Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses of September 2025
We looked at more than 50 accounting software products. Our top picks help the most small businesses easily track their money and create detailed records for tax time.
Learn more ≡ Show summary
Our pick for simple accounting software
Starting at
$20/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.
Promotion
50% off
for 3 months.
on Xero's website
Pros
- Unlimited users in all pricing plans.
- Integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps.
- Feature set includes an excellent mobile app and suite of reports, capable invoicing features, plus automated bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
- Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
- No inbound phone customer support (callbacks are available, though).
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
- Must subscribe to the highest-tier Established plan to claim expenses.
Our pick for simple accounting software
Xero
Best for Simple accounting software
Starting at
$20/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.
Promotion
50% off
for 3 months.
on Xero's website
Pros
- Unlimited users in all pricing plans.
- Integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps.
- Feature set includes an excellent mobile app and suite of reports, capable invoicing features, plus automated bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
- Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
- No inbound phone customer support (callbacks are available, though).
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
- Must subscribe to the highest-tier Established plan to claim expenses.
Starting at
$38/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $75, $115, $275.
Promotion
50%
for first three months or free 30-day trial.
on QuickBooks' website
Pros
- Easy to share information with your accountant and to find QuickBooks experts and online resources if needed.
- More than 750 app integrations.
- Robust feature set includes record-keeping, reporting, invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app.
- Chat and phone support available Monday through Saturday in all plans.
Cons
- Expensive compared with the competition.
- Frequent price increases and a tendency toward upselling.
- Limited account users with each plan.
QuickBooks Online
Best for Working with an accountant
Starting at
$38/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $75, $115, $275.
Promotion
50%
for first three months or free 30-day trial.
on QuickBooks' website
Pros
- Easy to share information with your accountant and to find QuickBooks experts and online resources if needed.
- More than 750 app integrations.
- Robust feature set includes record-keeping, reporting, invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app.
- Chat and phone support available Monday through Saturday in all plans.
Cons
- Expensive compared with the competition.
- Frequent price increases and a tendency toward upselling.
- Limited account users with each plan.
Starting at
$21/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $38, $65, custom.
Promotion
90% off
for 3 months. 30-Day Money Back Guarantee.
on FreshBooks' website
Pros
- Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
- Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
- Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
- Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
- Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
- Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
FreshBooks
Best for Freelancers
Starting at
$21/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $38, $65, custom.
Promotion
90% off
for 3 months. 30-Day Money Back Guarantee.
on FreshBooks' website
Pros
- Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
- Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
- Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
- Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
- Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
- Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.
Promotion
14-day free trial
of the Premium plan.
on Zoho Books' website
Pros
- Less expensive than some competitors; free plan available for businesses with less than $50k in annual revenue.
- Email support in free plan; phone and chat support in paid plans.
- Rich feature set includes excellent invoicing, inventory management, workflow rules and a capable mobile app.
- Add accounting widgets to your phone’s home screen; track time using your Apple Watch.
Cons
- Fewer third-party integrations and reports than some competitors.
- No plan includes more than 15 users (can add additional users for a fee).
Zoho Books
Best for Free accounting software plan
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.
Promotion
14-day free trial
of the Premium plan.
on Zoho Books' website
Pros
- Less expensive than some competitors; free plan available for businesses with less than $50k in annual revenue.
- Email support in free plan; phone and chat support in paid plans.
- Rich feature set includes excellent invoicing, inventory management, workflow rules and a capable mobile app.
- Add accounting widgets to your phone’s home screen; track time using your Apple Watch.
Cons
- Fewer third-party integrations and reports than some competitors.
- No plan includes more than 15 users (can add additional users for a fee).
Starting at
$1,703/year
Additional pricing tiers (per year): $2,210; $2,717; $5,364. Adding users or cloud access costs extra.
Promotion
30-day free trial
on QuickBooks' website
Pros
- Strong feature set includes thorough record-keeping, invoicing and advanced inventory management and pricing rules.
- More than 200 reports, including industry-specific options for various industries.
- 24/7 phone and chat support.
Cons
- Outdated user interface.
- Limited direct, third-party integrations for payroll software and popular point-of-sale systems.
- Annual subscriptions are expensive; each additional user license costs extra.
QuickBooks Enterprise
Best for Enterprise accounting software with advanced reporting capabilities
Starting at
$1,703/year
Additional pricing tiers (per year): $2,210; $2,717; $5,364. Adding users or cloud access costs extra.
Promotion
30-day free trial
on QuickBooks' website
Pros
- Strong feature set includes thorough record-keeping, invoicing and advanced inventory management and pricing rules.
- More than 200 reports, including industry-specific options for various industries.
- 24/7 phone and chat support.
Cons
- Outdated user interface.
- Limited direct, third-party integrations for payroll software and popular point-of-sale systems.
- Annual subscriptions are expensive; each additional user license costs extra.
Starting at
$35/month
Per user. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $70.
Promotion
7-day free trial
on Striven's website
Pros
- Offers industry-specific features for consulting businesses, nonprofits, manufacturing companies, professional services and more.
- Tools to ensure tax compliance.
- Other features include inventory tracking, reporting, invoicing, project management tools and the ability to categorize transactions using classes.
- Customer support available by phone and live chat.
Cons
- Monthly costs could add up quickly if you require multiple users.
- No mobile app.
- Limited third-party integrations available; no payroll integrations.
Striven
Best for Industry-specific features
Starting at
$35/month
Per user. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $70.
Promotion
7-day free trial
on Striven's website
Pros
- Offers industry-specific features for consulting businesses, nonprofits, manufacturing companies, professional services and more.
- Tools to ensure tax compliance.
- Other features include inventory tracking, reporting, invoicing, project management tools and the ability to categorize transactions using classes.
- Customer support available by phone and live chat.
Cons
- Monthly costs could add up quickly if you require multiple users.
- No mobile app.
- Limited third-party integrations available; no payroll integrations.
Pros
- Free plan available.
- Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
Cons
- Lacks features that quickly growing companies need, like audit trails.
- Must subscribe to Wave’s Pro plan or other paid services (payroll, payments, advisor, etc.) to receive customer support from a human.
- No mileage tracking feature and must use Zapier for third-party integrations.
Wave Accounting
Best for Very small, service-based businesses
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $16
Promotion
N/A
on Wave's website
Pros
- Free plan available.
- Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
Cons
- Lacks features that quickly growing companies need, like audit trails.
- Must subscribe to Wave’s Pro plan or other paid services (payroll, payments, advisor, etc.) to receive customer support from a human.
- No mileage tracking feature and must use Zapier for third-party integrations.
Starting at
$62/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $103.92, $177.17.
Bonus
$0
on Sage's website
Pros
- Advanced inventory tracking and job costing features.
- Industry-specific features for construction, retail and professional services businesses.
- Phone and chat support, plus a dedicated account representative in all plans.
Cons
- Lowest-tier plan doesn’t include audit trails.
Sage 50 Accounting
Best for Desktop accounting software
Starting at
$62/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $103.92, $177.17.
Bonus
$0
on Sage's website
Pros
- Advanced inventory tracking and job costing features.
- Industry-specific features for construction, retail and professional services businesses.
- Phone and chat support, plus a dedicated account representative in all plans.
Cons
- Lowest-tier plan doesn’t include audit trails.
How we choose the best accounting software
Our writers and editors gather more than 30 pieces of data for each accounting product we rate. This includes details about:
- Cost and pricing transparency.
- Compliance with accounting standards.
- Usability and scalability.
- Customer support.
Accounting software must earn at least four stars to make our list. Our team may still recommend options below that number if they serve a unique purpose. For instance, our top-rated desktop accounting software (Sage 50 Accounting) gets only 3.8 stars, and Wave Accounting (3.8 stars as well) is a great free option.
⭐ What our star ratings mean
What accounting software we consider
NerdWallet's editorial team has evaluated more than 50 accounting software options. Our focus is on major players that support most small businesses. This includes big names, like QuickBooks, Xero and Sage. In some cases, we'll review multiple products from these providers.
We look at industry-specific software or companies with less market share as well. Our writers and editors choose which to cover. They base these decisions on conversations with business owners, online trends and other research.
We may not fully rate niche options because of their limited scope. But we include them on relevant pages. For instance, nonprofits and restaurants have very specific — and very different — accounting needs. Our goal is to help each find the best solution their business.
≡ Full list of accounting software
Find options by industry
How we keep our picks up to date
NerdWallet has a full-time team of small-business writers and editors. Here's how they monitor the accounting software landscape:
- Reviewing information for all software regularly. We do a full audit annually. This involves fact-checking product info and reaching out to providers if needed. Some updates happen off-cycle — like the latest QuickBooks price increase. We make those changes as soon as they happen.
- Test-driving software. When possible, we take advantage of free trials. These let us evaluate a software's user experience hands-on. If a software lacks a free trial, we'll do things like watch video tutorials. We work directly with companies to attend product demos and check out new features.
- Gauging sentiment. We lurk on Reddit and other social channels. Many accounting companies have their own online support communities. These offer great insight on current bugs or issues. Our team frequently interviews business owners. We ask them what accounting software they have and why.
- Following news and trends. The accounting software market keeps evolving. AI-powered automation plays a particularly big part in this. We rely on Google Alerts, emails from PR reps, AI-assisted web scraping and more to stay informed.
What is accounting software?
Accounting software is like a database for all of your business’s financial transactions. It helps keep your books up to date, in order and in line with basic accounting principles
Without accounting software, the following crucial financial tasks would be tedious and more vulnerable to human error:
- Entering and organizing financial transactions.
- Recording income and expenses.
- Reconciling accounts.
- Generating
financial statements - Keeping track of how much money you’re owed and vice versa.
Most accounting software goes beyond these tasks with additional built-in modules for invoicing, bill-pay and inventory management, among other functions. The more your accounting software becomes a one-stop shop for these financial chores, the fewer integrations you need to consider.
💬 Tips for setting up your accounting software
"My husband plans to open a brewery this year, and I’m going to help him choose the right accounting software and maintain his books. I’m QuickBooks certified and write about small-business software for a living, but taking on a business’s bookkeeping tasks is still daunting. That’s why I’m not doing it alone.
"As I’m setting up the accounting software, I’m going to check in with a certified public accountant to make sure I’m on the right track. More specifically, I want to ensure I’m organizing the chart of accounts efficiently and categorizing transactions correctly. That way, we can run accurate reports from day one.
"Other small-business owners can benefit from doing the same early on. And ideally, your accountant will have experience in your specific industry, too."
— Hillary Crawford
What features are important for accounting software?
Most accounting software has basic features central to bookkeeping chart of accounts
But overall functionality differs from product to product. Here are some important features to keep in mind as you compare options.
- Double-entry accounting. This means your accounting software enters a balancing debit or credit for each transaction, so that you don’t have to do it manually. We recommend almost all businesses use double-entry accounting.
- Automatic bank imports. Software may let you automatically pull transactions from your business’s bank and credit card accounts into your software. This reduces time and error from manual entry.
- Business software integrations. These can also minimize manual data entry, and let your business software ecosystem exchange information automatically. Integrations may include your point-of-sale software, payroll software, inventory software and third-party time or mileage tracking tools.
- User access . Some product plans have extremely limited seats. You may get access for only one user, for instance. Other software may offer unlimited access. Most will let you invite your
accountant - Reporting. Many reports will be standard — think a profit and loss statement,
balance sheet - Industry-specific features. Some industries have stringent tax requirements — for instance, legal professions. Certain fields, such as construction, may also benefit from detailed and specialized financial reporting. Such businesses may want accounting software designed with their needs in mind.
Compare these features for our top picks
Xero
QuickBooks Online
Zoho Books
FreshBooks
QuickBooks Enterprise
Striven
Wave
Sage50
How to choose accounting software
Ideally, your accounting software will make your day-to-day routine easier through automation. Here are some key factors to consider when researching and choosing the best accounting software for your small business.
- Accessibility. Cloud-based software enables access through any device with an internet connection. This generally allows for easier collaboration with accountants and seamless integration with other business software. Desktop-based software, however, can only be accessed from a single computer.
- Scalability. Take a look at products’ plan offerings, including how many employees and users the software can support, to make sure you can upgrade to a more robust version of the software as your business grows. If you anticipate rapid or high growth, consider
accounting software for medium-sized businesses - Your budget. Determine how much your business can afford to spend monthly on accounting software in conjunction with other recurring costs, like utilities, rent and additional software subscriptions for a POS system or payroll, for example. If you’re a solopreneur and want to keep costs down, check out our list of
best accounting software for freelancers and the self-employed - Ease of use. Accounting software that isn’t intuitive and user-friendly can take up an unnecessary amount of your time or discourage you from using it as often as you should to keep your finances in order. Test out free trials of accounting software, request a demo and watch tutorial videos to get a feel for navigating the software.
- Integrations. Think about the other types of software you already use or plan to use, and check to see if direct integrations are available between those products and the accounting software you’re considering. If not, you may need to pay for an indirect integration or manually transfer data from one product to another.
- Customer support. Think about what time of the day you’re most likely to reach out for assistance and how you’d like to communicate with customer service representatives. Free accounting software options typically offer less robust customer support solutions than paid products do.
- Sharing with your accountant. If you’re working with an outside accountant, take note of how easy (or not) a product makes it for you to share your financial details and reports with your accountant. Many popular accounting software products allow you to easily share access, but some require upgrades to costlier plans for this access and some products only enable you to export data to be sent to your accountant.
How much does accounting software cost?
Accounting software for small businesses can cost anywhere from $0 to $200 or more per month. Our editorial picks include free and paid products, and most options have multiple plans at different price points.
Here are a handful of factors that could impact how much you'll pay:
Sign-up discounts. New customers can sometimes choose between a temporary monthly discount or a free trial. If you go with the discount, understand how much more you’ll pay when the introductory period ends.
Payment frequency. Most software lets you pay month-to-month. But you may be able to save by committing to an annual subscription instead. Just be sure to read the fine print. For instance, a provider might not refund you if you cancel before the year is up.
Number of users. How many people in your business need to have access to your accounting software? In some cases, you’ll need to pay a monthly fee per additional user. Factor in how many users a product includes and how much it costs to add more.
Integrations. Make a list of the integrations you’ll need. Are they built into your accounting software already? If not, you might need to pay a monthly subscription fee to connect one program to another.
» MORE : Best free accounting software
Frequently Asked Questions
In most cases, yes. While you can try using spreadsheets to keep track of your business’s finances, they can become messy and time-consuming. Accounting software is less susceptible to human error and makes it easy to quickly run crucial financial reports, like a profit and loss statement or balance sheet.
On top of that, double-entry accounting software enters debits and credits for you so you don’t have to worry about manually balancing your books. Ultimately, investing in accounting software will save you time and help make sure your books are accurate.
QuickBooks Online is one of the most ubiquitous accounting software products on the market. Xero, FreshBooks and Zoho Books are also used widely.
NerdWallet likes Xero for its simplicity and ease of use. Its clean layout, global search function and customizable dashboard are a plus, especially for accounting novices.
Chances are, there will be some sort of learning curve no matter what software you select. Testing out free demos and free trials can help you get a feel for these products’ usability before committing to them.
Wave Accounting offers a free software plan that covers basic accounting and invoicing. It doesn’t offer time or mileage tracking or a billable expense feature, but it does allow for unlimited users and recurring invoicing. Zoho Books also offers a free monthly subscription plan along with several paid plan options, starting at a competitively low cost of $20 per month.
Free accounting software can be a great solution for micro businesses that don’t have a large volume of transactions and only need income and expense tracking, basic reporting and invoicing. But even if the basics are sufficient for your business, remember that free products have their downsides.
For example, Wave’s free accounting plan lacks audit trails, third-party integrations and live customer support. It also doesn’t offer additional plans if your business grows in the future, which means you could eventually have to transfer your data to another provider.
Methodology
NerdWallet independently reviews accounting software products before determining our top picks. We collect the data for our software ratings from products’ public-facing websites and from company representatives. Information is gathered on a regular basis and reviewed by our editorial team for consistency and accuracy.
NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, reasonably priced, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. The best accounting software received top marks when evaluated across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories. Learn more about how we rate small-business accounting software
These ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size, growth trajectory and which features you need most. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines