Every business, whether large or small, must have a reliable accounting system. Some businesses will require hiring a professional accountant or bookkeeper, while others may require excellent accounting software. If you are a small business owner and on a budget, accounting software will be essential to efficiently running your company’s finances. Since there is more than one accounting software choice, here are the top six and what they offer to help you decide which is right for your business.
Quickbooks
Intuit’s Quickbooks is considered one of the best overall accounting software packages for business accounting. At one time, a fully featured software that could only be used with a one-time expensive purchase for your desktop, Quickbooks can now be used through the cloud and a monthly subscription. Quickbooks is also the most popular accounting software, so there are videos with tutorials and online guides. The best reason to use this software for your business is that it works well for various companies of all sizes.
A few downsides are that Mac users can’t get the full features on the cloud version and that if you have an issue, there are some incorrect answers on Intuit’s Quickbooks forums, which can make it difficult to solve a problem.
Xero
Xero is a cloud-first accounting system with over 600 integrations that help business owners with everything from inventory to payroll and much more. This software is more user friendly to Mac users when it comes to cloud-based accounting software. Xero can also track money and time spent on a project to give you the complete cost analysis. Xero is a monthly subscription accounting system; the cost will vary depending on whether you require premium features.
Zoho Books
Zoho Books is a simple accounting software that is user friendly and easy to use. It has integrated dashboards and graphs that keep the usability straightforward and doesn’t require you to be a certified accountant to understand. This software is only suitable for small businesses that don’t have many employees, inventory, or complex needs like larger companies have. It includes some great features like automated payment reminders for accounts payable and accounts receivable. It also has automated and manual features that help with bank accounts, project management, and inventory. This software is a monthly subscription that varies in cost, depending on what features the user needs.
Wave
Wave is free accounting software, and while generally, you need to live by the rule of thumb, “you get what you pay for,” this software is still good for accounting basics. This software allows you to perform bookkeeping functions for both personal and business finances in one place. But remember, it is free, so it does not offer some of the more in-depth features that other paid software has. While most of the basic features are free, Wave does charge for processing payments and payroll services. These services are similar in quality and what it offers as other paid accounting software.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is a great accounting software meant for solo or freelance business owners. It is a light bookkeeping software that means tracking time, invoices, business reports, and payments. It is simple to use but does not have anything to deal with payroll or inventory. This is very basic, and if you ever grow your business from a sole proprietorship to a small business with employees, you will need to use different accounting software. It is affordable with a relatively low monthly subscription fee.
GoDaddy Bookkeeping
GoDaddy is not generally known for accounting, but the company obtained an accounting software company formerly known as Outright. Its features are similar to FreshBooks, but it is excellent for small, individually owned businesses since it has not payroll features. It is the least expensive software on the list (besides Wave, which is free.) GoDaddy Bookkeeping is excellent for tracking time and makes doing quarterly taxes a snap. The most outstanding features are the integrations it has with online sales platforms like eBay, Etsy, and Amazon, so if your business makes a lot of online sales, it is a great choice.
Conclusion
Accounting software can be the key to making sure your small business runs smoothly when it comes to financial tracking. The type of accounting software you choose will depend solely on your needs as a small business owner. Before choosing accounting software, take your time to determine your needs and use this list to help you decide which will be the best fit for you and your business.
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