Released in 1994, Quickbooks continues to remain the go-to accounting solution for small and mid-sized businesses. Its popularity can be attributed to the plethora of features offered by the accounting software in addition to its ease of use. Additionally, Intuit, the creator of Quickbooks, has rolled out new and innovative features to help businesses upscale and keep pace with the changing technological landscape. However, emerging businesses often require only some features of Quickbooks, making the accounting software too expensive for businesses that are in the infancy. In the past decade, numerous Quickbooks alternatives have been introduced in the market which can effectively help business owners overcome the aforementioned problems. The top Quickbooks alternatives are:
myBooks
myBooks from Zetran is one of the best Quickbooks alternatives available in the market. Leveraging the flexibility of cloud computing, this affordable accounting software enables businesses to track income, expenses, manage invoices, and handle multi-currency transactions. Additionally, its smart dashboard provides a quick overview of the business highlighting all the key accounting details in one place which aids owners in staying at the top of their game. The software is easy to set up and configure, ruling out the requirement of hiring an IT professional for specifically handling the software. Zetran provides a free trial of the software for a month which enables users to get accustomed to all the features of the bookkeeping software before buying it. The standard plan for the software is priced at US$ 4.99 per month and allows three users and 250 contacts while the premium plan will cost you US$ 9.99 per month. The price of the accounting solution is relatively lesser than the other software available in the market.
Wave
If you are just starting out your business and are on a tight budget, Wave can help you make substantial savings with the accounting software available for free. Unlike other Quickbooks alternatives, Wave offers only one free plan which allows access to unlimited businesses and unlimited users. Wave provides an assortment of accounting features completely free of cost. Apart from the basic features of managing accounts payable, account receivable, and tracking of income and expenses, the accounting solution allows users to manage books for an unlimited number of businesses. Additionally, there is no limit on the number of users accessing the software simultaneously. However, a major drawback of the accounting solution is its inability to print checks for paying bills.
Xero
One of the more expensive Quickbooks alternatives, but still very efficient and powerful, Xero allows an unlimited number of users to access accounting data irrespective of the plan opted for. Plans range from US$ 9 to US$ 60 with each plan based on the idea of helping businesses scale over time. The accounting software offers an array of features such as income and expense tracking, invoicing, track inventory, handling multi-currency transactions, and auto bank feed. A standout feature of the accounting solution is the detailed report it generates. Xero can help business owners gain an insight into their business’ efficiency. Cash flow statement, balance sheet report, and profit and loss statement are the three primary report types that the software generates. Payroll processing is offered as an add-on to the different plans which will cost you an additional US$ 39 per month.
With an assortment of options at disposal, business owners now have the liberty to choose the one that perfectly fits their needs. Furthermore, every accounting solution developer constantly rolls out updated version and add-ons for their software which enables businesses to keep pace with the changing technology and leverage its full potential. Thus, accounting solutions are gradually becoming a necessity more than a luxury for businesses.
