5 Best Accounting Software For Contractors

So, you are in the market for accounting software that suits contractors.

Ideal, because in this article we have our compilation list for our top picks, and we compare the features and pricing for you. 

If you just want the best choice, we’ve added that right at the top of the article as this was what is most requested by our customers. So, that’ll be the “can’t go wrong” option. 

Otherwise, feel free to explore all the options we’ve reviewed on the market to find something that might fit you a little better.

Enjoy the list!

The Best Accounting Software For Contractors Specifically

Contractors generally oversee construction projects and bid for government tenders. They deal with large cash or digital transactions and must record every earning in the books. Accounting software that offers swift bank reconciliation, bookkeeping automation and financial reports will be the perfect fit for this category. Have a look at the products below to choose the best accounting software for contractors:

1. ZohoBooks

ZohoBooks is an accounting platform from Zoho that lets you work collectively and manage your finances. Zoho is well-known for its intuitive business tools and offers the ideal connective ecosystem. With ZohoBooks, you can automate business workflows and stay tax compliant. It provides features for all business sizes and powers up your bookkeeping.

Get Started with ZohoBooks🔥

ZohoBooks Features

Here are some exclusive features of ZohoBooks:

Invoicing: ZohoBooks offers effortless invoicing and receivables management. You can create polished invoices and accept global payments with a multi-currency platform. Additionally, ZohoBooks lets you create recurring invoices and securely store card information for easy transactions. With ZohoBooks, you can secure your invoices with a digital signature to avoid tampering.

Client and Vendor Portal: ZohoBooks provides a client and vendor portal so you can share recent transactions and accelerate the approval process. Moreover, you can gauge customer satisfaction by asking for feedback and add a layer of authenticity to your estimates by getting digital signatures from your clients.

Banking: With ZohoBooks, you can securely gather transactions from your PayPal and bank accounts, plus do swift reconciliation. You can get accurate cash flow predictions and spot the balance mismatches with ZohoBooks’ banking dashboard. Additionally, it lets you categorize transactions automatically, expedite the matching and streamline the tax filing.

Automation: ZohoBooks is an intelligent accounting platform that allows you to automate tedious, error-prone tasks. You can eliminate the repetitive issues and auto-charge cards for recurring transactions. ZohoBooks boosts your productivity by automating your bookkeeping.

Reporting: ZohoBooks’ Reports cover your finances from all angles and lets you create robust business plans. You can see expenditures and income, generate business reports and make informed decisions. ZohoBooks is ideal for scheduling customizable periodic reports and organizing data with tags.

ZohoBooks Pricing

ZohoBooks offers 6 Pricing options for its accounting platform.

The “Free” plan is priced at $0 and offers payment reminder automation, a client portal, invoice management and a chart of accounts.

The “Standard” plan is priced at $20/month and offers three user accounts. Additionally, it provides custom fields, sales tax tracking, transaction locking and bulk updates.

The “Professional” plan is priced at $50/month and offers five user accounts. Additionally, it provides sales approval, retainer invoices, vendor credits and multi-currency handling.

The “Premium” plan is priced at $70/month and offers ten user accounts. It also provides a custom domain, vendor portal, budgeting, validation, and workflow rules.

The “Elite” plan is priced at $150/month and offers ten user accounts. Additionally, it provides warehouse management, batch tracking, shipment label printing and Shopify integration.

The “Ultimate” plan is priced at $275/month and offers 15 user accounts. Additionally, it provides 25 custom modules, a real-time dashboard, financial metrics tracking and report collaboration.

2. QuickBooks

QuickBooks helps businesses, freelancers, and self-employed people to properly account for their expenses and income. You can make payments to contractors or employees and maintain profitability by auto-tracking the expenditures. QuickBooks provides salient accounting features, enabling you to analyze your profit margins.

Get Started with QuickBooks🔥

QuickBooks Features

Here are some exclusive features of QuickBooks:

Cloud Accounting: QuickBooks offers mobile access to its database and provides online banking integration, automatically updating your transactions and statements. You can monitor the real-time status of your expenses or invoices from anywhere and remotely handle the accounting. 

Business Funding and Income Tracking: QuickBooks syncs the bank transactions and tracks the total cash flow of your business. It helps you properly allocate funds to your business endeavours and maintain profit margins after operating costs. Additionally, you can create Tax-compliant invoices and track unpaid GST bills to remind clients about payment.

Online Banking: QuickBooks brings your banking activities online and offers One-click reconciliations. You can connect different bank accounts with QuickBooks and auto-categorize transactions to match expenses or invoices. QuickBooks enables you; to stay on top of your financial situation and maintain cash flow.

Accounting Reports: QuickBooks offers real-time insight into your business data and generates financial reports showcasing balance sheets, profit margins and cashflow statements. You can track all pending invoices and avoid chasing payments at the last second. QuickBooks offers customized data analysis helping you identify business trends.

Inventory Management: QuickBooks helps you easily handle the business inventory and get a real-time evaluation. Your inventory list is automatically updated whenever you make a sale or add a new product. QuickBooks helps you track your restock orders from the vendors and keep every sale recorded in the database.

QuickBooks Pricing

QuickBooks offers 4 Pricing options for its accounting software.

The “Simple Start” plan is priced at $25/month and offers general reports, receipt capture, plus mileage tracking. Additionally, you can manage tax deductions, incomes and expenses or invoices and payments.

The “Essentials” plan is priced at $50/month and offers enhanced reports, bill management, plus sales tax estimation. Additionally, you get 3 User accounts and can assign vendor payments to contractors.

The “Plus” plan is priced at $80/month and offers inventory management plus project profitability determiner. Additionally, you get 5 User accounts and can convert estimates to invoices.

The “Advanced” plan is priced at $180/month and offers customized access, on-demand training, data restoration, plus workflow automation. Additionally, you get more than 5 User accounts and can do business analytics with Excel or manage employee expenses.

3. FreshBooks

FreshBooks offers Bookkeeping and Accounting features to help businesses and freelancers organize their finances. It provides an easy-to-use interface built for regular users and accountants. FreshBooks is made for all business sizes and adapts according to your company’s accounting needs.

Get Started with FreshBooks🔥

FreshBooks Features

Here are some exclusive features of FreshBooks:

Accounting and Reporting: FreshBooks offers double-entry accounting tools to ensure tax compliance and accuracy. It helps you comprehend the financial status of your business and make intelligent choices to grow your brand further. FreshBooks identifies revenue items and expenses, providing an accurate profit-loss margin. Moreover, your accountant can access intrinsic financial information and reporting whenever needed.

Payments and Estimates: FreshBooks seamlessly links with several online payment channels like Stripe. It lets your clients pay directly through the invoice without additional hidden fees. Additionally, FreshBooks allows you to set realistic expectations by eliminating the guesswork and doing data-driven estimates. You can convert your estimates into an invoice or create new proposals to win projects.

Time-Tracking: FreshBooks provides an inbuilt time-tracker that helps you accurately determine the task duration. FreshBooks automatically logs the time spent on the client project and enables you to prepare detailed invoices or keep track of employees’ working hours.

Mileage Tracking: FreshBooks offers a tracking application that automatically logs your business trips and saves your travel history. You can claim business trips as expenses during tax filings. FreshBooks records the total distance travelled by your business vehicle and various professional trips taken by you.

Client Management: FreshBooks enables you to prepare client estimates and build better relations by accurate billing. You can inform clients about the latest expenses and increase trust by improving connectivity. FreshBooks allows you to track loyalty discounts and foster loyalty with clients.

FreshBooks Pricing

FreshBooks offers 4 Pricing options for its accounting software.

The “Lite” plan is priced at $4.50/month and offers unlimited invoices to 5 clients. Additionally, you can track expenses and sales tax, send total estimates and get paid with credit cards or bank transfers.

The “Plus” plan is priced at $7.50/month and offers unlimited invoices to 50 clients. Additionally, you can automatically capture receipt data, send endless proposals, run business health reports and set up recurring billing or client retainers.

The “Premium” plan is priced at $15/month and removes all limitations on invoice recipients. Additionally, you can track project profitability, customize email signatures, run accounting reports and get paid with checkout links.

The “Custom” pricing option offers an on-demand quote. It removes the FreshBooks branding from the client emails and provides a dedicated account manager.

4. Sage 50 Cloud

Sage 50 Cloud offers robust accounting and finance capabilities to enhance work efficiency. It reduces the time spent on admin tasks and provides substantial clarity on your performance. Moreover, Sage offers a vast ecosystem of business and customer relation tools, making 50 Cloud ideal for ever-growing businesses.

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Sage 50 Cloud Features

Here are some exclusive features of Sage 50 Cloud:

Cash Flow and Invoicing: Sage 50 Cloud offers a cash flow manager inside its platform, giving you instant updates on your cash flow. You can see your cash account balance and expected receivables or payables to get a clear image of your gross profit. Moreover, Sage 50 Cloud lets you get a granular look at your finances by customizing the cash flow settings.

Payments and Banking: Sage 50 cloud allows you to see the payable accounts and offers banking features like regular transaction feeds, account reconciliation and online payment. Moreover, you can eliminate the manual entry with Sage 50 Cloud as it’s integrated with a pre-built asset management system.

Advanced Inventory Management: Sage 50 Cloud offers an inventory management system, allowing you to view quantities on hand and execute purchase orders accurately on time. You can track costs and product lists using Sage 50 Cloud to input transactions. Additionally, Sage 50 Cloud automatically computes the price and quantity by item code, adjusting the inventory accordingly.

Job Costing: Sage 50 Cloud offers greater insight into your ongoing jobs and projects, allowing you to see where you’re spending your budget. Moreover, you can estimate the net revenue on every project, set up job records or print project reports for clients. Sage 50 Cloud lets you use cost codes and generate relevant information, enabling you to adjust the budget before the project completion.

Payroll: Sage 50 Cloud simplifies your payroll procedures by offering direct deposits and pay cards. You can monitor employee records and the tax status of the staff under your payroll. Sage 50 Cloud allows you to manage vacations or pay wages at an hourly rate within its accounting platform.

Sage 50 Cloud Pricing

Sage 50 Cloud offers 3 Pricing options for its accounting and payroll management tools.

The “Pro Accounting” plan is priced at $33/month and offers one user account. Additionally, you can use invoice and bill tracking, Reporting tools and Sage Security Shield.

The “Premium Accounting” plan is priced at $55/month/user and is expandable to upto five user accounts. Additionally, you can use advanced budgeting tools, audit trails and industry-specific functionality.

The “Quantum Accounting” plan is priced at $91/month/user and is expandable to upto 40 user accounts. Additionally, you can do workflow management and use advanced job costing.

5. Xero

Xero is an intuitive and beautiful accounting software that helps you run the money side of your business. You can create and send quotes, manage bills, sort bank transactions, chase payments and analyze financial data. Xero provides you with a cloud-based accounting platform, accessible invariably from any remote location.

Get Started with Xero🔥

Xero Features

Here are some exclusive features of Xero:

Bill Payments: Xero helps you make timely bill payments by providing a clear overview of accounts payable and cash flow. You can schedule and make batch payments, plus access all bills inside your Xero interface. With Xero, you can build good relations with suppliers by avoiding late payments and keep the money flowing timely.

Claim Expenses: Xero provides an expense manager to help you capture costs to reimburse expense claims. You can monitor employee spending and approve claims without delay. Additionally, you can use OCR technology to scan vital information and auto-fill your claim.

Bank Connections: Xero connects with your bank accounts and sets up a feed where transactions flow securely. You can set multiple feeds for different accounts. Xero lets you reconcile daily and provides; an accurate depiction of your business finances. All your bank transactions are securely imported between the Xero database and Bank.

Invoicing and Payments: Xero lets you accept payments online through Stripe, GoCardless and other integrations. You can generate invoices and add a “Pay Now” button to redirect clients to the payment gateway. Additionally, Xero offers excellent online protection from fraudulent activities and has an unbreachable database.

Project Tracking: Xero offers a job tracker helping you track costs and project profitability. You can prepare budgets by using cost estimates and send customized quotes. Moreover, Xero allows you to do location-based tracking on Mobile and seamlessly link costs to projects.

Xero Pricing

Xero offers 3 Pricing options for its Accounting software.

The “Starter” plan is priced at $22/month and allows you to send upto 20 invoices. You can reconcile bank transactions and capture bills or receipts through Hubdoc.

The “Standard” plan is priced at $35/month and offers bulk reconcile transactions. Moreover, you can manage short-term cash flow and get a business snapshot of your current finances.

The “Premium” plan is priced at $47/month and allows you to send unlimited invoices. You can use multiple currencies and access all accounting features of Xero.

Additionally, Xero offers 3 Add-on packs. The “Claim Expenses” is priced at $4/month, and The “Track Projects” and “Analytics” are priced at $7/month.

Why use Accounting Software at all?

Every business must emphasize finance management to reach its full potential and organize cash flow. Using spreadsheets to record your orders and transactions is an outdated method and is highly error-prone. Accounting software provides a centralized platform to complete your bookkeeping tasks and swiftly reconcile statements with your database.

With accounting software, you can send invoices and accept payments online from clients. Moreover, you can track shipments from vendors and actual expenses. Accounting software is crucial for businesses willing to abandon primitive bookkeeping techniques to gain simplified management and exponential growth.

Why should Contractors use Accounting Software?

Contractors often find themselves scrambling to handle multiple construction projects. For every project, you must prepare estimates, handle inventory and engage with clients continuously.

Accounting software helps contractors to accept multiple construction projects simultaneously, allocate budgets accurately, manage inventory and monitor banking activities. For each project, you can analyze and keep control on expenses like labour, material consumption, equipment usage, subcontract costs and change orders.

With accounting software, you can easily bill your clients by creating and sending invoices as the construction project progresses. Optionally, you can bill the client according to the material costs. With the integrated payroll system, you can track the total time spent on a project by each person. You can then pay wages according to the timesheet data.

Accounting software automatically manages your sales and purchase transactions. Moreover, you can print vendor checks based on bank payment records on a customized check template. With accounting software, your business information is at your fingertips with insightful reports.

Accounting Software For Contractors, A Summary

Contractors require a dedicated tool to handle the costs of construction projects and calculate periodic tax returns. Accounting software provides an advanced platform to automate your recurring bookkeeping tasks, generate reports and organize finances.

ZohoBooks offers an intuitive dashboard and provides quality payroll and accounting functions at a reasonable price. It is our suggested pick for accounting software that suits contractors. Visit the website to get started.

What Accounting Software would you recommend?

In short, It’s Melio.com

It provides your business customers with a convenient payment link, enabling them to make quick and hassle-free payments without the need for invoice attachments. They can pay using their preferred method, and the payments will be directly deposited into your bank account each time.

“🚀Try Melio.com For Free, It’s my favorite Accounting Software to use and recommend.” -Scott Max

Melio is an intuitive Accounting software that offers comprehensive solutions through its powerful tools. Designed for businesses of all sizes, Melio simplifies complex financial tasks and delivers impressive outcomes. Melio seamlessly integrates features tailored to your: Billing, Payments, Vendor Management, Expenses, and Financial Reporting needs.

For more details, read our Melio.com Review.