Is There a Cheap Accounting Software That’s Also Good?

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Cheap accounting software can provide indispensable accounting assistance while helping businesses cut long-term costs. This is important, especially for small businesses, which often face tight budgets and limited resources.

Accounting solutions can be pricey, though they come with many benefits. A good accounting program can help you streamline accounting processes, highlight unnecessary expenses, reduce the risk of human error, and free up more time for other business processes.

Luckily, quality products don’t always come with a hefty price tag. This article covers the best accounting software that is also cheap and suitable for various business needs. Keep reading to discover the best option for you!

Best Cheap Accounting Software for 2024

Whether you want a barebones, easy-to-use app or prefer a more comprehensive solution with multiple integrations, we researched various options for any business need. Here are our top cheap accounting software choices for small businesses:

1. FreshBooks – Best Cheap Accounting Software for Ease of Use
2. Oracle NetSuite – Best All-in-one Cloud-based Accounting Software
3. Zoho Books – Best Free Accounting Software for Small e-commerce Businesses
4. Xero – Best Cheap Online Accounting Software With Extensive Customization
5. Tide – Best Cheap And Scalable Accounting Software For UK Businesses
6. Bonsai – Best Cheap Accounting Software For Freelancers And Remote Teams
7. Sage Accounting – Best Cheap Accounting Software With Advanced Reporting
8. QuickBooks – Best Cheap Accounting Software for Tax Preparation

Do I Need Accounting Software?

Nowadays, businesses of all sizes rely on accounting programs or apps to automate administrative tasks, make data-driven decisions, and improve productivity.

According to SCORE, 82% of small businesses fail due to cash flow problems, which are often a symptom of budgeting errors, inventory mismanagement, and poor accounting practices.

Switching from manual accounting to a software solution helps you work efficiently and avoid common risks:

Good accounting software is quick, efficient, and easy to use. It helps you streamline bookkeeping and accounting processes. Unlike manual methods, accounting software automatically records, organizes, and analyzes all your transactions accurately.

Accounting solutions make it easier to prove legal compliance during audits as they keep a detailed history of all your business’s transactions. Accounting software also generates automatically filled invoices and tax forms, sometimes with accompanying reporting and analytics.

Reporting and analytics, in particular, are crucial for growing your business. They give you a deeper insight into your business’s financial health, helping you make effective and informed decisions.

The only major drawback is the price tag, which can be expensive. Luckily, you don’t have to miss out on these benefits to stay within your budget. You can still find good yet inexpensive accounting software to support your business.

Best Accounting Software For Small Businesses

We researched and tested the best accounting software to help you make the perfect choice for your business. Below are our top picks, including their pros, cons, best applications, and pricing.

1. FreshBooks – Best Cheap Accounting Software for Ease of Use

FreshBooks made it to the top of our list thanks to its wide accessibility (both in terms of price and ease of use). We found FreshBooks is the perfect fit if you need no-nonsense, cheap online accounting software to meet all your small business’s needs.

This cloud-based solution has a browser version and a mobile app, allowing you to monitor projects and send invoices on the go. Its lightweight user interface is responsive and easy to navigate across all devices.

Moreover, the tidy and minimalist report graphics give you a clear view of expenses and cash flow health, helping you make quick and accurate decisions.

FreshBooks includes easy-to-use core features like customizable invoicing, expense and payment tracking, and reports. However, unlike other accounting apps, FreshBooks also has features for employee management.

For a small extra fee, FreshBooks lets you invite team members, manage projects, and enable in-app file sharing. These handy features allow you to collaborate with your team and monitor business expenses on a single platform.

You can also track billable time and set up employee payrolls with automated tax calculations, which is especially convenient when working with remote teams and contractors.
Pricing
FreshBooks has four subscription plans, including a customizable one. The cheapest plan is $19/month, but a limited four-month offer gives 70% off all plans and 10% off the yearly subscription.

The Lite plan covers basic accounting features, like unlimited invoicing, expense tracking, and simple tax reports. For an extra $11/month/user, you can invite your accountant, employees, and contractors.

Advanced payment options like recurring billing profiles and scheduled subscription payments cost an extra $20/month.

The Plus plan is the most popular and costs roughly $33/month without the initial four-month offer. This plan best suits small businesses, as it provides the best value for your money.

The Premium and Select plans are the most costly and have only a few additional accounting features. However, they provide more customization to help your business branding, which could be worth the extra money in the long term.

2. Oracle NetSuite – Best All-in-one Cloud-based Accounting Software

Oracle NetSuite is a professional cloud-based accounting software with excellent reporting, management, and compliance features suitable for businesses that operate both locally and internationally.

However, unlike other advanced accounting solutions, Oracle NetSuite offers great value while remaining user-friendly and affordable, thanks to its modular pricing plan.

With automatic invoicing, detailed audit trails, and comprehensive reports, NetSuite’s accounting software helps you streamline major aspects of accounting and bookkeeping.

The software’s reporting function is particularly impressive. It gives you real-time access to crucial financial metrics like profitability, liabilities, and inventory margins, providing the insights necessary to make the best business decisions.

The platform also helps you automate bank reconciliations and file domestic and global taxes in compliance with the latest regulations. This will help you better manage your business finances while saving time and avoiding compliance issues.

Moreover, as a part of a comprehensive suite of business solutions, the app integrates seamlessly with other NetSuite services to provide thorough inventory, HR, and marketing automations.

Pricing

NetSuite’s user license starts at $100/month, but the plans are customizable. You’ll only pay for the features you need, which helps you get the best value for your money.

However, you’ll have to contact NetSuite’s team for a personalized quote based on your business size and needs. When setting up your account, you should expect a one-time implementation fee plus a monthly licensing fee.

The monthly licensing fee covers core software features. You’ll have to pay extra to add more users and optional modules like e-commerce and CRM.

3. Zoho Books – Best Free Accounting Software for Small E-commerce Businesses

Zoho Books made it high on our list due to its affordability and versatility. Its extensive feature package includes sales and purchase orders and bill generation to track your payables – features that make the app suitable for small e-commerce businesses.

Beyond its commerce-geared functionalities, Zoho Books provides regular accounting features like most other apps, but for free!

Zoho’s free plan includes automatic invoicing, payment reminders, expense tracking, and bank reconciliation. With this plan, you can document and keep tabs on your business’s finances without spending a dime.

Zoho Books can also generate professional quotes to streamline deal negotiations with clients. Other niche e-commerce features include dedicated customer portals and Shopify store integration.

Considering its many functionalities, Zoho Books is more like a two-in-one accounting software and e-commerce management platform.

However, one major drawback is that none of the Zoho Books plans handles income tax preparation. Zoho only provides sales tax support. Some of the more specialized e-commerce features are only available with the higher-tier plans.

Pricing

The free plan includes a variety of accounting features, such as payment reminders, expense tracking, reports, online payments, sales tax management, and a dedicated user account for your accountant.

This plan is great for general-purpose accounting, and its free availability makes it one of the best bookkeeping software for small businesses.

The paid plans offer additional features best suited for larger e-commerce businesses, such as inventory tracking and cash flow forecasting.

The cheapest paid plan costs $15/month and includes VAT reports, and supports multiple payment getaways, including 2Checkout.

The higher-tier plans include advanced features like Shopify integrations, sales orders, and workflow automation.

The most expensive plan costs $240/month and provides advanced analytics for a more in-depth insight into your business’s financial health.

4. Xero – Best Cheap Online Accounting Software With Extensive Customization

Xero provides excellent value for a budget-friendly price. This cloud-based solution includes all the bookkeeping automation and accounting features you need to manage a small business.

Furthermore, the Xero App Store offers over 1,000 add-ons that allow you to tailor your user experience. These integrations allow you to pay only for the advanced features you need, like forecasting, charge automation, or employee payroll.

With Xero, you can automatically import and reconcile bank transactions to cut down hours of bookkeeping work every week.

The app also lets you set up automatic payment reminders and online payment options for your clients. This can speed up the invoice-to-cash process and keep your business running smoothly.

To make the receivable collection process even simpler, you can let your clients pay straight from the invoice by adding a ‘Pay Now’ button to the invoice file. The app automatically calculates sales tax to generate detailed, jurisdiction-based sales tax reports.

You can customize data reports, filter invoices by amount and due date, and personalize your dashboard display with the business metrics you’re most interested in.

This in-depth level of personalization helps you stay informed about payables, receivables, and short-term cash flow at all times. You’ll catch all the important trends and deadlines, speeding up your business operations and avoiding penalties.

Pricing

Xero offers three subscription plans tailored to specific business needs. The cheapest plan is $15/month and is better suited for startups and small businesses. With the Early plan, you can send just 20 invoices a month.

The Growing plan costs $42/month and offers the best feature package for small and growing businesses. With it, you can create unlimited bills and invoices, monitor cash flow, bulk-reconcile transactions, and ensure 1099 and sales tax compliance.

If you’re looking for more in-depth features, the $78/month plan has multi-currency payments, project tracking, and advanced analytics. This feature-rich plan is excellent for established businesses or those looking to expand their remote teams.

5. Tide – Best Cheap And Scalable Accounting Software For UK Businesses

Tide provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-use solution for growing businesses. Both the desktop and app versions pack all the accounting and bookkeeping features you need within a neat and intuitive user interface.

We found Tide Accounting particularly useful for those operating in the UK, as the software is HMRC-recognised and suitable for sole traders and limited company directors who need accurate Self Assessment and VAT calculations.

The software’s core billing and invoicing features help you boost your business’s cash flow and stay on top of your spending at all times, as you can schedule future payments and send an unlimited number of personalized invoices with embedded payment links.

Additionally, you can track your business performance with advanced reporting features such as balance sheet reports, automated profit and loss reports, and real-time VAT estimates.

Tide also makes bookkeeping easier than ever, thanks to its receipt scanning and automatic transaction matching features. You can also categorize your transactions on the fly by placing your new expenses under customizable expense categories.

If these features aren’t enough, Tide also integrates with multiple other accounting platforms, including Xero and Sage.

Pricing

Tide’s accounting solution has just one plan, with a fixed monthly fee of £9.99 + VAT. For this price, you get a comprehensive suite of bookkeeping and accounting features suited for all your business needs.

However, Tide customers can also sign up for various Tide business accounts, all of which include accounting integrations like Quickbooks, Xero, and Sage.

The Free account plan provides accounting features, up to 5 dedicated business accounts, and access to a 24/7 fraud helpline. With this plan, you get the accounting platform for free.

The higher-tier plans provide additional legal and financial perks – most notably, from the Plus plan and up, you’ll get support with trademark filing and disputes. The Cashback plan gives you 0.5% cashback when using your dedicated Tide business card.

6. Bonsai – Best Cheap Accounting Software For Freelancers And Remote Teams

Bonsai is one of the most popular accounting solutions for freelancers and small businesses with remote workers.

The app doesn’t provide just core financial features like invoicing, bookkeeping, and expense tracking. With Bonsai, you also benefit from contract templates, live estimates for quarterly taxes, and automatic tax write-off identification.

Created with self-employed workers’ needs in mind, Bonsai automatically categorizes 1099 expenses and sends reminders about upcoming tax deadlines. Thus, you save time and energy and can focus more on your work.

Another feature you don’t typically see in accounting solutions is the app’s dedicated CRM software. This feature allows freelancers to manage their business finances and keep well-organized databases about clients and projects in one place.

Through its project management features, Bonsai also lets freelancers collaborate with other users straight on the platform. Within projects, users can share files, assign and monitor tasks, leave comments, and track billable time for accurate invoices.

Bonsai is unlike most other accounting solutions. It doesn’t have advanced reporting and analytics, inventory tracking, or e-commerce integrations, but it provides everything you need to make your life as a freelancer easier.

Pricing

Bonsai offers three subscription plans for various business needs. The Starter plan costs $21/month and is suitable for freelancers.

If you’re after workflow-optimizing features and more professional branding options, the Professional plan offers the best value for your money. This subscription costs $32/month and gives you extra features thanks to its QuickBooks and Zapier integrations.

For $66/month, the Business plan provides useful features for small businesses working with remote teams and contractors.

7. Sage Accounting – Best Cheap Accounting Software With Advanced Reporting

Sage provides multiple accounting apps for various business needs. Their Sage 50 solution is a cheap accounting software for small businesses and comes with core accounting features like expense tracking and financial reporting.

With Sage, you can automate most bookkeeping and accounting processes, saving hours worth of work and ensuring accurate financial statements.

The app lets you set up recurring invoices and invoice multiple customers simultaneously. To save even more time, you can also automate purchase orders, payments, and account reconciliation.

Sage also provides advanced reports for specific tasks and departments. You can generate over 150 types of reports and group them under custom filters for easier viewing. This way, you’ll get the most accurate and granular overview of business spending.

However, Sage 50’s most unique feature is the Sage Security Shield, a fully integrated security suite meant to protect business data. For no additional cost, you get credit monitoring and internal fraud detection.

Such protection features help you stay compliant with employee data protection laws and avoid financially taxing data breaches, an ongoing concern in this internet age.

Pricing

This cheapest Sage 50 plan is versatile enough to cover most small and medium-sized business needs for roughly $50/month. It provides core accounting features and includes inventory management, job costing, and data security features.

The more expensive subscriptions have advanced features that are better suited for companies with large teams. These include audit trails, department-level reporting, workflow management, and role-based user permissions.

Buying a one-year subscription upfront can seem expensive, but you can save roughly 19% compared to the monthly plan.

8. QuickBooks – Best Cheap Accounting Software for Tax Preparation

QuickBooks strikes the perfect balance between ease of use and practicality, all for a very affordable price! The app provides extensive bookkeeping and accounting features and ensures compliance with all laws and regulations, including 1099s.

Thanks to the neat user interface, customizable dashboard, and free, expert-guided setup, you’ll start managing your business finances in record time.

QuickBooks lives up to its name; the app simplifies bookkeeping, accounting, and compliance to free up time and streamline finance management.

For example, you can import and automatically sort all your transactions into tax categories. The app also lets you organize your expenses under customizable tags for a more granular view of your business finances.

Business mileage tracking is another unique feature you don’t typically see in other accounting apps. With it, you can import GPS data from your phone to keep track of your business trips and associated costs.

However, QuickBooks’ most impressive feature is its extensive tax preparation assistance, which most other accounting software in this price range don’t have.

The Live Tax feature lets you request assistance from expert tax preparers to file punctual, fully compliant returns or extensions, saving you potential losses or penalties. This allows you to maximize tax deductions and save more money for your business.

Pricing

You can choose between four affordably-priced plans depending on your business needs.

The cheapest plan starts at just $15/month. It includes all the basic features you need to manage a small business, including unlimited invoicing, automated bookkeeping, income and expense tracking, general reports, 1099 compliance, and tax preparation assistance.

For more advanced features like profitability and cash flow reports, batch invoicing, and inventory tracking, you’ll need to choose a higher-priced plan.

But if you’re only looking to manage small-scale business finances, the Simple Start plan offers the best value for your money.

The Best Inexpensive Accounting Software Compared

A reliable accounting solution can save you time and energy during tax season, but not all apps are created equal. Some might not include the core features you need, so it’s important to find the option best suited for your business.

We’ve compiled key information about the cheapest and most functional accounting software for various business needs to facilitate comparison and assessment.

How To Choose The Best Cheap Accounting Software

Any basic accounting software should handle tasks like invoicing, transaction recording, payment tracking, and generating financial reports. These core features help you track cash flow and monitor your business's financial health.

A good accounting solution should also have multiple automation features, helping you reduce the time you spend on administrative tasks.

Automatic bank transaction imports and reconciliation are great for businesses with growing bookkeeping needs. Automatic tax calculation, compliance, and reporting are similarly useful for ensuring speed, accuracy, and maximal deductions on tax returns.

Most accounting solutions have a mix of such core accounting and bookkeeping automation features. To make your choice easier, it’s best to narrow down your options. Here are a few key factors to help you identify the most suitable app for your business:

How We Ranked & Tested the Top Accounting Software For Small Businesses

We’ve tested and compared accounting software on various metrics and chosen the best solutions for the best price. Here’s a rundown of our main considerations:

Besides our hands-on experience with these accounting solutions, we checked G2 and other trusted platforms for other user reviews. We noted some of the most frequent concerns and ran additional tests to ensure the most thorough and objective assessment.

Verdict – Is There Good Cheap Accounting Software?

Good accounting software streamlines accounting and bookkeeping tasks, helping you ensure efficiency, accuracy, and tax compliance. A better accounting solution does all of this without costing a fortune.

The accounting solutions covered in this article meet these criteria and more. Whether you’re after a simple, user-friendly app for solopreneurs or want a more comprehensive solution for upscaling your business, one of these options could prove suitable.

If you’re interested in affordable and functional accounting software that’s also easy to use, FreshBooks provides all that, plus additional employee management features like billable time tracking and employee payrolls.

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