Accounting can be complicated, and your work must always be accurate to avoid problems with customers and vendors, income taxes, and reports. The companies that make small business accounting software have worked hard to make it as simple and pleasant as possible. FreshBooks, Solopreneur, and Wave are among the easiest accounting programs to use. Once you start entering records and transactions, your app’s dashboard will show your data.

QuickBooks Online, like its competitors, can accept payments from customers via credit or debit card or bank payment. It also supports electronic bill payment through QuickBooks Bill Pay, something no other competitor offers. You have the option to upload bills from your computer or enter them manually. QuickBooks Online is one of the preeminent cloud-based accounting software platforms on the market. With four plans available, there are several options from which to choose, depending on your needs.

Tools to help business thrive

Small business accounting software is a digital investment that replaces the process of collecting receipts and manually recording business expenses and revenue. Furthermore, investing in accounting software for your small business is more affordable than hiring an accountant. Simply put, the best accounting software is one that suits your unique needs. QuickBooks is a well-established accounting software that is widely used by businesses from a variety of industries. With five plans, each at different price points, users can choose the plan that best meets their business needs without paying for additional features that they don’t want.

1. Our experts have tested this product and selected it for this story.
2. You select one, customize it with the filter and display options, and let the software pour your company data into it.
3. Expert Assisted is a monthly subscription service that requires a QBO subscription and provides expert help to answer your questions related to the books that you maintain full ownership and control.
4. They can either enter it themselves using the QuickBooks mobile app or submit it manually and a bookkeeper on your end can enter the details in the app.
5. You pay a lot for the privilege of using it, but QuickBooks Online earns our Editors’ Choice award for businesses that need the best item-tracking capabilities.

The Best Reports in the Business

Even for payroll, which has a huge tax liability, taxes are calculated automatically every cycle. If you operate in multiple international locations QuickBooks allows you to accept payment in local currencies. Of course, it is safer to first check if QuickBooks accepts payment in the currency you deal with.

Invoicing and payments

Accounting software allows business owners to track expenses, manage cash flow, create custom modified accrual governmental reporting overview invoices, manage inventory and create financial reports. Larger businesses with substantial accounting teams may want to consider the QuickBooks Advanced plan. It covers up to 25 users and provides dedicated customer support and advanced reporting features.

Support hours exclude occasional downtime due to system and server maintenance, company events, observed U.S. holidays and events beyond our control. Intuit reserves the right to change these hours without notice. Terms, conditions, pricing, service, support options, and support team members are subject to change without notice. It’s possible to do a minimal setup and then jump into accepting payments, creating invoices, and paying bills.

For many years, Intuit QuickBooks Online has been the small business accounting service to beat. It combines highly effective accounting tools with an exceptional user experience. The service stands out because it’s easily customizable, comes in multiple versions with hundreds of add-ons, and offers better mobile access than most rivals. Given Intuit QuickBooks Online’s high price, you need to be committed to using it conscientiously and comprehensively. In particular, its inventory and reporting tools are in a class above others. QuickBooks Online is an Editors’ Choice winner alongside FreshBooks, which isn’t quite as thorough or flexible but better caters to service-based businesses.

Its Premium version ($60 per month) offers some of the same functionality as QuickBooks Online Plus, along with some unique features. FreshBooks does, however, charge $11 per month for each additional team member. Wave Pro ($16 per month) and Xero Early ($20 per month) are the least expensive alternatives I’ve tested, but they lack many features and some flexibility. QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software that covers all the accounting needs you may have. It’s a subscription-based service that is good for various industries and beneficial to those who regularly work with a bookkeeper or accountant because you can give them access to your files.

QuickBooks Online is available both as a desktop application and an online SaaS (software as a service) model. However, access to add-on services to the QuickBooks Desktop for Windows 2019 was discontinued after May 31, 2022. You have easy access to all the common financial statements like balance sheet, profit and loss (P&L) statement, cash flow statements and taxes filed. You can take a printout of these statements for your accountant and send it across to them at the time of filing or invite them to view these statements without needing a login ID or password. As a business owner, you know how important it is to manage a regular positive cash flow. QuickBooks Payments makes it easier for you to accept online payments when you send invoices from within the app.