The Best Accounting and Invoice-Generating Software for 2021

Intuit's QuickBooks Online is our choice for the best accounting software for small businesses due to its feature-rich cloud software, wide variety of integrations, affordable pricing, and reputation. QuickBooks has served small businesses for more than 20 years, and for good reason. When you choose this accounting software, you get all the tools you need to support your operations now and in the future.

What led to QuickBooks Online being selected as our best pick for small businesses is that even its basic plan has lots of features other vendors charge extra for, including professional invoicing and the ability to accept payments, track expenses, and manage your business's cash flow. QuickBooks' higher-priced plans include batch invoices; business analytics; a dedicated support team; on-demand online training; and integrations with Bill.com, Salesforce, and HubSpot. With all of QuickBooks' plans, you can snap photos of receipts and link expenses from your mobile device, integrate with several apps, and access customer support.

Another aspect of QuickBooks that makes it ideal for small businesses is the ability to connect with a live accountant. Cloud accounting software automates a lot of the tasks, but sometimes, you need the insight of an accounting professional. With QuickBooks's Live Bookkeeping service, you get access to a bookkeeper who sets up the software for you, categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts, closes books monthly and runs detailed reports. Another helpful feature with the service is Cleanup, which QuickBooks rolled out earlier this year. Customers can use the feature on a pay-per-use basis to reconcile historical accounts and categorize historical transactions. Pricing for the live bookkeeping service depends on your needs and requires an initial consultation (which is free) with a QuickBooks representative.

For small business owners who already have a trusted accountant, QuickBooks makes it easy (and free) for them to collaborate with you. The software enables you to invite an accountant who can work on your books for free. All the accountant needs to do is accept the invitation. You can remove access anytime.

QuickBooks offers small businesses of all sizes a full suite of features and functionality at affordable price points, but that's not the only reason we selected it as the best accounting software for small businesses. We also like its reputation and adoption rate. If you work with an accountant or accounting consultant, chances are, they are familiar with QuickBooks. The same can't always be said of other accounting software programs.

April 2021: Intuit has partnered with DocuSign to enable business owners to sign estimates digitally without leaving the QuickBooks Online platform. Through QuickBooks' new DocuSign eSignature Connector, small businesses can improve their turnaround times for estimates, automate the estimate process, and track progress of a potential contract. QuickBooks said customers can save $36 on average per contract with the service.

May 2021: Intuit recently announced QuickBooks Online's integration with Docyt, an AI-powered tool that works in conjunction with the accounting software. Through Docyt, business owners can pay bills, manage expenses and financial documents, capture receipts, and run different reports from one central location. With this integration, the company aims to reduce the number of apps accountants and business owners have to manage.

FreshBooks makes it quick and easy to create professional invoices, get paid quickly, and track down past-due payments, but that just scratches the surface of what it can do. With competitive pricing, robust invoicing capabilities, and other accounting features, FreshBooks is the best accounting software for invoicing.

Getting paid on time is a big pain point for small businesses. Remembering to bill clients, let alone chase down past-due bills, can quickly fall by the wayside as you focus on running your business. FreshBooks accounting software removes a lot of those challenges, with its feature-rich invoicing capabilities.

Take the creation of invoices, for example. With FreshBooks, you can create professional invoices customized with your logo and message. Clients can opt to pay their bills through the invoice, reducing the time it takes to get paid.

Do you have clients who tend to pay late? FreshBooks lets you create reminders and send alerts to customers when bills are due or past due. It also monitors the status of invoices after you send them, alerting you when customers receive and view them. With FreshBooks' invoice generator, you can add tracked time and expenses to invoices.

Invoicing features aside, FreshBooks has a lot of features small business owners will appreciate. Using the cloud-based accounting program, small business owners can track the time they spend working on a project, connect a bank account and credit card to eliminate the need for manual entries, and benefit from automatic updates. Customers can also snap a picture of a receipt and log it while they are on the go. FreshBooks' Premium and Select plans now use double-entry accounting – which is a significant upgrade to the software – and allow you to create a chart of accounts and run new reports, such as a general ledger, balance sheet, and trial balance. If you have an accountant, you can easily invite them to your FreshBooks account in a few clicks.

FreshBooks also stands out on the reporting front. You can run profit and loss reports, sales tax summaries, accounts aging and expense reports, invoice details, payment collected, and time-entry details. After running reports, you can email them, print them or export them to Excel.

FreshBooks supports more than 80 apps and integrations, allowing you to connect this accounting software to other business services and systems you may already use. If you have a larger business and want several users to access your account, FreshBooks may get pricey. However, for most small businesses that send a lot of invoices, FreshBooks is a standout.

NetSuite is a full-featured accounting and ERP program that enables small businesses to manage all aspects of their business – billing, reporting, manufacturing – from one dashboard. NetSuite offers a full AR service that automates the delivery and collection of invoices and an accounts payable solution that automates payments. Another attractive aspect of NetSuite is its tax-management tools. Its tax engine provides business owners with domestic and global tax management. Taxes can easily be processed according to local laws, removing a lot of the guesswork. The engine supports all currencies and exchange rates.

NetSuite also makes it easy to manage cash flow via its cash management feature, which provides you with insight and visibility to optimize cash flow and stay up to date on your company's bank accounts. Business owners will appreciate NetSuite's payment management system that centralizes and simplifies payments. The planning and budgeting feature automates, processes, and unifies the data, making it easier to create budgets and forecasts, model what-if scenarios, and generate reports on different aspects of your business. You can set access permissions to ensure you're in control of your business's finances at all times.

In addition to all of the accounting features, NetSuite offers a bevy of ERP tools to make it easy to manage finances, handle orders, manage production and supply chains, and plan for the future.

You can fill out a form on the website to be contacted for a free demonstration. Because there are so many capabilities and features with NetSuite, you will need to talk to a sales rep to get an accurate price for the software.

While NetSuite may have too many features for microbusinesses or self-employed individuals, if you are a larger small business with lots of moving parts and complex business functions, NetSuite stands out, which is why it's our pick for best accounting software with ERP functionality.

Small business owners with few employees don't need a complicated accounting program. They need to send invoices, automate payments and reminders, track expenses and projects, and they need to do that on the cheap. Zoho Books checks all of those boxes and then some, making it our best pick for microbusinesses.

Zoho Books is an intuitive accounting software program for microbusinesses that has a ton of features at an affordable price. It has mobile apps for Apple and Android phones (and tablets), as well as Apple Watch and Android smartwatches, allowing you to accomplish accounting tasks from almost anywhere. We like that you can create and send invoices directly from the mobile app.

Its Standard plan costs $15 a month for three users. You can manage up to 50,000 invoices. The Professional plan costs $40 a month for five users. You can also track bills, manage vendor credits and add reporting tags to transactions. The Premium plan costs $60 for 10 users. In addition to the capabilities in the standard plan, you get a custom domain and access to a vendor portal.

Zoho Books stands out for microbusinesses beyond its pricing, thanks to its ability to automate lots of accounting tasks. That frees you up to focus on what you do best: running your business. Estimates and sales orders can quickly be converted into a retainer or recurring invoices. You can schedule when your customers are billed and send payment reminders. Linking your account with your payment processor enables you to accept invoice payments directly through Zoho Books.

Microbusiness owners also save time running reports. You can schedule reports to automatically generate weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually and then have them emailed to you in the format of your choice (PDF, CSV or XLS). Automatically generated weekly summaries give you a view into the business's performance, income, expenses and cash flow.

Another standout feature that business owners will appreciate is Zoho's client portal. It's a website your clients can visit to view their invoices and pay online. You can send estimates and interact with clients via the portal.

Zoho Books is easy to set up and easy to use, but that doesn't mean it isn't powerful. Through the program, you're able to access real-time data and analytics to make informed business decisions. Zoho Books checks all the boxes when it comes to accounting software for microbusinesses.

Small business owners need clear and transparent pricing upfront about how much their accounting software will cost, which is exactly what ZarMoney provides. There's no guesswork involved with ZarMoney, which is why it's our pick for best accounting software for transparent pricing.

ZarMoney is an accounting software program that offers plans for entrepreneurs, small businesses and enterprises. It sticks to a simple pricing plan, charging a flat rate depending on the number of users. Its Entrepreneur plan costs $15 per month for one user. You get unlimited transactions and U.S.-based customer-service. ZarMoney charges $20 for its Small Business plan, which includes two users, unlimited transactions and U.S.-based support. If you want to add an extra user to the Small Business account, you'll pay $10 per user.  You can easily get a clear picture of how much ZarMoney will cost you using the pricing tool on the website. The third plan is the Enterprise plan, which supports 30 or more users, and costs $350 per month.

Time is money, and the more of it that's wasted on mundane business tasks, such as accounts payable and receivable, the worse off you'll be. Plooto is here to help, slashing the time it takes to pay vendors, which is why it's our best pick for automating your accounts payable processes.

Plooto is an all-in-one payment platform that provides greater financial control and simplicity by unifying payments, approvals, reconciliation, and reporting. Plooto's smart approval workflows and secure electronic payments reduce errors, expedite your accounts payable process, and improve how vendors get paid. It also provides end-to-end AP and AR automation. The software is designed for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as accountants and bookkeepers.

E-commerce is exploding across the globe, requiring many businesses to manage online and offline sales. Having an accounting program that brings it all together is important and is where GoDaddy Online Bookkeeping stands out. Not only can you integrate this accounting software with your sales data from Amazon, Etsy, and PayPal, but you can send and track invoices, accept online payments, and run reports, all for an affordable price, making it our best pick for online merchants.

Online merchants need more than basic accounting software. They need to be able to track their sales from multiple channels and view them in one central location. GoDaddy Online Bookkeeping offers that ability and then some. With this easy-to-use accounting software, you can import your data from Amazon, eBay, Etsy, PayPal, and other platforms and generate reports on income, expenses, profits, and losses using real-time data. That gives you an accurate picture of your online sales. We also selected GoDaddy Online Bookkeeping because there is nothing to download or update – you can sign in from any device to access the accounting software in the cloud.

If you're a freelancer or the owner of a small business that doesn't store much inventory, Wave's accounting solution is ideal for you. It offers ample features and is easy to use, even for those who are new to accounting software, making it our best pick for free accounting software.

With Wave, there's no monthly or annual fees or software license to maintain.  The only costs are for optional add-on services. That's a nice attribute of Wave. You can start out with its free software and add more capabilities if you need it.

Sage Business Cloud Accounting is a low-cost, cloud-based program that lets you create and send invoices, track what you're owed, and automate bank reconciliations. At $10 a month, it's an affordable accounting tool that helps you stay on top of all of your accounting tasks, which is why we selected it as best for freelancers and those who are self-employed.

Freelancers and self-employed individuals don't need a lot from their accounting software. They want to bill their customers and get paid quickly. Sage Business Cloud Accounting makes that possible and only charges $10 a month.

With the Sage Accounting Start plan, you can create, track, and send invoices and automatically reconcile bank entries. If you need more than that, the Sage Accounting plan enables business owners to send quotes, estimates, and invoices; forecast cash flow; and manage purchase invoices. For the first three months, you can use Sage to snap and post receipts to your account. The Sage Accounting plan supports unlimited users and costs $25 a month. Sage runs specials from time to time in which it discounts the software as much as 50% for six months. That means freelancers can get good accounting software for just $7.50 a month for half a year. Sage also has a free trial (30 days), so you can test-drive it before committing to it. We also like that you can cancel at any time. You aren't stuck in a long-term contract, but you do have to give notice to avoid any issues.

Sage's program is cloud-based, which means you can access it from any internet-enabled device. It's easy to set up, and the learning curve isn't steep. Sage integrates with Stripe, enabling users to add a "Pay Now" button on invoices. Freelancers can automate many accounting and invoicing tasks, including the auto-posting of expenses and payments, sending and tracking invoices, and setting reminders and alerts.

Freelancers typically don't have a lot of accounting expertise. They may have questions or need accounting help, and Sage makes it easy to obtain that. Sage offers 24/7 support via chat and live Q&A sessions with Sage Success Coaches Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. You can also schedule one-on-one sessions with a Sage Accounting expert online. Additionally, it's easy to extend Sage's capabilities, thanks to its app marketplace. Sage integrates with several apps, including AutoEntry, Draycir, Avalara, Credit Hound and others.

Sage's accounting software offers freelancers and self-employed individuals robust accounting software at an affordable price. It has everything you need to get paid and manage cash flow and is worth considering if you're self-employed.

Sometimes, all you want is a simple way to manage your accounts payable and receivables. You don't want an overly complicated or costly system, just one that can send and track invoices and ensure you get paid. That's where Melio and its free accounts payable software comes in. It's a free cloud-based software program that lets you schedule payments, manage your bills, and it integrates with QuickBooks, making it our best pick for free accounts payable software.

With Melio, it's free to make payments via bank transfer; credit card payments, however, cost 2.9%. You can also accept payments by customers via card or bank transfer at no cost to you. What sets Melio apart from other free accounts payable software is its ease of use. It takes no time to add vendors and schedule payments.

Every business starts small, but as a company grows, its financial needs change. As a result, you want an accounting program you can have over the long haul, and that's where Xero comes in. Xero's pricing and plans are based on the progression of a company, making it our choice for the best accounting software for growing businesses.

Take its pricing for starters. Its Early Plan costs $11 per month and is perfect for freelancers, solo traders and business owners just starting out. You can send 20 invoices and quotes, enter five bills per month and reconcile bank transactions. As you expand, Xero's Growing plan, which is $32 per month, gives you unlimited invoices, bills and bank transactions. The Established Plan is $62 per month. Besides unlimited invoices, bills, and bank transactions, it supports multiple currencies, it can track projects, and you can claim expenses. If you need payroll services, you can add Gusto to your plan.