In this guide, we’ll go over the best accounting software in 2024, including benefits, prices, applications, and more. We prioritized software that was either low-cost or had an affordable plan in a series of pricing plans. We also gave credit to those apps that either provided users with a free version of the software or at least a free trial period. When considering the affordability of cloud accounting software, many providers have promotions going where the software is greatly reduced for a brief period, then goes up in price. Those that had price increases that were reasonable fared better in our ratings.

After a 30-day trial period, Xero will bill a monthly charge of $13 per month for the Early plan, $37 per month for the Growing plan and $70 per month for the Established plan. For free invoicing platforms, consider Zoho Invoice, Square Invoices or PayPal Invoicing, although these platforms provide fewer capabilities. In addition to the pre-built templates, the financial reporting software should also let you create and save your own reporting templates. You should be able to build your own from scratch as well as edit and save existing templates.

Universal Tax Engine

The simple, straightforward platform allows users to easily create invoices, manage expenses, generate reports, accept credit card payments through Square and more. Sage is a cloud accounting software that allows small business owners to track their income and expenses in multiple currencies, keep track of inventory and create and manage invoices. This accounting software is suited for solopreneurs, freelancers and micro businesses seeking a platform to track all incoming and outgoing funds.

For example, midsize and larger companies often need to track purchase requisitions. The accounting software allows employees to request purchase orders for business supplies, materials, or equipment. The purchasing department can approve or deny the requests and begin the purchasing process if needed.

Best for Advanced Features

When we tested QuickBooks simultaneously for several small businesses, growing companies, new organizations and some of each, we were impressed each time. Zoho Books allows users to create different organizations within the platform, one for each business entity they manage. That’s because Zoho Books offers a custom plan that can include best multi company accounting software up to five organizations, making it easier to handle accounting for multiple entities​. Another advantage of cloud-based accounting software is the ability to browse financial information from any device with an Internet connection. For example, employees who work in the field can bill clients and accept payment from a mobile device.

However, accounting software add-ons that cost extra may be helpful or, less commonly, fully necessary. For example, QuickBooks offers a helpful live-assisted bookkeeping add-on for $50 per month. Additionally, FreshBooks requires an additional per-user payment of $11 per month after your first user.