Guest Posts

How to pick the best accounting software for your small business?

May 25, 2022
|
3
Min Read
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In this Article

Accounting involves many repetitive and manual tasks such as verifying and matching expense receipts, processing employee reimbursements, reconciling card transactions, clearing invoices, etc. - all tasks that software can execute flawlessly today. 

Accounting software takes over the manual work and provides accountants with real-time and in-depth insight into the company’s financial state. 

Empowered with the right software tools to automate all repetitive tasks in bookkeeping, SMB owners and accountants free up time for more meaningful and impact-driven work. 

This article reviews the best and most easy-to-use small business accounting and financial management software. Before we get into that, let’s take a quick look at some common benefits of automating accounting processes. 

Suggested read: What is Accounting Automation and Does Your Organization Need it?

Common benefits of cloud-based accounting software

Flexibility

Accounting software usually comes with a mobile and web app, so different stakeholders can securely access the information they need from anywhere and from any device. This flexibility also eases virtual collaboration for remote teams, which is increasingly becoming the norm. 

Productivity

With accounting software, users can manage receipts, check data and insights, send push reminders, and do other repetitive tasks that take up significant time when done manually. This edge can be pretty helpful, especially to small business owners who often wear multiple hats when starting their business

Reliability

Accounting software has security features like Single Sign-On (SSO) and allows admins to set different access levels for multiple stakeholders. This improves data security and avoids record leaks, especially since employees may also be accessing the software on their personal devices.  

Almost all cloud-based business accounting softwares deliver the expected benefits discussed above and offer competitive pricing options for you to choose from. So you only have to pay for the features you need and upgrade as your business scales. 

But, most importantly, modern accounting and financial software are built to be intuitive and incredibly easy to use while providing detailed insights into essential business processes which would otherwise be hard to understand.

The popularity of cloud-based accounting software is evident from a recent survey that revealed that 67% of accountants in the US preferred cloud-based over on-premise solutions. 

Easiest Accounting Software for Small Businesses

Here are our top picks for accounting solutions that SMBs can quickly implement into their workflow. Hopefully, after reading this, you will be able to choose the best solution for your business needs.

Xero

Xero is a popular cloud-based solution that offers simple expense tracking, payroll automation, inventory management, billing and invoicing management, and many other features that make accounting simple. In addition, its wide variety of third-party business software integrations have always been a hit among finance professionals.  

Xero charges a fee for ACH payments and can have limited reporting and customer support. But overall, it is easy to use and provides the necessary features to monitor and manage cash flow.

Price: Early Plan at $11 a month, Growing at $32 a month, and Established at $62 a month

QuickBooks Online

Quickbooks Online is a favorite amongst business owners and accounting professionals. It is loved for its ease of use and all the accounting training resources that help users make the most of the software. 

However, there are some limitations in terms of access as you’ll have to pay to get more users. There is also a challenge when syncing with banks and credit cards in some countries. Nonetheless, QuickBooks Online is an excellent option for small businesses that want an all-around expense and income tracking software.

Price: Simple starts at $8 a month, Essentials at $12.50 a month, plus $17 a month

Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Sage Accounting is one of the most robust systems for accounting in the market today. It offers analytics, accounting management, payroll, human resource management, and features to automate many essential business processes. 

Sage has great functionality when running multiple companies and has some of the most comprehensive analytics and reporting modules. However, the learning curve on their system can be a little higher than other options on this list. Sage Accounting also has inventory management and expense tracking features.

Price: One Start at $10 a month, Sage One Accounting at $25 a month, and Sage 50 Cloud Accounting Pro at $56.01 a month per user.

Freshbooks

The last accounting software for small business owners on this list is Freshbooks. This software’s unique selling point is its invoicing capabilities, as it provides more customization options than other accounting automation software. Freshbooks can effectively send, receive, pay, and print invoices with relative ease. It also offers other accounting features such as bookkeeping, time tracking, etc. You can also download free accounting templates, invoicing templates, balance sheet templates, profit and loss template etc. to easily manage your finances.

Freshbooks doesn’t have inventory management or payroll service. However, it more than makes up for this with third-party integrations with services such as Shopify, Stripe, G Suite, and many others. 

Price: Lite at $6 per month, Plus at $10 per month, Premium at $20 per month. There is also an option to get a custom plan for more advanced usage.

There are definitely more options available to business owners. For one, if you want to get a tool for your business’ retail transactions, you might want to check out this list of best POS software systems. Such specialized solutions can integrate data with accounting tools for more in-depth insights and analysis of your business and cash flow.

Akounto

Akounto is a cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. It offers features such as invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. Akounto also integrates with other software such as Stripe and PayPal to streamline payment processing.

Overall, Akounto seems to be a useful tool for small business owners who want to manage their finances more efficiently. However, I would recommend doing further research and comparing it with other accounting software options to find the best fit for your specific business needs.

Don’t end your search with just accounting software

The FinTech market is filled with various accounting and financial management software that solve specific problems. For instance, if most of your company’s spending happens on credit cards, coupling it with a robust spend management software like Fyle can transform your financial management. 

If you have used business credit cards, you know the pain of logging into your bank’s portal to manually verify transactions and download a CSV/PDF file for a more protracted and painful reconciliation process

Last month, Fyle became the first to offer real-time spend management for small business credit cards by partnering with Visa. Real-time spend management means:

  • No more waiting 48-72 hours for transaction feeds post spend - Fyle notifies you about credit card expenses instantly. 
  • Not another second spent on verifying transactions - with automatic expense matching, Fyle reconciles every transaction automatically. 
  • No more manual work for reconciliation - Fyle also has tight-knit integrations with accounting software like the ones we talked about in this article. 

Fyle reduces reconciliation to just a few clicks. With real-time control and visibility into spending, SMB owners and accountants are better equipped to create meaningful and timely impact. Efficient financial management and reporting go a long way in securing your SMBs’ growth and success. 

Concluding notes

The global accounting software market is expected to hit $20.408 billion by 2026. With this unprecedented rise, it’s only fitting for companies to start making more moves towards digitizing their accounting practices. 

As the world of business shifts more and more into the digital age, it’s becoming more apparent that any company that rides the trends will become more efficient. That, in turn, leads to higher chances of business success.

Therefore, it is essential first to understand what problem you want to solve before looking for an appropriate solution. Finding a solution that fits your needs becomes easier with a clear understanding of the problem.

No items found.
Guest Posts

What Is The Easiest Accounting Software For Small Businesses?

May 25, 2022
|
3
Min Read

Accounting involves many repetitive and manual tasks such as verifying and matching expense receipts, processing employee reimbursements, reconciling card transactions, clearing invoices, etc. - all tasks that software can execute flawlessly today. 

Accounting software takes over the manual work and provides accountants with real-time and in-depth insight into the company’s financial state. 

Empowered with the right software tools to automate all repetitive tasks in bookkeeping, SMB owners and accountants free up time for more meaningful and impact-driven work. 

This article reviews the best and most easy-to-use small business accounting and financial management software. Before we get into that, let’s take a quick look at some common benefits of automating accounting processes. 

Suggested read: What is Accounting Automation and Does Your Organization Need it?

Common benefits of cloud-based accounting software

Flexibility

Accounting software usually comes with a mobile and web app, so different stakeholders can securely access the information they need from anywhere and from any device. This flexibility also eases virtual collaboration for remote teams, which is increasingly becoming the norm. 

Productivity

With accounting software, users can manage receipts, check data and insights, send push reminders, and do other repetitive tasks that take up significant time when done manually. This edge can be pretty helpful, especially to small business owners who often wear multiple hats when starting their business

Reliability

Accounting software has security features like Single Sign-On (SSO) and allows admins to set different access levels for multiple stakeholders. This improves data security and avoids record leaks, especially since employees may also be accessing the software on their personal devices.  

Almost all cloud-based business accounting softwares deliver the expected benefits discussed above and offer competitive pricing options for you to choose from. So you only have to pay for the features you need and upgrade as your business scales. 

But, most importantly, modern accounting and financial software are built to be intuitive and incredibly easy to use while providing detailed insights into essential business processes which would otherwise be hard to understand.

The popularity of cloud-based accounting software is evident from a recent survey that revealed that 67% of accountants in the US preferred cloud-based over on-premise solutions. 

Easiest Accounting Software for Small Businesses

Here are our top picks for accounting solutions that SMBs can quickly implement into their workflow. Hopefully, after reading this, you will be able to choose the best solution for your business needs.

Xero

Xero is a popular cloud-based solution that offers simple expense tracking, payroll automation, inventory management, billing and invoicing management, and many other features that make accounting simple. In addition, its wide variety of third-party business software integrations have always been a hit among finance professionals.  

Xero charges a fee for ACH payments and can have limited reporting and customer support. But overall, it is easy to use and provides the necessary features to monitor and manage cash flow.

Price: Early Plan at $11 a month, Growing at $32 a month, and Established at $62 a month

QuickBooks Online

Quickbooks Online is a favorite amongst business owners and accounting professionals. It is loved for its ease of use and all the accounting training resources that help users make the most of the software. 

However, there are some limitations in terms of access as you’ll have to pay to get more users. There is also a challenge when syncing with banks and credit cards in some countries. Nonetheless, QuickBooks Online is an excellent option for small businesses that want an all-around expense and income tracking software.

Price: Simple starts at $8 a month, Essentials at $12.50 a month, plus $17 a month

Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Sage Accounting is one of the most robust systems for accounting in the market today. It offers analytics, accounting management, payroll, human resource management, and features to automate many essential business processes. 

Sage has great functionality when running multiple companies and has some of the most comprehensive analytics and reporting modules. However, the learning curve on their system can be a little higher than other options on this list. Sage Accounting also has inventory management and expense tracking features.

Price: One Start at $10 a month, Sage One Accounting at $25 a month, and Sage 50 Cloud Accounting Pro at $56.01 a month per user.

Freshbooks

The last accounting software for small business owners on this list is Freshbooks. This software’s unique selling point is its invoicing capabilities, as it provides more customization options than other accounting automation software. Freshbooks can effectively send, receive, pay, and print invoices with relative ease. It also offers other accounting features such as bookkeeping, time tracking, etc. You can also download free accounting templates, invoicing templates, balance sheet templates, profit and loss template etc. to easily manage your finances.

Freshbooks doesn’t have inventory management or payroll service. However, it more than makes up for this with third-party integrations with services such as Shopify, Stripe, G Suite, and many others. 

Price: Lite at $6 per month, Plus at $10 per month, Premium at $20 per month. There is also an option to get a custom plan for more advanced usage.

There are definitely more options available to business owners. For one, if you want to get a tool for your business’ retail transactions, you might want to check out this list of best POS software systems. Such specialized solutions can integrate data with accounting tools for more in-depth insights and analysis of your business and cash flow.

Akounto

Akounto is a cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. It offers features such as invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. Akounto also integrates with other software such as Stripe and PayPal to streamline payment processing.

Overall, Akounto seems to be a useful tool for small business owners who want to manage their finances more efficiently. However, I would recommend doing further research and comparing it with other accounting software options to find the best fit for your specific business needs.

Don’t end your search with just accounting software

The FinTech market is filled with various accounting and financial management software that solve specific problems. For instance, if most of your company’s spending happens on credit cards, coupling it with a robust spend management software like Fyle can transform your financial management. 

If you have used business credit cards, you know the pain of logging into your bank’s portal to manually verify transactions and download a CSV/PDF file for a more protracted and painful reconciliation process

Last month, Fyle became the first to offer real-time spend management for small business credit cards by partnering with Visa. Real-time spend management means:

  • No more waiting 48-72 hours for transaction feeds post spend - Fyle notifies you about credit card expenses instantly. 
  • Not another second spent on verifying transactions - with automatic expense matching, Fyle reconciles every transaction automatically. 
  • No more manual work for reconciliation - Fyle also has tight-knit integrations with accounting software like the ones we talked about in this article. 

Fyle reduces reconciliation to just a few clicks. With real-time control and visibility into spending, SMB owners and accountants are better equipped to create meaningful and timely impact. Efficient financial management and reporting go a long way in securing your SMBs’ growth and success. 

Concluding notes

The global accounting software market is expected to hit $20.408 billion by 2026. With this unprecedented rise, it’s only fitting for companies to start making more moves towards digitizing their accounting practices. 

As the world of business shifts more and more into the digital age, it’s becoming more apparent that any company that rides the trends will become more efficient. That, in turn, leads to higher chances of business success.

Therefore, it is essential first to understand what problem you want to solve before looking for an appropriate solution. Finding a solution that fits your needs becomes easier with a clear understanding of the problem.

No items found.
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