Businesses of every size need an accounting system to track their expenses and revenues, assets and liabilities, etc. There are many things to consider when choosing suitable accounting software. Fear not, for here we have is the best 5 accounting software of 2021 for businesses.
Overview
What is accounting software?
Accounting software is an essential tool for all bookkeeping needs. From managing accounts payable and receivable to sending invoices to customers and conducting bank reconciliations, accounting software could handle them all. Everything is done in one centralized place, reducing paperwork, saving trees, and space for filing cabinets.
Benefits of accounting software
Optimizing business operations
By eliminating manual calculations, accounting software would help speed up the processing time and keep your energy focused on other tasks. Accounting software will keep the books without having to clutter up the desk. You will no longer have to crunch the numbers on different applications since everything could be viewed on just one single screen.
Improving accuracy
In order to monitor the progress of your business, it is important to have an accurate record of finances. By using accounting software, you could simplify aspects of accounting that might be prone to errors. A lot of programs could make automatic calculations as you enter data, adjust assets, and transfer funds. It could also generate analyses. Meanwhile, the chances of oversight will be reduced. If you need to check for miscalculations, you could easily find and correct errors before finalizing.
Reducing operation cost
By installing the software that suits your business, you would save on the cost of outsourcing without having to compromise the creation of quality reports. Using cloud-based accounting or on-premise applications could save on paper and printing costs.
Securing database
Most accounting software has a password protection. This capability allows you to protect confidential information from unauthorized personnel. Moreover, having your data stored in the software would help you facilitate quick access and safeguard them from natural disasters. If the data is digitally accessible, it is invulnerable to tragedies such as fires, floods, and earthquakes, etc.
Synchronizing files
The quantity of paperwork needed to be tracked would become more complex as your business grows. Through software, you could access the information across multiple platforms and sift through computerized records without any hassle. Furthermore, accounting software allows databases from different platforms to be synchronized, which eventually made it easy to migrate data.
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Simplifying tax compliance
Tax-related responsibilities take a huge amount of time, which is a lot of waste that could have been used on other important tasks, for example, create new products, secure new clients, or even improve services. With the tax planning feature, you could store receipts, invoices, and income statements all in one place.
Automating record-keeping
Record-keeping is an important part of financial management, but it could be confusing and labour intensive. In order to make it effortless, accounting software provides features that compile the input data in different applications. Aside from merging them into one comprehensive operating system, it could also perform other tasks like analyzing business practices and identifying trends in money flow. After that, it would calculate and show you where and when you are generating more revenue, which aspects you need to invest in, and so on.
Best accounting software for 2021
FreshBooks
FreshBooks’s cloud-based accounting and invoicing software clarify a business’s financial standing with dashboards and reports, making it perfect for small businesses and small entrepreneurs. From tax summaries to profit and loss reports, the dashboards and reports would present transparent insights on the business.
Intuitively working on both desktops and mobile devices, FreshBooks contains project management capabilities, which makes a great choice for businesses that work on a per-project basis and need to track billable hours.
Notable features
- Compatible with multiple devices: FreshBooks app allows businesses to send invoices, record expenses, and view the validation of invoices after they have been opened from mobile devices. The mobile app and desktop software consistently synchronize to keep data up-to-date. Businesses could also respond to clients’ feedback and questions directly on the app and it would store them in one place for convenience.
- Supply various reports: FreshBooks’s dashboard is equipped with numerous reports such as profit and loss, sales tax summary, expenses, payment collected, etc. The reports could be separated by client, date, or team member, and could either be saved, exported, or printed.
- Effortless tax collection: The feature guarantees accurate sales tax when applied to invoices. It also sorts expenses so businesses could be well-prepared and relaxed for tax season.
- Customize invoices: This feature allows businesses to design and personalize their invoices by adding a company logo and establishing personalized thank-you emails.
Limitations
Despite having a vast amount of features and benefits, FreshBooks has some limitations, include:
- In-built feature does not have mileage tracking and inventory management module
- No available community forums for users to communicate with each other
- No fixed asset management module
Pricing
30-day free trial available (no credit card required)
- Lite: $15/month
- Plus: $25/month
- Premium: $50/month
- Custom plan
QuickBooks Online
Intuit’s QuickBooks Online is a comprehensive cloud-based solution designed for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers core accounting, banking and invoice functions, reporting, and inventory and project management support with limited online help resources.
Notable features
- Stay on top of inventory: QuickBooks inventory management provides immediate updates and generates reports of stock. Prompt notifications help keep businesses aware when the stock reaches low levels. The automatic modification feature handles the quantities so businesses always know what items available onsite, alleviating stock shortages. Elaborate inventory reports are also available so businesses could review what products have already been stocked, total sales, and taxes.
- Generate coherent report: This feature could create documents like income and cash flow statements, balance sheets, and many more. Businesses could tailor each report to their needs. It also supplies a summary of finances and data that could be created and shared with employees.
- Calculate tax rates: Sales tax module of QuickBooks could adjust sales tax instantly based on the categories of products and location of the sale. After categorizing the products, this tool could cypher the correct sales tax on the invoices based on location, date, and customer. The module also allows businesses to know payment due dates for state and local sales tax and gives them the option to file manually or electronically.
- Access to multiple devices: QuickBooks is also available as a mobile application for iOS and Android devices, in addition to desktops. Businesses could document expenses, docket transactions, view reports, and send invoices. The data would automatically be saved to the cloud and synced across all of the available devices.
- Personalize invoices: The feature comes with many customizable templates to illustrate with preferred colours and logos. Businesses could also arrange recurring invoices and add billable hours automatically with this feature.
Limitations
Although having plenty of features and benefits, QuickBooks still has some drawbacks like average day to day report is not available.
Pricing
30-day free trial available (no credit card required)
- Easystart: $20/month
- Essentials: $35/month
- Plus: $50/month
- Self-employed (for freelancers): $10/month
XERO
Xero offers businesses detailed financial information to aid them in revising their financial statements. The solution permits businesses to integrate with more than 800 applications and software, such as Paypal, Stripe, ADP, etc. Xero also comes with performance dashboards which oversee productivity and profitability.
Notable features
- Adjust invoices: Xero enables businesses to upload the logo to the invoices, create reminders and inform of invoices status like ‘seen’ or ‘paid’. Businesses could send invoices in bulk amounts, create repeating invoices, and allow customers to instantly pay the invoices. The system controls tasks like editing invoices and storing original invoices.
- Control stock: Inventory management of Xero provides consistent displays of top-selling products so businesses could review their profits, determine what to order and how to price their products. Businesses could also input large quantities of inventory into Xero from spreadsheets.
- Measure and share reports: This tool could prepare and import a thorough budget, compare financial performance against chosen time ranges. It also utilizes custom columns, text blocks, formulas, and drag-and-drop accounts to revise the reports.
- Modify tax proportions: This could charge or record sales tax on transactions, bills, and invoices. Businesses could set additional tax rates and set them as defaults for sales and purchases. There is also a report of sales tax which includes all of the transactions that transpired and were applied to calculate the totals on the sales tax worksheet.
- Access on any device: Mobile accounting app of Xero is in charge of developing and managing invoices. It also corrects and files bank transactions, and so much more on iOS or Android.
Limitations
Xero has a wide range of accessories and benefits, but at the same time, it still has some limitations:
- Only offers third-party vendor payroll features through integrations with solutions.
- Only has a small number of built-in reports
- Does not track subsidy processes
Pricing
30-day free trial available (no credit card required)
- Early: $5.50/month
- Growing: $16/month
- Established: $31/month
Wave
Wave is well-rounded accounting software, suitable for sole proprietors, freelancers, and small businesses. It could integrate with more than 1500 applications and has an excellent dashboard which provides an eyeshot view of profit, loss, and cash flow.
Notable features
- Mobile access to invoices: Wave allows businesses to build, relay, and modify invoices from anywhere. Businesses are immediately notified of invoices due dates, whether they have been viewed or paid so businesses could effectively keep track of cash flow. Customers would automatically receive payment reminders when the deadline arises.
- Categorize reports: Any type of report could be created and exported to sales tax reports from balance sheets. All of the reports are assorted by sections, thanks to the landing page of Wave.
- Regulate invoices: Businesses could configure, repeat or duplicate invoices with flexible payment terms, automatic credit card, and bank payments. This feature also tracks partial payments and full payments, as well as overdue payments.
- Accurate sales tax: Sales tax is instantly cyphered for the invoices so they could comply with state and local tax standards. A nimble dashboard is also available to organize all of the payments, expenses, income, and invoices, ready for tax season.
Limitations
In spite of the wide array of benefits, Wave has some restrictions:
- Does not create sales or purchase orders
- Does not have time tracking
- Does not have many choices for contact management module
Pricing
The application itself is free, with additional fees for payments and payroll processing. The outsource service for financial and tax starts at $149/month.
Zoho Books
Zoho Books is a tax compliant solution which assists with receivables and payables management, automating workflows, and partnering with employees. Zoho Books works for small businesses that seek affordable accounting, fully-featured and well-designed user interface and mobile devices support.
Notable features
- Forgery-proof invoices: With Zoho Books, transactions would be validated and approved before the invoice is transported. Businesses could draft and customize invoices with the logo of choice and preferred fonts. Customers could choose between cash, web, or check payment options.
- Monitor inventory: The inventory management tool would seamlessly edit and organize the inventory based on information such as SKU, vendor details, cost, product image, and available stock. Businesses could decide on the reorder levels so they would be notified before stock levels drop below the minimum.
- Tag reports with ease: The feature allows businesses to create and assign tags to specific products and contacts so the report could be located easily. It also generates and personalizes reports, including balance sheets, profit and loss, and cash flow statements. Transaction history reports are also available to access and review customers, sellers, products, etc.
- Clearly define sales tax: Thanks to Zoho Books, businesses could set a default tax rate, input exemptions, determine multiple taxes that correlate with the company. The feature could also compute and supply businesses with elaborate sales tax reports.
- Mobile apps: iOS and Android app of Zoho Books grants the power to generate transactions, enable reminders, run reports, record times, and others.
Limitations
Regardless of the bountiful amount of benefits, Zoho Books still has some flaws:
- The profits/losses of particular customers is unavailable
- Projecting profitability data is unavailable
Pricing
14-day free trial available ( credit card required)
- Basic: $9/user/month
- Standard: $19/month
- Professional: $29/month
Why should you integrate your POS system with accounting software?
Your POS system is responsible for processing thousands of transactions. It would be extremely time-consuming to manually put the information from POS into accounting software. By integrating your POS with your accounting software, your records would be much more transparent and easier to analyze.
What’s your pick?
Accounting software is a need for bookkeeping purposes, best if it integrates with the POS system. We hope that this article will help you have more understanding of accounting software and its importance to businesses. So have you got a POS system that could connect with an accounting solution? We are glad to present ConnectPOS – the best POS that could customize accounting software of your choice. All you need to do is to contact and we will take care of the rest.