Wave Accounting is one of the most fully featured free accounting software options for small businesses. Its user-friendly dashboard, low learning curve, and easy expense tracking make it ideal for freelancers and small-business owners who don’t mind finding another app to manage inventory. It’s also a lot more comprehensive than most other free cloud-accounting software options. If you don’t need quite as many features as Wave offers, ZipBooks is a solid free accounting software alternative. ZipBooks’ paid plan starts at $15 a month and offers better bookkeeping and automation features than its free accounting plan.

• This powerful multi-currency account integrates seamlessly with popular cloud accounting solutions, making it easier to manage business finances both in the UK and internationally.
• However, experiences vary based on users’ needs and expectations, impacting the perceived value of the software.
• LessAccounting has a dedicated team of accountants to help you if you don’t have your own, so that could ease your tax season.
• Even if you’re a beginner, many of these platforms include helpful tutorials, customer support, and intuitive interfaces to guide you through.
• And then there’s Xero, which has a lot of the functionality of QBO and is very popular outside of the US.
• Your accounting team needs software with an intuitive interface that requires minimal training.
• Xero allows users to input a high level of detail when creating quotes, invoices and client profiles, making it a great option for businesses with complex workflows.

Best for Simple startup accounting software

• QuickBooks Online also has a decent API, which many 3rd party software companies have integrated with.
• QuickBooks accounting software makes tracking financial documents easy.
• This makes it easier to see the big picture of your finances, helping you stay compliant when tax season comes and—perhaps more important—understand where you should save, optimize, or invest more.
• Pricing is only available on request, as a solution will need to be tailored to your company’s needs.
• If you want more features than just the basics, accounting software typically starts around $10 to $15 a month.

For small businesses, though, Sage offers two cloud-based programs, namely, the basic Sage Accounting software and the more robust cloud-based desktop hybrid accounting Sage 50cloud software. While Sage 50 offers powerful features, some users find it has a steep learning curve and is relatively expensive compared to competitors. This can potentially make it less suitable The Real Value of Accounting Services for Startups for very small businesses or those without accounting expertise. Although it provides features suitable for some international tax standards, users report mixed satisfaction with concerns about maturity and responsiveness from the development team. Some prefer Akaunting for autonomy and basic functions, while others compare it to more established platforms or express skepticism about its comprehensive capabilities. We understand the unique financial challenges faced by marketing firms, advertising agencies, and digital studios, and we’re here to help you achieve clarity, compliance, and growth.

• And Wave’s lack of inventory tracking makes it better matched to service-based solopreneurs and freelancers who don’t need both accounting and inventory software.
• AccountEdge users describe the product as an affordable alternative to QuickBooks, offering comparable features for small businesses at a lower cost.
• If you don’t need quite as many features as Wave offers, ZipBooks is a solid free accounting software alternative.
• But if you’ve compared your entries against the bank feed, you are much less likely to have fraud.
• It is ideal for organizations seeking an integrated solution that unifies financial processes with broader operational functionalities.
• From your first forecast to your latest funding round, the right platform automates key workflows, improves cash flow visibility, and supports smarter decision-making, without adding complexity.
• In other words, while you’re building and scaling software that solves problems for your customers, you need accounting software that does the same for you.

Best for Very small, service-based businesses

If you don’t want to be trapped in Zoho’s ecosystem, better alternatives include Xero and QuickBooks, which integrate with 1,000 and 750 third-party apps, respectively. https://www.citybiz.co/article/785736/the-real-value-of-accounting-services-for-startups/ Wave accounting works perfectly for small businesses and startups; hence it is very suitable for your startup. We recommend starting with the advanced plan, which has all the features, free resources, and add-ons Kashoo offers. Bonsai is great for startups because of its low entry price and free trial option.

Best for Enterprise accounting software with advanced reporting capabilities

Along with sending invoices, you can use the free plan to track expenses, accept online payments, and send estimates. We’re not sure if the free plan lets you track income and expenses or not—Kashoo’s site gives contradictory answers. Few product categories have as much potential to deliver cost savings and other benefits to SMBs as accounting software. That makes your choice of accounting solutions an important aspect of your business’s optimal management. We put dozens of accounting software products through their paces to identify the best option in 10 categories. Whether you’re looking for advanced financial reporting or simple invoicing, we identify the best option for your organization.

The platform extends beyond just accounting, integrating with productivity tools like Slack for fast approval notifications for lightning-fast reviews. Brex’s API access allows for custom integrations with your existing tech stack, ensuring that Brex enhances your current workflows rather than disrupts them. From expense tracking to reporting and analysis, Brex creates a cohesive ecosystem that not only saves time but also helps enable a more holistic view of your company’s financial health.

As a small business owner, you must know how to go about opening your bank account and managing your finances through business banking. Yes, QuickBooks is a widely used and trusted accounting tool for startups. The software’s real-time reporting provides insights into business performance to help startups make informed decisions.

Business tax planning strategies

If you’d love to know the top 17 accounting software for startups in 2025, keep reading. These are the options that, according to our extensive research, can cater specifically to the dynamic needs of startup companies. Wave is particularly attractive for very early-stage startups and solopreneurs due to its free base offering.

Sage pricing

Tools like automated invoicing, expense categorization, and real-time reporting ensure that your finances are always up-to-date without hours of manual work. Choosing the best accounting software for startups poses some unique challenges. You may have a small team — maybe your CFO is still doing the books and sending out invoices — but your business may also deal with much more complexity than a typical young business. Even though it’s new there are tons of features that make accounting a lot easier and less time-intensive for founders.

• You might start by managing your books yourself, then bring in an outsourced provider like Lazo, and later move to an in-house finance team or even get audited.
• While some still find the overall package beneficial, others express concerns about the product’s direction and company’s lack of responsiveness to user feedback.
• We’ll examine key features to look for in accounting software, analyze top options in the market, and address common challenges faced by startup finance teams.
• Finally, when using FreeAgent, businesses can’t assign multiple shipping addresses to clients.
• We found QuickBooks slightly more difficult to use than Zoho Books, but most basic tasks were quite easy.
• LessAccounting is one of the more expensive software solutions on the market.
• This is not an offer to, or implied offer, or a solicitation to, buy or sell any securities.

FreeAgent’s comprehensive end-of-year reports and tax reminders were also particularly suited to accounting beginners, since they were clear and simple. Xero allows users to input a high level of detail when creating quotes, invoices and client profiles, making it a great option for businesses with complex workflows. For example, you can assign unique IDs and a wide variety of tax codes to invoices and clients, helping you keep track of a large portfolio. You can view basic income statements or unpaid invoice reports in Slack. If you pay yourself through Gusto, you can sync transactions from ZipBooks. But you may need a paid ZipBooks plan to automate team payroll entries.