When it comes to small business accounting solutions, QuickBooks stands apart as the clear market leader in the industry. Small business accounting is a crucial element of starting and operating a company. Business.com aims to help business owners make informed decisions to support and what you need to know about controller salaries and jobs grow their companies. When evaluating offers, please review the financial institution’s Terms and Conditions. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. The accounting cycle tracks a transaction until it’s added to your company’s financial statement.

Free accounting software plan QuickBooks Online offers multiple digital support options for customers, including an what is an accrual online community and tutorials. However, its robust features and widespread accountant usage make it hard to beat for small businesses. QuickBooks integrates with top POS systems, popular online stores, the best CRM software, project management solutions, payroll systems and more.

Who is QuickBooks best for?

We’ve continually found it to be a relatively affordable, one-size-fits-all product packed with valuable features. We have financial relationships with some companies we cover, earning commissions when readers purchase from our partners or share information about their needs. As a business, we need to generate revenue to sustain our content. Neither Atomic Invest nor Atomic Brokerage, nor any of their affiliates is a bank. Brokerage services for Atomic are provided by Atomic Brokerage LLC (“Atomic Brokerage”), member of FINRA/SIPC and an affiliate of Atomic, which creates a conflict of interest. Pre-qualified offers are not binding.

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It automatically backs up your data to the cloud, saving you the time it would take to perform manual backups. We were impressed by QuickBooks Online’s automation tools, which stand above some competing platforms we reviewed. You can also create banking rules to further streamline reconciliation and categorization. The QuickBooks dashboard provides a helpful overview of some key financial metrics. The dashboard shows several graphs with overviews of your sales over time, income, expenses and profit-and-loss data.

Integrations

QuickBooks features automatic bank feeds that import your business checking account and credit card transactions. After testing QuickBooks Online, we think users will have an easy time navigating and learning the software. Plus, the QuickBooks artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot can assist small business owners in analyzing their financial data and answering accounting questions. For many years, QuickBooks has been the leading accounting and bookkeeping solution for small businesses. Our editorial team independently evaluates and recommends products and services based on their research and expertise.

• The success of your small business depends heavily on how effectively you understand and manage its finances.
• Thus, you should consider Wave only if you sell services or one-of-a-kind items that can be easily deleted once someone purchases them.
• Also known as software-as-a-service (SaaS), cloud-based software adoption rates have increased over the past decade.
• This initial version focuses on client and project management, invoices and estimates, mileage tracking, and quarterly income tax estimates, as well as providing some simple reports.
• The best small business accounting software helps track income and expenses and provide a clear view of profitability.

But where it really stands out from other accounting software is its advanced invoice templates. This initial version focuses on client and project management, invoices and estimates, mileage tracking, and quarterly income tax estimates, as well as providing some simple reports. Quicken Business & Personal combines the exceptional personal finance management app Quicken Simplifi with basic small business features. Zoho Books is the small business accounting element of Zoho’s business software ecosystem.

The Best Budget-Friendly Accounting Software for Small Businesses in 2025

• You can also check out the best free accounting software for small businesses to find even more cost-effective options.
• There are three versions of QuickBooks Online that are designed for small businesses, all of which look and work similarly and offer a 30-day free trial.
• Our reviews are based on objective research analysis.
• Sage 50 is accounting software built for small businesses, with over 40 years of experience behind it and more than 2 million users worldwide.
• Neither Atomic Invest nor Atomic Brokerage, nor any of their affiliates is a bank.

Best for Very small, service-based businesses Best for Free accounting software plan Very small, service-based businesses

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Objective and comprehensive business accounting software ratings rubric. Automation tools, for example, eliminate the tedious work of expense and financial tracking as well as bank reconciliation. Small businesses need access to a diverse array of accounting features and integrations at an affordable price point to help them manage their finances.

The Best Small Business Accounting Deals This Week*

The industry has responded by making software more available on a cloud basis. In 2015, 76% of the buyers indicated receptiveness to hosting their software externally, off-premise. They generally offer customizations or add-ons for a generic product that will make it more in line with what the business expects on a day-to-day basis. These companies pride themselves on implementing specific software solutions in specific environments.

The platform also doesn’t offer inventory or project tracking, but that might not matter to uncomplicated companies. Both the browser-based version and the accompanying mobile apps offer features and flexibility that serve nonprofits especially capably. Sage 50 Accounting is particularly suitable if your company requires robust inventory tracking. It’s the most comprehensive program we’ve reviewed, and it exceeds the needs of many small businesses. Sage 50 Accounting is a massive small business accounting application for Windows. The free Wave Starter plan doesn’t include some of its most useful features (such as bank transaction imports) and charges extra for scanning and uploading expense receipts.

During our test, we liked that you can set frequently used reports as favorites to make them easy to find. The QuickBooks Online mobile app for iOS and Android helps you manage your business on the go. Once your inventory arrives, QuickBooks converts the purchase order into a bill. In addition, the software shows you how many of a particular item you have in stock when you’re creating estimates, invoices and purchase orders. QuickBooks Online’s excellent invoicing functionality includes the following features. Its invoicing features are more robust than those of many competitors we reviewed.

80+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance. Content was accurate at the time of publication. NerdWallet’s content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans. We do the work so you can focus on growing your business. Our information sources included vendor websites and our own hands-on software demos. We reviewed each platform’s payment and invoicing capabilities, integrations, mobile apps, report generation capabilities, supported user counts, and customer service.

This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific product’s site. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. This way, you can hand off the finances to the experts and focus on making your mark in the business world! If you’re ready to find the right program so you can cut down on wasted time, keep finances secure, and gain peace of mind knowing that your records are accurate, we totally get it.

As of our most recent check-in, the platform’s latest additions include a simplified Bill Pay subscription process for users who bill their clients. Professionals requiring comprehensive tax preparation tools QuickBooks is a great accounting solution, but it doesn’t offer everything. Email support is not offered at all, however. For most plans, phone support is available from 6 am to 6 pm on weekdays, or from 6 am to 3 pm on Saturday, although the QuickBooks Advanced plan includes 24/7 phone support. You’ll be able to set permissions to give departments different approvals, and the platform’s mobile app adds extra flexibility to business managers who aren’t always near a desktop.

What accounting software we consider

With QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping, you get access to an accountant who can work with you in real time. These safeguards should help you prevent employee accounting fraud. The software includes an audit log that tracks every login, logout and file change. We appreciate that QuickBooks Online uses bank-grade security to protect your data and that you can enable two-factor authentication. Instead of manually exporting and importing data between QuickBooks and your other business programs, you can automatically sync data between systems. QuickBooks also allows you to create more data visualizations in custom reports.

Explore cloud and desktop-based accounting software with subscription and perpetual licensing options like AccountingSuite, Xero, TallyPrime, and Striven. The best small business accounting software helps track income current portion of long term debt cpltd and expenses and provide a clear view of profitability. Accounting software costs will vary based on how many users you need, your required features, and the number of employees. Additionally, companies that require many users or manage multiple entities most commonly want small business ERP software with a full suite of functionalities to go along with their accounting. 37% of the companies we surveyed were buying accounting software for the first time. Your accounting software could share available funds with business intelligence systems.

The software can automatically run reports and email them to you on a custom schedule. We like that QuickBooks Online’s mobile app gives you an overview of your business activity and helps you accomplish multiple accounting tasks wherever you are. We also appreciate that the program alerts you when it’s time to reorder inventory.