When looking for the best free accounting software, determine the features you need and find out which programs offer those. Other factors you should consider include ease of use, customer support, and user reviews. If you’re a Linux user, your choices for free accounting software are more limited. GnuCash is a good option that’s compatible with Linux, as well as Windows, BSD, Solaris and Mac. It includes features, such as bank account tracking, expense tracking, financial calculations and reports.

“In Zoho Books, I can create 10 invoices in like 2 minutes. We now have a central location of all our financial data and it’s easy to keep track of income, expenses, customers, invoices everything at one place.” However, if you don’t have the time or aren’t confident in your financial expertise, you may still want to hire an accountant to prepare your financial paperwork, especially anything that goes to the IRS. You can free accounting software download still use accounting software to upload invoices and expenses, and your accountant can then access this information through the software. The streamlined process usually means your accountant’s job will be less time-consuming, so they’ll charge you less. If you have employees, payroll integration is another convenient feature. Beyond that, you’ll have to consider your unique business needs when deciding what to look for.

Best Free Accounting Software for Small Businesses of May 2024

While these plans are obviously tiered, you’re able to try any one of them for 30 days, so you can spring for Advanced and see everything it has to offer. Akaunting used to only offer the free plan, but it has since expanded and includes three paid plans, all with extra capabilities. All the options discussed on this page are either free or offer a 30-day free trial, so be sure to make use of these options.

The program’s features you can access with a free plan are restricted to the point that it might be easy to outgrow. You can only link one bank account and view basic reports with its starter option. Should your needs extend beyond that, you’ll need to upgrade to one of its premium plans.

Cost-effectiveness

Accounting software is user-friendly, as most offer intuitive interfaces that are easy to navigate, which makes it accessible to beginners or more experienced users alike. The full VT Accounts suite costs £150+VAT per year, and allows users to easily create professional reports for their companies, as well as quickly calculate corporation tax. It also works as a Microsoft Excel plugin, making it attractive for any Excel users that don’t want to learn the nuances of a new program. With accounting software, you should be able to maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records, improve efficiency, reduce errors, and obtain valuable insights into the financial health of your business. It is free to download and can be installed on multiple operating systems like Linux and FreeBSD.

Other possible useful features include purchase order capabilities, the ability to set up customer portals and a mobile app for on-the-go financial monitoring. Wave allows you to pick and choose what you need, whether bookkeeping or banking. The bookkeeping tool lets you create professional-looking, customized invoices and accept payments through your bank, credit card and Apple Pay directly from the invoice. Wave invoices are integrated with our free accounting software, so payments are recorded and categorized for you – which means less bookkeeping and tax season prep. Zoho Books Free integrates with other Zoho products like Zoho CRM and third-party apps like Slack and GSuite. In addition, with the free plan, you get access to customer support through email.

QuickBooks Online: Most comprehensive features

The reality is that we can’t pinpoint a single “best” tool because the best free accounting software will depend on your unique needs. That said, there are a few key features that you will likely want in your accounting tool, whether you’re a freelancer, solopreneur or small business owner. Create beautiful invoices, accept online payments, and make accounting easy—all in one place. To help you find the best free accounting software for your needs, we’ve compiled a list of our top picks.