15 Best Free Accounting Apps for Small Businesses In 2020

Best Free Accounting Apps for Small Businesses in 2020!

Accounting is an integral aspect of running a business.

Many small business owners battle with finding a good and affordable accounting option.

To this end, I have compiled a list of the 15 best free accounting apps you can try out.

While these apps are free, exploring other important options might require you to pay a fee.

This is why it can be difficult to get an accounting app that is 100% free.

However, these apps are suitable to cater to your small businesses and help you get rid of financial stress.

15 Best Free Accounting Apps for Small Businesses

Wave Accounting App

Wave is a free and easy to use App suitable for startups, freelancers, and small businesses.

It is an accounting platform that combines accounting, invoicing, and other functions to serve your business.

That said, Wave features include; monitoring expenses, chasing payments, managing employees, and taxes.

Wave features that attract a fee;

• To access the payroll service, you would have to pay a monthly fee of $20/month.
• Wave advisors cost $79 per month.
• Bookkeeping and Tax Service start at $129 per month.
• Bank Payment attracts a fee of $1 per transaction.

Pros

• It is easy to use
• Wave uses advanced 256-bit secure sockets layer (SSL) security encryption to protect all your transactions.

Cons

• There is no dedicated time-tracking
• Some of their accounting features attract a fee.

ZipBooks Accounting App

This is a free web-based accounting app best suited for freelancers, contractors, startups, and small businesses.

It carries out accounting and bookkeeping functions including helping businesses get their payment faster.

ZipBooks accounting Plans

• ZipBooks Starter-  $0
• ZipBooks Smarter-  $15        
• ZipBooks Sophisticated- $35

Pros

• It has a good user experience.
• It has a free version
• There are tasks, time, and project tracking available.

Cons

• It doesn’t have a bill-pay and inventory-tracking feature.
• It doesn’t come with an accounts payables feature.
• No android version available.
• It gives you a less detailed report.

Kashoo Accounting App

Kashoo is accounting software that uses machine learning to perform bookkeeping functions.

It offers a one-size-fits-all plan for one low price.

With the Kashoo app, a business owner can carry out bank reconciliation.

It also provides accurate real-time reports.

Kashoo allows for multiple users and user roles, making it a collaborative platform for the small business owner and the accounting profession.

It has a 14 days free trial period but its Payment option starts from $19.95 per month or $199.00 per year.

Pros

• Kashoo tracks your expenses/income
• It helps send an invoice to clients
• It is mobile app supported

Cons

• UI/UX is not impressive
• No inventory tracking

Xero Accounting App

This is one of the best accounting apps for startups and growing businesses.

Xero helps you manage your business bookkeeping and accounting tasks.

It also carries out other roles including; inventory tracking, project management, and payroll.

Xero has a 30days free trial afterwards, the service attracts a fee.

The starter plan costs $10, the standard costs $30 and the premium costs $40.

Pros

• It allows unlimited users
• Suited for small and large businesses
• Easy integration
• It allows double-entry accounting

Cons

• Custom reporting is limited
• Poor customer support

Manager Accounting App

This is a free and easy to use accounting software which is good for small businesses.

Manager is an easy-to-use Accounting App is available in 70+ Languages.

Pros

• It is easy to use
• It is free

Cons

• It is user friendly

SlickPie Accounting App

SlickPie is a web-based accounting application that deals with; online invoicing and billing, multi-currency, quotes, and estimates, bank reconciliation, financial reporting.

It has a period of free trial but the price starts from $39.95/month.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Easy data conversion

Cons

• No mobile app
• Lacks inventory management

Sunrise Accounting App

Sunrise accounting app which was formally called Billy is

Pros

• It is free
• Easy to use
• Supports double-entry accounting

Cons

• No mobile app
• Sunrise does not have time tracking

Zoho Books Accounting Management App

This is an accounting app that helps you keep your finances in check by managing invoices, reconciling accounts, and so on.

Zoho is best suited for freelancers, medium Businesses, and Small Business.

They offer a free trial and their pricing starts at $9.00/month.

Pros

• It is easy to use
• It has a mobile version
• Multiple payment gateways

Cons

• Their integrated payroll is exclusive to users in Texas and California.

GnuCash Accounting App

This is a basic accounting app that is completely free.

GnuCash accounting app is majorly focused on bookkeeping.

It is better recommended for startups and small businesses.

Pros

• It is free
• It is easy to use

Cons

• It some in-depth features

Bright Book Accounting App

Brightbook is a web-based bookkeeping app that provides accounting services best suited for freelancers, startups, and small business owners.

It creates invoices, offers payroll services, performs bookkeeping services, and income tax preparation.

Pros

• It is free
• Easy to use
• Unlimited number of users per account

Cons

• It doesn’t support mobile app
• Lacks a lot of accounting features
• It cannot be accessed from a mobile web browser

TurboCash Accounting App

TurboCash is a free accounting app that helps small businesses to manage inventory, budgeting, invoicing, and other accounting features.

Pros

• Simple interface
• Double Entry Accounting
• Multiple Languages

Cons

• Need an extra plug-in for banking

Akaunting Accounting App

Akaunting is a free online accounting app that has certain useful tools that is extremely helpful for your small business.

It deals with Cash Flow, invoicing, and expense tracking.

Pros

• It is mobile friendly
• It offers a multilingual and multi-currency panel

Cons

• Third-party integrations come with a fee

Due Accounting App

This is a free accounting app that majorly deals with invoicing and billing for freelancers and small businesses.

Pros

• It is user friendly
• You can easily create an address book for your clients.

Cons

• It lacks some necessary accounting features.

Holded Business Management App

Holded is a business management app that acts as a business operating system for your business.

It has a free trial.

Holded deals with preparing invoices, invoice history, payments, project billing, payment processing, billing portal, tax calculator, dunning management, and contact database.

Pros

• It is easy to use
• Easy invoicing
• App Store for users

Cons

• It is not free as it only comes with a free trial

Sage50cloud Accounting App

This is an easy to use accounting solution for small businesses.

It helps monitor cash flow, manage payments, payroll processing, and bank reconciliation.

It has a free trial option and different prices depending on the number of users. For more features, users are expected to pay $283.50 /year.

Pros

• It has a strong inventory reporting system
• Suitable for Small & Medium-Sized Businesses

Cons

• Poor customer service

How to Find a Free Accounting App for a Small Business?

There are very good accounting apps around but there is no particular app that fits all businesses.

The accounting app which you decide to use is dependent on the kind of business you run.

If you are a small business owner, you should find an app listed below which best serves small businesses.

How Safe Are Accounting Apps?

If you find a good accounting application, it is safe to use because all your data is stored in the cloud.

This means that there is a high level of security.

Do I Still Need a Physical Accountant After Choosing any one of The 15 Best Free Accounting Apps for Small Businesses?

It depends on the accounting app you opt for.

Some carry out most accounting duties while others only cover certain areas.

 In the latter case, you may need to either get a physical accountant or a complimentary software.

Is a Physical Accountant a Better Option Than Any of These Best Free Accounting Apps?

Accounting apps and physical accountants are both good options.

Nevertheless, getting a physical accountant assures you of a full financial service package.

Also, hiring an accounting agency like KAFT CPA would be a great investment for your small business mainly because of the consultation and financial advice that you get included in the accounting package.

In addition, we advise is derived from your business’s financial report as well as in-depth research carried out in your niche.

Further, most accounting apps may not be able to carry out industry research.

Hence, the quality of financial counsel cannot be compared to that of a physical accountant.

With KAFT CPA, the ultimate goal is to help small businesses attain financial growth within a short period.