5 Best Free Accounting Software
Quick links for the Best Accounting Software
Best Overall 🏆
Melio
The winner for its smooth workflow, focusing on exactly what you need in accounting software.
Best For U.S. 🥈
ZarMoney
A sales-focused CRM that uses AI to automate repetitive tasks and manage leads and sales.
Easiest To Use 🥉
Quickbooks
The industry leader & the incumbent. This will have the most integrations and support network.
So, you are in the market for free accounting software.
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 Free Accounting Software
Accounting is crucial for every business, irrespective of size or niche. However, some do not prefer splurging cash on dedicated software to maintain the budget. Free accounting software that offers advanced features like a chart of accounts, time tracking and address management will be the perfect fit for this category. Have a look at the products below to choose the best free accounting software:
1. ZipBooks
ZipBooks is a simple, powerful and intuitive accounting platform that gives you the tools and intelligence to upgrade your business. It saves your time from doing mundane Bookkeeping tasks by offering automation and intelligent insights. ZipBooks is an ideal entry-level solution for freelancers or firms looking for accounting software.
ZipBooks Features
Here are some exclusive features of ZipBooks:
Accounts Receivable: ZipBooks tracks receivable accounts and keeps accurate customer records. Moreover, it automatically updates the revenue earned and amounts owed in your accounts receivable report. You can manually edit any transaction outside ZipBooks into the database and gain thoughtful feedback on which clients regularly pay within a reasonable timeframe.
Bank Connect and Reconciliation: ZipBooks offers Bank connectivity and automatically streams your transactions on its platform after account verification. Moreover, you can view the current balance of your bank account plus the confirmed transactions in ZipBooks to make reconciling easier.
Auto-Categorization: ZipBooks eliminates the repetitive data entry tasks from the bookkeeping and accounting process. It combines your work with research from other users and best accounting practices. Once done, it automatically categorizes your transactions. ZipBooks is an intelligent platform that uses Machine learning to learn your usage patterns and evolve accordingly.
Chart of Accounts: ZipBooks offers a chart of accounts, organizing everything in one central location. Here you can view the total inventory amount and overdue payments. Moreover, you can personalize additional account categories for your business.
Reporting: ZipBooks offers a snapshot of general payment trends and a balance sheet to document your assets, liabilities and equities. It calculates your profits and creates balance sheets that reflect periodic financial data. Additionally, you can highlight crucial aspects of your report and analyze all categories within your chart of accounts.
ZipBooks Pricing
ZipBooks offers 4 Pricing options for its accounting and reporting platform.
The “Free” plan is priced at $0 and connects with one bank account. Additionally, it offers unlimited invoices, basic reports, vendor and customer management and PayPal integration.
The “Smarter” plan is priced at $15/month and offers 5 team member accounts. Additionally, it provides reminder automation, multiple bank connectivity, time tracking and invoice scheduling.
The “Sophisticated” plan is priced at $35/month and offers unlimited user invitations. Additionally, it provides smart tagging, category customization, quick reconciliation and insightful reports.
The “Accountant” plan offers an on-demand pricing quote. It provides time tracking across client accounts, data migration, dashboard and transaction editing.
2. Wave
Wave is a renowned accounting platform that offers free invoicing and accounting features. It offers a user-friendly dashboard, easy to comprehend and work on. Wave helps you stay organized and manage tax billings or invoices like a professional. It provides you with a completely accurate picture of your business’s current financial health.
Wave Features
Here are some exclusive features of Wave:
Invoicing: Wave helps you avoid chasing clients for payments and adopt a more professional approach by sending invoices. You can get paid through credit cards and let Wave handle the payment reminders. Wave automatically syncs the data into your account books and identifies recurring billings for repetitive clients.
Banking: Wave offers built-in bookkeeping and a Wave money bank account for single-owner business owners in the United States with a Wave account. You can avoid the monthly and transfer fees without making long-term commitments. Wave provides faster access to funds, and you can use instant payouts upon qualifying the eligibility criteria.
Payments: Wave enables you to accept online payments for your business. It enhances your brand and provides a more professional outlook when you enable payment. Additionally, you can send personalized invoices to the clients with a link to the payment gateway.
Payroll: Wave offers a simplistic payroll software that allows you to manage tax filings and contractor or employee payments. Moreover, your employees can access the payroll database to view their banking information or pay stubs. Wave allows small business owners to safeguard their business profit margins by simplifying annual audits.
Accounting: Wave saves you from doing manual receipt entry by automatically syncing bank statements with the account books. Wave’s smart dashboard assembles your financial expenditures and earnings with a comprehensive view. Additionally, Wave offers 256-bit encryption to protect your account information and card details.
Wave Pricing
Wave offers 6 Tools for various business accounting requirements.
The “Invoicing” tool is free and allows you to create personalized invoices that reflect your brand.
The “Accounting” tool is free and offers unlimited income and expense tracking. You can view overdue invoices and profit-loss margins.
The “Banking” tool is free and offers transaction segmentation to sort personal and business expenses.
The “Payments” tool offers pay-per-use pricing. You’ll be charged 2.9% + $0.60 USD per transaction on credit cards, 3.4% + $0.60 USD per Amex transaction and 1% per transaction on bank payments.
The “Payroll” tool is priced: at $35/month in tax service states and $20/month in self-service states.
The “Advisors” tool is priced at $149/month and provides bookkeeping support. Additionally, you can get accounting and payroll coaching for a one-time fee of $329.
3. Akaunting
Akaunting is a free cloud accounting platform that offers bookkeeping tools for SMEs. It provides feature-rich software that tracks your transactions and invoices constantly. With Akaunting, you can make the portal accessible for your clients and share receipts or accept bulk payments.
Akaunting Features
Here are some exclusive features of Akaunting:
Free and Open-source Platform: Akaunting does not involve any hidden set-up fees and offers an entirely free accounting platform without any limitations. Moreover, due to its open-source nature, you can install Akaunting on your host and make changes to intrinsic features. Akaunting enables you to see and assess your financial situation online from anywhere.
Customer and Vendor Management: Akaunting allows you to create vendors and assign them bills or payments. Similarly, you can generate client contacts and send them invoices. You can also set up a client portal for your customers so they can view their assets and account books. Akaunting lets you filter the transactions easily and file them under the correct address.
Powerful Reporting: Akaunting offers detailed financial reports to help you visualize the relevant information to improve your business. You can see a graphical depiction of your account books to analyze the current economic affairs of your business. Akaunting provides quality insights that help you file accurate returns.
Customer Summary: Akaunting integrates with several CRM and project management tools to help you import client addresses. Moreover, Akaunting automatically created the customer profile with the correct address, list of transactions and paid, open or overdue totals at a glance.
Multi-Currency: With Akaunting, you can send invoices or add expenses in any currency and let the system convert the balance into your main denomination. It allows you to get the exact exchange rate and accept payments globally. Moreover, Akaunting automatically comprehends repetitive actions and executes them in a precise fashion periodically.
Akaunting Pricing
Akaunting offers 2 Pricing options for its accounting platform.
The “Free Cloud” plan offers one user account and is priced at $0. Additionally, it provides live currency rates, a billing calendar, a dedicated accountant profile and community support.
The “Premium Cloud” plan is priced at $36/month and offers unlimited user accounts. Additionally, it provides bank feeds, balance sheet and trial balance, general ledger, manual journals, chart of accounts and a client portal.
4. 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.
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.
5. Kashoo
Kashoo is the world’s most straightforward accounting software that offers integrated technologies, simplifying bookkeeping and financial management. Kashoo offers business and solution-specific tools to help freelancers and companies automate their accounting tasks. It is the ideal solution for first-timers looking for an easy-to-use accounting platform.
Kashoo Features
Here are some exclusive features of Kashoo:
Advanced Accounting: Kashoo offers an automatic bank feed tool that sorts transactions plus maximizes deductions. It ensures you can quickly enter recurring expenses, reconcile faster, upload receipts or attachments and check status. Additionally, Kashoo connects with multiple accounts and auto imports bank transactions.
KashooPay: With Kashoo, you don’t have to leave your accounting software to create or send invoices. Kashoo offers KashooPay, which lets you accept online payments from clients. Alternatively, you can integrate your Stripe account and use it with Kashoo invoices. You can connect with over 5000 banks and credit unions and seamlessly run your business with full encryption.
Critical Reporting: Kashoo offers crítical statistics and reporting tools to help you analyze the cash flow, income statement, balance sheet, accounts receivable and payable, trial balance and bank reconciliation. With Kashoo, you can accurately plan your project budgets and ensure you don’t overcommit your finances.
Automated Accounting: Kashoo maximizes your tax deductions with computerized data entry, machine learning-powered auto-categorization and alignment with IRS & CRA. It automates contact creation and reconciliation plus offers a point & click receipt capture. Additionally, you can create contacts directly from your transactions. It ensures you don’t mix up or lose new vendor contacts.
Simplified Invoicing: Kashoo lets you invoice your clients, get paid digitally and track your payments. Moreover, the learning curve is minimal due to the simplistic interface of Kashoo. Once you send invoices with Kashoo, it stores the record, so you never have to input the details again manually.
Kashoo Pricing
Kashoo offers 3 Pricing options for its invoicing and accounting tools.
The “Trulysmall Invoices” plan is priced at $0/month and allows you to send invoices. Additionally, you can accept payments, send estimates and track income or clients.
The “Trulysmall Accounting” plan is priced at $20/month and offers a complete accounting solution. Additionally, you can track sales tax, do essential reporting and comply with IRS/CRA standards.
The “Kashoo” plan is priced at $30/month and offers advanced accounting for larger firms. Additionally, you can do advance reporting, customize CoA and check printing.
Why should you use Accounting Software?
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 methods to gain simplified management and exponential growth.
Why should you use free accounting software?
Business accounting can be complicated, and accounting software helps simplify it. When a small business starts growing, managing records, data, purchase orders, shipments, inventory, and cash flow becomes challenging.
With multiple departments working simultaneously, collaboration becomes complicated, and communication with the growing clientele base becomes challenging. You need a solution that helps you manage receivables and payables, reconcile accounts, stay tax compliant and analyze finances.
Logically, one should buy accounting software to handle all bookkeeping and banking tasks, but the pricing quotations of leading tools put off most businesses. However, you can opt for free accounting software that serves your requirements and doesn’t strain your finances.
Accounting software simplifies your business workflows and organizes finances. You can add clients or vendors to your portal and provide access to all pertinent transactions and communications. Moreover, you can set reorder points for the stock to receive a notification when the inventory falls below the level.
Free Accounting Software, A Summary
Accounting and bookkeeping are necessary for every business to report to financial institutions periodically and avoid tax defaults. Free accounting software enables you to organize your finances on a centralized database. It powers up your business without adding extra strain to your current budget.
ZipBooks offers a free accounting platform with invoicing, billing and accounts management. It is our suggested pick for free accounting software. 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.