​​7 Best Small Business Accounting Apps of 2023

Need to manage your business finances on a budget without overwhelm or burnout? Then it’s time to consider small business accounting software.

Small business accounting apps are a cost-effective and efficient way to help you keep your financial records up-to-date while on the go.

They’ll help you reach your financial goals faster, discover growth opportunities, and fulfill your tax obligations to the government, whether or not you’re in office.

We look at the top 7 best small business accounting software, their features, and which businesses can benefit most from each. Let’s get started.

What are the Best Small Business Accounting Apps?

Before you choose a small business accounting software or app, you’ll have to consider important factors like functionality, price per user, and ease of use. The best accounting software is generally easy to start with and covers basic bookkeeping functions.

It’ll allow you to send invoices readily, generate reports, automate expenditure tracking, and instantly transfer funds to your account, all from a user-friendly mobile interface. Below we explore the top accounting software options that bring the full power of their website features to mobile.

1. FreshBooks

Best Invoicing for Freelancers and Solopreneurs

FreshBooks is well-known for its cutting-edge, cloud-based accounting platform on the web. Its mobile app does not disappoint either. Stay on top of your client invoicing, tracking time, and logging expenses from your mobile device with the FreshBooks accounting app.

With the FreshBooks app, you can expect a smooth and bug-free experience on Android and iOS, plus an intuitive, user-friendly interface.

Key Features

FreshBooks has built a strong reputation as one of the best accounting software on the market, and its Android and iOS apps are no exception.

• Mileage Tracking: Do a lot of work on the move? FreshBooks offers mileage tracking for your business trips and meetings in your expenses. Easily separate business trips from personal trips to keep accurate records of your business expenses. See your tax deductions from the app for maximum tax savings.
• OCR Receipt and Record Recognition: Record business expenditure with FreshBooks OCR technology. Just use the app to take a picture of your receipt the next time you pick up the tab for a client's lunch or project supplies. The app will automatically record the merchant, the total amount spent, and taxes in your expenses, making bookkeeping simple for small business owners.
• Checkout Links: No need to chase your client down just to get your payment. With FreshBooks' custom checkout links feature, all your client needs is to click a button to pay instantly. You can create as many custom checkout links as you want and receive payment via WePay, FreshBooks’ payment processing partner.
• In-App Estimates and Proposals: No need to spend time creating a separate proposal or estimate for each client. With Freshbooks accounting software, you can create and send an estimate or proposal right from within the app. You’ll even get a notification when your proposal or invoice is viewed.

Pricing

FreshBooks offers four pricing plans, with the fourth option being the custom pricing option in case you have specific needs. Its most affordable plan starts from $15 per month(currently on sale for $4.50/month) for five billable clients and one user.

The Plus plan bills at $25/month for 50 billable clients, and the premium plan at $50/month for unlimited billable clients.

Pros

• Budget-friendly for freelancers and solopreneurs.
• Unlimited and customizable recurring invoicing and estimates
• Time and expense tracking.
• Responsive customer support team
• Tax reporting
• Accounts payable section

Cons

• Expensive if you need to have multiple user access.
• Basic plan doesn’t offer a client retainer option.

2. Xero

Ideal for Large Teams and Medium-Sized Businesses

While most small business accounting software will charge you per user, Xero leaps ahead of the competition to offer unlimited multiple users. This makes it ideal for collaboration and working in teams where multiple people are involved in your accounting process.

Key Features

• Invoicing: Most small business accounting software offer invoicing features, but Xero’s invoicing is truly seamless. Quickly turn all your quotes into beautiful customized invoices in seconds. Plus, get real-time updates when a client views your invoice.
• Employee Time Tracking: Track time and keep your employees’ productivity high with the employee time tracking feature. Ensure your team is on track with all its goals and milestones as Xero automatically logs all worked and paid hours.
• Automatic Bank Reconciliation: Reconciling your accounts doesn’t have to be a chore. Xero does account reconciliation daily and lets you categorize and keep track of your bank transactions daily using suggested matches. You can even code your bank transactions in bulk (based on your plan).

The Xero accounting app provides standard features like invoicing, billable clients, and expense tracking. It also lets you reconcile your bank accounts and track employee time even on its basic plan. You can send payment reminders for overdue invoices too.

Other impressive key features include a built-in contact management system plus multi-currency billing in over 150 currencies. Send estimates and quotes right from within the Xero app.

Pricing

At $22 per month, Xero’s basic plan may not be the cheapest option on the market. But, given that additional users cost anywhere from $10 to $20 per user, business owners will save more if they have a large team.

The standard plan is $35 per month and offers unlimited invoicing and quotes. You can also track expenses and payments and plan your business finances 30 days in advance. Finally, the premium plan bills $47 per month and offers multi-currency billing.

Pros

• Unlimited users on all plans
• Built-in contact management system
• Online storage for digital copies of receipts and invoices

Cons

• Time-tracking and project management come at an additional fee per project
• No multicurrency support on both Starter and Standard plans

3. QuickBooks

Best Comprehensive Accounting for Medium-Sized Businesses.

QuickBooks Online outshines its competitors simply because it packs more punch into its mobile app than most other accounting software. That means your QuickBooks app will work just like the web version, which is impressive.

Key Features

You’ll be able to handle everything related to your day-to-day accounting tasks like invoicing, estimates, and quotes, plus expense management. For small to medium-sized business owners, other features include

• Secure Invoicing: Most small business accounting software allows you to send invoices and estimates, but QuickBooks online goes one step further. Send invoices attached to text messages or any messaging platform of your choice with secure encryption, plus get live alerts once your invoice is viewed. You’ll also get job costing to pick the most profitable projects and create 1099s for your independent contractors.
• Advanced Reporting: Keep an eye on your open invoices, customer balances, and overdue amounts with advanced accounting reports like the Customer Balance Summary or Accounts Receivable Aging Summary. The QuickBooks accounting app puts your accounting data in your palms, so you can truly run your business finances from your phone. You can create custom reports and view sales trends, so you know what’s working in your business now. (This is available on the advanced plan only).
• Multiple User Access: If you grant multiple users with the QuickBooks online web version, all your registered users can still use the accounting app simultaneously.
• Mileage Tracking: If your business involves a lot of transit time, QuickBooks Online lets you automatically track your mileage via GPS from the app so you can record business travel in an instant. You also can set up your estimates and have them signed remotely even while you’re away on vacation.

Pricing

QuickBooks Online isn’t necessarily the cheapest option compared to others, with single-user basic plans starting from $25 per month. However, you get 1099 contractor filing, mileage tracking, reports, and estimates.

To get started, you can try the QuickBooks mobile app for 30 days free before switching to any paid plan.

Pros

• Reporting even on basic plan
• Supports 1099 contractor filing
• Remote estimate set up and handling
• User interface is customizable on the app

Cons

• More expensive than most other accounting apps
• Accept payments feature is sold as an add-on service
• The Android version of the app has bugs.

4. Wave

Best Free Accounting and Invoicing Software for Small Businesses

So far, we’ve seen accounting software charging per user or based on features, but Wave is completely disrupting the market by offering everything for free. No gimmicks, no free trials, and no limitations.

Yes, you read right. Everything is absolutely free on Wave. This makes it the ideal small business accounting software for startups, very small businesses, and solopreneurs.

Key Features

• Unlimited users: This accounting platform lets you have unlimited users for multiple businesses with one account. You can give each user limited or full access to accounting functions. So whether you want to add a business partner or bookkeeper, Wave has a preset profile for each accounting professional with limited permissions. You can add your store manager because it has inventory management capabilities.
• Unlimited Invoicing: Wave doesn’t just let you track income; you can also create unlimited customized invoices for unlimited clients. Send out estimates, create recurring billing invoices, and even automate reminders for overdue invoices for free. Plus, after receiving payment for your invoice, simply send a receipt automatically and record the payment as part of your bank transactions.
• Chart of Accounts: Wave’s accounting software makes reconciling your wave accounts with real-world bank statements a breeze. Plus, you get a chart of accounts that lets you readily track all business expenses, assets, and liabilities so you can always stay on top of your cash flow.

Pricing

Wave charges a nominal fee of 2.9% + 60¢ per transaction to process payments (3.4% + 60¢ to process American Express) if you use it to accept payments. Accounting and invoicing are 100% free with Wave.

Pros

• 100% free accounting and invoicing features
• Unlimited custom invoicing
• Unlimited billable clients
• Unlimited multiple users for free
• Free iOS and Android app versions

Cons

• The Android version doesn’t run as smoothly as iOS.
• Credit card processing fees go up fast in high-volume transactions.

5. Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Best Small Business Cloud Accounting Software for Startups

The Sage cloud accounting mobile app shines because it simplifies your small business bookkeeping and accounting needs when you’re on the go. Whether you choose the web version or app, you’re sure to get a great user experience thanks to a colorful dashboard and user-friendly interface.

Key Features

Whether you choose its web version or the mobile app, you’re sure to get a great user experience thanks to a colorful dashboard and user-friendly interface. Other features include

• Invoicing: The sage accounting app lets you send invoices directly from your phone, track overdue invoices and even upload photos and documents related to an expense (like receipts) to your reports and invoices. This is especially helpful for expense-tracking, another feature you’ll find on the app.
• Contact management: You can also manage your contacts directly from the Sage app as it syncs your contacts with its contact management feature. Keep track of all business communication and categorize bank transactions, whether on the road or in a meeting with your app.
• Self Help Hub: Finally, Sage has the most comprehensive online education portal for accounting designed for small businesses and solopreneurs.

Pricing

Sage Business Cloud accounting offers two pricing plans, a budget-friendly $10 per month plan for small business owners and a $25 per month advanced plan.

Pros

• Cash flow forecasting
• Automatically reconciles bank accounts
• Supports unlimited users
• Inventory tracking features
• Built-in contact management for business conversations
• Comprehensive accounting education online portal
• Responsive customer support team

Cons

• No mileage tracking
• Android user experience is not smooth.

6. Zoho Books

Best Accounting App for Automation and Collaboration.

When it comes to automation and collaboration, you can’t go wrong with the Zoho Books app. Let Zoho Books handle all the accounting tasks you hate by simply automating them with its workflow builder. While it doesn’t offer payroll integration, Zoho Books is still a robust option if you need book-keeping features on an app that is bug-free.

If you find manually entering records, categorizing payments, and uploading receipts to be a chore, the Zoho Books app will end that. It brings automation and collaboration on business records to mobile in a hassle-free way.

Key Features

Zoho Books offers your standard accounting and book-keeping features like

• Tracking payables and time tracking: Track time and payables both from your phone. You can even use Siri to set reminders for your transactions and timers, plus create expenses in iOS.
• Invoicing and estimates: If you need to create one-time or multiple recurring invoices, the Zoho Books app lets you do that easily. You can also automatically track and record mileage via Apple or Google Maps too.
• Multiple Users and Collaboration: Need to collaborate with other users? You can add up to 10 users per account based on your subscription.
• Workflow automation: Most business owners use multiple apps to run their online business. With Zoho’s full suite of native tools and third-party integrations, you can do all your project accounting and finances from one place.

Pricing

You can use Zoho Books for free if your business makes less than $50,000 annually. The free plan gives you one user and one accountant access, up to 1,000 invoices and

However, for businesses that earn more than that, Zoho Books app has a basic plan from $9 per month for three users and goes up to $19/month for the Zoho Books Professional plan, which also gives you five users.

The Premium plan bills at $29 per month for medium to large businesses with multiple branches and allows you to have a custom domain, vendor portal, and budgeting.

Pros

• Free plan for freelancers and solopreneurs
• Time and expense tracking
• Multi-currency support
• Supports multiple third-party payment gateways
• Workflow automation rule options are available

Cons

• The Android version doesn’t operate smoothly as the iOS version
• It doesn’t integrate payroll into the mobile app

7. Kashoo

Best Accounting App for iOS Users

If simplicity is your thing and you’re looking for small business accounting software with robust bookkeeping features on iOS, Kashoo is your go-to option. You can send invoices and estimates for free, track income and clients plus customize your CoA on its advanced plan.

Kashoo may not have an android version ready yet (sorry Android users!), but its brilliance in being a simple, no-frills accounting software for small businesses and solopreneurs make it a worthy mention.

The accounting app makes bookkeeping straightforward, especially if you have no clue where to start.

Key Features

• Invoicing and sales tax tracking: Simply create and send invoices, collect payments and even track your sales tax without getting lost in complex charts and data-loaded dashboards.
• Automated Payments and Account Reconciliation: You’ll be able to automate your payments without any added fees too. Kashoo lets you set up payments to automatically go to your bank account the minute they come in. No need to manually reconcile and sort them because that’s done for you too.
• Double Entry Ledger: Worried about errors when entering your financial transactions? Kashoo’s double entry ledger has built-in safeguards to guide you and automatically categorize and record your financial transactions correctly. The automatic categorization feature is both IRS and CRA compliant and only works with your official bank data, so you don’t have duplicate entries.
• Advanced contact management: Other apps offer you contact management, but Kashoo takes it further by automatically creating a contact in the mobile app any time you communicate with a new vendor. No need to sync or upload any data.

Pricing

Kashoo offers a free plan if you’re looking only to send invoices, but if you want to track expenses, sales, and sales tax, you’ll have to sign up for its $20/month plan.

For $30 per month Kashoo plan, you can get all the features on its truly small accounting plan plus multi-currency billing, advanced reporting, multiple users, inventory management and payroll.

Pros

• Free invoicing only plan available.
• Expense tracking and photo upload to categorize expenses
• Automated payments and account reconciliation
• IRS/CRA Standard CoA

Cons

• No Android app version
• Not suited for businesses with advanced accounting needs

Discover the Best Mobile Accounting Apps for Your Small Business

Whether you’re a solopreneur, freelancer, or fast-growing small business, lots of small business accounting software makes it easy to track your revenue on the road. A mobile app for accounting allows you to send invoices, estimates, and receipts and helps reconcile your accounts no matter where you are.

Here are a few things to consider when choosing a mobile accounting app for your small business.

• Ease of Use: How intuitive is the app’s user interface? Consider cloud-based accounting software whose apps provide a smooth user experience on Android and iOS. Keep in mind how tech-savvy your team is, so you don’t choose something too complex for them.
• Available Features: Which accounting features do you need the most on mobile? Do you need billing and invoicing? Or is inventory management more important to you? Choose an app based on which accounting features you need most when you’re on the road.
• Cost per user: If you have a team that helps you with bookkeeping, you’ll need to consider if they need access to the app. What is the price per user? Can you restrict user access based on the profiles you create? It’s worth considering some free small business accounting software if you’re on a budget.

Was This Article Helpful?