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Best Accounting and Bookkeeping Apps for Small Businesses

Stay on top of your bookkeeping with mobile apps that make uploading receipts and reconciling transactions easy.
By Hillary Crawford, Rosalie Murphy
Last updated on June 7, 2024
Edited bySally Lauckner
Fact checked and reviewed

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Accounting and bookkeeping apps can help you document business expenses and track income all from your smartphone. The best apps include detailed invoicing tools, run multiple reports, snap photos of receipts and, in some cases, automatically track mileage.
Most of NerdWallet’s picks for the best accounting software have robust mobile apps built into their functionality, so that you can access your finances on the go. While they may not have all the functionality of the software’s browser version, a bookkeeping app should make it easy to check in on your business’s financial health.
Here are our top choices for accounting and bookkeeping apps, along with their accompanying software programs.

Best Accounting and Bookkeeping Apps for Small Businesses

Product
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QuickBooks Online

Learn more

on QuickBooks Online's secure website

5.0/5

Best for Overall accounting app

$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.

50% off

for first three months or free 30-day trial.

Learn more

on QuickBooks Online's secure website

Xero

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on Xero's secure website

5.0/5

Best for Employee access

$15/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $42, $78.

75% off

for six months on Business Edition plans.

Learn more

on Xero's secure website

Zoho Books

Learn more

on Zoho Books' secure website

4.5/5

Best for Mobile-first features

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.

14-day free trial

of the Premium plan.

Learn more

on Zoho Books' secure website

FreshBooks

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on FreshBooks' secure website

4.5/5

Best for Freelancers

$19/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $33, $60, custom.

30-day free trial

or monthly discount (terms vary).

Learn more

on FreshBooks' secure website

Wave Accounting

3.5/5

Best for Free accounting app

$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $16

N/A

Odoo

4.0/5

Best for All-in-one business management app

$0

For use of a single app. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $38.90, $58.40.

Monthly discount

for the first 12 months.

Our pick for

Overall accounting app

All the many features available in QuickBooks Online’s Simple Start (entry-level) plan are available in the QuickBooks app. That means you get income tracking and expense tracking (including receipt uploads), custom estimates and invoices, payment acceptance, basic accounting reports, mileage tracking and more on your mobile device.

QuickBooks Online

Learn more

on QuickBooks Online's secure website

Starting at
$35/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.

Promotion
50% off

for first three months or free 30-day trial.

Our pick for

Employee access

In addition to its general accounting app, which lets you create, send and track invoices, reconcile your books, and keep tabs on your overall financial standing, Xero offers a separate and free app with each of its plans, called Xero Me. This app is designed specifically for employees to capture receipts and submit expense claims, view paystubs, submit timesheets and more.

Learn more

on Xero's secure website

Starting at
$15/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $42, $78.

Promotion
75% off

for six months on Business Edition plans.

Our pick for

Mobile-first features

Zoho Books’ mobile app includes a few unique features, including accounting widgets designed for your phone’s home screen, accounting-related shortcuts for Siri and an app designed specifically for the Apple Watch. If you’re a tech-savvy business owner who frequently works on the go, the Zoho Books app may be the right fit for you.

Zoho Books

Learn more

on Zoho Books' secure website

Starting at
$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.

Promotion
14-day free trial

of the Premium plan.

Our pick for

Freelancers

FreshBooks accounting software designed its first two plan tiers with freelancers and solopreneurs in mind. The FreshBooks app is particularly convenient for freelancers since it enables you to track miles, photograph and upload receipts, create and send invoices, and communicate and collaborate with your clients.

FreshBooks

Learn more

on FreshBooks' secure website

Starting at
$19/month

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $33, $60, custom.

Promotion
30-day free trial

or monthly discount (terms vary).

Our pick for

Free accounting app

Wave’s free app gives you access to a financial dashboard, lets you create and send invoices, and notifies you when invoices have been paid. If you pay for Wave’s payment processing or mobile receipts services, the app comes with additional features for collecting payment in any currency and capturing receipts for expense tracking.

Wave Accounting

Starting at
$0

Additional pricing tiers (per month): $16

Promotion
N/A

Our pick for

All-in-one business management app

Having multiple business-related apps can crowd your smartphone’s home screen and get tedious to flip between. Odoo houses all of those apps in one place, so that you can easily pivot from viewing reports to managing inventory.

Odoo

4.0
NerdWallet rating 
Starting at
$0

For use of a single app. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $38.90, $58.40.

Promotion
Monthly discount

for the first 12 months.

Need a crash course in bookkeeping?

Visit our Bookkeeping 101 page to learn the basics so you can get started with confidence in whatever bookkeeping software you choose.

How to choose accounting and bookkeeping apps

Generally, no accounting or bookkeeping software lives totally on an app. All our picks for the best accounting and bookkeeping apps accompany cloud-based software. Some or most features are available on the apps, but users will probably still need their computers for certain tasks.
The less cumbersome bookkeeping is, though, the easier it will be to keep up. Accounting and bookkeeping apps should feel intuitive, automate simple tasks and make it easy to track receipts and expenses on the go. Here are three steps to take before you decide on the best app for your business.

1. Determine which tasks you need to do from your phone.

Some work functions lend themselves to mobile, like tracking mileage, accepting in-person payments or uploading photos of receipts. Creating and sending estimates and invoices at a job site can be helpful, too.
If you prefer to work on your desktop computer or laptop, software that offers a fairly simple mobile app may be good enough. But if you’re mobile-first in other aspects of your business, then a powerful, intuitive mobile app may be more important.

2. Understand which apps you need to sync with.

Many accounting and bookkeeping software companies also offer payment processing or expense-tracking software, and you may need to use those apps in tandem for the full suite of services. For instance, if you use the Zoho Books app for bookkeeping, you’ll also need the Zoho Expenses app to upload photos of receipts.
If any other business apps or software programs are key to your operations, choose an accounting or bookkeeping app that integrates with those programs.

3. Check compatibility with your mobile device. 

Most, but not all, of our picks for best accounting and bookkeeping apps are available for both iOS and Android devices. Before subscribing to an accounting software product, make sure its app is compatible with your team’s mobile devices.

🤓 Nerdy Tip

Many small business owners who use accounting and bookkeeping software themselves still choose to enlist the help of a bookkeeping service to feel confident they’re keeping accurate financial records and correctly filing their taxes.
Last updated on June 7, 2024

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.
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