Best Bookkeeping Apps for Small Business Owners

Every business owner knows that bookkeeping is a challenge, but with the help of modern apps it is much easier to stay on top of your firm’s finances.

Of course with so much competition in this budding marketplace, choosing the best app can be tricky. This handy guide should point you in the direction of the perfect accounting software for small businesses.

Wave

One of the up and coming apps in this segment, Wave bookkeeping features include generally outstanding invoicing abilities that can be applied across a range of different currencies. This is handy for smaller organisations that might be doing business internationally via the internet and have a need to provide estimates to overseas clients.

Another perk of Wave is its inclusion of comprehensive management tools to make it possible to accept payments on a recurring basis, allowing you to offer subscription-style services to customers without much hassle. Automating a lot of the more frustrating aspects of bookkeeping in this way can save you a lot of time.

QuickBooks

Arguably the best-known accounting app on the block, QuickBooks brings lots of benefits to the table for small business users. It offers excellent features on both desktop and smartphones, allowing you to keep track of money matters while you are at the office or on the move. It also has a flexible pricing structure, allowing you to pick the package that suits the scale of your operations and avoid overpaying for capabilities that you will not use.

Powered by the cloud, like all of its contemporaries, QuickBooks also lets you stay on top of payroll responsibilities, manage inventory, integrate with other popular platforms for e-commerce purposes and configure tax facilities. The only downside is that some of the more complex aspects of the app may be too confusing to use if you are not qualified finance professional.

Wave and Quickbooks are often compared to one another, being two of the better-known pieces of accounting software. It’s important to review the key features, compatibility, ease of use and price before making your decision.

FreshBooks

Free to try and featured in many major publications, FreshBooks is tuned more towards small businesses and sole traders, encompassing plenty of perks that will make running a modest organisation less overwhelming in the early days.

Simplicity is the name of the game here, with the interface of the app optimised to lower the learning curve and ensure that you are never confused by what it can do. It lets you record expenses, track the time you spend on tasks, manages entire projects and request payments from clients and customers. As late payments cost small businesses billions, an app like this could allow you to overcome cash flow problems.

Sage

Migrating to a cloud-based accounting solution makes sense for businesses of all sizes since the scalability of a remotely hosted platform as opposed to a locally installed piece of software is immensely useful. Sage is one such bookkeeping service, focusing on the collaborative aspects of accounting which mean that it is straightforward to work with an external consultant to tackle your bookkeeping responsibilities, rather than having to shoulder the lion’s share of the work yourself.

Another of Sage’s significant claims relates to security; the app is encrypted and protected to the same level as the digital services operated by banks and other financial institutions. Since data breaches can cost businesses $1 million or more to recover from, this is clearly an important consideration.

Whichever bookkeeping app you choose for your small business, remember that many modern services are available to test out without making a long term commitment. Likewise, the subscription-based nature of payment for cutting edge apps means there is rarely a steep upfront outlay to worry about and you can see which option is most suitable for yourself.