10 Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses
10 minute read
Managing your financial data becomes increasingly complicated as your company grows. At a certain point, using spreadsheets to manage business accounting and complicated financial data simply becomes too complex, time-consuming, and error-prone.
That is when a scalable accounting solution is required. Fortunately, advanced accounting software tools such as digital accounting tools have a lot of features that can help you run a business more efficiently.
This type of software is a critical tool for your business’s financial data, from basic invoicing and billing to tax calculations and project management. It’s also very useful for the management of clients, the reconciliation of bank accounts, and the generation of informative financial reports, all of which contribute to the smooth and continuing growth of your company.
If that caught your interest, continue reading as we round up the top 10 best accounting software for small businesses. Let’s dive in.
Overview:
What is an accounting software?
Accounting software is a software tool or platform that assists bookkeepers and accountants in recording and reporting a company’s financial activities.
It usually lets you enter data on expenses, such as payroll and equipment costs, as well as revenue. This allows you to keep track of your company’s financial health.
What are the four types of accounting software?
It’s worth noting that not every single accounting software solution provides the same functionalities.
Here are the four main types of accounting software.
Spreadsheets
A spreadsheet can be customized to fit practically any fundamental accounting requirement.
As such, the spreadsheet software is low-cost, and the system can be customized in any way. However, you should know that sheets are prone to error since data can be entered improperly, in the wrong location, or not at all, resulting in inaccurate financial statements.
As a result, spreadsheets are often employed by businesses with very modest transaction volumes.
Commercial accounting software
Commercial accounting software can handle the majority, if not all, of a small to midsize company’s accounting requirements. It allows you to construct customized functionalities to meet your individual requirements.
The features of this kind of software are fairly adjustable to a business’s needs. They have numerous layers of error detection to prevent improper data entry and generate standard reports that can typically be customized to the user’s needs.
There are commercial accounting software packages tailored to various industries, with additional capabilities to meet the needs of their target consumers.
Enterprise accounting software
ERP software combines data from all areas of a company into a single database. This method eliminates the issues that come with having separate department-specific software that doesn’t share data. It is, however, exorbitantly priced and may take more than a year to install.
Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft Dynamics GP are examples of such accounting software for businesses.
Custom accounting software
A company may develop its own accounting software. As a company grows, competent employees may be requested to create software to handle various accounting challenges until the company develops its own unique accounting software.
This strategy is normally employed only when a business’s needs are so specific that a commercial solution or ERP solution cannot meet them. Custom software, on the other hand, is more likely to be buggy and require more maintenance than commercially available packages.
Now let’s list some of the best accounting software for small businesses used by numerous companies around the world.
1. Quickbooks
Quickbooks helps you monitor and handle all financial transactions in one simple place. QuickBooks Online combines the best of flexibility, convenience, financial functionality, and extensibility.
Before you can start creating transactions with QuickBooks Online, you must first complete a brief setup process in which you provide the service with some basic information about your company.
You respond to a few easy questions as they are provided, and the site changes some of the core settings in the background to accommodate your exact sort of business. When you’re done, you’ll be sent to the dashboard of QuickBooks Online.
If you own a small business or want to expand it, Quickbooks accounting software may just be the perfect fit for your needs.
Best for
If you need help with accounting, inventory, payroll, tax filing, invoicing, bank account tracking and reconciliations, budgeting, payment processing, and expense management, you will benefit from using Quickbooks.
The most notable features include the ability to sync bank info and your favorite apps, the ability to access your data on different devices, and the safe online database.
Pricing
The Simple Start plan starts at HK$65 per month while the Essentials plan starts at HK$95 per month. The most comprehensive plan is the Plus plan and it starts at HK$130 per month.
There is a 30-day free trial period.
2. Wave
Wave is a double-entry accounting website for freelancers and independent contractors, but it could also be used by very small businesses with small teams of workers.
Thanks to the H&R acquisition, there are new and improved features that include integration with H&R Block for tax filing, an updated transactions page, a new Activity tab in expanded customer profiles, and the ability to attach receipts to transactions.
Best for
Wave is a good accounting service for small companies, but if you want to grow significantly, you’ll need to find a more comprehensive solution. Despite this, the program has a good mix of capabilities, versatility, and usability.
The best bit about Wave is that it’s easier to use than a lot of similar tools, and it’s one of the clearest, most straightforward business systems out there.
Wave follows double-entry accounting principles, but it handles the grunt work behind the scenes.
It’s unlikely that you’ll be confused by its features. Non-accountants may easily learn how to use Wave and keep track of finances.
Pricing
The basic accounting functionalities of Wave are completely free. There are, however, fees for payments and payroll. Credit card processing costs 2.9% plus HK$2.3 for every transaction, with American Express charging slightly more (3.4% plus HK$2.3 per transaction). A 1% fee is applied to bank payments, with a HK$8 minimum fee.
3. FreshBooks
FreshBooks started out as a simple invoicing program. It’s grown over the years, with new features being added all the time and existing ones getting better. It’s now a full-featured online accounting solution for small businesses with double-entry bookkeeping.
Gusto and FreshBooks work together to manage accounts payable and receivable, inventories, and payroll. Also, FreshBooks added Microsoft Outlook integration, an Income Importer, project profitability reporting, and accounts payable monitoring to the platform.
To customize various components of the site, the app initially asks a few basic questions about your business, such as what type of job you offer and how you bill clients.
You give your contact information and are urged to invite others from your team to create profiles. Then you’re taken to FreshBooks’ main page, where you’ll see a box with three setup options: Add Your Clients, Add Items and Services, and Send an Invoice.
Best for
FreshBooks provides a well-rounded and straightforward double-entry accounting experience, with all the tools that a small business requires. It is a top choice for sole proprietors and freelancers due to its excellent user experience and clever feature mix.
Pricing
FreshBooks has four subscription plans: Lite (HK$117 per month), Plus (HK$195 per month), Premium (HK$390 per month), and Select (HK$780 per month). If you pay annually, you get a better price. A 30-day free trial allows you to test out any plan type without having to provide any financial information.
4. Sage
Thanks to its award-winning business solutions that provide efficient accounting operations management, Sage has been acknowledged by many entrepreneurs around the globe.
The company has primarily built a platform to improve the growth of small businesses and reduce the accounting workload so that you may focus on enhancing brand development. They are among the finest accounting software solutions in Hong Kong.
Sage Business Cloud Accounting and Sage 50 Accounting Peachtree are two accounting software programs aimed mostly at small and medium businesses in Hong Kong.
What separates it from other similar tools, aside from its extensive feature set, is its connection with Microsoft 365. This powerful and creative connection helps to compensate for the fact that Sage 50cloud Accounting must be installed on a local desktop to fully utilize its features, albeit you can access part of its data remotely.
Best for
Sage 50cloud Accounting is more advanced than even the best of the low-end accounting websites in various areas. However, its strength and subscription fee may make it less appealing to small companies.
It’s perfect for companies that need more extensive capabilities and customizability, aren’t afraid of desktop software, and have their distant employees install the software so they can share company data via Sage’s Remote Data Access.
Pricing
Sage Business Cloud Accounting is available starting from HK$65 to HK 702 on an annual basis.
Sage 50cloud Accounting is much more expensive, ranging from HK$4100 to over HK$10.000.
5. ABSS/ MYOB
ABSS (ex-MYOB) is an Australian multinational corporation that provides business and cloud accounting software to SMEs.
The software was created with less accounting jargon to make it easier to grasp for novice users.
ABSS is one of the few companies that provide accounting software for Mac computers and its ABSS AccountEdge is the most comprehensive and user-friendly accounting system for Mac users.
It is simple to use even for those with no prior accounting experience. The tool has a simple dashboard with a clean and straightforward style, making it a very user-friendly accounting tool for beginners to navigate through the many applications.
Best for
ABSS has two versions. One was designed for single-user access, and the other for multiple users. Both versions support accounting, billing, and stock control.
The more advanced version operates across the network and offers additional features such as multi-currencies, time billing, multi-locations, multi-prices, and quantity.
The tool is suitable for small and medium-sized companies.
Pricing
The standard program under ABSS Accounting costs HKD 4,188 for a single user account, which includes a software CD, user manual, 5 company files, a 4-hour basic course, 8 to 12 hours of advanced courses, remote installation, and multi-user setup.
The Premier software is priced at HKD 4,788 for a single user and HKD 8,688 for up to three users, while the PremierPlus software is priced at HKD 5,888 for a single user and HKD 10,488 for up to three users.
6. SunSystems Financial Management System
SunSystems is a popular accounting software platform for large businesses that is utilized in a range of industries (including financial services, hospitality, and not-for-profit organizations).
It’s a comprehensive accounting software platform for businesses that need to increase their analysis capabilities, have several locations, or are experiencing rapid growth.
The best bit about this platform is that it’s amazing for reporting and data entry. It also offers multiple integrations and allows different currencies. This means that you can consolidate multiple legal entities using SunSystems Financial Management System.
Best for
This software solution is popular among medium-sized and large businesses that have branches overseas.
Pricing
It varies depending on requirements and starts at around HKD 195,000 in the first year, rising to between HKD 8 and HKD 39,000 in subsequent years if you prefer to host it yourself.
7. AutoMi
AutoMi is also great for small and medium-sized companies. It automates your business effortlessly and saves you from the messy books problem when you grow large and fast. It requires no accounting setup or complicated configuration.
Customers can be added, quotes and invoices can be created, payments can be received, banks can be updated, and a cash flow forecast can be shown right away.
AutoMi is extremely adaptable, allowing you to tailor it to your own process and data structure. You can easily obtain a fully customized automation system to speed up your business using the government-subsidized Technology Voucher Program.
The tool can also integrate with your existing accounting software, allowing you to automate your accounting process for greater financial insight and fewer cash flow surprises.
Best for
AutoMi is a great solution for medium and large businesses. It can hold multiple currencies, it has a multilingual interface, and there is no limit on the number of addresses that you can have in your contacts.
Pricing
AutoMi is free for use without accounting functions. However, if you want to use the full version, you will have to pay annually. For pricing and plans, please refer to the AutoMi website.
You can also adjust the features if you need a more custom approach, but this will affect the price.
8. Macola
Macola is an integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system for small and mid-sized businesses.
Its workflow automation, customizable workspaces, and customer support offerings are all excellent. Macola is primarily designed to assist manufacturers and distributors with material management, labor management, compliance, and resource management.
Its main features include cash management and payroll management, general ledger accounts payables and accounts receivables, document management, as well as personalized workspaces.
Best for
Macola is a great solution for larger companies since it really enhances order entry, inventory, and supply chain management aside from other accounting features.
Pricing
For pricing and plans, please refer to the Macola website.
9. Express Accounts Accounting Software
Express Accounts is a low-cost accounting software for small businesses that focuses on the basics.
Small firms with less than five employees can use a free version of this bookkeeping software. The free version doesn’t expire, but it doesn’t have some features that are only available to larger businesses.
Best for
Express Accounts is designed for small businesses since it has a rather simple dashboard with only the essential functionalities available. If your business has simple accounting needs, this might be a good option for you.
Pricing
Express Accounts is free for small enterprises with fewer than five employees. Its standard edition is HK$770.
10. Sleek
Sleek is among the top accounting options both for businesses in Hong Kong and other international companies. It provides simplified accounting and bookkeeping to entrepreneurs that want to focus as much of their time as possible on growth.
With Sleek, you get to focus on your business operations while the platform and experts behind it focus on running your books.
Sleek will keep your finances, tax, and payroll in order. The company is also a premium Xero Platinum partner.
Best for
Regardless of whether your business is big or small, Sleek will handle your accounting needs with ease. Sleek’s accounting and bookkeeping services are suited both for small and larger businesses.
Pricing
Sleek has a unique pricing model where you get a quote based on expenses.
- For up to HK$15,000 expenses per month, the price is HK$400.
- Up to HK$50,000, you need to pay HK$700.
- Up to HK$100,000 per month, you pay HK$1,000.
- Up to HK$200,000 expenses per month, you need to pay HK$1,800.
Basically, the bigger the expense, the more you pay. However, in more expensive plans you get to enjoy more features and advanced add-ons.
Choosing the right accounting software for you
The most important step in selecting accounting software for your company is to do a thorough needs analysis that addresses both managerial and financial requirements. It should be comprehensive in scope, so take your time with this crucial stage.
If unanticipated growth means that you need an upgrade, that’s great. However, careful preparation might help you avoid having to change software too soon.
Keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but the best option for most businesses is Sleek. Most software tools either fit small or large businesses while Sleek’s accounting platform can handle companies of every size.
Wrap up
Going digital is crucial for any business that wants to be successful, and there are many ways to do so.
These were some of the best accounting and bookkeeping software tools and platforms that you can find today. They have proven records of success and there are many businesses that use them and place trust in them.
However, make sure to consider your own business needs before you make a decision to subscribe or buy. If you need additional help, do not hesitate to contact us.
