Top 10 Best Bookkeeping Software In 2024: Ranking And Review
Reviewed by Randolph Vialva, MBA
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Small business finances can oftentimes be tricky to track and keep in a detailed record, though this is a highly important task for any entrepreneur or a business owner. In today’s modern age, many are turning to small business accounting software as a solution to help with their financial reporting.
What Is A Bookkeeping Software?
Let’s begin by discussing what bookkeeping software is. Essentially, it’s accounting software for small business owners who are taking care of bookkeeping tasks on their own and tracking the financials of their business.
Should Small Businesses Use Accounting Software?
As a small business owner, you may wonder if you need to use accounting software in the first place. The truth is, using bookkeeping software can help you immensely when it comes time for tax season. Throughout the year, the better records and details you keep about the financial transactions of your business, the easier it will be to determine what your tax liabilities are.
Plus, it can help you stay on budget, make sure you’re paying all recurring invoices properly, reconcile bank accounts with your records, and more. All in all, whether you use accounting software or not, bookkeeping is an important part of running a business, so using most accounting software will be able to help you out.
Top 10 Best Bookkeeping Software 2024
- QuickBooks Online: Best Overall
- Xero: Most Affordable
- FreshBooks: Best for Very Small Businesses
- Wave: Best for Free Invoicing
- Melio: Good Payment Solution
- Odoo: Best Flexibility
- Zoho Books: Best for Mobile
- GoDaddy Online Bookkeeping: Best for Online Sellers
- ZarMoney: Most Comprehensive
- Oracle Netsuite: Best Within an ERP Platform
Top 10 Best Bookkeeping Software 2024
Let’s take a look at the most comprehensive accounting software providers on the market today. While the following list of the best accounting software will range in pricing and capabilities, they are all a good match for businesses in different scenarios.
Quickbooks Online
QuickBooks is not the cheapest option available, though it is considered the best small business accounting software year after year. Customers like it for its depth of capabilities and flexible nature to meet their specific needs.
- Easy onboarding process
- Good customer interface that’s easy to use
- Customizable reports
- It’s on the more expensive side
- Online support is sometimes limited
All in all, QuickBooks is the best overall accounting software that has years of experience providing online bookkeeping services to small businesses. It has a great user experience and is capable of handling even the most complex accounting matters. QuickBooks is available in a number of different packages, making it a flexible choice and a good match for nearly any business. Plus, they have a great mobile version of their site, much better than some of the other online accounting software options on the market. In addition, there are add-on accounting features that you can add, meaning the platform can be customized to best fit your business.
Xero
Xero is great for reconciling any bank account, project management, and managing sales volume. They have made recent improvements to their platform for a better setup and onboarding. It continues to be a great choice for small businesses.
- Great online support
- Good project tracking capabilities
- Security measures are improved
- Limited phone and chat support
- The user interface could be better
They have a great support team for customers online, though they don’t offer real-time chat or phone support. Their increased security measures and other ongoing improvements are favored by customers. Plus, they have powerful reporting capabilities and can be easily integrated with other third-party apps. So for the smaller companies that rely on a lot of business intelligence and financial data, Xero is a great choice with its advanced features.
Freshbooks
FreshBooks is great for double entry accounting and offers a simple-to-use interface that is a good choice for freelancers and sole proprietors.
- Good inventory tracking
- Time tracking capabilities
- Good user interface
- Some less than ideal dashboard elements
- Limited invoicing tools and customization
- Making bank connections isn’t instant
FreshBooks has a great, intuitive interface that is easy to use and packed full of features that a very small business owners or freelancers may need. The platform has powerful collaboration tools, inventory management, and it’s great for tracking time. Plus, the mobile platform has wonderful capabilities and automatically tracks mileage. So even though it’s a great choice for smaller businesses, their payroll and other features mean it can support larger businesses with ease as well.
Wave
Great for a very small business, Wave is a simple accounting solution for enterprises with very few employees and invoicing needs.
- Free platform
- Easy-to-use dashboard
- Supports multiple currencies
- Simple templates
- Invoices could be more customizable
- No time tracking
Wave’s invoice creation and tracking tools are great, though they aren’t highly customizable. The features that the platform offers are of good value given that it’s a free service, though there are some more advanced features that it misses out on that other providers have. So for the businesses looking for accounting solutions for very simple needs like income and expense tracking, Wave is a good option.
Melio
Melio is a good choice for businesses seeking out an accounts payable or accounts receivable solution to streamline bill payments. It helps small business owners find flexibility with how they pay their bills, either through ACH or credit card, even if the vendor doesn’t support these options.
- Seamless integration with QuickBooks Online for bill pay
- They offer a free trial
- Ability to pay with a credit card
- No in-depth consulting or guidance offered
- Transfer times could be quicker
- Batching with QuickBooks may lose some information from Melio
Melio is a tool to help business owners streamline their AR and AP processes, and help them to accept online payments. Plus, using Melio, businesses can even receive same-day bank transfers for just a 1% fee, though their service can only be synced with QuickBooks. All of Melio’s services are completely free, except for the credit card fees, international transfer fees, and expedited check delivery. In addition, Melio seamlessly sends out 1099s to contractors ahead of tax season and is a great option for any business dealing with international parties.
Odoo
Odoo is a great choice for someone running a small business and provides enough flexibility for growing businesses to scale up.
- Good mobile capabilities
- Easy to use
- Seamlessly integrate with other business support platforms
- Customer support could be better
- The pricing structure isn’t flexible
Odoo can be highly customized and easily integrated with a number of other online business solutions, making it a great choice for online businesses today. The pricing is very reasonable compared to other options on this list, providing great value for the prices customers pay. On their platform, customers can track income, track inventory, view financial reports, create invoices, and more. All in all, it’s a great tool to help businesses automate their accounting services and reconciliations within their website or their mobile app.
Zoho Books
Zoho Books is a great service that is highly affordable and accessible for all businesses. They have good support options and document storage and are overall a solid service.
- Great and affordable pricing
- Various options for online payment
- Good record-keeping
- May have complex capabilities not required by all businesses
- Limited accounting partners
They recently integrated payroll capabilities for all states, so Zoho Books is quickly becoming a top provider for both small and large businesses. Overall, Zoho has a wide range of other business support services like a customer relationship management platform, email, and more, with their accounting software for small businesses just one of them. With this, the accounting service can be integrated with its other apps. So, the flexibility and depth of their services make them a top choice and a feature-rich accounting platform.
GoDaddy Online Bookkeeping
GoDaddy Bookkeeping is another great service offered by GoDaddy, known for its web domain registrar platform. Their accounting software is best for online sellers who want to streamline their accounting process, track expenses, and more.
- Great customer support at any hour
- Additional capabilities and services for online sellers
- Good inventory tracking
- No project tracking
- Doesn’t support multiple currencies
- Doesn’t track a lot of customer data
They have a great bookkeeping platform that’s simple to use and intuitive for users without a deep understanding of accounting. Their service is mostly used among sellers on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and GoDaddy’s online store platform. Their platform gets rid of data entry tasks and purchase invoice management. Plus, it integrates with business bank accounts and e-commerce sites to provide real-time reports on financials and has affordable pricing tiers.
ZarMoney
ZarMoney is one of the best small business accounting software options available. It has a wide range of capabilities, and customers like how they infuse humor into the platform.
- Comprehensive accounting features
- Good invoice management and payment reminders
- Great collaboration and project tracking capabilities
- No mobile capabilities
- Not very intuitive or easy to use
They have a full bookkeeping system and accounting service, in addition to comprehensive invoicing and billing, project management, expense management, and more. They make it easy for businesses to accept payments online, send notifications for payment reminders, and other helpful notification features to keep businesses and their customers on track with payments. Their platform ranges in pricing as well based on the functionality needed, so it can be a great fit for businesses at any stage.
Oracle Netsuite
Oracle Netsuite is a comprehensive solution for accounting software, with additional features and capabilities provided throughout the rest of the platform. This is best for medium-sized businesses with advanced needs and expense tracking, plus it is more expensive than other affordable accounting software options on this list.
- Easy integration with other platforms
- Great customer support
- Highly customizable ledger
- No free trial
- A high price point may not be best for all businesses
Using an ERP like Oracle Netsuite gives business owners an all-in-one financial management platform. So, this may be overly robust for what some businesses need, though it can be a good solution for those who want these details all in one place. This platform lets business owners automate many crucial accounting tasks like accounts receivable or accounts payable, which can make their financial management processes more efficient and convenient.
What To Consider When Choosing An Accounting Software For Small Businesses
When choosing the best accounting software for small businesses, there are some elements you will need to consider in order to find the right accounting solution for you.
General Functionality
Above all, when you’re looking for the best accounting software, you need to consider the general functionality of the platform you’re reviewing. Take a look and see if it has all the necessities you need, at a reasonable price.
Consider whether it has capabilities for invoice tracking and management, integration with other third-party applications, payroll functionalities, unlimited invoices, tracking payroll taxes, and any other tools that are generally required by all businesses like to track expenses.
Industry-Specific Capabilities
Once you’ve determined that an accounting platform has great general functionality, you may consider additional criteria based on the industry your business operates in. While some businesses only sell goods online and need a streamlined way to track their inventory, other businesses might only provide online services, in which case this would not be a priority of theirs.
Plus, depending on where your customer base is located, you will want to pay attention to whether the software you’ve selected will support multiple currencies and allow you to accept payments from clients around the world.
Scalability
Lastly, you want to seek out an accounting platform that will be able to scale and grow with your business. Just because you only have a few employees now and are hitting a certain sales volume doesn’t mean it will always be that way.
So, look for an accounting platform that can grow with you and support further expansion. If invoicing capabilities are limited, or the platform can only support up to five users, you may want to seek out a better option that will still support your business when it’s reached a new level. Thus, while the best free accounting software may seem like a great option at the start, if it’s only a basic platform with limited capabilities, you may want to pay a smaller fee than other providers charge.
Final Thoughts
All in all, online accounting services are highly valuable for business owners and can help with overall financial management and automate time-consuming tasks that fall on the owner’s plate.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
All of the software options listed above will be a great fit for a small business, and generally speaking, most will work. The problem that a small business owner may face is if they’re paying for advanced software, they may be paying for capabilities and functionalities they don’t even use. So, they should consider their priorities and search for a platform that is reasonably priced and fits their needs.
The online accounting service that is easiest to use is Wave. It is the simplest option on this list, giving it a straightforward interface that anyone can use.
While many of these platforms offer pre-configured pricing structures, some may offer more custom pricing if you have specific business requirements, or based on your size.
