Accounting errors can cost your business money. What’s the solution? Automation. Now, when it comes to accounting automation, businesses have to rely on accounting software. The general concept about accounting software is; they are expensive. While it’s true that most accounting software is expensive, there are some that are cheap.
So, if you are a small business owner, you can still use accounting software to automate your accounting and avoid errors. Using accounting software will not only make the record-keeping more efficient but will also eliminate human error.
Advantages of using an accounting software:
In addition to making your processes more efficient, using the software can benefit your business in several ways.
- Allows you to access accounting Data anywhere.
- Improves the Accounting Securit.
- Improves the bookkeeping accuracy.
- Enhance Invoicing.
The 5 accounting software for small businesses
Now that you know how using accounting software can benefit you, here are five software that you can use if you have a small business.
Intuit QuickBooks:
If you are a small business owner wanting to incorporate accounting software, QuickBooks should be among your top considerations.
Quickbooks is one of the most popular accounting software among small businesses. And it is popular for a reason – there are plenty of online training resources and forums where you can get support and guidance, whenever needed.
And its interface is designed in a way that you can access all the accounting features on one main dashboard.
With Quickbooks, you get a free 30-day trial, after which you can purchase one of four subscription plans.
- Simple start – $25/month
- Essentials – $40/month
- Plus – $70/month
- Advanced – $150/month.
Usually, QuickBooks offer discounts after the first few months and there are many customization options also available. You can integrate third-party payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe to receive the payments directly.
Xero
If you are looking for simple accounting software, Xero is the one for you. It is simple and easy to use. And it allows you to collect payments online from customers through integration with GoCardless and Stripe.
After completing the thirty-day free trial, you can go for either of these subscription options:
- Early@ $11/month
- Growing@ $32/month
- Established@ $62/month
The early plan offers limited features – like only five invoices, quotes and bills, and reconciliation of 20 bank transactions/month. If you are a small business, these limited features may be all you require out of your accounting software.
FreshBooks
For most businesses, the most important feature of accounting software is invoicing. Freshbooks offers many customization options for invoicing. Fresh books are primarily designed to send and receive invoices but it can also take care of basic bookkeeping needs. If you are a service-based business, this may be the software for you.
It makes it easier to send proposals and invoices, request deposits, collect retainers, track projects time, and collect payments.
Here are the subscription options, if you plan to use Fresh Books:
- Lite @ $6/month
- Plus @ $10/month
- Premium @ $20/month
- Select @ custom pricing.
Wave
If you don’t need your accounting software to perform extensive functions, your needs will be met with wave’s free features – yes, you don’t have to pay anything, if you just want to avail yourself wave’s basic features – like income and expense tracking, financial reporting, invoicing and scanning receipts.
When to subscription plans of a wave, here are your options:
- $20/month + $6/employee
- $35/month + $6/employee
ZOHO Books
Zoho books allow you to automate common bookkeeping tasks. Automating the data entry tasks allows you time to focus on other aspects of the business.
There is an option to use Zoho books for free. Zoho books plan starts with $15/month, if you want to pay on a yearly basis. If you want to pay monthly, then the same plan will cost you $20/month. One drawback with Zoho books is that it doesn’t allow third-party integration.
Select the best one:
All five of the software are rated among the best. Do your research before deciding to go for one. Here are the things you have to consider while making a decision on which accounting software to go for.
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The cost:
Though none of the software mentioned in this post is super-expensive, there is enough difference in their prices that you should consider the costs. A good way to look at the cost is to see the cost to benefit ratio. Look at what you are paying and compare what you are getting in return (the features).
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Your business needs:
All the software mentioned in this post has different pros and cons. While deciding to pull the trigger on one, know what you need out of your software and then select the one that best fits your needs.
Train your employees to use the software:
To deploy this software properly and to make sure you get the most out of it, you have to have staff trained to use this software. Most of this software is pretty easy to use and won’t be requiring special skills. If need be, you can take help from an Accounting mentor online – to understand accounting better and use this software more effectively.
It’s not tough to find accounting mentors – you can get in touch with professors or someone who provides ACCA thesis writing services. Anyone with basic accounting knowledge should be able to help you.
Final thoughts
There are several benefits of using accounting software and even if you have a small business, you should still consider digitalizing your accounting – because it’s convenient.
When it comes to digitization, there are several inexpensive software that is available. Based on your needs, goals, and how much budget you have, you can select the one that suits you best.