If you run a business, you need reliable, accurate, and easy to use accounting software to keep track of your income, expenses, receivables, assets, and liabilities.

Most accounting software nowadays is cloud-based. Yet, not all accounting applications are alike. Some of them have special features that certain businesses will find useful. Others offer just basic features that make them popular for businesses on a shoestring budget. 

Here is an overview of the best accounting software in the roundup.

SoftwareStarting PriceWhat We Like About ItWhat We Don’t Like About It
QuickBooks$10 per month.Widely used; built-in reporting; wide range of integrations.Inflexible subscriptions; no mileage tracking in cheaper plans.
WaveFree.It’s free and offers more features than some paid alternatives.Can’t track billable hours, inventory or BOs; no fixed asset management tools.
Xero$9 per month.Easy registration; intuitive UI; mobile app; you can export to QuickBooks.Invoices aren’t very customizable; not widely used by accountants.
FreshBooks$15 per month.Customizable invoices; fast payments; multiple languages and currencies.No inventory management; limited mobile app.
Zoho Books$9 per month.Easy to use; customizable invoices; project management and time tracking functions.No payroll tools; limited to preparing 1099s for independent contractors.
Fyle Expense Tracking
$8.99 per month.
Multi-currency options, easily adaptable.Doesn’t allow you to submit expenses from email if using the mobile app; Fyle is not compatible with the Safari browser

Now you’ve got a sense on what’s on offer, let’s dive into the list.

Best Free Accounting Software: Wave

If you’re running a blog earning an income through affiliate marketing or are doing freelance work, you probably won’t need all the bells and whistles that come with most paid accounting software. 

Wave Financial, now part of H&R Block, offers free, cloud-based accounting applications that have an extensive set of capabilities. 

Signing up for Wave Accounting is very easy. Creating an account just takes seconds, and if you already have a Google or Yahoo account, Wave will set up an account for you. 

Once you’re in, you are asked to input your business name and type, contact information, and other details that will appear on your invoices. The user interface is simple and clutter-free. 

A sidebar menu has different, easy-to-understand headings that divide the features into core functions. 

These include Sales, Purchases, Accounting, Banking, Payroll, and Reports. The main part of the screen displays a dashboard that shows you snapshots of your cash flow, bank and credit accounts, and payable and receivables. 

Wave also provides many of the features that small business owners look for in accounting software:

Because Wave is cloud-based, it automatically backs up your data securely. If your phone or computer gets lost or stolen, you don’t have to worry about losing your financial information.

Best Accounting Software for Mac Users: Xero

Many businesses are starting to replace their Windows machines with computers running Mac OS. However, many Mac users complain that a lot of accounting software for Mac OS doesn’t have the same features as their Windows-based counterparts. 

While this is mostly true, Xero offers most of the features of Windows accounting software at competitive prices. 

The registration process for Xero is quick and straightforward. As soon as you log in, a clean, intuitive interface greets you. 

Navigating the screen is easy thanks to dropdown menus, while the dashboard shows outstanding bills, pending tasks, bank and card balances, and other information. 

You can move these widgets around the dashboard and clicking on them brings you to other parts of the application.

Xero offers a lot of functions that many Mac OS accounting applications don’t have on top of the standard accounting features. These include:

Xero is relatively powerful accounting software that comes in handy for Mac users. It offers a feature-rich accounting experience wrapped in a clean, intuitive user interface.

Best Accounting Software for Invoicing: FreshBooks

More often than not, invoicing software lacks advanced accounting features. 

It’s even harder to find accounting software that has a high level of invoicing customizability. FreshBooks offers a reasonably priced subscription package that makes it easier for small businesses to customize and send invoices. 

To sign up for a trial account, all you need is an email address. You don’t need a credit card just yet. 

Everything you need to customize, create, and send invoices is on the left side of the screen. The dashboard that occupies the rest of the screen shows basic information, such as outstanding revenue and total profit. 

The main draw of FreshBooks, though, is its invoicing capabilities. 

While other accounting programs make creating invoices more complicated than it should, FreshBooks makes it seem so easy. Here are some of the features that make FreshBooks your top choice for invoicing:

If you’re looking for an invoicing tool with the capabilities of accounting programs, FreshBooks is the way to go. We highly recommend FreshBooks for service or project-centric businesses, or if you work with freelancers.

Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses: QuickBooks

Who doesn’t know QuickBooks? Ask any accountant who has worked with small businesses and chances are they are very familiar with QuickBooks and its wide array of features. 

Not only does it have almost all of the features accountants look for in accounting software; non-accountants can also use QuickBooks with just a bit of training. 

QuickBooks offers either a demo or a 30-day free trial to let you get a better feel of the software. 

The interface is easy to use. The features are all located at the side of the screen, while the dashboard shows financial information such as sales, expenses, profits, losses, bank and card balances, and overdue and paid invoices. 

The graphs on the dashboard are clickable and take you to detailed reports or action menus. 

What makes QuickBooks so popular among accountants? Most users say that QuickBooks lets them save time and energy, thanks to the features listed below:

While QuickBooks does have its shortcomings, these are mostly minor ones. QuickBooks’ plethora of features, easy-to-use interface, and powerful reporting tools make it the choice of most accountants across all industries.

Best Accounting Software for Micro-enterprises: Zoho Books

Whether you run a Fortune 500 company or a small, one-person freelancing operation where you make money blogging, you need accounting software. 

If you are just starting your business or plan to keep it small, you need something that delivers more than the basic features at a low price point. Zoho Books ticks both boxes.

Setting up a Zoho Books account is easy, even for those who know next to nothing about accounting or tech. You just type in your business name and information and set a password, then choose modules that you plan to use. 

Zoho Books is simple to use and looking for functions is very easy. The dashboard offers a quick glance at your financial status, including a cash flow graph, payables and receivables, and billable projects.

What do micro-business owners have to say about Zoho Books? Many of them consider the following its brightest selling points:

The one thing that’s missing from Zoho Books is payroll, but if you are intent on keeping your operations small, that shouldn’t be much of a factor. 

You may, however, print 1099s for independent contractors. Nevertheless, Zoho Books is a robust accounting solution for even the smallest businesses.

Best Accounting Software for Expense Management: Fyle

Fyle is a great expense management software solution that allows you to have a view of all your expenses from a single dashboard. You don’t have to worry if you haven’t had any experience with using this type of software. Fyle has a very intuitive user interface that enables beginners to navigate the tool easily.

Expect accurate reports from Fyle as well. The tool automatically reconciles expenses with live feeds of your bank statements and expenses. Fyle gives you other important information about the expenses such as approvals and reimbursements. That makes it easy for finance teams to create actionable insights and make informed business decisions.

What makes Fyle such a great tool? Here are some of its other great features:

Integration with other accounting software solutions: Fyle directly integrates with accounting software such as Quickbooks Online, NetSuite or Sage Intacct, which means you can easily move data across those platforms to generate important expense reports. You don’t need to know code or seek IT’s help to integrate the platforms. All you need are your log-in credentials.

Enhanced admin controls: You can have complete control over your employee’s expense accounting. You can restrict specific categories to specific projects and configure everything around departments and cost centers, depending on your needs.

Smooth ACH payments:  You can streamline your employee reimbursements and ensure they receive them on time using the software’s ACH payment system. The tool also allows you to verify the employee’s bank account information through micro-deposits prior to payment. Once the payment has been made, Fyle enables you to monitor those payments with its transparent labeling and real-time tracking.

Fyle is just the tool for you if you’re looking for an easy-to-use expense management tool. The tool also has all the features you need to ensure proper expense tracking that will ensure your business has good financial health.

The Best Accounting Software for Your Business

All of the accounting software we have listed above have common features: dashboards, invoicing, some automation, and online payments. However, you may decide you need to get more out of your accounting software. 

If you don’t have much of a war chest and would rather use your money to expand your operations, Wave might be a great option. It is supported by an industry giant and has a good set of features that won’t break the bank.

If you are looking for an accounting software made for both business owners and accountants, QuickBooks is the undisputed king of the hill. It is easy to use and has a full suite of reports that will be useful once tax season comes around. 

For more useful tools for online business owners, check out our guide to the best online form software, the best podcast hosting platform, and the best Yesware alternative. You might also want to check out our roundup of the best app design software.

Hope you like our content. If you feel you have a solution that should be on this list, shoot us an email. We want to make our articles as comprehensive as possible.