15 Best Startup Accounting Software

These days, all businesses deeply focus on implementing simplified workflow, saving time and cost, meeting accuracy, and increasing productivity. Therefore, when it comes to accounting, they prefer using accounting software. 

Nearly, 64.4% of small business owners across the world use accounting software instead of hiring qualified accountants. Whether it’s for creating paystubs or to simplify tax filing, accounting software are a must for startups.

Considering its popularity, the accounting software market is expected to expand to $416.23 million by 2024.

Every entrepreneur who wishes to steer their business to success must use powerful accounting software. While the market is flooded with various accounting software packed with different factors, not all are suitable for startup businesses. 

Here is the fifteen best startup accounting software you can consider for your business:

1- FreshBooks

FreshBooks is the all-in-one small business invoicing and accounting solution. However, it also meets the requirements of large businesses.

Considering the requirements of small businesses, it is designed with easy setup features. You get a support page for setup and video webinars to understand the basics of using the software and its bookkeeping features.

Other than all essential features, such as invoicing, project management, estimations, expense management, time tracking, report generation, and payment collection through credit cards, it also has some advanced features. 

For example, you can see automated invoicing, recurring invoicing, support for any currency, and more.

FreshBooks also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android. It includes access to the software’s basic features, as well as mileage and time tracking.

Features

• Double-Entry Accounting tools to choose between actual business data and insights.
• Accountant collaboration to let them access get exclusive access to the financial information and reporting.
• Automated Bank Reconciliation to organize all the expenses. 
• Accounts Payable to manage payments, run reports like profit and loss, and cash flow statements.
• Credits feature to track prepayments, overpayments, and credits notes. 

Pros 

• Easy to use interface
• Mobile app to raise invoices and manage clients on the go 
• Professionally and attractively designed ready-to-use invoice templates.
• Multiple integration options. 
• Multiple payment plans and tiers for all business types.

Cons

• It misses basic features like the reconciliation of bank accounts.
• Unable to estimate quarterly income tax payments, unlike other similar accounting software.

Price

It comes in four different plans billed per month; Lite ($7.50), Plus ($12.50), Premium ($25), and Select (Custom Pricing).

Related: How Many Startups Fail Within 3 Years Of Launch

2- Wave

Wave is a good alternative to much expensive accounting software for startups. As free software, it has many limitations. Yet it is a good fit for small businesses or freelancers generating invoices and collecting payments at small scales.

Wave is a completely free-to-use tool, except for the fee it charges per transaction in case of dispute or return.      

Features

• Sales tax tracking on income and expenses.
• Unlimited income and expense tracking.
• Collaboration with unlimited partners, collaborators, or accountants.
• Includes double-entry system. 
• Integration with unlimited banks and credit cards.
• Report generation for cash flow, overdue invoices, and bills, profit and loss, etc. 
• Multiple businesses management through a single account.

Pros 

• Free software with all essential features except payments and payroll.
• User-friendly interface with least learning curve.
• Multiple features for customized accounting.
• Easily perform reconciliations and bank uploads. 
• Easy invoice management.
• Support for multi-currency.

Cons

• Doesn’t include time-tracking features.
• Features in reporting are limited.
• Lacks credit notes features.

Price

Free software.

3- QuickBooks Online 

QuickBooks is a trusted name in the accounting software market for offering secured and easy-to-use accounting features to every business size. It is a good fit for small businesses as well since it is a reliable tool available at an affordable price. 

QuickBooks Online/cloud-based version has multi-platform sync that makes the tool easier for professionals to use from anywhere. It has plenty of features that are not available in its desktop version and therefore it is more popular among modern accountants. 

The biggest advantage is its cost-effective plans that perfectly match the requirements of small to medium businesses.

Features

• Cloud-based accounting tool for remote access.
• Feature-packed billing Management and better cash flow.

Quick invoicing.

• Automatic updates via online banking.
• Customized accounting reports.
• Time tracking for employees and clients.
• Multi-user collaboration. 
• Unlimited free support.
• Easy access from smartphones and tablets.

Pros 

• Automatic tax calculation and automated reminders.
• Secured remote access from anywhere.
• Seamless integration with banks, credit cards company apps, and other financial management tools.
• Fantastic free-form invoicing.
• Easy expense tracking.

Cons

• Limited reports than the desktop version.
• Higher learning curves.
• Limited inventory management.

Price

It has four plans billed per month; Simple Start ($12.50), Essential ($25), Plus ($40), and Advanced ($90).

Related: Best Tools For Early-Stage Startups

4- Kashoo

Kashoo is another cloud-based accounting software designed specifically for small-sized businesses. It claims to be incredibly easy to use and offers plans with straightforward features and reliable support at a budget-friendly price. 

The software makes bookkeeping easier using machine learning (ML). The ML algorithms categorize and reconcile expenses more precisely and provide real-time data and reports with one click. It also offers a free plan for startups or beginners.

Features

• Real-time financial updates on the dashboard.
• Instant customizable invoicing.
• Bills to Pay feature to manage all the vendor bills.
• Tracking customers and vendors in the business.
• Customizable reports.

Pros 

• Clean, modern, eye-catching, and easy-to-use interface.
• Accurate double-entry ledger accounting.
• Advanced reporting and visual dashboards.
• Automated payroll integration.
• Extensive transaction tracking.

Cons

• Lacks time tracking features
• Doesn’t include advanced customization for reporting.
• Free plan with limited features.

Price

It has three plans priced per month; trulysmall invoices (Free). trulysmall accounting ($20), and Kashoo ($30). 

5- Hiveage 

Hiveage is an online invoicing software for freelancers and small businesses. Therefore, it is designed with simple accounting features to help them manage their finances with ease. 

With the right set of tools, it is easier to bill clients and keep track of current and future revenue. The tools help in managing customers by timely informing them about quotations, invoices, payment receipts, account statements, time and expense reports, etc.

Also, there are many payment gateways such as Stripe, Authorize.net, Braintree, and 2Checkout. Besides, team members can track and bill for their work. The best is its free plan with several unlimited offers.

Features

• Estimate preparation and invoice generation from the quotations.
• Manual, automatic, and auto-billing recurring invoices.
• Time, expenses, and mileage tracking.
• Real-time reports on income and expenses, invoice details, account aging, etc.

Pros 

• Free plan with unlimited invoicing, time and expense tracking, and payment gateways.
• Support for multi-currency invoicing.
• Simple to use and time-saving.
• Very affordable plans that don’t include transaction fees.
• Customizable invoices and emails design.

Cons

No cons found so far.

Price

It has four plans to offer per person; Free, Basic ($16), Pro ($25), and Plus ($42). 

Related: Best Tools For Startups

6- Sage Accounting

Sage Accounting is cloud-based accounting software designed especially for small businesses. It incorporates all the essential bookkeeping and accounting features along with comprehensive reporting and inventory tracking.

You can save a lot of time and reduce errors by automating your workflow. The feature to send and track invoices automatically ensures that you get your payment on time.

It has only two plans, both available at extremely affordable prices.

Features

• Workflow automation for admin tasks and invoicing. 
• Automatic creation, sending, and invoice tracking.
• Stripe as a quick payment gateway.
• Easy team or accounts collaboration.
• Automatic expense tracking once connected with a bank account.
• Real-time update on cash flow.

Pros 

• Affordable pricing.
• Easy to set up and use.
• Double-entry accounting.
• Affordable monthly costs.
• Unlimited users in the second-tier plan.
• Comprehensive reporting and inventory tracking.

Cons

• Time tracking is not included with either plan.
• Lack of multiple payment gateways.

Price

It has two plans; Sage Accounting Start ($10) and Sage Accounting ($10 for 6 months).

7- Sunrise

Sunrise is a business accounting software for bookkeeping, invoicing, and much more. Since it is a low-cost bookkeeping and accounting solution with many essential and powerful features, it fits the requirements of small businesses.

The software targets people with little or no accounting experience. Therefore, it is designed with easy-to-use features. As it is cloud-based, users can use it from anywhere. 

Other than essential accounting features, Sunrise also includes advanced features like asset tracking, bill payment schedule, and extensive customization options for advanced users.

Features

• Bank account reconciliation.
• Readable and accurate profit and loss statement and balance sheet.
• Invoice, estimates, and quotes customization.
• Recurring invoice creation and automatic payment options.
• Automated Expense Tracking.

Pros

• Multiple payment integration.
• Automatic collection or payment distribution between customers.
• Intuitive dashboard to view all your invoices, bills, and metrics in one place.
• Discounts or giving refunds through invoices.

Cons

• Lacks internal payroll tool

Price

It has only two plans; Free self-service and Sunrise Plus ($14.99).

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8- SlickPie

SlickPie is free online accounting software for startups and small businesses. Freelancers and not-for-profit organizations can also use the software with ease. It is already actively used in more than 150 countries worldwide.

SlickPie is available as a Chrome extension and therefore you become eligible to use it instantly once you add it to Chrome.

Features

• Accessible from PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets.
• Bill management at one place.
• Extensive financial reports.
• Bank account reconciliation.
• Automatic payment reminders settings.
• Receipt data entry automation.

Pros

• Multiple payment gateways, such as credit cards, PayPal, and Stripe.
• Trendy and easy-to-use interface.
• Payment reminders.
• Time-saving automation features.

Cons

• Medium learning curve.
• Limited customization features.

Price

It is free software.

9- OneUp

For small businesses, looking for an all-in-one solution at a cheaper price, OneUp is a great choice. Its primary strength is the automation features that save you time and make every bookkeeping process easier. 

For instance, its advanced invoicing system has customizing features and can be automated to post in the books quickly. Also, it allows you to send an unlimited number of invoices per month. 

Similarly, the inventory data is automatically transferable to the accounting platform and it seamlessly integrates with payment processors like Square. Plus, you get notifications if your business goes low on inventory.

The CRM feature in OneUp is more extensive compared to other competitors. It displays features like calls, opportunities, leads, and quotes.

Features

• Bank account reconciliation.
• Real-time cash flow and profit update.
• Bank entry categorization.
• Invoicing
• Export financial records to any preferred software.
• Mobile app

Pros

• Bookkeeping automation. 
• Customizable invoicing.
• Activity display on timeline.

Cons

• Lacks project management tools.
• Doesn’t include payroll.

Price

It has six plans: Free, Self ($9), Pro ($19), Plus ($29), Team ($69), and Unlimited ($169).

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10- FreeAgent

FreeAgent is another great, well-rounded choice for smaller businesses and freelancers. This robust accounting software has all the needed features, from payroll runs to expense management to put your finances in order. 

Apart from generating invoices, it can also send and track them. In case you can’t track them, the tool can do it if you upload a photo of your receipt.

Besides, the system has a built-in stopwatch and timesheets to keep time records. Cash flow display on the dashboard, integration with PayPal, Receipt Bank, Stripe, and Zapier, plus multi-language support are some of its other features.

Features

• Time tracking.
• Multi-currency invoicing.
• Tax timeline.
• Automated bank feeds.
• Customizable invoicing.
• Expense management.
• Profit and loss statement.

Pros

• Highly intuitive and easy-to-learn software.
• Expense tracking capabilities.
• Bill generation and management.
• Invoicing and contact management.
• Multiple gateways such as PayPal, GoCardless, or Stripe.

Cons

• Lacks client-specific email templates.

Price

It has just one plan; US Businesses ($12), after 6 months it costs $24.

11-  ZipBooks

As an affordable accounting software tool, ZipBooks has capabilities to aid small businesses, growing enterprises, as well as freelancing professionals in handling their accounting and bookkeeping needs.

ZipBooks has machine learning-driven features that provide actionable insights, such as Business Health Score and Invoice Quality Score. These insights help you retain clients and overall optimize your business performance.

However, it lacks an inventory management feature, and therefore, it fits service-centric businesses instead of retailers.

Features

• Online invoicing
• Invoice generation
• Double-entry accounting.
• Time tracking
• Recurring billing
• Bank reconciliation features. 
• Team management

Pros

• Easy learning curves.
• Highly intuitive accounting and bookkeeping platform.
• Flexible billing and invoicing.
• Actionable insights through ML.

Cons

• Time tracker is offered in the paid plans only.
• Linking bank accounts for people staying outside of America is not possible, since it is a U.S.-centric software.
• Limited report generation with the free version.

Price

It has four plans; Free, Smarter ($15), Sophisticated ($35), Accountant.

12- TurboCASH

TurboCASH is open-source accounting software for small businesses. It is designed to help a user with inventory management, budgeting, invoicing, and much more. 

If you go for its fourth version, it is free but has many limited features, such as invoicing, stock, cashbook, tax and VAT management, profit and loss, and book repository.

The fifth version incorporates many advances like a cloud-based app, payroll, spreadsheet-based features, PDF report, multiple tax rates, and more. However, it is paid.

Features

• Invoice generation
• Stock and cash book.
• Customer management
• Tax management.

Pros

• Easy to set up, use, and customize.
• Fit any industry type.

Cons

• Lacks integration with business applications like Shopify.

Price

Its fourth version is free. The fifth version for a single user costs $60/month and the multi-user costs $200/month.

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13- CloudBooks

CloudBooks is one of the very rare software that provides all the necessary and advanced accounting features to small businesses and freelancers at an extremely low price. Some of its basic features include billing and invoice creation, along with project management and time tracking. 

User can track their expenses in real-time and then add them to invoices. For payment collection, there are options like credit cards, PayPal, checks, or cash, which can be chosen on a recurring or one-time basis. 

The project management feature enables the user to assign projects and view the team’s progress, as a whole or individually. As a part of the security feature, there is an option to set permissions for each team member to restrict invoice view. 

CloudBooks has extremely simple pricing. There is one free plan and two paid plans available at a monthly charge.  

Features

• Invoice creation
• Project management
• Time tracking
• Expense management
• Payment gateway
• Reporting

Pros

• Extremely affordable
• Free plan included
• Straightforward pricing

Cons

• Lacks multiple gateways

Price

It has plans; Free, Team ($10), and Agency ($20).

14- Zoho Books

Zoho Books is recognized for offering a variety of premium features included in the free plan that makes it a must-try for growing business. The paid plans are also very affordable.

It has plenty of automated options, such as you can automate sending payment reminders. Creating invoices in Zoho is quite easy and quick compared to other accounting software. 

Some of its other important features include tax management, debt management, collaboration, and an online payment option.

Features

• Instant invoice creation.
• Tax filing
• Time tracking
• Banking reconciliation
• Expense tracking
• Supports 50+ business reports
• Client collaboration

Pros

• Immediate adaptation to local tax laws, currency, and language.
• Automatic payment reminders
• Easy expense tracking.

Cons

• Limited customization features

Price

It offers four plans; Free, Standard ($10), Professional ($20), and Premium (30).

15- Due Invoicing

The most attractive area of Due Invoicing is its lifetime free plan. It has only one paid plan that costs as low as $10. 

As far as features are concerned, you get a number of eye-catching functionalities like quick customized invoice creation and fast payment receiving through credit cards, cryptocurrencies, and ACH transfers. 

Other than that, there is an option to automate payment reminders, export data, set multiple recipients, and team permissions. Altogether, it has all the necessary invoicing-related features; a perfect fit for small or startup businesses.  

Features

• Unlimited customized invoicing.
• Multiple business management.
• Unlimited recurring invoices and clients.
• Taxes and fee application.
• Multiple recipients.
• Payments, partial payments, and overdue invoices tracking.

Pros

• A free plan forever with an extensive number of features.
• Simple pricing.
• Payment receivable through credit cards, cryptocurrencies, and ACH transfers.
• Integration with Basecamp, PayPal, and Stripe.

Cons

Not known.

Price

It has two plans; Free (Lifetime) and Premium ($10).

Summary

Using accounting software for your startup can incredibly speed up your complex and time-consuming processes. It is wise to use an accounting tool now as your accounting is likely to become more difficult with your growing business.

A mindfully chosen software will not only save your time with fast invoicing but will also give you a quick summary or detailed report of your profits and losses. Plus, it will also look after the legal requirements of your current region or country where you are operating your business.