Accounting Software Small Business Owners
Spending countless hours tracking your finances or manually managing your business finances is exhausting, isn’t it? Well, accounting software is the solution.
A report from Intuit found that 89% of small businesses that use accounting software say it’s essential for their business, while the 63% say it saves them time and makes them more productive. So where to start?
How do you know what you will need or what to look for?
It’s a competitive market, so QuickBooks may not be the first choice for every business. Those looking for a bargain, for example, might want to purchase the rival brand FreshBooks, where you can claim a 90% discount for three months for all new users. Other competitors like Xero and ClearBooks also have a lot of credit for small business owners.
Best accounting software at a glance
- Freshbooks – 90% off for the first three months – great for ease of use
- QuickBooks – best overall
- Xero – better UI and layout
- Clear books – ideal for accounting work
- Zoho Books: great for project tracking
1. QuickBooks
4.7 out of 5
• Account accounting
5 out of 5
• Advanced features
4.5 out of 5
• Financial report
5 out of 5
Compare
Why we chose QuickBooks for the best total accounting software
We’ve chosen QuickBooks as the best choice for UK small businesses in general, as mentioned above, thanks to its intuitive and modern platform, great value plans, regular deals, and discounts, as well as first-class tax planning features.
With more than 4.5 million businesses worldwide trusting its services, this accounting software powerhouse leads the industry — with the great features and some of the most transparent and affordable prices on the market. All plans come with award-winning support, intuitive mobile apps, 700+ app integrations, and no up-front contracts.
QuickBooks is one of the few providers that offers a package specifically for freelancers, packed with all the simple yet essential features for an individual just getting started. Small businesses will want to choose to Start Simple – add income tax estimates, phone support, and bill payments. Essentials add support for multiple currencies, manage invoices and payments, and increase the limit to three users.
Plus offers more control over budgets, employee time, inventory management, and project productivity and has a five-user limit. And finally, they have done Advancement, and up to 25 users can use this business plan – and it works well for businesses that need in-depth reporting, user permissions, and batch actions.
Do you know?
QuickBooks is also the only accounting software company that allows users to file CIS returns on their lowest-tier plan.
2. Xero – Best for UI and layout
4.6 out of 5
• Account accounting
5 out of 5
• Price
3.8 out of 5
• Financial report
5 out of 5
Compare
Why we choose Xero for the best UI and layout
The ultimate Small Business Accountant will make your accounting (the actual record of your cash numbers and statistics, etc.) visually appealing, easy to read, and accessible. And so, for sleek and stylish accounting software for freelancers, Xero is our pick. It also has a very impressive range of features, including the ability to easily integrate with things like the merchant account services, making this software perfect for any retail merchant who needs to calculate their accounts.
VAT or CIS deduction.
One of the features Xero offers is 24/7 support, although, through our research on the software, we found that it’s not clear what Xero’s promise actually means in terms of 24/7 support. His website is full of helpful tutorials and video tutorials, but things are much less clear with help from a real person.
Xero doesn’t have a support number you can call or a live chat option, which gives it a disappointing score of 2.3 out of 5 in this area. Instead, you need to send a message and then wait for them to respond. It’s hard to say how long the process took, and at least one unhappy customer on the Xero forums complained that they waited several hours for a response to their query.
The basic beginner plan gives you some nice features, such as you can create invoices and quotes, import invoices, reconcile banking transactions and submit VAT returns to your clients.
HMRC
However, this plan also has strict usage limits – you can only submit 20 invoices and quotes and enter five invoices per month. Go beyond that, and you’ll have to start paying for the Standard plan. That’s a big boost, especially since the Standard plan doesn’t offer any other extras.
Do you know?
If you are self-employed in the certain building or construction industry, you pay taxes or about 20-30% under the Construction Industry Program (CIS).
3. Clear Books – Great for accountants
4.2 out of 5
• Account accounting
5 out of 5
• Advanced features
4 out of 5
• Financial report
3.8 out of 5
Compare
Why we choose clear books for the best accounting
Clear Books’ goal is to provide you with an easier way to manage your business finances. This easy-to-use online accounting software is designed for UK-based traders, partnerships, and small businesses.
A common criticism some customers have for Clear Books is that the software has a steeper learning curve than other accounting software. Some users have actively reported that it can take some time to get used to the interface and features of the software, which is said to be a bit more complicated than other options on the market. However, as users become familiar with Clear Books, they often report that it is a powerful and effective accounting solution.
Their range is still pretty weak at the moment when it comes to third-party integration, and they don’t offer any budgeting or cash flow forecasting tools but comprehensive accounting software that can give you all the essentials. The basics you need, its score should be 4.2 out of 5 from us overall is well deserved.
The great thing about the Clear Books and even its smallest package is that it offers some of the very most important features for any accounting service provider at such an affordable price – not keeping them away from the big bucks. Packages cost unreasonably higher.
For example, they provide the lowest level accounts payable functionality without restrictions, as well as project accounting functionality. It also includes many other useful accounting features, including the ability for users (of all levels) to track their billable hours and add them to invoices.
However, one thing that is only available for the higher-priced plan is their MTD VAT return.
This declaration was introduced into UK law on 1 April 2022 and now requires all businesses to electronically file their VAT returns. However, this is not a big deal for small businesses because they officially don’t need it until a certain level of profit is reached.
Do you know?
When a business makes a purchase on credit or takes out a business loan from personal lenders or banks that need to be repaid within a very short period of time, it is known as accounts payable.
4. Zoho Books – Best for project tracking
4 out of 5
• Account accounting
4.5 out of 5
• Advanced features
3.5 out of 5
• Financial report
4 out of 5
Compare
Why we chose Zoho Books for the best project tracking
Zoho Books has built a reputation as one of the most user-friendly and easy-to-use project management solutions for businesses – with CRM (customer relationship management), email archiving, and solutions. Project management – accounting software from Zoho Books does not disappoint.
This accounting software allows you to control and manage all the multiple projects, including the ability to assign specific tasks to all your employees. This is very great for people like construction workers or agencies that bring many people together to accomplish project goals.
Another important feature is that you can manage expenses for different projects. With Zoho Books, you can easily link all costs associated with a project at the time of invoice, saving you from having to bill each expense one by one.
There’s even a high-quality Zoho Books plan that’s perfect for small groups or one-person setups – although we recommend investing just a little to upgrade to one of the paid tiers available. Value. It’s our number one pick for the best free accounting software.
Zoho’s free plan is actually only suitable for very small businesses because it doesn’t offer important features like a bank feed and only includes email support.
Zoho Standard allows up to three users to easily track, reconcile, and budget from their smartphone or computer. You can update your projects and timesheets and manage up to 5,000 invoices. Professional is for five users – and adds invoices, multi-currency management, report cards, purchase approvals, and up to 10 workflow rules to its list of accessible features. For older companies, there is Premium (for ten users). With this money, you will be able to track the activity of multiple branches, generate custom reports, and also get a slick custom domain.
Adding additional users will cost you £2.50 per user per month. Automated scans must also be purchased in bulk – 50 monthly scans cost £8 per month.
Do you know?
Chargeable hours are an agreed amount of time spent on a business project that can be billed to a customer if measured and tracked correctly.
5. FreshBooks – Easiest to use
4 out of 5
• Account accounting
4 out of 5
• Advanced features
3.6 out of 5
• Financial report
4.4 out of 5
Compare
Why we chose the best FreshBooks for ease of use
You want to make sure that the accounting software you choose is efficient and compliant – it has what you need in mind, especially during the legally required stages of your business lifecycle, such as tax season.
This also includes making sure that the software you choose is recognized by HMRC as compliant with the new BAT – like all software on this list – and integrates seamlessly with other software, including your little software.
FreshBooks is one of the best options for all of this – with rich feature packs and a friendly interface that makes it easy to get everything you need, like invoices and reports.
Freshbooks, Lite’s basic plan, with unlimited invoices, expense entries, time tracking, and estimates, is one of the most generous we’ve come across…however, you’re limited to five customers. Upgrading to Plus adds unlimited suggestions and lets you automate recurring bills and late payment reminders.
This also expands your customer limit to 50. Larger businesses will want to consider the Premium plan that can accommodate 500 paying customers. If you are an individual entrepreneur, then FreshBooks is one of the cheapest options. However, you also need to remember to keep an eye out for hidden costs below the surface. Adding additional group members costs £7 per person per month – so we don’t recommend this for large groups. FreshBooks’ more advanced billing features will also incur a £15 per month fee.
