9 Best Bookkeeping Software of 2023

Bookkeeping is critical for every business, allowing you to track, analyze, and report your business income. But managing finances can be daunting, especially if you're just starting or growing your business. Thankfully, there are various tools and software available to help ease the burden of bookkeeping. However, choosing the right software can be a challenging task, and it's natural to feel overwhelmed.

Looking for the best bookkeeping software for small businesses? In this article, we'll guide you through the basic questions and help you find the best bookkeeping software for your business. Whether you're a C-suite executive, senior manager, or small business founder, you'll learn everything you need to know to make informed decisions about managing your business's finances.

What Is Bookkeeping Software?

An ideal bookkeeping software primarily enables businesses to automate financial data collection. In addition, it helps to track trends that directly influence business goals more accurately. As a result, financial reports provide business owners greater insight and visibility into their business workings.

How to Choose a Bookkeeping Software?

The next step is to know what business owners should look for in bookkeeping software. Features may differ for different people. However, some common points can help you select the right financial reporting software.

Dashboards

You must pick software that captures your company's financial health data and display it in an easy-to-read style. You must also be able to create dashboards to summarize data for a particular audience, such as a business owner or accountant.

Software That Makes Exporting Data Easy

Financial reports assist decision-makers, investors, and regulatory authorities in tracking corporate performance and increasing transparency. As a result, it is critical to converting data from dashboards and reports to CSV or PDF files to share it.

In addition, exportable data is beneficial for business owners, as they can convert it into a preferred, easy-to-view form.

Customization

An excellent bookkeeping software allows users to create custom fields, views, and formatting to keep track of the data that matters most to their company. You can also look for drag-and-drop functionality to adjust formatting and layout options, arrange data in various ways, and drill down into data for a complete analysis.

Other software Integration

Ensure that you can seamlessly transfer data between applications. For example, if your company outsources payroll or has industry-specific needs like inventory tracking or fixed asset depreciation, this is essential for you to expect from financial software.

Multi-User Capability

You can simplify tax preparation and filing by sharing reports with accountants and bookkeepers. However, for accountability and accuracy, be sure systems have tracked changes.

These are must-have features for the best bookkeeping software. But, of course, businesses need to make an informed decision - selecting software based on the features required.

However, small companies and startups often run on bootstrapped budgets, meaning that they also have to look for the best value for money options. Hence, here are some valuable opportunities for businesses that have just started and need to save costs.

The Best Bookkeeping Software in 2023: a Quick Overview

• QuickBooks Online: overall best small business accounting software with user-friendly features.
• Xero: affordable option for micro-business owners with straightforward accounting needs.
• FreshBooks: great for service-based businesses needing time-tracking features and excellent invoicing and billing capabilities.
• QuickBooks Enterprise: streamlined version for part-time freelancers with automatic mileage tracking and invoicing capabilities.
• Wave: free small business software with accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning features, ideal for small businesses on a tight budget.
• Divvy: offers expense management and budget tracking features, with real-time visibility and control over company spending.
• NetSuite: cloud-based software that integrates accounting, ERP, and CRM functions, ideal for growing businesses.
• Sage Intacct: offers advanced financial management features, including multi-dimensional data analysis and automated workflows.
• Zoho Books: cloud-based software with invoicing, expense tracking, and inventory management capabilities, designed for small businesses.

Highly- Affordable Bookkeeping Software

Let's take a look at some of the best-performing yet affordable options for bookkeeping softwares in 2023 -

1.QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

At a Glance Features:

• Ideal for Accounting
• Suitable For All Business Sizes
• Supports Various Platforms

Reviews:

• Value for money
• Good functionality
• Easy to use

QuickBooks Enterprise is small business accounting software for small businesses suitable for various industries, including construction, non-profit distribution, manufacturing, and retail. Any business owner may grow operations with QB Enterprise's sophisticated inventory, reporting, invoice tools, and premium assistance from Enterprise's CS and Payroll teams.

QuickBooks Enterprise has configurable reporting capabilities to assist customers in analyzing data and making sound business decisions. This small business accounting software by Quickbooks lets organizations access QuickBooks data to answer any company problem with over 200 auto-filled templates and 70 industry-specific reports.

Pricing: QB enterprise offers three yearly plans - Gold ($1044), Platinum($1070), and Diamond($2100).

2. FreshBooks

Quick Glance Accounting Features:

• Easy integration options
• Helps to enhance productivity
• Suitable for various industries

Reviews:

• An affordable option for small businesses
• Good functionality
• Easy to use

FreshBooks automates billing and takes it out of your hands. You can set up automated invoicing, online payment alternatives (ACH and Credit Card), and late payment reminders to get paid 2x faster. Next, increase team productivity by using accurate time tracking and collaborative project tools to track and log every minute, file, and chat.

FreshBooks offers the best accounting for small business that runs on the web. It caters to many businesses, including marketing, legal firms, consulting firms, traders, home service providers, and information technology (IT) companies.

Invoicing, expenditure tracking, time tracking, reporting, and payments administration are all key elements of FreshBooks. It offers invoice customization, takes online payments, and sets payment reminders. In addition, you can successfully integrate FreshBooks with Paypal, MailChimp, Zenpayroll, and Basecamp.

Pricing: Lite: $6.80/month - 5 clients Plus: $12/month - 50 clients Premium: $22.00/month - unlimited clients. Custom pricing is available for specialized accounting features and unlimited clients.

3. Divvy

At a glance:

• Great customizations
• real-time visibility into spending

Reviews:

• Recommended for new businesses
• Customize according to needs

For organizations, Divvy is a free cloud-based accounting and expenditure management tool. You can efficiently execute all-important business aspects with Divvy, such as managing payments and subscriptions, creating strategic budgets, automated expense reports, and virtual cards.

Divvy keeps track of and categorizes every business spend as it occurs. Employees can seek monies, and budget owners can grant those requests. In addition, users can make their budgets and track their spending.

On a quarterly, yearly, monthly, or daily basis, users can manage budgets for particular events, departments, or entire corporations. You can make one-time budgets as needed and automatically set up recurring budgets to renew.

Divvy provides enterprises with real-time visibility into their spending and the tools to prevent losses.

Pricing: The Divvy platform is free to use.

4. NetSuite

At a glance:

• Automate core processes
• suitable for all businesses

Reviews:

• Pricing not available
• Makes working easy
• It comes with most business processes inbuilt

NetSuite enables fast-growing businesses to work more effectively by automating core processes and providing real-time insights into operational and financial performance through an integrated system including ERP, financials, commerce, inventory management, HR, PSA, and supply chain management, CRM, and more.

NetSuite is a cloud accounting software that gives you a complete picture of your financial performance and cash flow. General ledgers, cash management, tax management, accounts receivable and payable, fixed asset management, and payment management are all included in the system. As a result, this bookkeeping software offers the best accounting for small businesses.

Pricing: The starting monthly fee is $99, but the overall cost will vary based on the particular solution you require.

5. Sage Intacct

At a glance:

• Ideal for small to medium accounting organizations
• Provides a comprehensive set of tools

Reviews:

• Built to support consolidated processes
• Easy to use

Sage Intacct is a cloud-based accounting and financial management software. Sage Intacct's software is designed for small to medium accounting organizations, and it may give financial reporting, operational insights, and the capacity to automate essential financial procedures.

In addition, Sage Intacct is a cloud financial management solution that manages the core financials and offers expert services to assist with Sage Intacct software implementation.

Sage Intacct provides any accounting department or finance team with a comprehensive set of essential accounting tools, including a general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, and order management.

Built-in dashboards, real-time reporting, time and expense management, project accounting, revenue management, and worldwide consolidations for numerous organizations are all supported. Non-profit, Software and SaaS, Professional Services, Financial Services, Healthcare, Hospitality, Wholesale Distribution, Construction, and Real Estate are among the industries we offer specific solutions to.

Sage Intacct's accounting solution integrates with any CRM, payroll, POS, or ERP system such as Salesforce, ADP, and more with an open API structure.

Pricing:

1. Financial Management: The starting price for this plan is $400 per month.
2. Advanced Financial Management: The starting price for this plan is $1,250 per month.
3. Contract and Subscription Billing: The starting price for this plan is $1,250 per month.

Please note that these prices are for a single user and may vary based on the number of users and any additional services required.

6. Quickbooks Online

At a glance:

• offers free intuit mobile apps
• fits all sizes of business

Reviews:

• Pricing makes it fit for small businesses
• Focuses on ease of users

Quickbooks Online is web-based accounting software that you can use to manage all aspects of the financial side of the business. For example, business owners can use the software in bookkeeping, payroll, invoice management, bank reconciliation, expense tracking, financial reporting, tax management, and other accounting tasks.

Users can photograph bills and submit them as expenditure proofs or share them with the appropriate stakeholders and download and reconcile credit card transactions. The accounting tool fits all sizes of business.

Quickbooks Online accounting software offers free intuit mobile apps for Android and IOS devices.

Pricing: Quickbooks Online has five pricing levels to meet the demands of businesses. The plans are subscription-based and billed monthly, with the option to cancel. Additionally, each plan includes a free expert setup. Freelancers or self-employed professionals can use the most basic plan, which starts at $7.50 a month.

The simple start plan is $15 per month for small enterprises and includes invoice management and auto-generated tax reports, while the essentials plan is $27.50 per month and includes more users, time tracking, and bill payments. Finally, the plus plan costs $42.50 per month and includes additional user seats, inventory tracking, and project profitability tracking.

The Advanced plan for mid-sized businesses is $100 a month for 25 employees, including on-demand training, batch invoices, premium apps, and other features.

7. Xero

At a glance:

• Best-suited for accountants & bookkeepers
• It has an app for Android & IOS

Reviews:

• Easy to use
• Highly-affordable

Xero is a cloud-based accounting system for small and developing enterprises. Xero connects small businesses with trusted consultants and gives owners rapid access to their financial status. Xero may be accessible from any device with an active internet connection because it is a web-based solution.

Small businesses can examine their cash flows, transactions, and account details from any place, thanks to Xero's sophisticated accounting capabilities. All bank transactions are imported and coded automatically. Online bill pay assists in keeping track of expenditures and staying on top of bills due while also boosting connections with vendors who supply vital business products.

Pricing:

Early plan - $3.25 a month.

Growing plan - $9.25 a month.

Established - $17.50 a month.

8. Zoho Books

At a glance:

• Ideal for Accounting
• Best For All Business Sizes
• Supports Multiple Platforms

Reviews:

• Great value for money
• Great ease of use
• Great functionality

Zoho Books is a complete accounting solution for organizations of all sizes that manage finances throughout the firm. Accounts payable and receivable, time tracking, payroll, transaction management, inventory control, and banking are all automated.

Furthermore, Zoho Books facilitates customer and supplier interactions via the client portal, where customers can securely maintain payment information for recurring transactions.

Zoho Books includes automatic bank feeds, a collaborative client portal, accounting and taxes, online payments, invoice templates, and analytical reports. In addition, users can utilize the system to manage various timesheets for different projects and track reimbursable expenses.

By automating periodic invoices, setting up payment reminders, and receiving payments using online payment gateways, users may manage customers and handle client invoices online or by mail.

Pricing: Zoho Books has three pricing levels and a free accounting software version for organizations earning less than $50,000 per year.

The standard package is $15 per organization each month for three users.

The professional package costs $40 per organization per month for five users and includes voice and chat customer support.

The premium plan is $60 per organization/month for ten users and includes Twilio and Zoho Sign connectors, vendor portals, validation lists, webhooks, and workflow rules.

9. Wave Accounting Software

At a glance:

• One-stop for all accounting functions
• Allows data import from other apps
• Free trial available

Reviews:

• Suitable for businesses of all sizes
• Accurate accounting tool

Wave is one of the best accounting software available online and includes invoicing, billing, payment tracking, payroll administration, finance management, credit card processing, and receipt scanning. Wave Accounting is intended to assist organizations in streamlining their bookkeeping operations.

Businesses can handle all bank account and credit card information in real-time using Wave's bank reconciliation capabilities, improving bookkeeping efficiency and accuracy.

Companies can also generate reports that include sales tax, balance sheet, cash flow, profit/loss, and more. In addition, the Wave dashboard features an invoicing function for collecting invoice payments. As a result, small business owners, freelancers, accountants, bookkeepers, and tax preparers can easily use Wave.

Wave Accounting does not require downloads and is accessible from any web-enabled device. You can import data from other apps, such as Quickbooks. In addition, users can access visual dashboards, reporting, invoicing tools, and other accounting features via an internet interface.

Pricing: The invoicing, accounting and banking features are free. The other features are priced as follows -

1. Payments: This plan allows businesses to accept credit card payments directly through Wave. The cost for this service is a flat 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, and 3.4% + $0.60 per transaction for American Express.
2. Payroll: This plan includes payroll services such as direct deposit and tax filing. The cost for this self service starts at $20 per month and tax service is at $40 a month, plus $6 per employee per month.
3. Bookkeeping: This plan provides bookkeeping services such as monthly financial statements and reconciliations. The cost for this service starts at $149 per month.

These nine bookkeeping software can make accounting and report-making easy for you. You can choose several options if looking for a free trial.

A bonus point with some of these tools is that they offer integrations with other apps, making life easier for business owners. However, one may ask - even with the ease of use and so many features, can business owners make time to go through every feature of every tool, try out its free version and finally decide which of these best accounting software providers is right for them?

Our Verdict

When it comes to online small business accounting and choosing the best bookkeeping software, it really depends on your specific needs. QuickBooks Online accounting software is a great all-around choice for its user-friendliness and comprehensive features, while Xero is ideal for micro-business owners on a budget. FreshBooks is perfect for service-based businesses that require time-tracking capabilities, while QuickBooks Self-Employed is designed for part-time freelancers. Wave is an excellent free accounting software option for those on a tight budget.

No matter which bookkeeping software you choose, keeping your books in order can be time-consuming and challenging. That's why outsourcing bookkeeping and financial reporting tasks to a virtual assistant can be a game-changer. With a virtual assistant, you can delegate tasks like reconciling accounts, managing invoices, and preparing financial statements, freeing up your time to focus on running and growing your business.

One of the most crucial things for a business to run successfully is prioritizing and focusing on the core areas. For example, if a startup founder turns away from their specialization and focuses on choosing the right bookkeeping software, it may take him enormous time. Simply because they are not a specialist in the field.

According to research, poor time management is one of the key reasons businesses fail. Moreover, a company will incur losses when a person is not sufficiently qualified or experienced to handle a department.

When business owners manage company accounts with an amateurish approach, they put their business at high risk. According to Forbes, bad accounting is one of the five reasons small businesses lose money!

Why Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant?

Firstly, every business owner is decked with responsibilities. Sorting out financial documents seems like an added responsibility when you can delegate it to a well-qualified and skilled professional who can be your financial advisor assistant. But, what are some other reasons to get a virtual assistant?

Get a financial coach: A bookkeeping virtual assistant can be your virtual financial coach, going beyond helping you prepare your reports on time. Finance is not a small business game. It is an entire department that requires your attention full-time. At times, you need informed advice from an experienced professional to save costs or get more things done without spending more. A financial reporting or bookkeeping assistant can help you with that.

360-degree support: Some business owners think having a bookkeeper virtual assistant is not essential because finance-related tasks are for year-end. That's a bubble that you can come out of by reading about 14 Bookkeeping Tasks A Virtual Assistant Can Do For Entrepreneurs. They provide year-round support to entrepreneurs.

The benefits do not end here. When you hire a virtual assistant, you can consider a few options, such as connecting with a virtual assistant agency to select an ideal candidate for your business requirements. Wishup is a VA agency.

Why Choose Wishup Virtual Assistants?

• Saving Costs: Hiring an in-house bookkeeper can be costly, but hiring a remote bookkeeper from Wishup can save you more than half of the cost. You can pay virtual assistants hourly, paying only for the hours your business needs. Full-time employees take hefty salaries that may impact your small business.
• Pre-Trained Bookkeepers: Wishup provides you with pre-trained bookkeepers skilled in over 70 tasks, from invoice management to financial reporting, and with industry-specific experience to aid customers globally.
• Pre-Vetted Virtual Assistant: Wishup saves clients' time by pre-interviewing professionals and doing a background check, picking only the top 1% best bookkeepers, reducing the time it takes to find a suitable candidate for your company.
• 24-hour Onboarding Time: Hiring a bookkeeper with Wishup takes less time than traditional techniques, as you can review a portfolio of qualified prospects and select the best one to work with at the earliest.
• Experienced Professionals: Wishup ensures that only qualified individuals who have already worked on various challenging assignments work for you, ensuring your firm moves in the right direction.
• No Additional Employer Overheads: Wishup offers the best pricing for virtual bookkeeping assistants, and business owners save on employee costs such as insurance, office setup, and power charges.
• Instant Replacement Policy: In case your primary virtual assistant is unavailable, Wishup offers an instant replacement policy to ensure you never miss a beat in your bookkeeping tasks.
• 7-Day Money-Back Trial: Wishup offers a 7-day money-back trial to allow clients to test the services and see if it fits their business needs.
• Data Security: Wishup ensures the security of your data by signing NDAs to protect confidential business information.
• Dedicated account manager: Wishup provides a dedicated account manager for each client who serves as a point of contact for any queries or concerns. This account manager works closely with the virtual assistant to ensure that they are meeting your expectations and delivering quality work.

For more information, read our blog - Why are Virtual Bookkeeping Services Best for Your Business?

Final Word on Hiring a Virtual Assistant

According to CNN, companies are heading towards remote work because that is the new normal for everyone, organizations, and professionals. In addition, this is an excellent time to consider the qualities that US-based entrepreneurs are looking for in their workforce.

They want to work with an ethically mature workforce, highly qualified professionals, and loyal and trustworthy virtual assistants. Indian virtual assistants possess all these qualities, making them a perfect pick for business owners starting their ventures.

Moreover, a virtual assistant can act as a financial advisor, helping you overall with work processes. Check out all you need to know about hiring a virtual assistant for bookkeeping right here or schedule a free consultation by mailing us at [email protected].

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What software do most bookkeepers use?

QuickBooks is the most popular accounting software used by bookkeepers due to its robust features and user-friendly interface. Our Wishup virtual bookkeepers are fluent in QuickBooks and can manage your accounting tasks on your behalf. Other popular options include Xero, FreshBooks, and Wave.

2. Is QuickBooks enough for bookkeeping?

QuickBooks is sufficient for most small to medium-sized businesses as it provides features for bookkeeping, invoicing, and financial reporting. However, larger businesses with more complex accounting needs may require additional software or services.

3. Can a beginner use QuickBooks?

Yes, a beginner can use QuickBooks as it provides user-friendly tools and resources for accounting tasks. However, it is recommended to hire a virtual bookkeeper or take a bookkeeping course to ensure proper setup and management of financial records.