Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
November 9, 2025: With this update, our lineup of recommended SMB accounting software remains unchanged. We have vetted the existing picks for currency and availability.
(Credit: Intuit)
(Credit: Intuit)
Pros & Cons
Excellent dashboard
In-depth contact records and transaction forms
Outstanding inventory management and time tracking
Exceptional collection of customizable reports
Helpful AI Agents
Expensive
Updated interface feels crowded and unfamiliar
Why We Picked It
Intuit QuickBooks Online has long been a top choice for SMB accounting because it organizes highly effective financial tools into an exceptional user interface. It’s available in multiple versions with hundreds of add-ons, is extremely customizable, and offers better mobile apps than most rivals. Genuinely helpful AI agents and best-in-class inventory management tools round out the premium experience.
Who It’s For
Sole proprietors: QuickBooks Online’s Simple Start plan is affordable enough to appeal to one-person operations that want top-notch income and expense management features (but no time, project, or inventory tracking). Upgrading to a more advanced version as your company grows is easy, as all editions look and work similarly.
Small businesses that plan to grow substantially: QuickBooks starts small, but its top-tier Advanced version (which supports up to 25 users) is a good choice for expanding companies that need expert features in areas such as custom reporting, forecasting, revenue recognition, and more.
Companies that need excellent time and inventory tracking tools: QuickBooks is a top choice for time and inventory tracking features. The three top tiers all get you access to the industry-standard QuickBooks Time service. Meanwhile, its inventory tools (purchase and sales orders and product assemblies) and integration with sales channels (such as Amazon, Shopify, and eBay) also stand out.
Complex organizations seeking exceptional customizability: QuickBooks provides unbeatable customization options in numerous areas of the site, as well as custom fields.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Intuit QuickBooks Online Review
(Credit: Xero)
(Credit: Xero)
Best for Multiple Users
Xero
Pros & Cons
Thorough accounting features
Supports an unlimited number of users
Handles employee expense claims
Exceptional support
Great reporting tools
Must link time entries to projects
Transaction templates are difficult to modify
Contact records could have more detail
Why We Picked It
Xero supports every major financial element we expect in a double-entry accounting solution for small businesses: bills and expenses, fixed assets, inventory, payroll, purchases, and sales. The site offers exceptional reports and advanced analytics, as well as provides tools for tracking projects. It uses AI to automate processes and provide support. We also like its integration options and network of available advisors.
Who It’s For
Small businesses that don’t want a separate employee expense app: Xero is the only site we reviewed that includes employee expense reporting, in addition to fixed assets.
Companies that need exceptional flexible reporting tools: Xero offers the report templates businesses typically need for daily operations, as well as standard financial reports. The paid Advanced Analytics add-on introduces much more in areas such as cash flow, trends, and key performance metrics.
Novices who need help: Newcomers to accounting can ease their way in by accessing Xero’s exceptional step-by-step instructions or reaching out via chat, email, or phone.
Specs & Configurations
(Credit: FreshBooks)
(Credit: FreshBooks)
Pros & Cons
Excellent user experience
Context-sensitive settings
Revamped audit logs and reports
Good mobile apps
Focused tools for service-based businesses
Excessive cost for team members
Some bank imports require extra steps
Why We Picked It
Don’t let its good looks and simplicity fool you: FreshBooks is a full-featured, double-entry accounting solution with an exceptional user experience. The software is intuitive enough for novice bookkeepers to learn, but supports all the elements that a larger service-based business might need, including integration with Gusto Payroll. The latest version introduces AI-driven fraud detection and transaction categorization, along with improvements to several reports.
Who It’s For
Service-based businesses: FreshBooks combines two of its standout capabilities—time tracking and project management—making it especially suitable for companies that sell services. It offers just basic inventory tracking tools.
Businesses that want team features: You can assign a variety of roles to team members as they join the platform, such as Admin, Employee, Contractor, and Manager. Team collaboration features help your employees stay in touch and document their work carefully. By integrating Gusto payroll, managers can easily translate that work into accurate paychecks.
Freelancers and other self-employed individuals: Sole proprietors don’t have accounting or IT specialists on staff. FreshBooks supports those businesses well by providing an exceptionally attractive user interface and intuitive financial tools.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
FreshBooks Review
(Credit: Wave)
(Credit: Wave)
Pros & Cons
Exceptionally easy to use
Smart, focused feature set
Good invoice and transaction management
Excellent mobile apps
Free version works great for some sole proprietors
Sparse record templates
Lacks time tracking and projects
No automatic categorization of transactions
Why We Picked It
Wave offers two subscription tiers. The free Wave Starter plan doesn’t include some of its most useful features (such as bank transaction imports) and charges extra for scanning and uploading expense receipts. However, its income and expense management, as well as invoicing capabilities, might be sufficient for sole proprietors. Wave Pro, which costs $19 per month, gives you full access to the software’s capabilities. That plan is well worth it because its smart selection of features, such as transaction management and statements, accommodates very small businesses extremely well.
Who It’s For
Microbusinesses that don’t need payroll tools: Wave offers payroll tools, but the site itself is limited enough that businesses with employees would likely choose another solution. Still, it could be a great choice for very small operations because of its low cost and simplicity.
Very small businesses that sell services: Both versions of Wave allow you to create product and service records to use in transactions and forms like invoices, but neither tracks inventory. Thus, you should consider Wave only if you sell services or one-of-a-kind items that can be easily deleted once someone purchases them.
Invoice-centric microbusinesses: Unlike some competitors’ free or low-cost versions, Wave doesn’t limit the number of invoices and quotes you can process. Its invoice creation and tracking tools are strong, as are the income and expense management tools.
Specs & Configurations
(Credit: Sage Group)
(Credit: Sage Group)
Pros & Cons
Great dashboard
In-depth record and transaction forms
Advanced inventory management tools
Voluminous reports
Microsoft 365 Business integration
Available only on Windows
Some UI elements look dated
No mobile apps
Why We Picked It
Sage 50 Accounting is a massive small business accounting application for Windows. It’s the most comprehensive program we’ve reviewed, and it exceeds the needs of many small businesses. It also costs more. The Remote Data Access feature enables remote work, and integrating with Microsoft 365 Business could be beneficial if you are a subscriber to that service. Overall, it’s very powerful, even if its interface could use an update.
Who It’s For
Sage 50 Accounting is particularly suitable if your company requires robust inventory tracking. It’s also suitable for businesses that need advanced accounting capabilities and data capacity but can do without mobile access.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Sage 50 Accounting Review
(Credit: Zoho Books)
(Credit: Zoho Books)
Pros & Cons
Depth and flexibility in every module
Comprehensive, customizable records and forms
Tremendous reporting options
Excellent mobile apps
Too complex for many small businesses
Locks time tracking to projects
Some features require add-ons
Why We Picked It
Zoho Books is the small business accounting element of Zoho’s business software ecosystem. You can integrate your accounting data with numerous related apps and functions, including CRM, customer service, and email. Its depth, flexibility, and usability in standard bookkeeping areas (inventory management, sales and purchases, and time and project tracking) equals and sometimes surpass that of competitors.
Who It’s For
One-person operations: Zoho Books’ free, one-user version doesn’t import bank transactions (only bank statements), but it’s otherwise quite capable, thanks to its customer and item management records, sales receipts, multi-lingual invoicing, mileage tracking, and receipt autoscans, as well as support for paying contractors. Reports and other features provide even more value.
Larger small businesses: Some of Zoho Books’ higher-end plans may be well-suited for midsize companies, as they offer a comprehensive set of advanced, flexible accounting tools. On the other hand, beginners may find the platform somewhat overwhelming.
Nonprofit organizations: Zoho Books offers a 15% discount on its standard pricing to registered charities, trusts, and societies. Both the browser-based version and the accompanying mobile apps offer features and flexibility that serve nonprofits especially capably.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Zoho Books Review
(Credit: Intuit)
(Credit: Intuit)
Pros & Cons
Excellent user experience
Great transaction category management
Good invoicing capabilities
Useful income tax tools
Effective mobile apps
Minimal reports
No vendor or bill management
Limited record templates
Why We Picked It
Intuit QuickBooks Solopreneur builds on the foundation of the deprecated QuickBooks Self-Employed. It offers many features that sole proprietors need, including automatic mileage tracking, income and expense management, invoices and estimates, income tax planning, and mobile access. Its affordable price and usability add to its appeal.
Who It’s For
One-person, service-based businesses: Solopreneur excels at transaction management and invoice creation and tracking, making it a good choice for sole proprietors who sell services. (If you need to track bills or inventory, look elsewhere.) The service is easy to use and limits its features relevant to microbusinesses.
Microbusinesses that plan to grow: Solopreneur subscribers can easily upgrade to more advanced versions of QuickBooks Online as they expand; the two products look and function similarly.
Freelancers, gig workers, and other sole proprietors: Despite its simple feature set, Solopreneur offers two advanced features that sole proprietors are likely to need: mileage tracking and help with estimating quarterly income taxes.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Intuit QuickBooks Solopreneur Review
(Credit: Patriot Software)
(Credit: Patriot Software)
Pros & Cons
Competitive price
Attractive, easy-to-use interface
Multiple support options
Smart blend of basic accounting tools
Terrific mobile apps
No inventory or time tracking
Bill and expense management features aren’t robust
Minimal fields in contact and product records
Why We Picked It
Patriot Software Accounting is an affordable solution that provides robust support. Its attractive, intuitive interface and exceptional mobile apps add to its appeal. Although it’s missing some features that competitors offer and includes some complex language and concepts that rivals keep in the background, Patriot Software remains a worthwhile choice for keeping costs down while providing a full complement of accounting tools.
Who It’s For
Small businesses not planning to grow: Patriot Software Accounting is most suitable if you manage a small business that isn’t likely to grow exponentially, since it’s not scalable. The platform also doesn’t offer inventory or project tracking, but that might not matter to uncomplicated companies.
Novice bookkeepers who need basic tools: Patriot Software is the simplest, most user-friendly accounting app we reviewed. Its support options and mobile access are terrific.
Start-ups that need payroll for a few employees: Patriot Software Accounting works closely with Patriot Software Payroll. Both target non-accountants who require additional support from the outset and prefer a straightforward approach throughout the entire accounting process.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Patriot Software Accounting Review
Pros & Cons
Affordable
Excellent personal finance features
Good invoice tools
Tracks clients and projects
Terrific mobile apps
Spending Plan requires a learning curve
Disparate user interface for business features
Client pages are confusing
No separate item list
Why We Picked It
Many small organizations combine their personal and business income and expense tracking, eliminating the need to pay for and learn two separate apps. Quicken Business & Personal combines the exceptional personal finance management app Quicken Simplifi with basic small business features. No other service we’ve tested has attempted the same. This initial version focuses on client and project management, invoices and estimates, mileage tracking, and quarterly income tax estimates, as well as providing some simple reports.
Who It’s For
Uncomplicated microbusinesses: One-person businesses that need to link very simple projects to client records and send invoices and estimates could benefit. Mileage tracking and estimated income tax payments add to its appeal.
Hobbyists: If you have a money-making hobby that hasn’t yet become an official business, Quicken’s solution could be ideal, thanks to its emphasis on affordability, basic customer management, and personal finance.
Existing Quicken Simplifi users who are launching small businesses: Quicken Simplifi users who want to upgrade to Quicken Business & Personal need only to pay the difference between the two services’ subscription rates.
Specs & Configurations
Learn More
Quicken Business & Personal Review
Get Our Best Stories!
All the Latest Tech, Tested by Our Experts
Sign up for the Lab Report to receive PCMag’s latest product reviews, buying advice, and insights.
Sign up for the Lab Report to receive PCMag’s latest product reviews, buying advice, and insights.
By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
The Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses in 2025
Compare Specs
Buying Guide: The Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses in 2025
How Much Does Accounting Software Cost?
Nine small business accounting applications scored high enough to make this year’s list. Two of the least expensive, full-featured options are Solopreneur ($20 per month) and Wave Pro ($19 per month). They target microbusinesses (think freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors, and other sole proprietors). The other seven are pricier (they start around $30 per month and increase significantly from there), but also more feature-rich and customizable. They target larger (but still small) businesses that might have a few employees. Each product offers multiple tiers of service to accommodate the varying complexity and size of different companies.
What Do Small Business Accounting Services Do?
Financial bookkeeping is complicated and time-consuming. Business owners find it challenging enough to cover the basics—paying the bills and tracking incoming revenue—let alone answering critical questions like, “Are we profitable, and why or why not?” Will we have enough money to make the required tax payments on time? Should we invest in new equipment? Do we need to explore financing? Can the appropriate staff access our accounting data if they have to work from home?
A good small business accounting service gives you information that helps you answer these questions based on the input you supply. Once you populate the service with details about your financial accounts, customers, and vendors, and the products or services you buy and sell, you can use that data to create transactions that will invoice your customers, pay your bills, and track incoming payments. Instant search tools and customizable reports help you track down the smallest details and see overviews of how your business is performing. Mobile apps and websites give you access to your finances from wherever you are.
How Do You Set Up Accounting Software?
Depending on how long your business has been operating, getting started with a small business accounting service can take anywhere from five minutes to several hours (or days) after you sign up for an account. Most offer free trials or demo accounts, charging only a monthly subscription fee once you’re ready to commit. Generally speaking, the more you need from an accounting service, the longer it takes to set up and the higher the monthly payment will be.
Early setup involves creating an account and answering questions about your business type and fiscal year. Some applications encourage you to enter a record or create a transaction to get started. It’s also a good idea to browse the accounting software’s settings. For example, do you plan to use specific features, such as inventory tracking and purchase orders? You can usually turn tools on or off, which can help you either simplify the user interface or maximize the functions.
Inventory management in Zoho Books (Credit: Zoho/PCMag)
Next, you have to decide whether you want access to the transactions from your online financial accounts (checking, credit cards, and so on). Once you enter your login credentials for an account, the software imports recent transactions (usually 90 days’ worth) and adds them to an online register. This process is not as straightforward as it was in the past. Banks have been tightening up their security (which is a good thing), so you may have to jump through a couple of hoops to create the connection. Sometimes, the connections break, forcing you to reestablish them.
Would you like to allow customers to pay with credit cards and bank transfers? If so, you need to sign up with a payment processor, such as PayPal or Stripe. Of course, this involves paying transaction fees that can differ slightly from app to app.
It’s possible to set up a minimal system and then proceed to accept payments, create invoices, and pay bills. All the accounting services we reviewed allow you to add customers, products, and vendors while completing transactions (you need to do this anyway as you grow and expand your contact and product/service databases). You have to decide whether you want to spend the time up-front building your records or later, when you’re in the middle of a purchase or sales form.
Invoices in Xero (Credit: Xero/PCMag)
Most small business accounting services also offer the option to import existing lists from CSV and XLS files, but your lists’ configurations aren’t likely to exactly match those of your application. You should still be able to modify the fields your lists include, however.
Once you start entering records and transactions, your app’s dashboard will display a real-time overview of the financial information you need to see frequently, including account balances, charts comparing income and expenses, and invoices and bills that need immediate attention. They’re interactive, meaning there are many links to related pages where you can get more information and take action.
What’s the Best Free Accounting App for Small Businesses?
Wave used to be the best free accounting solution. The company has split the app into two versions. Wave Starter is free but doesn’t include some of the most useful features, like the ability to import transactions from your financial institutions. It also charges $8 per month if you want the ability to scan and upload expense receipts, a feature other small business accounting apps offer for no extra cost. Wave Pro is $19 per month, and it contains all of the app’s tools (including uploading scanned receipts). If you need payment services and payroll software, those cost extra, like they always have with Wave.
Transactions in Wave (Credit: Wave/PCMag)
Zoho Books has a surprisingly robust free version. It’s an excellent choice if you already use other Zoho software or your business is set for growth, since it scales easily. Features of the free version include client management, expense and mileage tracking, multilingual and recurring invoicing, online payments and automatic payment reminders, and reports. You can import bank and credit card statements, but not set up direct connections to your financial institutions.
Which Accounting Software Is the Easiest to Use?
Accounting can be complicated, and your work must always be accurate to avoid problems with customers and vendors, income taxes, and reports. The developers of SMB accounting apps have worked hard to make them as simple and pleasant as possible. FreshBooks, Solopreneur, and Wave are among the easiest accounting programs to use.
Accounting professionals love to use terms like “accounts receivable” and “accounts payable” to describe the primary elements of accounting: recording and tracking expenses, income, purchases, and sales. Small business accounting applications strive to minimize technical terminology in favor of more user-friendly language.
How Can Accounting Software Help You Create Records?
Creating records can be tedious work, but you’ll thank yourself later when you don’t have to pause in the middle of a transaction to add one. Some applications let you include more than basic contact details in contact records (such as the ‘customer since’ date, birthday, and other similar fields), which can be helpful as you develop and maintain relationships. You do the same thing for the products and services you buy and sell, so you can easily add them to transactions and run meaningful reports.
Client record in Quicken Business & Personal (Credit: Quicken/PCMag)
One of the key benefits of SMB accounting software is that it eliminates repetitive data entry. Once you fill in the blanks to create a customer record, for example, you never have to look up that ZIP code again. Sites provide drop-down lists of customers wherever they’re necessary, primarily in transactions. The same goes for employees, items, services, and vendors. Completed records get dedicated pages where you can access related information, such as historical activity.
Record templates vary in complexity, so you need to understand the differences before you go with one accounting service or another. Some, such as Patriot Software Accounting, support simple, descriptive product records. Others, such as QuickBooks Online, do more, such as asking how many of each product you have in inventory when you create a record, and at what point it should alert you to reorder. Some apps actively track inventory levels, providing valuable insights into selling patterns and helping you avoid running low.
QuickBooks Online’s dashboard (Credit: Intuit/PCMag)
Which Transactions Do Accounting Services Support?
Bills, estimates, and invoices are the most common types of transactions that small businesses need, and most of the services we review support all of them. Xero and Zoho Books take it a step further by allowing you to create more advanced forms, such as credit notes, purchase orders, sales receipts, and statements. They also provide templates for them. All you have to do is fill in the blanks and select from lists of variables, such as customers and items. Your ability to customize these forms varies significantly across apps, and this is a factor you should consider before committing to a service.
How Do Accounting Apps Handle Completed Transactions?
Once you complete an invoice, you have several options. You can save it as a draft or a final version and either print it or email it. If you opt for the latter and have a relationship with a payment processor, your invoice can include a stub explaining how the customer can return payment via bank withdrawal or credit card. You can usually set up transactions to recur on a regular schedule.
Can You Manage Expenses and Bills with Accounting Software?
Accounting services pay special attention to your company’s expenses—not bills that you enter and pay (though most support this), but rather other purchases you make. This is an area of your finances that can easily get out of control if you don’t monitor it.
If you have expenses on the road, you can often take pictures of receipts with your smartphone and upload them to your accounting app. QuickBooks Online and Xero, for example, read receipts and extract data (such as amount, date, and vendor) into an expense form using optical character recognition (OCR) technology. Some accounting services allow you to attach these receipts to an expense form only.
Should You Import Transactions and Bank Balances?
Daily accounting work typically involves paying bills, recording payments, and sending invoices. But you also need to closely monitor your bank and credit card activity. If you connect your financial accounts to your accounting site, then that’s easy to do. Balances usually appear on the app’s dashboard. You can also view each account’s online register, which contains transactions that have cleared your bank and arrived in your accounting app (along with those you entered manually).
Recommended by Our Editors
You can do a lot with these transactions once they appear in a register. First, you should assign them a category, such as office expenses, travel, or utilities. That way, you know where your money is coming from and where it’s going. Every accounting solution tries to automatically categorize at least some transactions. You can change them if they’re incorrect. Diligent categorization leads to more accurate reports and income tax returns.
An invoice in Intuit Solopreneur (Credit: Intuit/PCMag)
You can also match related transactions, such as an invoice and a corresponding payment. Again, some accounting services make educated guesses in this regard. You can make notes, split transactions that span multiple categories, and reconcile your accounts with your bank and credit card statements, too.
How Can You Use Reports to Improve Your Business?
Reports are your reward for staying on top of your daily accounting tasks and completing them accurately. Every small business accounting service has templates for numerous types of insightful outputs. You select one, customize it with the filter and display options, and let the software pour your company data into it. Reports can be generated in just a few seconds.
Two kinds of reports are typically available. Most are the types that any small business owner can customize, generate, and understand. They tell you, for example, how much you owe in sales tax, whether you’re making money, which customers are buying the most, which expenses and services haven’t been billed yet, which of your products and services are selling well, and who owes you money.
Other reports aren’t as easy to understand. Standard financial reports—such as Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss, Statement of Cash Flows, and Trial Balance—are the kind of documents you need if you ever want to get a loan from a bank or attract investors. Small business accounting software can generate them, but you might need an accounting professional to analyze them and tell you in concrete terms what they mean for your company.
Can You Use Accounting Software on Your Phone?
Accounting doesn’t exactly lend itself well to mobile access because it often involves data-heavy records, reports, and transactions. Nonetheless, some accounting servers offer useful and intuitive mobile versions. Most are standalone apps, but Patriot Software Accounting allows you to access the complete desktop site through a mobile browser, which makes it quite comprehensive.
Can you run your business from your smartphone? Maybe, so it obviously wouldn’t be as easy as doing so on a larger screen. But there’s still a lot you can do, including creating, editing, and viewing forms, records, and transactions. As mentioned, you can accept payments and snap photos of expense receipts. Dashboards are very important here. Most of them are good at providing a quick overview of your finances, though they’re understandably not great at displaying reports.
Patriot Software Accounting’s dashboard (Credit: Patriot Software/PCMag)
What Kinds of Help Do Accounting Services Offer?
All online accounting services simplify the accounting process, but you may still have questions occasionally. You can often get help via chat, email, and phone. Some apps provide context-sensitive help along the way and a searchable database of support articles. Others use AI to make their chatbots smarter and more responsive, as well as to assist with background operations.
A few accounting software companies go above and beyond to offer (paid) expert help to users. Intuit offers a feature called QuickBooks Live, which adds bookkeeping support to QuickBooks Online. You communicate with a dedicated accounting expert through one-way video chat (they can’t see you) or email. Wave also offers fee-based bookkeeping and coaching services, as does Patriot Software.
Don’t Rush Your Decision
You’ve waited this long to start using a small business accounting application. Or maybe you’re not satisfied with a solution you’re using. In either case, take some time to decide where you spend your money and dedicate your time. Read our reviews. Talk to business colleagues to learn about their choices and experiences. Look at the companies’ websites. Take advantage of free trials and demos to explore the features. You may want to create your own lists of pros and cons for each app we covered here. You’re likely going to be living with your choice for a long time, so make sure it’s the right one for your business.
