Quickbooks is a holistic accounting tool that simplifies everything from filing taxes to generating financial reports and payroll processing. Whether it is a sole trader, a limited company, a bookkeeper, an accountant or a startup, Quickbooks helps with every aspect of accounting. The prices are pretty nominal and categorized with respect to all business owners. Quickbooks support a wide range of third-party tool integration and are loaded with features. It saves accountants a lot of time by automating various tasks such as importing bank transactions, making payments, generating invoices, tracking employees’ time, and automating the workflow. The tool allows inviting accountants to handle the accounting process through its “self-employed” feature. It means if an organization or individual has hired a third-party accountant, they can give access to the accounting tool to manage their accounts.
Freshbooks is another exceptional cloud-based accounting tool that envelops almost all types of companies. The accounting software supports features such as automated payments, real-time reporting, customizable invoices, tracking expenses, etc. The software facilitates smooth cash flow by keeping track of past and current invoices. Unpaid payments can be extracted quickly and the users can even track details such as overdue payments or whether the client has checked the invoice. It enables users to share financial reports with accountants quickly, regardless of their format. The tool’s support for a wide range of third-party apps optimizes its usability. It is budget-friendly software, and users can have the option to choose a software plan from lite to premium based on their requirements. Freshbooks comes with a free trial.
Zoho books is an end-to-end cloud-based accounting tool for businesses of all sizes. The tool has covered almost all the core accounting features, and some of its vital areas are excellent customer support, financial reporting, automated invoicing, time tracking, bank reconciliation, and quick online payments. The software offers some out of box features such as setting partial payment against invoice, including multiple expenses into the invoice, invoicing in foreign currency, audit trail, etc. Besides that, Zoho provides complete control over the accounts payable and keeps track of purchase orders, bills, vendor credits, and expenses. The software pricing is relatively reasonable and even offers a free version for small businesses with a single user. It has a flexible cancellation policy, so users can cancel the plan at any time. Money is fully refundable and can be claimed under the company’s policy. The software simplifies the tax-filing process by allowing users to file returns directly from the accounting system. The cloud solution allows accessing data from anywhere, supported by strong security measures like double-factor authentication and data encryption.
Sage accounting tool is a powerful cloud accounting software for small businesses. The software helps SMEs to save time and costs by automating administrative tasks such as invoicing, payment tracking, and cash flow management. The software offers a free trial and a heavy discount on the paid subscription for the first 6 months. The software setup is simple and can be accessed from anywhere and from any device. The software is wired with the Stripe payment system for quick and trusted payment. The software can be integrated with the bank securely to track expenses automatically. An intuitive dashboard allows users to understand the company’s financial status and manage the cash flow more efficiently. Some notable features driving users towards Sage business cloud accounting are strong customer support, free bank feeds, audit trails, unlimited users, and unlimited transactions.
Odoo is accounting software that can be deployed on the cloud as well as on-premise. It is designed to help SMEs to manage daily accounting activities with ease and simplicity. The software can be accessed on any device and operating system. It offers a 15-day free trial, and customers can purchase various modules (invoicing, accounting, CRM, etc.) as per their needs. It allows SMEs to stay within budget and only pay for the modules that are essential for the business. Whether it is bank reconciliation, performance reports, or paying multiple invoices, Odoo makes the accounting process seamless and super fast.
Oracle Netsuite cloud accounting software supports seamless integration with netsuite order management, CRM, e-commerce platform, and inventory management, which matches well with the framework of modern businesses. Real-time metrics and role-based dashboards offer maximum transparency and visibility into the accounting process. Besides that, real-time bank integration, rules-based transaction matching, and auto-posting of journal entries are some exclusive features that make the accounting process effortless. Users can subscribe to Netsuite for an annual license fee, which can vary based on the number of users and the optional modules users choose. To help users with all the technical glitches, the vendors offer 24/7 customer support through phone, e-mail, and chatbot. It is an incredible tool for all businesses, from SMEs to large enterprises.
Kashoo is one more cloud-based accounting software that helps SMEs to simplify the bookkeeping process. The software is easy to set up and fully customizable. The software is backed with advanced features such as OCR and receipt matching. It helps to speed up the recording of financial transactions and does not miss capturing the transaction. The software connects with more than 5000+ banks and credit unions. The platform uses machine learning technology to automatically categorize and reconcile expenses for banks. The software is known for its customer service and user-friendly interface. The software offers a basic version for free and a 14-day free trial for advanced features.
Accounting software simplifies the accounting process, but if the software interface is not user-friendly, it will make it more complex. So while selecting accounting software, users should ensure that the software has a user-friendly interface.
Different businesses have different accounting needs. For instance, some businesses need a dedicated sales tax module for filing taxes, while others may not need it. SMEs must find accounting tools that cater business specific needs to derive maximum ROI.
Scalability is an essential aspect of accounting software. Most SMEs need to expand business operations over the period and expect that accounting tools scale up along with it. It is not wise to switch to new accounting software as the business grows and set up the entire accounting process from scratch.
Unlike large enterprises, SMEs have different challenges; one of their biggest challenges is budget constraints. Accounting tools that offer flexible pricing or pay-as-you-go pricing models are more likely to get SMEs’ attention than software with rigid pricing plans. It enables organizations to leverage the accounting tool benefits without exceeding their budget. Most cloud-based accounting tools come with a flexible-pricing plan and help users to save money. In addition to that, some software vendors offer a free trial or free version for basic features, which is the best way to check software usability before investing in it.
Third-party tools can extend the features of accounting tools and help to make the accounting process more efficient. Some popular third-party integration with accounting tools includes point-of-sale systems, ERP tools, inventory management tools, CRM, payment processing tools, etc.
Business owners sometimes prefer outsourcing accounting work and need multiple users’ access to accounting data. Some accounting software vendors provide free access to multiple users, while others charge extra to add more users to the system.
Accounting tools often require technical assistance from vendors to resolve technical glitches or issues while performing various activities, such as third-party tool integration, software customization, or updating the software. It is essential that accounting software is backed with robust customer support for its hassle-free usage. Some software vendors may charge for exclusive customer support services, and the business owner must clarify it with vendors while purchasing the software.
Accounting tools handle business owners’ confidential data, and exposing this data to someone with malicious intent can be catastrophic. Before enrolling in any accounting tools, it is a must for business owners to check the security measures that vendors provide for the tools. It should be protected with the latest security features such as double-factor authorization, high level of encryption, user-based access, etc.
