Online accounting solutions (also known as cloud accounting software) such as Xero provide a “log in from anywhere” approach, which is intended to increase usage given the ease of access. On top of being able to access your financial information from anywhere you have access to a web browser, Xero has a mobile app for iOS devices, which can provide accounting features such as receipt scanning. A well-designed dashboard with clear financial insights can help business owners quickly check cash flow, expenses, and outstanding invoices. If you’re not an accountant, selecting a platform that automates tasks like transaction categorization and tax calculations can save time and reduce mistakes. QuickBooks Online is a powerful accounting tool, but manual expense tracking and reconciliation can still take up valuable time.
At its core, business accounting software works to help you make smarter decisions, gives you better financial control, and helps you gain higher profitability. The businesses that thrive are the ones that embrace technology to manage their finances efficiently. Investing in the right software today lays the foundation for smoother operations, stronger financial health, and long-term success. Businesses that embrace automation and real-time financial management position themselves for long-term profitability. Ramp provides a unified financial platform that streamlines expense tracking, eliminates manual workflows, and helps businesses optimize spending—leading to stronger financial health and growth. The right accounting software helps businesses cut costs, optimize cash flow, and make informed financial decisions.
- Another way accounting and bookkeeping differ is that accounting is a broader field that covers a more comprehensive range of topics.
- Businesses that handle international clients might need multi-currency support.
- The central role of this software is to automate routine accounting operations, streamline financial workflows, and provide accurate, up-to-date financial information for decision-making.
- It is essential for finance professionals to choose the best business accounting software that meets current needs and anticipates future expectations.
Look for software that is intuitive to learn and navigate, and that integrates well with other business applications that you use for your company. NetSuite’s planning and forecasting tools enable organizations to map their financial trajectory using real-time analytics. Users can project revenue, explore hypothetical scenarios, and create precise budgets based on current business data. The platform’s reporting and analytics capabilities provide comprehensive business insights for informed financial decision-making. It monitors expenses, reconciles bank statements, and produces financial statements. It offers real-time financial data and reporting, enabling businesses to make informed financial decisions.
Our editorial team independently evaluates products based on thousands of hours of research. This flexible platform makes it easy to stay on top of your finances with quick access to all of your financial information in one central location. Look for providers that offer comprehensive support options, such as email, phone, or chat support, and that have a reputation for being responsive and knowledgeable. The difference between a good and a great accounting solution often lies in several key areas that directly impact daily operations and long-term financial strategy. The central role of this software is to automate routine accounting operations, streamline financial workflows, and provide accurate, up-to-date financial information for decision-making.
Track and pay bills
You may require more apps as your business grows, which we think is an important point for businesses in the growth stage. Accounting software extracts data from large tax documents, creates new journal entries, tracks payments, sends invoices and eliminates manual data entry. Automation can provide enormous time savings for finance departments, totaling thousands of hours annually, which is another reason to consider implementing accounting software. Smart reconciliation tools identify potential matches between your bank transactions and the invoices you’ve entered into the accounting software. This saves you the time it would otherwise take to sift through your bank account for this information. The best applications suggest potential matches as you reconcile your accounts, and a few include a reconciliation tool in their mobile apps.
“I’m a small business user of Xero Accounting Software and find the software extremely professional, helpful and easy to use,” one user wrote. Focus on integrations that connect with systems you currently use or plan to implement to create seamless data flow and reduce manual work. “The ultimate goal of a business is for it to grow, so make sure that the accounting tool you pick can grow with your business,” Wilkinson said. “Make sure the software is easy to navigate and understand, especially if you don’t have an extensive amount of experience in accounting,” Wilkinson advised. FreshBooks offers coupon codes through certain partners, such as a 60 percent discount for six months of service that we found during our review. Accounting software is cloud-based, making it accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.
These improvements illustrate the effectiveness of financial applications in enhancing productivity. With features like automated reminders and real-time reporting, this platform enhances client engagement and streamlines information collection, making it an indispensable resource for financial firms. Remembering to bill clients, let alone chase down past-due bills, can fall by the wayside as you focus on running your business. With FreshBooks’ feature-rich invoicing capabilities, it removes those challenges.
Which software is best for global businesses?
To help you weigh up the options, we’ve compared some of the best bookkeeping software for small businesses in New Zealand. After years of paying for a subscription-based software, you might end up paying more than if you bought a solution outright. However, many smaller companies don’t have immediate funds to pay for a solution upfront. In 2025, OCR technology plays a central role in how finance and accounting teams operate. From processing invoices and receipts to verifying contracts and identity documents, the ability to extract and act on data quickly and securely is no longer a nice-to-have.
Customization Options (Importance Scale: 6/
- With its feature-rich cloud software, wide variety of integrations, affordable pricing and reputation, Intuit’s QuickBooks Online is our choice as the best accounting software for small businesses.
- Investopedia developed this process to provide an unbiased, comprehensive review to ensure our readers make the right decision for their needs.
- It supports double-entry bookkeeping, multi-currency transactions, and works on Linux, Windows, and macOS.
- Though Striven has no native payroll option, it does integrate with payroll providers.
- These systems help organizations maintain financial transparency and meet reporting requirements.
All businesses need accounting software to manage their financial transactions, track income and expenses, reconcile accounts, create reports, and keep track of their debts. Typical accounting system features include, but are not restricted to, bill payments, invoices, and income and expenses. Small businesses frequently use simplified programs that automate and do away with the need for manual data entry, saving the company time and money while lowering errors. Larger businesses, on the other hand, use more feature-rich, complex software designed to handle higher transaction volumes and provide advanced reporting, payroll, and inventory management. Accounting software for small businesses helps you easily connect your bank account to automatically track income and expenses, saving time and reducing errors.
NCH Express Accounts
After evaluating the leading tools in this space, Klippa DocHorizon stands out as the most complete platform for financial document processing in 2025. It’s mainly used to extract data from financial statements and format it for use in Excel or accounting software. OCR software is playing an increasingly critical role in financial operations.
How to Choose Accounting Software
It does support creating and sending invoices, it can create and send invoices, and offers automatic bank reconciliation. While there’s cloud-based convenience there are also variations on the theme, depending on what kind of business accounting needs you have. Small and medium-sized businesses will find it comes bristling with lots of features and there’s also 50% off for 3 months.
Top 7 AI Tools for Accounting in 2025
It automatically consolidates finances across subsidiaries, eliminating the need to manually pull from different spreadsheets and risking errors. It also has real-time exchange rates for multiple currencies, and even supports inter-entity eliminations and reconciliations. We tested FreshBooks for business accounting systems ourselves and found report customization pretty basic. You can change and compare dates and switch from accrual to cash-based accounting.
It’s especially useful for businesses that need to manage cash flow and collaborate with accountants. The price of accounting software varies depending on the service provider and the features you’re getting access to. Because of this, pricing can range anywhere from $0 per month to hundreds of dollars per month. Some accounting services offer their most basic plan for $0 per month with the option to pay for add-ons. That’s where we come in — CNBC Select rounded up some of the best accounting software for small businesses. We ranked them for affordability, add-ons, most comprehensive service, simplicity and free plan offerings.
Some free options may have limitations or lack the advanced features offered by paid alternatives. At Business News Daily, our team of small business finance experts have been researching and testing accounting software for years, comparing some of the leading solutions across more than 20 key metrics. We considered 88 accounting software platforms and closely reviewed and tested 31 of them before selecting our six best picks above. The best accounting software offers easy ways to track your outstanding invoices and accounts receivable.
FreshBooks is a great option for small service-based businesses and freelancers who prioritize mobile app usage and customizable invoicing. It offers basic bookkeeping features such as expense tracking, project management, and time tracking. The Free plan is aimed at micro-businesses and solopreneurs with invoicing and payment tools, expenses, mileage tracking, plus reporting. Standard adds assistance with sales tax, additional support options, custom reports, and bumps invoices from 1,000 annually to 5,000. Open-source accounting software offers businesses a customizable, cost-effective alternative to traditional financial tools.