Best Small Business Accounting Software For Your Business In 2023

Small business owners and startups have to be extra careful during their initial years when it comes to finance. Online accounting software helps them keep track of accounts receivable and accounts payable their overheads, gives them a clear view of their profits and is ready for the tax season. 

Ideally, small businesses should have online accounting software that is aligned with modern-day needs, is hyper-customizable and scalable to meet their particular and dynamic needs. Then with time, as the business grows and the accounting becomes more complex, a custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is required. 

Best Small Business Accounting Software: 

1. QuickBooks 

QuickBooks online ranks at the top as one of the most preferred small business accounting software. This online accounting software offers endless online training resources and forums to get help when needed, which makes it easy to use and super-helpful. The best thing -- all accounting and bookkeeping features can be accessed from a single dashboard, making the entire auditing and bookkeeping process seamless.

Pros 

• Projects profitability

• New cash flow pages

• New hybrid sales tax option

Cons

• Not cost-effective

• Auto-categorization is not very accurate

• Mobile apps lack efficiency

2. FreshBooks

Invoicing is one of the most important accounting features for every business. FreshBooks is exceptional at creating and sharing automated invoices, as its key feature is to send, receive, print, and pay invoices. However, it also takes care of the basic bookkeeping needs of small businesses.  They provide a balance sheet template that is easy to use. Moreover, this cloud-based auditing software makes third-party integration seamless.

Pros 

• Double-entry accounting
• Automatic mileage tracking on iOS

Cons

• Hardly any setup help
• Some dashboard deficits
• Mobile apps lack some site features

3. Xero

Xero is well-suited for micro-businesses whose bookkeeping needs aren't complex since it offers simple accounting and bookkeeping features. This online auditing software has a neat interface and also easily integrates with third-party payroll services. 

Businesses can receive online payment from customers through Xero's integration with GoCardless and Stripe.

Pros

• Project tracking
• Integrates with Gusto (payroll)

Cons 

• Need a seperate app to handle expenses
• No reorder level in inventory

4. Wave

If you are a service-based small business that needs to send simple invoices and don't require tracking inventory or running payroll, Wave is the ideal accounting software for you. Wave's free features cover all of the accounting and bookkeeping needs of small businesses and freelancers. Additionally, Wave offers multi-currency support.

Pros 

• Free (payments and payroll incur fees)
• Double-entry accounting

Cons

• No dedicated time-tracking features
• Receipts by Wave app unavailable on Android

5. Sage 

Sage 50cloud is comprehensive small business accounting software. It houses comprehensive financial tools and offers a multitude of customization options. In addition, its integration with Microsoft 365 makes it a hybrid solution: local, hard-drive-based software that can share data with applications on-cloud. 

Pros

• Elaborate and sophisticated features
• Scalable
• Microsoft 365 integration

Cons

• Windows only
• No dedicated time tracking
• Many links open new windows

6. GoDaddy Bookkeeping

GoDaddy is the go-to choice for entrepreneurs as this online accounting software directly integrates with Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. Its general bookkeeping and accounting features are. It is fairly scalable and easy to use. However, it falls short on offering functionalities that its competitors like FreshBooks does.

Pros 

• Calculates estimates for quarterly taxes
• Cost-effective

Cons 

• No project tracking or bill payment features
• Very little client information in records 

7. Kashoo

Another great online accounting and bookkeeping software for micro-businesses is Kashoo. It has simple yet powerful features like income and expense management, usability, and great customer support. It's a simple, go-to choice for small businesses, freelancers, and startups that don't need time-billing or product inventory-tracking tools.

Pros

• Free email, phone, and chat support
• Integrates with SurePayroll

Cons

• Doesn't have an Android app

8. Sunrise

Sunrise has similar features to that Kashoo. Due to its simplicity and limited features, it is greatly useful for freelancers and sole proprietors. They can track income and expenses and also send invoices to customers. Small business accounting software needs double-entry accounting and can do without time tracking, detailed analytical reports, and a comprehensive mobile app. 

Pros 

• Free
• Supports both quotes and estimates
• Double-entry accounting

Cons 

• Dedicated time or project tracking features are unavailable
• Less details in fields of contact and product records

9. AccountEdge Pro 

AccountEdge Pro offers double-entry accounting tools — from time billing and reporting to inventory. The software is easily customizable for particular business needs. In addition, it can be optimized for desktop users. The software is also available for a one-time fee, potentially saving you a lot of money down the line by avoiding subscription costs. It also has a cloud collaboration option. 

Pros 

• Double-entry accounting
• Customizable

Cons

• No mobile app

10. OneUp

OneUp Best for businesses focused on inventory management. This online accounting and bookkeeping software automatically adjusts your inventory levels as they shift and tells you the right time to reorder.

Moreover, it syncs with your bank, categorizes bank entries, and validates suggested entries, so your books are done accurately in no time. 

Pros 

• Best inventory management
• Double-entry accounting
• Good Automation

Cons 

• Customer support can't be better

11. Tipalti

Tipalti automates the accounts payable process. It can streamline international payment processing, automate your payment operations, and even make sure you're tax compliant across 190 countries.

Tipalti is an online accounting software best used for deadline-driven businesses as it can help you keep an eye on and meet time-bound payment objectives every time. This software fixes issues like late payments, non-compliance, and administrative overload. 

Pros

• Works across 190 countries

Cons

• Less Intuitive User-interface 

12. OnPay

OnPay is a payroll-centric solution for small businesses. It can help you enter payment data, automate tax filings, and manage benefits, including health insurance, compensation insurance, and 401(k). It also gives unlimited payroll runs for W-2 and 1099 workers.

Furthermore, it can estimate your payroll taxes, manage tax form filings, and even pay your taxes. One outstanding feature is they'll also take responsibility for any tax filing errors committed while using the product.

Pros

• Loaded with features
• Intuitive 

Cons 

• Setting up PTO/vacation/sick policies could be clearer 

13. DEAR Systems

DEAR Systems stands for double-entry accounting record. They offer a unified platform to cover various accounting and bookkeeping services that can help any SMBSs and startups streamline processes like data entry and syncing invoices.

This accounting software easily integrates with other applications like Xero and Quickbooks. Moreover, it allows the best real-time visibility into your financial data.

Pros

• Double-entry accounting
• Great customer service
• Intuitive user interface

Cons

• The software might hang sometime
• Need more integration facilities

14. ZarMoney

ZarMoney is comprehensive accounting software with an elaborate list of features. It helps your business enhance and streamline productivity, advanced inventory, and reporting.

It could be the best choice for small business accounting software because of its pricing model. ZarMoney's pricing model operates on a sliding scale that incrementally adjusts with every individual user you need to add at a reasonable price. This structure can work for businesses growing at any rate. 

Pros

• Double-entry accounting
• Dynamic pricing 

Cons 

• No Android app 

15. Holded 

Holded is the final small business accounting software on our list. It offers accounting, invoicing, project, and inventory features -- among many others. In addition, it connects with your bank, automatically classifies entries, and manages all of them in your ledger.

Its features partially covering invoicing, accounting, payroll, project management, and inventory, make it one of the best accounting software for businesses who are looking for a versatile tool.

Pros 

• Feature loaded 
• An impressive list of integrations

Cons

• Customer service could be better 

Conclusion

We hope you found this blog of actionable value. Though there are several other accounting software in the market, these are the few hand-picked, tried-and-tested by our editors to give you unbiased information on the best account and bookkeeping tools and their functionalities.

Even if you do not go with the accounting software mentioned here, you now know what features to look for while choosing the one for your business.