Top 7 Bookkeeping Software (Jun 2024)

Bookkeeping Buyer's Guide

Overview

Bookkeeping software is a type of software designed to help businesses manage their financial transactions, track expenses, and generate financial reports. It is essential for businesses to maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records to monitor their financial health, comply with tax regulations, and make informed business decisions.

Main Features

The main features of bookkeeping software typically include general ledger management, accounts payable and receivable tracking, bank reconciliation, financial reporting, invoicing, and expense tracking. Some advanced bookkeeping software may also offer features such as budgeting, forecasting, and inventory management.

Main Business Processes the Software Helps With

Bookkeeping software helps businesses streamline their financial processes by automating repetitive tasks, reducing the risk of human error, and providing real-time insights into their financial performance. It enables businesses to track income and expenses, manage cash flow, and generate financial statements with ease.

Steps to Buy Bookkeeping Software

1. Identify your business needs and budget for bookkeeping software. 2. Research different bookkeeping software options available in the market. 3. Read reviews, compare features, and shortlist software that meets your requirements. 4. Request demos or free trials of the shortlisted software to evaluate their usability. 5. Consider scalability, ease of integration with other tools, and customer support options. 6. Finalize the software that best fits your business needs and budget. 7. Purchase the software from the vendor or through their website. 8. Implement the software by migrating your financial data and training your team on how to use it effectively.

Things to Consider

When buying bookkeeping software, consider factors such as pricing plans, scalability, user-friendliness, data security measures, customer support options, compatibility with your existing systems, and any additional features that may benefit your business.

Popular Vendors and Market Share

Some of the most popular bookkeeping software vendors in the market include QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Wave, and Zoho Books. QuickBooks Online holds a significant market share in the bookkeeping software category, followed by Xero and FreshBooks.

Trends and Outlook

The bookkeeping software category is witnessing a shift towards cloud-based solutions, offering greater accessibility, scalability, and collaboration features. Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are also being integrated into bookkeeping software to automate data entry, categorization, and financial analysis tasks.

Questions to Ask Software Vendors During a Demo

1. How does your software ensure data security and compliance with regulations? 2. Can your software integrate with other tools or platforms used by our business? 3. What level of customer support do you provide, and how can we reach your support team? 4. Does your software offer customizable reporting options to suit our business needs? 5. How does your software handle bank reconciliation and invoicing processes? 6. What scalability options does your software offer as our business grows? 7. Can your software automate repetitive bookkeeping tasks to save time and reduce errors? 8. Are there any training resources available to help our team learn how to use the software effectively? 9. What are the pricing plans and any additional costs associated with your software? 10. How frequently does your software receive updates and new features?

Head to head Bookkeeping software leaders comparisons:

List of Bookkeeping Software:

Accounting & Finance Software products Price Range

An SMB size company should expect to pay between $0 and more than $4 for a base subscription of Accounting & Finance software. Additionally, the software vendors may include charges for extra features such as bill management, invoicing, and multiple currency support. The costs are usually on a "per month/per user" basis.

The price breakdown of accounting and finance software based on business size is as follows:

• Accounting and finance software pricing for small organizations has a price range of $9-$40 per month/per user. Tally.ERP 9, for example, goes for $9 a month, although it has a one-time subscription starting from $630. Clearview Infocus costs $24 per month for each user, and SlickPie goes for $40 – Slickpie also has a free Starter subscription as well.
• Medium-sized organizations would typically have to pay within the price range of $10-$45 per month for Accounting and Finance software. For example, FreshBooks charges $15 per month for its medium-sized plan; Sage 50cloud pricing goes for $45 per month, and MYOB Essentials for $14 a month.
• Large companies can expect prices between $10 and $150 from Accounting and Finance software vendors. For instance, Xero charges $60 per month for its large plan, FINSYNC pricing goes for $45 a month, while QuickBooks Online large subscriptions start at $70 a month

Accounting and Finance software vendors have different prices based on the subcategories into which they fall.

Some of the accounting best of breeds software include

• Financial Reporting Software This subcategory has a price range of $0-$70. For context, A2X for Amazon pricing starts at $19 a month; Wave Accounting is free across plans, and Cognos costs between $15 and $70.
• Trust Accounting Software Trust Accounting Software vendors can charge up to $1000 for the software. For example, AdvantageLaw charges a one-time fee of $490, ESILAW 360 pricing goes for $65 per month, and MAUI cost up to $1000 for one month - MAUI has a free trial version as well.
• Sales Tax software The sales Tax software has a price range of $50-$1500. Traxit costs $50 a month; Utility Software pricing goes for $85, and GreenGIST for a one-time charge of $1500. Intuit ProSeries has a plan which goes for $270 a year, and EcomTax for $19 per month.
• Bookkeeper Software The bookkeeper Software would cost around $15 to $100, either monthly or yearly. For instance, Neat pricing goes for $100 a year, Veryfi costs up to $15 a month, and Botkeeper pricing sits around $99 a month.
• Auto Dealer Accounting Software The subcategory can cost up to $200 per month or year. For example, QuickBooks Desktop Pro pricing starts at $200 a year, Abcoa Deal Pack costs up to $75 a month, and MotorLot pricing goes for $45 per month. Host books charge $10 a month, ARI costs $19 per month, and Frazer pricing falls around $55 a month.
• Debt Collection Software Users can expect to pay $59-$239 a month for Debt Collection Software subscriptions. For example, Funding Gates AR pricing goes for $99, and My DSO Manager pricing starts at $59 a month, with other plans up to $239. Also, CollectMore charges a one-time fee of $6 for its software.