Individuals and businesses use accounting software to record their incomes and track their financial progress. This digital bookkeeping method reduces mistakes and eliminates the chances of human error. Modern features such as automation even allow business owners to calculate their profit and loss electronically.
If you own a small company, you can try some of these programs before investing in one for your company. The selection criteria for our article emphasized that each program has unique features and characteristics.
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Benefits of Accounting Software in 2021
The international accounting software market will reach around $12 billion by 2026 since it’s expanding at a growth rate of 8.6% annually. You can try many software versions though finding the most suitable program for your company can be a difficult choice to make.
Every business has different financial demands and software requirements. So, we’ll discuss accounting software programs designed for small businesses after talking about this technology’s benefits.
- It allows simple, quick, and secure data entry.
- It’s a scalable resource for an expanding company.
- It centralizes the data and makes it easily accessible.
- It automates the process of data entry and saves staff costs.
- A computerized invoicing gives you quick reports regarding payments.
- This automation also lessens the chances of manual errors, making data more reliable.
- These programs let you track the inventory and make sure your finances are up-to-date.
5 Best Accounting Software in 2021
Around 38% of business owners disbelieve in the security provided by accounting software. At the same time, 35% of them dislike the expenses of purchasing these tools. On the other hand, less than 20% of business owners admit they’ve found these programs difficult to understand.
Therefore, you must employ people who have a master of accountancy degree and some experience in the field of finance. They can support you with understanding and implementing accounting software such as these five:
QUICKBOOKS ONLINE
With a starting cost of $25/month, QuickBooks gives you an initial 30 days trial period. This software got first introduced in the ’80s, but it released a cloud version just two years ago. It’ll run fine on your computer if you’re using Windows or macOS (in the USA only).
It’s an American product developed by the Mountain View-based company Intuit. You have two versions of this program, one online and the other licensed. It’s cloud-based, mobile-friendly, scalable, easy-to-comprehend, and has extensive tracking capacity. Furthermore, being used by 70% of SMEs, it’s the most popular accounting software in the market. But it has poor customer service and inventory tracking.
FRESHBOOKS
Available in around 12 languages, a Canadian company named 2ndSite built this web-based SaaS model. It was initially released in 2004 and had a starting price of $15/month. Learn that QuickBooks has the highest starting price of all these programs. It’s an affordable cloud-based invoicing solution with a user-friendly interface.
These reasons make it popular among more than 11% of small business owners. This program is an optimal financial friend for those who don’t come from a financial background. However, it doesn’t come without a few disadvantages. Its mobile app is meager, and it offers no payroll service or inventory management. You can bill only five monthly clients.
SAGE ONE
It’s popular among 9.6% of small-to-medium business owners. But Sage One is no longer known by that name. Released by a British company in 2011, it’s 2019 stable release goes as Sage Business Cloud Accounting. It has provided the best customer experience of all accounting software programs.
It allows invoice creation, billing tracking, and even syncs with your bank account. Its low starting price ($10/month) also makes this tool user-friendly and scalable. The inventory management here is of supreme quality, and this program provides you an excellent dashboard view. But customers have found its journal entry difficult, and the homepage can be cluttered.
XERO
Founded in 2006 by a New Zealand-based company, Xero made this product for micro-business owners with little/no accounting experience. This cloud-based program has mobile applications too, and provides an easy-to-manage dashboard. After a 30 days free trial, you can purchase this tool for a starting cost of $11/month.
You can also enjoy payroll integration with Gusto and excellent inventory tracking. This program also gives you more than 500 tools to customize it as per your company’s specifications. That’s why it’s popular among 8.7% of small business owners. But its customer service is limited and provides multi-currency support with an expensive plan.
WAVE ACCOUNTING
Are you a spendthrift? Well, here’s one Canadian cost-free accounting software for you. It’ll let you create an account for exactly $0 with no hidden charges. However, not all features are accessible in this free version. It further allows multiple users, double-entry, and limitless income tracking.
You also get a clutter-free dashboard without any billing limit. Like other in-demand products we’ve mentioned, you can also download an app to use this program’s features. Its multi-business quality makes it superior to others and popular among 6.7% of SMEs.
Conclusion
Accounting software helps small business owners get a clear understanding of their finances and profitability. No wonder more than 64% of them make use of this remarkable technology.
Most people who don’t use accounting software believe it’s insecure, expensive, and complicated to learn. But the demands of this century have outgrown the human fear of modernity. Your business can’t survive without technology. That’s why you need to switch from manual bookkeeping to digital accounting.
Danis Woods in Businessman, investment banker and stock exchange traders. On the same time he loves writing financial blogs to shed lights on different aspects that new and existing businessman are not aware of.
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