Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What is bookkeeping?
- What should you consider when choosing a bookkeeping software for a small business?
- 10 good bookkeeping software for a small business: Everything you need to know
- Quick Books
- Zoho Books
- Fresh Books
- Xero
- Sage
- Netsuite
- Kashoo
- Wave Accounting
- Working Point
- Expensify
- Final Thoughts
- Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
Starting a business in this evolving marketplace can be quite challenging. Even if you’ve started on the right foot, you may struggle at some point in the middle. Starting in business can have many difficulties for small business owners. A large business difficulty is managing finances. In business, a sound financial firm is not built overnight; it’s built with perfect planning, persistence, and smarts. All businesses must keep accurate, detailed, and timely financial records. This is true for daily operations, but also to satisfy long-run plans, taxation responsibilities, and help build trust with investors, especially small businesses. Bookkeeping is such an important part of financial responsibility. This may give owners the ability to track cash flow, manage expenses, and make reasonable financial decisions. The downside is that these responsibilities can be tedious (time-consuming) and open to mistakes, especially for business owners who may be juggling several other aspects of the business at the same time. Perhaps you have heard of bookkeeping software for small businesses? There is bookkeeping software for one purpose: to help ease your financial responsibility. Current bookkeeping software helps to automate tedious tasks such as invoicing, tracking/recording expenses and income, reconciliation, and reporting all invoices, expenses, and income from prior periods.
What is bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping is the process of keeping track of the business’s financial transactions. Through this process, you will be able to record where the money comes into and out of your business. Bookkeeping is one of the essential parts of the business. While maintaining the transaction records, you can generate accurate financial reports that help measure business performance. In the past, the bookkeepers used to keep the records in books, which is the physical form.
Maintaining large amounts of data has become quite difficult. With the advancement of technologies, bookkeeping software for accounting firms has become more prevalent. The bookkeeper software or app tracks the financial data and automates financial tasks like invoicing, payroll management, and much more. It serves as a digital substitute for the traditional method of gathering customer receipts and manually entering revenue and expense data into a paper ledger or an Excel spreadsheet.
Accounting software and bookkeeping are online tools that can be accessed at any time and from any place, as long as you have an internet connection. The cloud-based nature of these applications enables you to synchronize your bookkeeping app with your bank accounts and other business management tools, facilitating the generation of real-time financial reports.
What should you consider when choosing a bookkeeping software for a small business?
There is a wide range of accounting software available in the market. You must choose the right bookkeeping software that can help with your business. Take a look at these points that you need to consider before choosing bookkeeping systems for a small business.
| Expense and receipt management | The first and foremost thing you need to consider is flexibility and adaptability. The software or the tool you choose should allow you to easily upload, scan, and categorise receipts for accurate expense tracking. |
| Bank Integration | To work efficiently, the bookkeeping software for accounting firms should connect with your business bank account and support automatic bank feeds, including Open Banking connections. You should also check that you are maintaining a crm bookkeeping software. |
| Invoicing and payments | The bookkeeper software should have the ability to create and send professional invoices and integrate with payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, or GoCardless. |
| Inventory management | If you are engaged in the sale of physical products, seek software that offers inventory tracking capabilities. Certain platforms, such as Xero, QuickBooks, or Sage, provide this functionality, whereas others necessitate the use of third-party add-ons. |
| Security, Compliance, and anytime accessibility | Data breaches pose a persistent risk in the current digital age, rendering strong security essential. Given the existence of industry-specific regulations, adherence to compliance is imperative. Although accessing data across various devices enhances productivity, security must remain intact. Therefore, select an
account bookkeeping software that delivers extensive security measures, compliance capabilities, and effortless accessibility to ensure peace of mind. |
| Order and expense tracking | Numerous companies utilize distinct tools for tracking orders and expenses; however, certain accounting solutions offer integrated features that enhance the efficiency of financial reporting. |
| Scalability | A business is a choice for a lifetime. The bookkeeper software you choose should be scalable to handle the expansion of your business. Pick an accounting software bookkeeping that ensures scalability alongside your evolving needs without sacrificing efficiency or flexibility. |
10 Good bookkeeping software for a small business: Everything you need to know
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QuickBooks
QuickBooks is one of the most reliable and popular bookkeeping software for accounting firms. This tool is specifically designed for small and medium businesses. This software provides a complete range of tools to take care of income, expenses, payroll, and taxes.
This is a cloud-based account bookkeeping software that allows you to access it anywhere, whether you are in the office or outside. Its intuitive interface and robust third-party application integrations render it accessible to individuals without accounting backgrounds. QuickBooks is also designed to be scalable, allowing it to grow alongside your business while ensuring compliance and maintaining visibility of your financials.
It offers four pricing packages tailored to different business sizes: Simple Start (€1.90/month with 30 30-day free trial), Essentials (€27/month with a 30-day free trial), Plus (€ 70/month with a 30-day free trial), and Advanced (€ 70/month with a 30-day free trial). Intuit frequently runs promotions, such as a 90% discount for the first three months, and also provides a 30-day free trial for new users.
Key Features of QuickBooks
- Income and Expense tracking
- Invoices & Estimates
- Bill & Payment management
- Payroll Management
- Accessibility in mobile apps
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Zoho Books
Zoho Books seamlessly integrates into the larger Zoho ecosystem and is particularly advantageous for businesses that are already employing Zoho’s suite of products, including CRM, Inventory, or Projects. It offers a clean and user-friendly interface for managing all aspects of bookkeeping, encompassing invoicing, payments, inventory management, and tax compliance.
Zoho Books has the automated functionality that makes it one of the best in the market. It is known for its affordability, multilingual support, and ease of use. It can schedule recurring invoices, auto-remind payments, and automate bank feeds. With multi-user access and roles based on permissions, this platform offers a secure and collaborative environment for your growing team.
After a 14-day free trial, users can choose from three subscription packages: Standard (£12/month), Professional (£24/month), and Premium (£30/month). Those who opt for annual billing receive two months free.
Key features of Zohobooks
- It has a user-friendly interface.
- Bank reconciliation
- Project management
- Time sheets
- Expense tracking
- Sales Approval
- Recurring transactions
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FreshBooks
If you are a freelancer, consultant, or service provider, the best bookkeeping software for accounting firms would be FreshBooks. It is one of the easiest and simplest bookkeeping tools available for managing time, billing clients, and projects. Do you know what the best part is? It has an aesthetically appealing user interface. With the help of FreshBooks, you will be able to create and send professional invoices in seconds, track expenses, and measure billable hours with accuracy.
It features recurring billing and retainer setups, making it an excellent choice for subscription-oriented services. Additionally, it can be integrated with other applications like G Suite, Slack, and Zoom. FreshBooks combines simplicity and effectiveness, helping entrepreneurs stay organized and receive payments faster without requiring extensive accounting knowledge.
Users can try the software free for 30 days before choosing a paid package, with pricing starting at £15/month for the Lite package, £25/month for Plus, and £35/month for Premium.
Key Features of FreshBooks
- Invoices
- Expense Tracking
- Project Management
- Payment
- Estimates
- Reporting
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Xero
Xero is the cloud-based bookkeeping software for small businesses. It provides a wide range of powerful tools, along with real-time financial reporting needs for small businesses. The Xero app is used by companies that are partnered with accountants or those who need advanced reporting and inventory management, and can benefit from Xero. It allows for unlimited users with customizable access levels, ensuring that your entire organization can collaborate securely.
It includes automatic bank feeds, seamless integrations with more than 1,000 third-party applications, and functionalities for handling quotes, bills, payroll, and projects. Xero also features an intuitive interface and strong mobile capabilities, enabling you to manage your finances from any location. This makes it perfect for small businesses seeking flexibility and scalability.
Xero offers four subscription plans: Ignite (€16/month), Grow (€37/month), Comprehensive (€50/month), and Ultimate (€65/month). Each plan encompasses features like invoicing, bill entry, bank transaction reconciliation, and payroll management (accessible starting from the Grow plan). Multi-currency support is available in the Comprehensive and Ultimate plans.
Key features of Xero
- User-friendly interface
- Paperless record keeping
- Secure Data backup
- Integration with various third-party applications
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Sage
Sage is a cloud-based software that is designed for small businesses to manage finances. This software helps with the invoicing, payment processing, and expense tracking, reducing administrative work and automating routine tasks. It simplifies the process and cuts out the need for manual tasks.
Businesses can enjoy a 30-day free trial of this software before committing to a subscription package. You can choose from Accounting Start at £18 per month, Accounting Standard at £39 per month, or Accounting Plus at £59 per month, with a first-time and after 6 months 90% discount on subscription.
Key Features of Sage
- Automate Billing
- Oversee Expenses
- Tax Compliance
- Control Job Costs
- Order and inventory
- Online invoicing
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NetSuite
NetSuite is one of the major CRM and bookkeeping software. NetSuite cloud accounting software simplifies the process of recording transactions, managing payables and receivables, and closing the books with capabilities such as AI that boost the automation of manual processes. Gain real-time insights into numerous financial metrics, such as profitability ratios, inventory margins, liabilities, fixed assets, taxes, and cash positions. With access to financial data anytime, anywhere, you can quickly drill into details to resolve issues and generate statements and disclosures to comply with multiple regulatory financial compliance requirements, such as ASC 606, GAAP, SOX, and others.
Key features of NetSuite
- Real-time information
- Automated workflows for greater accuracy
- Multi-Currency and Localization
- Tax management
- Reporting and analytics
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Kashoo
Kashoo is an accounting and bookkeeping software developed in the year 2008. It provides a simple and clean interface for entrepreneurs and small business owners who wish to maintain simple bookkeeping. It streamlines the classification of expenses, tracks sales and purchases, and generates real-time financial reports. The software connects to your bank to facilitate transaction reconciliation, saving you hours of manual data entry.
Users can start with a 14-day free trial, and costs around £18 to£ 35 based on subscription per month, with discounts available for annual packages. Kashoo supports banking integration with over 5,000 financial institutions and allows permission-based sharing, enabling collaboration with employees, business partners, and accountants.
Key Features of Kashoo
- Smart Invoicing
- Automated Expense Tracking
- Bank Integration and Reconciliation
- Multi-Currency Support
- User-friendly interface
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Wave Accounting
Wave accounting is one of the top free bookkeeping software for small businesses and freelancers. Although it is offered at no cost, it includes features typically found in business-grade software, such as income and expense tracking, invoicing, receipt scanning, and basic reporting. You can connect your bank accounts for automatic synchronization, generate recurring invoices, and manage customer interactions through a user-friendly dashboard.
Key Features of Wave accounting software
- Efficient Transaction Management with Automatic Imports
- Streamlined Invoicing and Payment Features
- Simplified Expense Tracking
- Insights with Comprehensive Reporting Tools
- Tax Preparation Made Easy
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WorkingPoint
WorkingPoint is one of the affordable bookkeeping systems for small businesses. It is one of the easiest bookkeeping software tools that track income and expenses, create and send invoices, pay bills, manage your cash, track inventory, and communicate with your customers.
It offers two subscription packages, namely Lightning and Thunderstorm. Each with the subscription charges of £7/month and £15/month.
Key Features of WorkingPoint
- Expense and time tracking
- Double-entry bookkeeping
- Standard financial reports
- Bill and expense tracking
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Expensify
Expensify is a powerful accounting software for bookkeeping that automates expense management and receipt tracking. It streamlines your entire pre-accounting process and syncs seamlessly with both Xero and QuickBooks. Expensify saves countless hours of grueling manual entry with one-click expense reports in real-time. It can be easily accessed via mobile phones and is available on the Google Play Store and App Store.
Key Features of Expensify
- Effortless syncing with the accounting software
- Simplify the expense management
- Global Currency Compatibility
- Corporate Card Reconciliation
Final Thoughts
While planning the finances for your business, it is important to choose the right bookkeeping software to manage your business. The good bookkeeping software for small businesses will assist in the smooth functioning of the business and financial growth. There are several accounting and bookkeeping software available in the market. You should be aware of your business needs and purchase accordingly. By understanding the key features, pros and cons, you will be able to pick the right one.
Atidiv offers you seamless assistance in managing your account and financing. Here we set up and manage end-to-end accounting, including Accounts Receivable (AR), Accounts Payable (AP), monthly closure of books, and cleanup of General Ledger (GL)
FAQs on bookkeeping software for small businesses
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Is bookkeeping in demand in 2025?
The role of bookkeeping is stable in 2025. Small to medium businesses highly rely on the bookkeeper software.
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What software do bookkeepers use?
Bookkeepers commonly use accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and FreshBooks. These tools are excellent for maintaining the income taxes and expenses.
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Can AI replace bookkeepers?
No, rather than replacing the bookkeepers, the AI helps the bookkeepers to work more efficiently by automating the repetitive tasks and indicating the issues in real time.
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How does Bookkeeping differ from Accounting Software?
Accounting software enhances the daily documentation of transactions, such as sales, purchases, receipts, and payments, by offering a broader financial perspective, tax planning capabilities, and features for regulatory compliance. Some of these programs combine both functions.