The Ultimate List of Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses in 2023
Ezra Cabrera | January 4, 2022
Summary
- Best Accounting Software for Self-Employed Businesses or Freelancers
- Best Accounting Software for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
- BONUS: Best FREE Accounting Tools for Small Businesses
- Why Small Businesses Need Accounting Tools
- Benefits of Using Accounting Tools
Many small businesses are looking for ways to optimize their cash management system. As the year 2021 comes to an end, we wrapped up the best accounting tools preferred by new entrepreneurs and seasoned business owners. May this list help you and your peers decide the best accounting solution that meets your needs.
Best Accounting Software for Self-Employed Businesses or Freelancers in 2022
Many freelancers and solo entrepreneurs are new in the business world. This means that not everyone knows how to handle the inflow and outflow of their cash. We rounded up the most helpful accounting tools for freelancers and self-employed businesses to help them manage their finances better.
This list highlights the best features of each accounting solution. Take a look at each of the accounting tools below and see which one fits your business.
1. Sunrise
Lendio’s Sunrise expense management software is free for use, allowing freelancers to simplify their bookkeeping needs. It allows users to send out branded invoices to their clients, categorize expenses, track 1099 vendors, and accomplish tax filing requirements. What’s more, this tool allows users to seek help from bookkeeping experts via chat.
While this accounting software is technically free, it also offers subscription to its users in exchange for much better services. For example, in the free membership, users may generate their profit and loss statements and send customer invoices and receipts. They may also enjoy low payment processing fees, which costs 3.55%+$0.30 per credit card transactions and 1.5%+$0.30 per ACH transfers.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT SUNRISE: If the freelancer wishes to have his or her own professional bookkeeper, they may do so without hiring one full-time. Sunrise also gives you its dedicated bookkeeper for a fee starting at $149/month. This is particularly helpful for new entrepreneurs who don’t have the budget to hire an expert in-house.
PRICING OPTIONS FOR SUNRISE: However, the Sunrise Plus program (charged at $19.99/month) offers lower payment processing fees of 2.55%+$0.30 per credit card transactions and 0.5%+$0.30 per ACH transfers. On top of that, users may customize their invoices according to their branding, get cash flow insights and alerts, auto-categorize expenses, and so on. The Sunrise Plus program is also compatible with payment gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, and Square.
2. Harpoon
Some freelancers are engaged with clients who need to see the exact number of hours a certain project has been worked on. If you see yourself in this situation, you might want to try Harpoon.
Harpoon is a digital financial application used by freelancers and agencies that combines financial planning and budgeting with time-tracking and invoicing. This app boasts of its four-method approach to manage the user’s finances:
Step 1: Set a financial goal. Know how much money you’ll be making this year.
Step 2: Plan your revenue. Break up your annual financial goal into manageable bit-sized projects. This will help determine how much revenue the business needs to meet monthly to achieve the goal.
Step 3: Bill clients. Make invoicing a breeze for both you and the clients. Automate billing processes and set clear terms to receive timely payments.
Step 4: Control your expenses. Set up an expense budget based on purpose and timeline. Stay in control of all expenses by tracking every penny that goes in and out of the business.
Harpoon allows users to set a yearly revenue goal, which can be broken down into monthly targets. On top of that, users can track their team’s project activity and convert that insight into accurate revenue forecasts. Users will also know how much revenue the company is expected to generate as well as when it will be collected.
What’s more, Harpoon has its own time-tracking system that lets users know the value, cost and potential profit of every hour spent on a project. Filters may be set according to the user’s preference–from dates to clients to projects. You can also set the maximum number of hours you wish to spend for a project, then track your time against a budget. It’s a plus that Harpoon tells you your and your team’s progress.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT HARPOON: This finance and accounting tool determines the potential value and cost of a project before it even kicks off. Users can set their billing by the hour or with a fixed fee and still be able to see their forecasted profits. Also, we love how simple it is to assign internal hourly cost rates for each user.
PRICING OPTIONS FOR HARPOON: Harpoon is free for the first 14 days. After that, users can decide if they want to subscribe on a monthly or yearly basis. Monthly subscription starts at only $19, which is good for two users. More than 20 users will have to pay a monthly fee of $99.
3. Bonsai
Thinking of a way to integrate all your projects–from proposals to contracts–with your internal accounting needs? Bonsai lets you stay on top of your business needs, literally from proposals to tax season.
Bonsai is an accounting software that allows users to craft structured proposals, prepare contracts using templated documents, manage client projects, and collect payments through customizable invoices.
Here’s everything you can do with Bonsai:
- Write proposals with clear cost estimates
- Generate already vetted contract templates and add your e-signature
- Manage, track and organize client projects, documents and payments
- Use time sheets to track the time you spend for every task
- Get paid faster by creating branded invoices. Your customer will also receive automatic reminders when payment dates are coming
- Track your expenses, generate income reports, and estimate how much you’ll pay for tax filing
- Create customizable forms and questionnaires for your potential customers before you launch a project
Bonsai is trusted by more than 250,000 self-employed individuals and small business owners in the United States, Canada, UK, Australia and more. Currently the accounting tool supports over 180 currencies, giving freelancers the leverage to accept payments from all over the world.
Like other accounting solutions, Bonsai allows the user to track their expenses, estimate quarterly taxes, and determine profit and loss. What’s more, it allows users to download their tax write-offs and prepare their Schedule C’s. Freelancers can also track their 1099 expenses on the platform.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT BONSAI: Bonsai primarily caters to freelancers and independent talent workers who need to consolidate their needs in one platform. We love that there are templates ready for use–invoice, proposals, contracts, agreements, quotations, cost estimates, and more!
PRICING OPTIONS FOR BONSAI: There are two pricing options for Bonsai: Workflow ($19/month) and Workflow Plus ($29/month). Both subscriptions offer invoicing and payments, proposal and contract creation, time tracking, project management, and client portal. The difference is, Workflow Plus offers client forms and questionnaires, workflow automations, subcontracting, and integration with Calendly. Bonsai is also an app that integrates well with iOS, Android, Chrome, and Mac Apps.
4. Expensify
Looking for the best way to manage your expenses, pay bills, send out customer invoices, or manage your travels? Expensify is a software expense management tool that lets users enjoy its unlimited receipt scanning and manage personal and business expenses in one place.
Solo entrepreneurs can finally get rid of their receipts using Expensify’s SmartScan technology, which allows them to scan their receipts and store them on the cloud in a flick of a finger. Users may also get the Expensify Card, which can be used for bills payments and other expenses.
What’s more, Expensify boasts its expense management system, which includes easy approval, next-day reimbursement, and automatic sync with accounting software. Bill payments are made easy with Expensify too: you can automatically approve payments for vendors so you won’t have to do it manually on a busy day.
If you already have other tools for accounting, human resources, taxes, and receipt management, you’d be glad to know that Expensify is integrated with known solutions such as Intuit QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, Oracle, Gusto, Greenhouse, Grab, Uber, Lyft, Hotel Engine, TaxBack International, TravelPerk, and so much more.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT EXPENSIFY: What you normally won’t find in an expense management tool is the integration for travel booking. Freelancers and new entrepreneurs who often travel to meet with clients may find Expensify useful because it serves as a concierge for all flight needs. Whether that’s to book flights, hotels or cars, users can book their needs round-the-clock through the app’s 24/7 corporate travel assistant.
PRICING OPTIONS FOR EXPENSIFY: Expensify is free for use for freelancers and self-employed individuals. With their free plan, they get to enjoy expense tracking, mileage tracking, receiving and sending out money, and splitting bills with friends. It also allows up to 25 receipt scans per month, which is good for freelancers who don’t need to keep track of a lot of receipts. This free service also comes with sending invoices to customers.
On the other hand, Expensify’s pricing for more established businesses are offered free up to $9/user per month. Expensify’s free subscription model for small businesses comes with the Expensify Card, which the team can use to track expenses. This also allows them to reimburse anytime, pay bills, or send invoices to customers.
Expensify also comes with Collect plan ($5/user per month), which offers all the features in Free model plus accounting sync, expense approval, and GL mapping. Expensify is also available in Control ($9/user per month), which offers everything in Free and Control plans plus expense plan setup, multi-level expense approval, custom reporting, and access control.
5. Shoeboxed
Collecting receipts and digitizing them can be a handful especially when you’re doing everything on your own. Even taking snapshots of receipts and organizing them on an app can be tedious; not to mention time-consuming. This is where Shoeboxed comes in: this accounting software is dedicated for busy entrepreneurs who don’t have the time to take snapshots of their receipts and collate them on the cloud.
It follows the premise of traditional receipt recording, which is collecting receipts in one shoebox then documenting them for accounting purposes. However, Shoeboxed will handle the bookkeeping side of your business so you won’t have to crunch the numbers on your own.
Simply collect your receipts and mail them to Shoeboxed for free using their postage-paid Magic Envelope™. The team behind the app will do the work of scanning your receipts and turning them into actionable data in a more digital and organized manner.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT SHOEBOXED: Once all your receipts are scanned and organized in the digital space, you can create categories to fit your needs. You can also export all data anytime you need it. You can view your expenses at a glance and see all your fully scanned receipts in one place. This makes it easier for you to gather receipts in time for audit season.
PRICING OPTIONS FOR SHOEBOXED: Subscription offers from Shoeboxed range between $18 to $54 per month. Paying for an annual subscription guarantees you a 2% discount for your first year. Freelancers and self-employed individuals may already import 600 digital documents and 300 physical documents into the platform using the Startup option ($18). This already comes with 1 prepaid Magic Envelope per month, document returns, unlimited file storage, and iOS app usage for an unlimited number of users.
6. QuickBooks Self-Employed
Being self-employed is rewarding, but in order to maximize growth and generate the income that supports your lifestyle, you need to find an accounting software that empowers your cash management on a personal and professional level.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is the perfect tool used and trusted by many self-employed individuals who need intuitive accounting features. This tool offers powerhouse features such as mileage tracking, expense management, receipt sorting and organizing, and tax filing.
It’s the perfect on-the-go tool for self-employed individuals who are frequent travelers, or those who run delivery businesses. To have a better appreciation for QuickBooks Self-Employed, below is a much more detailed list of its features:
- Track your mileage automatically. Maximize your tax deductions by accurately and automatically tracking your mileage. This works best for users who are driving full-time, part-time, or occasionally making deliveries. It is also equipped with GPS tracking.
- Keep tabs of finances. QuickBooks makes it easy for users to track, organize, and manage their finances anytime and anywhere because they can already do so using their smartphones. Users can import expenses from their bank account, separate business and personal spending, and oversee all their expenses in one place.
- Snap-and-save receipts. Self-employed individuals may use QuickBooks to take a snapshot of their receipts and send them to their e-mail no matter what time of day. What QuickBooks will do is match and categorize your expenses automatically so you won’t have to spend time doing it. Also, you can save all your receipts in one place so you can finally get rid of papers.
- You can estimate your taxes. Not knowing how much taxes you need to pay can be nerve-wrecking. QuickBooks makes it possible for users to estimate their quarterly taxes to avoid year-end surprises. This tool allows you to see how much you owe each quarter before taxes are due, prevents late fees with automatic reminders of tax due dates, and organizes your tax documents in time for filing.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT QUICKBOOKS SELF-EMPLOYED: We love that users can upgrade their subscription to TurboTax bundle, which allows users to instantly transfer their financial data to the QuickBooks app. Self-employed professionals can transfer their Schedule C income and expenses seamlessly to reduce the time it takes to manually do them. Also, this tool is already equipped with one federal and one state tax return filing.
PRICING OPTIONS FOR QUICKBOOKS SELF-EMPLOYED: QuickBooks Self-employed offers flexible bundled options for solo entrepreneurs and freelancers. A subscription of $7.50/month already benefits the user with separate business and personal expense tracking, Schedule C deduction management, quarterly estimated taxes calculation, and automatic mileage tracking.
The highest tier, which is available at $17/month, comes with everything aforementioned features plus the following:
- Quarterly payments of estimated taxes directly from QuickBooks
- Easy transfer of information to TurboTax, an accounting software integrated with QuickBooks Self-Employed which helps users prepare their state and federal income tax returns
- Easy access to a certified public accountant when needed
- Unlimited help and advice year-round from QuickBooks’ financial experts
- Have a CPA do your final review of your ITR
7. Kashoo
Kashoo provides a simple accounting solution for self-employed businesses who “are not ready to use accounting software.” Since the day-to-day life of a solo entrepreneur is busier than what we see on paper, they need a tool that is easy to understand and simple enough to navigate.
With Kashoo, self-employed individuals get the best of their accounting needs without the complication. With over ten years of proven track record with providing accounting and finance solutions to entrepreneurs, Kashoo was able to gain ground in over 180 countries, offering them with tools for tax deductions, seamless invoicing, and account reconciliation.
Kashoo also eliminates the management of paper receipts by letting you take snapshots of your receipts so you can keep them in your wallet anytime, anywhere.
Even more, Kasoo users can setup payments within a minute with no extra charges. Every time clients pay them, they can automatically deposit the money into their bank accounts and categorize them accordingly.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT KASHOO: We love that Kashoo’s basic subscription model already offers integration with ACH, Apple Pay, Alipay, American Express, Google Pay, Visa and Mastercard. You can also create your free invoices through the web, using your Stripe account. Users can even add a convenience fee, making sure that even the smallest transaction fees are covered. Plus, the subscription options for Kashoo are tailor-fit according to the budget of the user.
PRICE OPTIONS FOR KASHOO: The price range for Kashoo is from $0 to $30 per month, depending on the features that come with the app. For the free subscription, users get to send invoices, accept payments, send estimates to customers, track their income, and manage their clients.
The mid-tier subscription, which costs $20 per month, already allows you to enjoy all the features in the free model, plus sales and tax tracking, essential reporting, true double entry ledger, and IRS/CRA Standard CoA.
Larger businesses get to enjoy the benefits of the mid-tier model, plus advanced reporting, supports multiple currencies, printing of checks, enables multiple users, inventory and project management, payroll, and customized CoA.
8. Neat
If security is a deal-breaker for you, then you must sign-up for Neat. This accounting software is dedicated for small business owners and solo entrepreneurs who value data security and privacy first over any other accounting feature.
Neat boasts of more than 20 years of security and data protection expertise, offering its users the highest standard of bank-level encryption. Even though cyber breaches are becoming even more sophisticated by the day, Neat ensures the security of its users on the web–giving them one less thing to worry about.
Neat has three hero products under its belt: NeatFiles, NeatInvoices, and NeatBooks. NeatFiles allows you to keep your receipts, tax documents, and other private information in one place, stored in the cloud. Meanwhile. NeatInvoices allows you to track, manage and send customer invoices at no subscription costs. Lastly, NeatBooks offers an optimized way for you to leverage accounting data so you know everything about your cash balances, expenses, sales, and more. You can also access your NeatBooks data using anytime, anywhere, and any device you prefer.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT NEAT: Among all the powerful features of NeatBooks, we absolutely love its dashboard. At one glance, you’ll be able to see your business’ financial health analytics through its intuitive dashboard. You will see your net income vis-a-vis your expenses on a monthly basis. You may also refer back to your past transactions to see how well your business did in the previous months.
PRICE OPTIONS FOR NEAT: NeatInvoices is absolutely free, so new business owners may enjoy the following features as long as they like: customizable invoices, secure payments through WePay, turnkey invoice building and tracking, easy filter through customers and invoices, and more. Note that even when the use of NeatInvoices is free, standard payment processing fees and bank transfer charges apply.
NeatFiles is available for $30/month, offering users with unlimited monthly data storage, bank-level security encryption, data capture with human verification, easy access to documents on the cloud, personalized support, and all the features of NeatInvoices.m Lastly, there’s NeatBooks, which is available at $40/month. It includes everything on NeatFiles, plus access to accountants and reduced time keeping the books in order.
Best Accounting Software for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses in 2022
When it’s time for growth, it’s time for an upgrade. With the increasing complications and requirements in accounting and finance, small businesses need to leverage accounting tools that support their needs. Here’s a list of the best accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses in 2022.
1. Wave
Wave’s accounting platform is one of the best-in-class accounting solutions preferred by many small to medium-sized businesses because it’s free and packed with powerful functionalities.
You can connect the software to their business’ bank accounts, sync their expenses, process and manage taxes, and balance their books in one platform. On top of that, you can track, store, and manage your receipts on Wave so you won’t have to deal with physical papers ever again.
Wave designed a beginner-friendly accounting solution that even the most illiterate of accounting processes would find easy to navigate. It’s a plus that the accounting software uses 256-bit encryption for security, and the company is recognized for having PCI Level-1 certification for handling bank account information.
All the features you get to enjoy with Wave’s free accounting tool:
- Track income and expenses as they come
- Stay on top of sales and income taxes
- Add as many partners, collaborators, and accountants on the platform as you’d like
- Generate financial statements for year-end planning. Wave has fully functional double entry system
- Get powerful reports on overdue invoices and bills, cash flow, profit and loss statements, and more
- Connect as many banks and credit cards as you’d like
- Organize income and expenses according to tax categories
- Have a quick insight on how your business is performing on you Wave intuitive platform
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT WAVE: Wave is completely free-of-charge. Small to medium-sized businesses may already enjoy superb accounting features without breaking the bank. Plus, they get to include as many businesses as they want in one account!
2. Xero
Xero has become a top of mind for many SMEs with less than 20 people. It allows you to gain financial overview through its smart dashboards, create personalized reports and invoices, prepare and process payroll, and manage the company’s expenses.
Xero has a mobile app that gives you complete freedom as to when and where you want to pull and analyze data. The best part is, this accounting tool allows for multiple logins so more tasks can be accomplished at any given time.
Here are all the topnotch features of Xero for small businesses:
- Track and pay bills on time
- Capture costs, submit, approve and reimburse expense claims, and view spending through its built-in expense tracker
- Connect all your bank accounts for easy cash transfers
- Accepts payments from customers wherever they are in the world. You can connect your Stripe account and other payment solutions so you can receive money effortlessly
- Quote, invoice and get paid for jobs. Plus, stay on top of your costs and profitability through its integrated job tracker software
- Process and manage payroll on the app, or integrate a payroll software to Xero if you already have one
- Keep financials up-to-date with bank reconciliation
- Keep the details of your suppliers, customers, and employees in one digital phonebook
- Manage, share and modify documents whenever you need to across multiple platforms
- Keep track of inventory, as well as populate invoices and orders with items you buy or sell
- Create professional online quotes
- Automatically calculates sales taxes on transactions
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT XERO: Xero is great for emerging businesses because it allows you to pay and get paid in more than 160 currencies, with up-to-date exchange rates. The subscription plan starts at only $22 per month, up to $47 per month depending on the plan and add-on services.
3. Plooto
If you’re looking for something for something specific to your accounts payable and receivables, Ploot is the best tool for you. Plooto allows you to manage and keep track of heavy daily transactions with its 360-degree financial recording. It is trusted by more than 6,000 businesses, including Greenhouse, Deloitte, and Adbloom.
Plooto can be integrated with other accounting solutions like QuickBooks and Xero so you can easily migrate and compare data from one tool to another.
Some of the most important features of Plooto are:
- Automated accounts receivable, as well as pre-authorized debit and recurring payment features
- Optimize cash flow, track expenses and invoices
- Gain a clear and accurate insight on your pending, completed and new receivables
- Get paid via credit card in as fast as 48 hours
- Manage list of customer contacts
- Secure EFT payments, ECH payments, and e-transfers
- Maximize efficiency with a fully integrated accounting software
- Create custom rules to automate, route and customize payment approvals tpo the right team member
- Complete audit trails and record-keeping
- Customizable approval trails
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT PLOOTO: This accounting tool provides early-payment discounts to encourage customers to pay on time. What’s more, we love that users can personalize and route all payments directly to the client, no matter where they are in the world.
4. Zoho Books
Some accounting solutions have it all: bookkeeping capabilities, automated workflows, and time tracking. If you want to enjoy these features, you must try Zoho Books.
Zoho Books is an end-to-end accounting software that lets you monitor your accounts receivable and accounts payable, manage inventory, import bank statements, reconcile transactions, and track time spent for every project.
- Keep track of the hours you spent working on a project, then invoice your customer later
- Create, edit and manage contact list in one place
- Generate more than 50 business reports – from profit and loss statements and inventory summary, to tax summary reports
- Send estimates, convert them into invoices, and get paid on time
- Manage payable by overseeing vendor bills to monthly expenses
- Upload, store and organize receipts
- Organize inventory with vital information such as SKU, cost, and stock on hand
- Prepare documents for tax season
- Integrates well with world-renown digital solutions, such as PayPal, Zoho Analytics, Google Suite, Uber for Business, and so much more
WE LOVE ABOUT ZOHO BOOKS: Zoho allows multiple users to join the platform for collaboration. We love that the tool has role-based access, so you can still keep sensitive information private to a limited number of people. You can already enjoy some of its features for free, up to $30 per month.
5. FreshBooks
FreshBooks is one of the easiest-to-use accounting software platforms to date, which is ideal for businesses with small teams. Similar to Zoho Books, users can track time using the accounting solution–plus send invoices, track expenses, collaborate on projects, and fast payment crediting.
Some self-employed individuals also use FreshBooks because it helps them keep everything in one place. It’s a widely used solution for those who want to explore basic functionalities and get simple, administrative tasks done in a few clicks.
Users of FreshBooks can also automatically track payments, mileage, and expenses year-round so you won’t have to worry about your taxes.
Everything you can enjoy with FreshBooks:
- Customizable professional-looking invoices
- Easy tracking and management of expenses. Just upload a photo of the receipt and FreshBooks will automatically record the merchant, total amount, and taxes on your behalf.
- Log your and your team’s time per project or per client, then seamlessly add them to your invoice
- Keep all files, conversations, and client feedback in one dashboard
- Get paid up to 11 days faster
- Generate financial reports that tell you exactly where your business stands
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT FRESHBOOKS: FreshBooks has multiple bundled options that work for freelancers, self-employed individuals, small businesses with employees, and small businesses that work with contractors. Features are carefully bundled to fit the needs of its users, regardless of business size.
6. Intuit QuickBooks Online
Looking for an accounting tool that works as hard as you do? Intuit QuickBooks Online is not just any accountant’s assistant. This tool allows you to create and send invoices, receive and track payments, run reports, and organize your documents all in one place.
QuickBooks Online is also integrated with PayPal, Shopify, Square, and other digital platforms so you won’t have to manually track and record your income across multiple sites.
The unmatched features of Intuit QuickBooks Online:
- Create custom professional invoices
- Send payment reminders and automatically match payments to invoices
- Manage expenses and prepare documents for tax season
- Connect to your bank for easier transfers
- Organize expenses into tax categories
- Track sales tax on income
- Capture and organize receipts for paperless record-keeping
- Manage inventory
- Use customizable reports
- Multi-currency support
- Bank-level security
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT QUICKBOOKS: QuickBooks has millions of users worldwide, and there’s a reason for it. It’s equipped with bank-standard security to make sure that all financial records are secure on its cloud storage–plus a 24/7 chat support for users wherever they are in the world. Since the software is a little bit more comprehensive than other accounting tools, users will need to check out its tutorials and guides to have a better scope of how they can maximize its features.
Free accounting tools that are worth mentioning
With so many freelancers looking for ways to optimize their accounting without actually spending, here’s a quick list of the best free accounting and bookkeeping software.
1. Less Accounting
Less Accounting is an intuitive free accounting software that gives freelancers and new business owners the basic features. It has basic invoicing, customer management solutions, and can be integrated with payment tools like Stripe and PayPal. Users may also invite as many team members as they’d like to use the same account.
2. ZipBooks Starter
Zip Books is a simple yet beautiful accounting app that lets you send invoices, get paid with major credit cards via PayPal, and set auto billing. Account reconciliation is also made easy with ZipBooks. Plus, you can color-code your reports so you know where to locate your files. It’s a plus that you can generate insights that will help you make your next move.
3. Odoo
Odoo allows you to get your bank statements synced with your bank, manage recurring billings, customize invoices, track payments, and control supplier invoices. Its smart reconciliation tool allows users to save time and automate 95% of your reconciliation requirements. We absolutely love how neat the statements look like on the dashboard.
4. GnuCash
GnuCash is 100% free, allowing users to manage payroll, manage your accounts, monitor your cash flow, and track monthly expenses. It can track and record customers and vendors and send invoices. It’s actually designed both for personal and professional use, making it a reliable partner when you need accounting done in every aspect of your life.
5. Akaunting
Akaunting is a free online accounting tool designed for small businesses and self-employed individuals. You can see your finances online, no matter what device you use. You’ll get to stay on top of your cash flow, send professional-looking invoices to clients, track expenses, and set categories for your income and expenses. You can even give your clients access to the portal for transparency.
Also read: The 13 Best Accounting Tools Small Businesses Swear By in 2020
Why Small Businesses Need Accounting Tools in 2022
The Census Bureau reported an explosion of new small business applications in 2020, with 4.4 million applicants being regarded as “high-propensity” or those that “have a strong likelihood of turning into business with employees on payroll.”
For these new pandemic entrepreneurs to thrive and survive what’s yet to come, they need to gain a strong financial footing. The best way to do this is by maintaining healthy cash flow, filing the right taxes, and tapping growth opportunities as they knock.
This is where accounting solutions come in: they provide small business owners and new entrepreneurs a more accurate and systematic way of monitoring, tracking, and managing their financial transactions. Accounting tools are crucial in generating records or data that accountants and business owners may use to make strategic and well-calculated decisions.
Benefits of Using Accounting Tools
If you’re like many new small business owners, you might have initially created a spreadsheet to monitor the inflow and outflow of your cash. But as the company grows, more transactions need to be recorded–making the manual tracking of cash more tedious than ever.
Not to mention, you will need to track more inventory, follow-up customer invoices, keep up with monthly bills, file taxes, pay full-time employees, and so on. Would you be able to add these tasks to your plate knowing that you’ve got a million more things to do?
When you use accounting software, you not only generate reports that tell your business’ financial performance. You also minimize human error. Here’s what you need to look for in accounting tools in 2022.
- Automate repetitive tasks
The primary function of accounting tools is to help users simplify their tracking of financial transactions and unlock their full potential with the help of technology. Through automation, accountants, finance professionals, and business owners are able to process and collect customer payments, send out invoices, and more. - Generate financial reports in a few clicks
Accounting tools are meant to eliminate the complexities that come with manual logging of cash transactions. This gives you more time to focus on more important tasks, and allows you to do more within a shorter period of time. - Have a complete overview of all your transactions
Your preferred accounting solution must be able to give you an intuitive dashboard that doesn’t look too intimidating. You should be able to see your business’ financial health at one glance. - Tax filing should be a breeze
If you’re running a small business, your accounting solution must be able to generate tax reports that are ready for submission. Your accounting tool should help eliminate the manual recording of after-sales taxes so you have one less thing to worry about during tax season. - Payroll is simplified
If you have a small team, it can be challenging to manage payroll. Having an accounting solution will help you fill in that gap–plus, it will tell you if it’s time to grow your team. - Reduce your errors
Manually inputting your financial data puts you at risk of human error. To make sure you have accurate data, use accounting tools that automatically record and manage your transactions for you.
In Conclusion
As 2021 comes to an end, many small businesses are looking for ways to be more efficient. Look for accounting solutions that make work easier for you and your team. Whether you’ll opt to use free or paid accounting tools, the important thing is you’ll get your work done faster and more accurately.
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