to charge a credit card in real-time or set up a recurring credit card charge for a client.


Besides the mobile a number of advantages, it also has some limitations that are listed below so you can use these factors to consider which accounting software meets your needs:

Pros

Cons

  • Cloud-based

  • User-friendly interface Advanced invoicing features

  • Affordable

  • Third-party app integration

  • No inventory management

  • No payroll service

  • Mobile app has limitations

  • No quarterly tax estimates


Xero



Xero is powerful and fully functional accounting software for small businesses that is one of the best alternatives to QuickBooks Online. This cloud-based accounting software supports unlimited users on all of its subscription plans, making it stand out from other competitors. It offers affordable plans with unlimited users, inventory management, and bill pay included in each.

Because it is cloud-based accounting software that allows you to manage your finances and collaborate with your account or bookkeeper from anywhere. It also connects to and shares data with more than 800 small-business apps such as PayPal and Gusto for administering payroll and benefits.

Xero offers three monthly subscription options and a full-service payroll add-on: Early plan at $12, Growing at $32 and Established at $62. You can tack Payroll with Gusto for an extra $39 per month, plus $6 per employee. You can sign up for a 30-disintegrates free trial to test out all of its features, and a promotional discount of 50% for the next two months.

To get more detail on the pros and cons of Xero, see the table below:

Pros

Cons

  • Unlimited users

  • Cloud-based

  • Mobile app

  • Payroll integrates with Gusto

  • Simple inventory management

  • Generate several types of financial reports

  • Time-saving tools (online quotes, the ability to turn a quote into an invoice, automatic payment reminders)


  • No phone support

  • Limits on bills and invoices with the entry-level plan



Considering accounting software for your small business?

Your firm has specific accounting needs and accounting software also needs to be tailored and fit your demands, too. Irvine Bookkeeping services provide business owners with comprehensive and useful accounting tools that help you complete most of the financial and administrative duties that keep you from growing your businesses. Book A Free Consultation Here.



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