Best Small businessAccounting SoftwareReview

We review the 4 most popular

for your business?which is the best fit

small business accountingsoftware packages

Quick Books FreshBooks Sage 50 Wave

Cost for Basic

Package

$12.95/Month

$19.95/Month

$379.99/One Time Free

Cloud or self

hosted?Cloud Cloud Self Cloud

Quick Books FreshBooks Sage 50 Wave

Other Available Features

(may require

additional cost)

Invoicing Time Tracking

Payroll Payments

Point of Sale Inventory

Management

Invoicing Time Tracking

Payments

Invoicing Time Tracking

Payroll Payments

Point of Sale Inventory

Management CRM

Invoicing Payroll

Payments Point of Sale

Quick Books FreshBooks Sage 50 Wave

Other Integrations

DemandForce, Salesforce and

Many others

Basecamp, highrise and many others

Document Management,

Sales Management

and many others

Not Listed

Quick Books FreshBooks Sage 50 Wave

Customer Service

Phone/Email Phone/Email Phone/Email Live Chat Email.

Learn More Learn More Learn More Learn More

QuickBooks online

How It Stacks Out:QuickBooks has been the most sophisticated accounting solution on the market for years. The online version has done an excellent job in keeping pace with the cloud revolution, boosting collaboration functionality, and integrating with mobile devices.

QuickBooks online

Pricing:You pay a monthly subscription fee and can choose from three different packages. Simple Start is $12.95 per month and allows basic functions such as income and expense tracking, automatic banking integration, and sending invoices.

QuickBooks onlineWhy we like it?

• Cloud hosting means you can access the program any time, from any computer.

• Well-designed dashboards display the financial health of your company at a glance.

• Improved collaboration functionality allows you to seamlessly share data with clients, your accountant and employees from different business units.

QuickBooks onlineWhy we like it?

• Deeper focus on multi-tasking and you can now easily switch between accounts without logging out.

• You can easily synchronize your bank accounts for time-effective, stress-free bank reconciliation.

• Integrated QuickBooks Online smart phone apps keep you connected at all times .

QuickBooks onlineLimitations

Payroll functionality is not included in any of the three subscription packages. It’s held back as an additional add-on for an extra $31.20 per month. !

You’ll also need to turn on QuickBooks Payments to accept credit card payments and bank transfers with per transaction fees applying.

FreshBooks

Best For:Small business owners seeking a simple cloud-based accounting solution that requires little training to use.

How It Stacks Out:FreshBooks was purpose designed for small business and offers many of the basic functions available in QuickBooks without some of the more advanced functionality that is mostly reserved for medium and large business. !Is a user-friendly interface that’s easier to use and doesn’t require the training time or expense required for the more complicated QuickBooks.

FreshBooks

Pricing:FreshBooks starts from $19.95 per month to manage a maximum of 25 clients. !Most businesses, however, will need to upgrade to the Evergreen package that allows you to manage an unlimited client base and gives five additional team members access to the program.

FreshBooks

Why we like it?• FreshBooks was designed for small business people, not professional accountants.

• The award-winning iPhone app and new Android app allow on-the-road connectivity for service-based professionals.

• Customer support line provides advice and troubleshooting help during business hours.

FreshBooks

Why we like it?• Customizable online invoices support 14 payment gateways including credit cards and PayPal, and late payment reminders and recurring invoices save you time.

• You can easily synchronize your bank accounts for time-effective, stress-free bank reconciliation.

• Track your time and pull your billable hours directly into your invoices, set different rates for each project and boost productivity with team timesheets .

FreshBooks

LimitationsOur major problem with FreshBooks is the price. It’s expensive if you need access for multiple staff members, and QuickBooks offers a cheaper entry point, along with more advanced functionality for your money.

FreshBooks

Sage 50

Best For:Small and medium businesses owners with accounting experience who want a traditional, self-hosted software package.

How It Stacks Out:Sage 50 is the only of the big four that’s not cloud hosted. That means a more complicated set-up procedure and limited remote access. !Sage 50 will be especially valuable if you have accounting experience, however beginners may feel overwhelmed.

Sage 50

Pricing:The software starts at $379.99 for a single user; $699.99 for three users; and $949.99 for five users. You may also need to factor the time IT staff will take to install it into the set up costs. !

Sage 50

Why we like it?• It’s a complete accounting solution and is the only on this list that includes payroll processing as a standard inclusion.

• The Inventory and Services Management Center is great for planning purchases, customizing item and service data, and expanding service offerings.

• Project management tools help you ensure large projects don’t get out of hand.

Sage 50

Why we like it?• Run ‘what if’ scenarios in the Cash Flow Manager to anticipate your cash needs into the future under a range of different conditions.

• You get quick access to customer information – such as credit status messages – when creating invoices.

• Run ‘what if’ scenarios in the Cash Flow Manager to anticipate your cash needs into the future under a range of different conditions.

Sage 50

LimitationsAfter a year of free Sage Business Care Silver plan for new users, you’ll need to pay it. The user interface also seems quite out dated and if you’re used to using more attractive cloud-hosted software in other areas of your business, using Sage 50 could feel clunky.

Sage 50

Wave

Best For:Freelancers, contractors and sole proprietors who are on a tight budget and need a basic accounting system.

How It Stacks Out:This collection of simple accounting tools will not cut it for most businesses. !However, if you’re a sole proprietor with little accounting knowledge who feels overwhelmed by the complicated bells and whistles of other more advanced systems, then this could be the answer to your prayers..

Wave

Pricing:Wave is free to download and use, however the optional payroll add on will cost you $5 per month plus $4 per employee for the first 10 employees and $1 per employee after that. !

Wave

Why we like it?

• Wave connects to your bank account, PayPal account or other sources of data to automatically download your transactions into the system to eliminate manual entry.

• You can set recurring invoices and you can include a ‘Pay Now’ button to accept credit card payments.

Wave

Why we like it?

• Personal finance software lets youset budgets, assess your progress, and track your investments with real-time stock data.

• Snap a photo of your receipts with your smart phone and they will automatically upload into your records for easy bookkeeping.

Wave

LimitationsWave runs internal advertising integrated into your dashboard to keep the service free, but this can be distracting. It would be worth offering an ad-free version for a small subscription fee, but for now it seems you’re stuck with ads.

Wave

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