Book­keep­ing software for small business

Ac­count­ing is a complex but essential part of running a business. Without proper financial oversight, busi­ness­es risk serious issues, including com­pli­ance problems with the IRS and state tax agencies. Errors in recording trans­ac­tions can lead to financial in­sta­bil­i­ty and potential penalties. Ac­count­ing software sim­pli­fies book­keep­ing, reduces mistakes, and ensures com­pli­ance with U.S. tax reg­u­la­tions and GAAP standards. The right tools help busi­ness­es manage invoicing, expenses, and tax filing ef­fi­cient­ly.

An overview of book­keep­ing software

Which ac­count­ing software is right for you? Our overview table compares all featured programs and their key features side by side. All in­for­ma­tion is up to date as of February 2025.

What to consider when choosing book­keep­ing software

There are different types of ac­count­ing software. Some are available as downloads and installed locally, while others run as online ac­count­ing solutions in the cloud. Cloud-based software allows access from anywhere with just a browser and an internet con­nec­tion.

To ef­fec­tive­ly support your business, ac­count­ing software should include these essential features:

• Expense & receipt man­age­ment: The software should allow you to easily upload, scan, and cat­e­go­rize receipts for accurate expense tracking. In­te­gra­tion with tools like Expensify or Dext is a plus.
• Bank in­te­gra­tion: To ef­fi­cient­ly manage finances, the software should connect with your business bank account and support automatic bank feeds.
• Invoicing & payments: A good ac­count­ing tool lets you create pro­fes­sion­al invoices, send payment reminders, and integrate with payment proces­sors like PayPal, Stripe, or Square.
• Sales tax com­pli­ance: Since sales tax varies by state and local ju­ris­dic­tion, the software should include automated sales tax cal­cu­la­tions and in­te­gra­tions with tax com­pli­ance tools like Avalara or TaxJar.
• Inventory man­age­ment: If you sell physical products, look for software with inventory tracking features. Some platforms, like Quick­Books or NetSuite, include this, while others require third-party add-ons.
• Payroll in­te­gra­tion: If you have employees or work with con­trac­tors, choose software that supports payroll man­age­ment, W-2 pro­cess­ing, and 1099 con­trac­tor payments.
• Order & expense tracking: Many busi­ness­es use separate tools for order and expense tracking, but some ac­count­ing solutions include built-in features to stream­line financial reporting.

If your ac­count­ing software includes these functions, it will help you ef­fi­cient­ly manage your business finances and stay compliant with U.S. tax reg­u­la­tions.

Here are ten of the best book­keep­ing software options on the market

With so many different offers available, it can be quite daunting trying to choose the right book­keep­ing software for your company. We’ve narrowed it down to the ten best options to make it a little easier for you to make your decision.

Fresh­Books

Fresh­Books, founded in 2003 and head­quar­tered in Toronto, Canada, is a well-known ac­count­ing software featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and CNN. Designed for free­lancers, self-employed pro­fes­sion­als, agencies, and small to medium-sized busi­ness­es, Fresh­Books offers features such as invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, project man­age­ment, payments, estimates, and reporting. Users can try the software free for 30 days before choosing a paid plan, with pricing starting at $19/month for the Lite plan, $32/month for Plus, and $60/month for Premium.

Quick­Books

Quick­Books Online, developed by the U.S. company Intuit Inc., is a widely used ac­count­ing software with over 7 million customers globally. It offers four pricing plans tailored to different business sizes: Simple Start ($35/month), Es­sen­tials ($65/month), Plus ($99/month), and Advanced ($235/month). Intuit fre­quent­ly runs pro­mo­tions, such as a 50% discount for the first three months, and also provides a 30-day free trial for new users. Quick­Books Online includes features such as income and expense tracking, receipt capture and or­ga­ni­za­tion, invoicing and payment ac­cep­tance, basic reporting, and inventory man­age­ment (available in Plus and Advanced plans). The platform is cloud-based and ac­ces­si­ble via a mobile ap­pli­ca­tion. While Quick­Books is known for its user-friendly interface and in­te­gra­tion with third-party ap­pli­ca­tions, some users may find its pricing high, es­pe­cial­ly for advanced features, and may ex­pe­ri­ence oc­ca­sion­al service outages. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, some workflows need to be adapted to fit the software’s structure, and the number of users per plan is limited.

Xero

Xero, a New Zealand-based company, offers cloud-based ac­count­ing software designed for free­lancers and small to medium-sized busi­ness­es. It allows users to tran­si­tion smoothly from Quick­Books by con­vert­ing their existing files.

Xero provides three sub­scrip­tion plans: Early ($20/month), Growing ($47/month), and Es­tab­lished ($80/month). Each plan includes features such as invoicing, bill entry, bank trans­ac­tion rec­on­cil­i­a­tion, and payroll man­age­ment (available from the Growing plan onwards). Multi-currency support is included in the Es­tab­lished plan.

New users can take advantage of a 30-day free trial, and Xero oc­ca­sion­al­ly offers pro­mo­tion­al discounts. While Xero is known for its user-friendly interface, secure data backup, and in­te­gra­tion with various third-party ap­pli­ca­tions, some users may find the base-level plan re­stric­tive, customer support response times slow, and per­for­mance lagging with a high volume of trans­ac­tions.

Sage Business Cloud Ac­count­ing

The Sage Group, one of the largest UK-based tech­nol­o­gy companies, offers ac­count­ing software in the United States, designed for small busi­ness­es to stream­line financial man­age­ment. This cloud-based software helps with invoicing, payment pro­cess­ing, and expense tracking, reducing ad­min­is­tra­tive work and au­tomat­ing routine tasks. Users can try Sage Business Cloud Ac­count­ing with a 30-day free trial before selecting a sub­scrip­tion plan, either Ac­count­ing Start at $10 per month or Ac­count­ing at $25 per month. While the software is known for its ease of use, strong customer support, and Excel export func­tion­al­i­ty, some users report oc­ca­sion­al server overloads, chal­lenges when importing data, and limited com­pat­i­bil­i­ty with Mac, iPad, and iPhone devices.

Zoho Books

Zoho Books, head­quar­tered in Cal­i­for­nia, offers cloud-based ac­count­ing software designed for small to medium-sized busi­ness­es. The platform helps busi­ness­es manage their cash flow ef­fi­cient­ly and provides essential ac­count­ing features. After a 14-day free trial, users can choose from three sub­scrip­tion plans: Standard ($20/month), Pro­fes­sion­al ($50/month), and Premium ($70/month). Those who opt for annual billing receive two months free. Even the Standard plan includes key features such as bank rec­on­cil­i­a­tion, custom invoices, project man­age­ment, timesheets, expense tracking, sales approval, and recurring trans­ac­tions. While Zoho Books is known for its af­ford­abil­i­ty, ease of use, and mul­ti­lin­gual support, some users may find its third-party in­te­gra­tions limited compared to com­peti­tors, and it lacks built-in payroll services and budgeting tools.

Wave

Wave offers free, cloud-based ac­count­ing software designed for small busi­ness­es, free­lancers, and en­tre­pre­neurs. Unlike many com­peti­tors, its core ac­count­ing and invoicing services come at no cost, without hidden fees. Users can manage multiple busi­ness­es under a single account and col­lab­o­rate with ac­coun­tants or business partners. Wave includes essential features such as income and expense tracking, invoicing, and financial reporting. While the core platform is free, ad­di­tion­al services like payment pro­cess­ing (2.9% + $0.60 per credit card trans­ac­tion, 1% per ACH payment) and payroll services (available only in the U.S. and Canada) are offered as paid add-ons. Wave is user-friendly, making it ac­ces­si­ble to those with little ac­count­ing ex­pe­ri­ence. However, it may not be suitable for larger busi­ness­es or those requiring advanced func­tion­al­i­ties like inventory man­age­ment or time tracking. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, while support resources are available, direct customer support is more limited than some paid book­keep­ing software options.

Kashoo

Kashoo, launched in 2008, is an easy-to-use ac­count­ing software designed specif­i­cal­ly for small business owners rather than pro­fes­sion­al ac­coun­tants. It offers essential features such as invoicing, expense tracking, and double-entry book­keep­ing, ac­ces­si­ble via a web browser and dedicated iPhone and iPad ap­pli­ca­tions. Users can start with a 14-day free trial, and the sub­scrip­tion costs $30 per month, with discounts available for annual plans. Kashoo supports banking in­te­gra­tion with over 5,000 financial in­sti­tu­tions and allows per­mis­sion-based sharing, enabling col­lab­o­ra­tion with employees, business partners, and ac­coun­tants. The software is praised for its af­ford­abil­i­ty, ease of use, and unlimited user access. However, it lacks automatic payment reminders, and its mobile app does not include all features of the web-based version. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, Kashoo is not well-suited for medium to large busi­ness­es and has limited third-party in­te­gra­tions.

Work­ing­Point

Work­ing­Point is an af­ford­able online book­keep­ing software designed for small busi­ness­es and free­lancers, offering two sub­scrip­tion plans: Lightning ($9/month) and Thun­der­storm ($19/month). Both plans include essential features such as double-entry book­keep­ing, standard financial reports, cash man­age­ment, and bill and expense tracking, while the Thun­der­storm plan provides ad­di­tion­al premium features like cus­tomiz­able accounts and multi-user access. Users can try the software with a 30-day free trial. While Work­ing­Point is praised for its user-friendly interface and cus­tomiz­able business dashboard, it lacks a mobile ap­pli­ca­tion and built-in payroll services. Some users have reported initial nav­i­ga­tion dif­fi­cul­ties and oc­ca­sion­al slow per­for­mance. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, PayPal trans­ac­tions may not be fully in­te­grat­ed, and the platform is more suitable for in­di­vid­u­als or very small busi­ness­es rather than larger en­ter­pris­es.

Expensify

Expensify, head­quar­tered in Portland, Oregon, offers expense man­age­ment solutions for in­di­vid­u­als and busi­ness­es of all sizes. In­di­vid­u­als can use a Free plan that includes unlimited receipt scanning and expense tracking. For busi­ness­es, Expensify provides two paid plans: Collect ($5 per user per month) and Control ($9 per user per month). These plans offer ad­di­tion­al features such as expense approval workflows, in­te­gra­tion with ac­count­ing software, and corporate card rec­on­cil­i­a­tion. Busi­ness­es can also benefit from a 50% discount for annual sub­scrip­tions and ad­di­tion­al savings when using the Expensify Card. All plans include a 7-day free trial. Expensify’s standout feature, SmartScan, allows users to take a photo of a receipt, au­to­mat­i­cal­ly ex­tract­ing important details like dates and amounts. The platform in­te­grates with popular ac­count­ing software, making it a seamless solution for managing business expenses. However, some users report slow receipt scanning, limited cus­tomiza­tion options, and oc­ca­sion­al customer support issues.

Odoo

Odoo is a com­pre­hen­sive, open-source man­age­ment software suite designed for busi­ness­es of all sizes, including free­lancers, small en­ter­pris­es, and large cor­po­ra­tions. Founded in 2005, Odoo provides a modular approach, allowing users to select and integrate specific ap­pli­ca­tions based on their business needs. The ac­count­ing app is available for free, offering essential features such as bank syn­chro­niza­tion, invoicing, bill and expense man­age­ment, and AI-powered invoice dig­i­ti­za­tion. There are also two paid plans options, which are the Standard plan for around around $26 per month and the Custom plan for around $38 per month. Users can explore ad­di­tion­al func­tion­al­i­ties through a 14-day free trial. With over 7,000 apps, Odoo is highly scalable, making it a flexible solution for growing busi­ness­es. However, some users report that bug fixes take time, customer support can be in­con­sis­tent, and the learning curve can be steep for advanced features. Ad­di­tion­al­ly, while the ac­count­ing app is free, costs can increase with the addition of multiple apps and extra users.

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