Accounting Software is not only a financial management tool, but it’s part of the overall strategy of your company to achieve the most potential possible while improving other business areas.
For decades, Intuit has been a significant (if not the biggest) name in accounting. Most small businesses use it to track their income and expenses, with over 2.2 million users that trust the software to do their accounting.
QuickBooks by Intuit is often the first accounting software small businesses choose once they decide that Excel is no longer enough. The solution has a community of experts and consultants who help companies get the most out of it.
Businesses of all sizes can deploy QuickBooks on-premise or cloud-hosted. The software can handle all business software activities from a single dashboard accessible by many users.
Why Use QuickBooks?
- User-friendly
- Affordable and suitable for small businesses
- Visually appealing
- Feature-rich
- Over 500 integrations
- Synchronizes all financial data strengthening accounting integrity
- Cloud-based, meaning you can access the dashboard from
- Accounts that lets you create and share data with other users
- Inclusive support
- Auto-synchronization across devices and users
- Strong security
Why seek alternatives to Quickbooks?
The number one complaint users have about QuickBooks is their poor customer service. There has also been an increase in pricing recently. The software also has limited time tracking, and the payroll costs extra.
But your reason could be different from all of those. Maybe you are looking for a specific feature that QuickBooks doesn’t have, or perhaps you find QuickBooks unintuitive and hard to navigate.
Whatever the reason may be, worry not, because there are always alternatives. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the best QuickBooks alternatives you can find.
Best QuickBooks Alternatives
- FreshBooks
- Wave
- Xero
- Zoho Books
- Netsuite ERP
- Sage50 Cloud
- Gusto
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is popular accounting software that allows businesses to manage invoices as well as track and collect payments – all from a single platform. The solution integrates smoothly with popular payment gateways such as PayPal and major credit cards. It also integrates seamlessly with other 3rd party apps and services.
FreshBooks lets you track current and previous invoices, and an automated overdue payment can be set up to send clients reminders of their payments. All of this is designed to make managing cash flow an easy and painless process.
FreshBooks also has iOS and Android applications that are highly rated and have all the features and functions of the cloud solution.
Navigating FreshBooks is easy and intuitive, and automated task prioritization allows you to manage your time more efficiently.
Why use FreshBooks?
- No limit on invoices and estimates
- Manage accounts receivable
- Project tracking
- Time tracking
- Expenses tracking
- Import bank and credit card transactions
- A more functional design than QuickBooks
- Cleaner interface
- Easier to navigate
- Faster to generate reports, balance sheets, expense reports, etc.
- Lower starting price
Pricing
FreshBooks offers three pricing plans:
- FreshBooks Lite – $15/month: 5 customers per month – Essential features only
- FreshBooks Plus – $25/month: 50 Customers per month – Essential features + Schedule recurring invoices, charge late fees and overdue invoices, and automatically send payment reminders.
- FreshBooks Premium – $50/month: 500 Customers per month – Essential features + Schedule recurring invoices, charge late fees and overdue invoices, and automatically send payment reminders.
If you want to read more about FreshBooks, you can check out this FreshBooks VS QuickBooks Detailed Comparison.
Wave
If you are a small business owner or manager with a tight budget, then Wave should be on the top of your list. It is a free accounting app that integrates accounting and invoicing and has receipt scanning as well. It is perfect for freelancers, consultants, and small startups (with teams that have less than ten members).
Wave gives your business professionally designed invoices, estimates, and receipts. All are completely free of charge.
The app manages payments and invoices, and it can also allow you to accept credit card processing. With the app, you can do expense tracking and automate some processes such as payment alerts.
Why Use Wave?
- Free – Perfect for small startups, freelancers, and microbusinesses
- Track income and expenses
- Import bank/credit card transactions
- Receipt scanning features tied to expense tracking
- Dashboards which are easy to follow
- Manage accounts receivable
- Prepare some key reports such as Profit and loss and Balance sheets, but cash flow Statement is not available
However, with the software being all free, some compromises had to be made. For example, you won’t find features such as bank reconciliation, tax calculations, and online banking. The solution’s ability to pay bills is also limited. Wave also doesn’t support Android.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide if those compromises are worth it in exchange for its affordability.
Xero
Xero is a collaborative accounting platform with a friendly user interface that can manage your financial activities with ease thanks to its automation capabilities, templates, and features.
Xero is cloud-based, affordable, and user-friendly, making it one of the best options for freelancers, consultants, and small businesses, and startups. The setup is an easy and painless process thanks to the Express setup service (optional), and the dashboard holds all the tools in one place.
From its dashboard, you will be able to monitor invoicing and billing as well as check charts and reports to always be on top of your business.
Xero also simplifies transactions that feature a multi-approval model and two-factor authentication to limit the chances of financial fraud risk to a minimum.
Why use Xero?
- Track income and expenses
- Track inventory
- Manage accounts payable and receivable
- Import bank/credit card transactions
- Anti-fraud control
- Prepare critical reports such as Profit and loss, Cash Flow Statement, Balance Sheet, etc.
- Multi-currency
- Unlimited Email Support
- Mobile user-friendly interface
- Prepare 1099s and issue them
- Smart lists
Pricing
Xero offers three packages:
- Starter – $9/month – essential features only
- Standard – $30/month – Essential features and payroll for five employees
- Premium 10 – $70/month – Essential functions, payroll for up to 10 employees, and Multi-currency support
Zoho Books
If you are in the market for a user-friendly accounting solution suitable for startups and small businesses and can be easily used by first-timers, Zoho Books is one of the top choices you can find.
It is a secure and reliable cloud-based accounting solution that has the tools to handle your finances. With Zoho Books, you can send professional-looking invoices and manage your cash flow with ease. The application comes with essential features such as profit and loss estimates and balance sheets.
As part of the suite of Zoho Products, Zoho Books integrates smoothly with your other Zoho business and productivity apps for more functionality.
Why Use Zoho Books?
- If you’re familiar with Zoho Productivity Apps, it works well with them
- Project and timesheets
- Project accounting
- Clean design
- Professionally-designed templates
- Schedule recurring transactions
- Easy to setup
- Simple to use and navigate
- Better integration via RESTful API
- Mobile responsive compatibility with and iOS.
- Starts at the lower price of $9/month
- Prepare key reports
- Manage accounts receivable
- Reconcile bank or credit card accounts
Pricing:
- $9/month – Essential features only – 50 clients and two users only
- $19/month – Essential features and limited bill pay – 500 clients and three users
- $29/month – Essential features, sales orders, inventory, and purchase orders – Unlimited clients and ten users
NetSuite ERP
NetSuite ERP is not only an accounting tool, but the solution covers vital business processes such as purchasing and vendor management, fixed asset management, and warehouse management as well. NetSuite ERP is used by over 40,000 organizations located in over 160 countries.
The app is best suitable for fast-growing businesses and large enterprises as it has more advanced and sophisticated features than the others on this list, such as financial planning, payroll services, and revenue recognition management.
NetSuite ERP is a part of the NetSuite product line, and so, it has smooth integration with its CRM, e-commerce, and order management solutions.
NetSuite ERP gives businesses clear visibility across the supply chain with a set of inventory, manufacturing, and purchasing tools. It also streamlines the sales quote, order, invoicing, and payment workflows, and by doing so, it speeds up the quote-to-payment cycle.
Why Use NetSuite ERP?
- Modern and Scalable
- Real-time reporting
- Built-in business intelligence and analytics
- Real-time insights into the financial performance of the business
- Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable
- Audit Trails
- End-to-end lifecycle management
- Global Currency and Exchange rates
- Tax Management and Fixed Assets management
- Global Currency and exchange rates
- Fraud Prevention
- Fraud prevention
Pricing:
NetSuite ERP is available on a by-quote basis. To get a customized quote for your company, please contact the vendor. Their enterprise pricing is based on modules, several users per month, and the add-ons you choose.
Sage 50 Cloud
If you have ever found yourself torn by your inability to choose between the freedom offered by online solutions like QuickBooks online with the power a desktop solution offers, then Sage 50 might be able to help you with that.
That’s because Sage 50Cloud is a hybrid accounting solution that aims to satisfy the needs of small business owners, accountants, and bookkeepers by giving them everything in one solution.
Sage 50cloud offers enterprise-level features for small and mid-size businesses, and you get everything a small business might need, such as cash flows, expenses, inventory, and business taxes.
You can create invoices in seconds, and you can add any feature from a comprehensive list of add-ons that offer everything from data management to e-commerce and everything in between.
Why Sage 50 Cloud?
- You get a flexible cloud and on-premise set up and operation
- An extensive list of available add-ons for added features and extra functionality
- Easily create invoices, track cash flow, and do inventory management
- Manage business taxes
- Excellent mobile application
- Real-time recording of sales and receipts
- Tracking receivable and transferring funds from the app
Pricing
- Sage 50Cloud PRO: Costs $44.97/mo. – Gives you one user and the basic features such as managing cash flow and costs, paying bills and receiving payments, and complete cloud access. You also get the Office 365 integration.
- Sage 50Cloud Premium: Costs $69.62/mo. – You still get only one user, but you also get job management, expenses management, and inventory planning and tracking as well as all the other features included in the PRO plan.
- Sage 50Cloud Quantum Accounting: $175.87/mo. – You still get all the features of the Premium Accounting Solution, but the number of users goes up to 3, and you get enterprise-level accounting and fast processing for up to 40 users.
Sage50Cloud also offers a one-month free trial that you can sign up for here.
Gusto
Gusto is an excellent accounting tool that’s more focused on payroll management but can still do all of the business finances stuff just fine. You can use Gusto to automate many of your tasks, such as the calculation of pre-tax benefits, deductions, and reimbursements.
Gusto also comes with direct deposit and digital paystub generation that makes distributing payments easier than with most other software solutions.
Unfortunately, Gusto lacks some functionalities offered by QuickBooks and is not able to handle some accounting tasks such as expense management and bookkeeping. However, it tries to get around this by providing plenty of integrations with many third-party accounting systems.
Why Gusto?
- Perfect for small businesses thanks to its ease of use
- Purpose-built for payroll management
- Can combine accounting and HR processes
- Seamless integrations with plenty of third-party accounting systems
- Automation for many tasks to save time and resources
Pricing
Gusto offers three pricing plans:
- Core Plan – starts at $39/mo. + $6/mo./person – offers all the payroll features, health benefits, employee profiles and accounts, expert support, and workers’ comp administration.
- Complete Plan – Starts at $39/mo. + $12/mo./person – includes all the features of the Core plan and adds all payroll features, time-off requests, hiring and onboarding tools, and employee directory
- Concierge Plan – Costs $149/mo. + $12/mo./person – Includes everything. You get all of the features of the complete plan, advanced HR tools, and help from certified HR advisors.
Health benefits, 529 plans, commuter benefits, 401 (k) plans, FSAs, and HSAs can be added to any plan. Gusto offers a free trial as well.
Before you go
There are more alternatives to QuickBooks out there. Many more. Four of the options presented here are suitable for small businesses, but most of them are scalable and can work for larger firms. This is particularly helpful because it means it can grow with your company and you won’t need to switch to another app because you’ve outgrown the one you are using (and this is very annoying).
I hope you found this article useful. If you did, feel free to share it. As always, if you have any comments or questions, leave them below.
