Explore cloud and desktop-based accounting software with subscription and perpetual licensing options like AccountingSuite, Xero, TallyPrime, and Striven. QuickBooks contains more features and robust functionalities for growing businesses; FreshBooks offers a low-cost, easy-to-use option for freelancers. QuickBooks Online does offer phone support for its customers but doesn’t have email support.
Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses of 2024
QuickBooks is a great bookkeeping solution for freelancers, small to medium businesses, and companies that want a full product suite. Its more complex interface and higher learning curve make it best suited to those with accounting experience or who are willing to hire an experienced accountant. Most bookkeepers are familiar with QuickBooks software, so finding someone to assist with your accounting needs is easy. Add-ons include QuickBooks Payroll, which starts at $50/month plus $6/month per employee.
Why small businesses love Xero
While human error will always play some role in security breaches, you can be confident in your accounting platform when it comes to keeping your information safe. Today’s leading accounting platforms offer standard security features like data encryption, secure credential tokenization and more. Run payroll on any device with taxes, compliance & reporting built-in. QuickBooks Online has always been a great option for small businesses.
Beautiful features
- It also offers mileage tracking, tax support, and (for a fee) bookkeeping services, which you won’t find with Xero.
- QuickBooks and Xero both have good support and training options, but QuickBooks has phone support while Xero does not, earning it a research score of 4.7 – nearly double Xero’s 2.4/5.
- The Enterprise Desktop plan offered by QuickBooks starts at $1,922 per year.
- And while the Advanced tier of QuickBooks offers 24/7 support through live chat, phone lines, and email, their other tiers only offer a live chat option.
- Things have changed since then, however, and competitors like Xero have pushed QBO to rethink its user-experience.
Xero is a better option for businesses that need to track project profitability. This is because Xero allows you to see how much each project is costing you in real time and compare that to your estimated profits. Xero is also a better option for businesses that are expanding internationally as it offers multicurrency support. QuickBooks by Intuit is a well-known accounting software designed to help small to medium-sized businesses manage their finances.
Expense and mileage tracking
Accountants praise Xero’s automatic bank feeds, usability, and simplified payroll. When it comes to doing your tax return at the end of the year, they have everything they need to get going. It’s also easy for accountants to fix user errors in Xero, and there are built-in proper audit trails and safety checks. If you need to track income, expenses, invoices, and time, you’ll likely be paying $35/month for QBO or $60/month for Xero.
Both Xero and QuickBooks have excellent mobile apps, making it easy to scan receipts on the go to avoid paper piling up. QuickBooks has been in the market for longer capitalized cost definition than Xero, is very well-developed, and is generally loved by accountants – especially in the US market, which QBO has dominated. QBO claims that customers find on average $3,534 in tax savings per year.
Xero also stands out for its strong security, which is pretty much unmatched in the industry. Xero also has one of the strongest contact management features in the game. While Xero’s $13 Early plan is far cheaper than QuickBooks’ $30 Simple Start plan, it’s also very limited due to the caps on invoices and billing. A better comparison is the $60 QuickBooks Essentials plan (plus the $45 Core or $80 Premium payroll plans) vs. the $37 Xero Growing plan (paired with the $40 or $80 Gusto plan). Essentials supports just three users, while Growing is unlimited, making it better value for large or growing operations.
For the top plans, you’ll get similar functionality from both providers. With our mobile quotes, invoicing, and inventory management features, you always have the right tools for the job. Both services do offer an app marketplace, for both in-house mobile apps and integrations or extensions offered by third-party services.