Don’t know which features to focus on for your first bookkeeping software? I reached out to business owners on their must-haves, and here’s what I found out:

Ease of use

Small business owners don’t need advanced features. Inter-divisional transactions management? Yeah, that’s overkill.

Alexander Heinle, marketing lead at ZAGE, agrees.

He shares with AppSumo, “We’re still quite young, and we don’t have a dedicated bookkeeper. As neither of us has bookkeeping experience, the tool needs to offer a simple set-up and easy scalability as we grow.”

Source: Deskera, Intuitive bookkeeping software tools like Deskera take minutes to master, from setting up to assigning users’ roles

Scalability

Speaking of easy scalability, here’s what we think: The ideal bookkeeping software grows with you, not against you.

Daivat Dholakia, director of operations at Force by Mojio, thinks that bookkeeping software needs to adapt to our businesses, especially during growth periods.

He says, “If you need to switch software providers to support the accounts for your business, you probably picked the wrong one to start with.”

Security

The most secure bookkeeping software limits data flow.

“Your bookkeeping software contains your company’s financial data,” says Perry Zhang, CEO and founder of Cash Flow Portal.

Source: Deskera, an all-in-one business management software, offers two-factor authentication for an extra layer of security

“Data must be kept confidential. Authentication privileges need to be given out only to those required. Good software also encrypts all the data in its storage, so security breaches don’t lead to data leakage.”

Top bookkeeping software in 2023

1. Deskera [All-in-one]

Source: Deskera

Deskera is an all-in-one solution that automates your business processes, from payroll and accounting to sales and marketing. Why use dozens of tools when you can have everything in one place?

This full-suite platform is perfect for startups, ecommerce stores, and small businesses.

Unique features:

Mobile app. Deskera’s award-winning app handles all desktop features seamlessly on the go.
Bookkeeping, accounting, and inventory management in one place. Create invoices in minutes using Deskera’s professionally-made invoice templates. You can manage all inventory on a single dashboard, whether you’re creating backorders or tracking dropship orders.
Excellent marketing and sales automation. Automate your marketing and sales workflows on Deskera. You’ll get complete visibility across all stages of your pipeline and real-time insights on your lost and won deals. You can even set up email marketing campaigns within the platform.
3-step payroll. Deskera processes your payroll in three steps—add employees, select amount, and pay! Its flexible pay schedule enables you to pay employees weekly, semi-monthly, and more. Plus, generating payslips takes only minutes. Your team can also file their expenses and apply for time-off online.

Pricing: Free 15-day trial, with paid plans beginning at $29/user per month when billed annually. Grab the Deskera one-year deal on AppSumo today for $149 (retail value: $1188).

2. QuickBooks [Accountants]

Source: YouTube

QuickBooks is popular among CPAs and bookkeepers. If you want your accountant to jump straight into your financial records, you’ve come to the right place.

Opt for the QuickBooks Self-Employed plan if you’re a freelancer with simple needs (e.g., run basic reports and estimate quarterly taxes). This stripped-down bookkeeping software is enough to get you started.

Unique features:

Fantastic integration with TurboTax. Since QuickBooks is owned by Intuit, the umbrella company behind TurboTax, both apps integrate seamlessly. So, you can track expenses and income and file taxes with ease.
Innovative receipt capture. Using optical character recognition technology, QuickBooks automatically captures the amount, date, and location of your transactions. It also imports and sorts them into tax categories.

Pricing: Free 30-day trial, with paid plans scaling $7.50/month (minimum three months) for a limited-time offer.

3. FreshBooks [User-friendly]

Source: FreshBooks

Did you find QuickBooks too complicated for your needs? Go with FreshBooks, then.

This bookkeeping software offers many of the tools in QuickBooks, but it’s more straightforward for users with little to no bookkeeping experience.

Unique features:

Billable hours on all plans. With FreshBooks, you can track your customer billable hours and add them to invoices no matter which plans you’re on. QuickBooks offers a similar feature, but only on its higher-priced plans.
Expense categorization on all plans. Likewise, you can categorize expenses on all plans. For QuickBooks, only premium users can access this feature.
Multiple users on all plans. All FreshBooks users can assign roles to their members. This feature is only available to QuickBooks’ higher-tiered users.

Pricing: Free 30-day trial, with paid plans beginning at $9/month when billed annually (limited time offer).

4. Sage [Enterprises]

Source: Sage

Sage is a business management platform perfect for enterprises.

It also offers smaller plans for small businesses. For instance, Sage Accounting Start, which provides entry-level accounting features, is ideal for freelancers and micro-business owners.

However, enterprise management is where Sage shines. You can gather all business data in a centralized platform with ultra-advanced features such as serialized inventory and lot tracking.

Unique features:

All-in-one business management platform. Manage your finances, operations, and inventory quickly and affordably with Sage 300.
Finance tools with multi-capabilities. Sage 300 supports multiple entities, multiple locations, and multi-currencies on a multilingual interface. Phew, that’s a mouthful.

Pricing: Free 30-day trial, with paid plans scaling $7.50/month (limited-time offer).

5. Invoice Crowd [Multi-entrepreneurs]

Invoice Crowd is a cloud invoice, estimates, and accounting platform rolled into one.

This new tool may lack certain features—white-label being one of them—but it makes up in other areas.

Off the top of our heads, the multiple business profiles from a single account make it an excellent choice for entrepreneurs running numerous businesses.

Unique features:

Multiple business profiles. Add multiple business profiles from a single account and easily switch from one to another.
Estimates. Use Invoice Crowd’s pre-made templates to create an estimate, so that clients can approve and sign it within seconds. What’s even cooler about it is that you can convert the approved estimate into an invoice with a single click, saving you time from creating one from scratch.

Pricing: Starts free, with paid plans scaling at $9/month when billed annually. Grab the Invoice Crowd lifetime deal on AppSumo today for $69.

6. Xero [Mobile app]

Source: Google Play

Xero is the ultimate sidekick when it comes to fuss-free bookkeeping.

Its stellar mobile app helps you run your business on the go. Whether you want to reconcile and categorize your transactions or stay on top of your unpaid invoices, this bookkeeping app’s got you covered.

Unique features:

Great integration with Gusto. Xero syncs seamlessly with Gusto. That way, you can calculate your employees’ salaries and automate payroll all from your Xero account.
Excellent integration with Hubdoc. Eliminate manual data entry! With Hubdoc (a Xero product), you can extract critical data such as supplier names and due dates and attach them to your transactions in Xero.
Spectacular mobile app. Maintain your bookkeeping on the go. With the Xero mobile app, you can reconcile your transactions, view outstanding invoices, and more without a hitch.

Pricing: Free 30-day trial, with paid plans scaling at $11/month.

7. Wave Accounting [Free]

Source: Wave

Looking for a free bookkeeping and accounting tool? Your search ends today.

Wave’s top-rated features include unlimited income and expense tracking, customizable sales taxes, and invoice reminders.

This beginner-friendly bookkeeping tool is also known for its fast set-up. If you want to speed up your accounting, check out Wave today.

Unique features:

100% free accounting and invoicing. Track expenses, send invoices, and run multiple businesses with one account—for free. Wave only takes a cut for your credit card payments.

Pricing: 3.4% and $0.50 per transaction for credit cards. Pricing for payroll starts at a $20 base fee and $6 per active employee or contractor (only USA and Canada-based businesses). A free 30-day free trial is available.

8. Zoho Books [Small businesses]

Run a small business with revenue less than $50K per annum? Here’s a treat for you from Zoho Books: Start using it for free!

Essential features include automatic payment reminders, tax management, and invoice customization.

Unique features:

Free bookkeeping and accounting. Run a business with revenue less than $50K a year? Zoho Books will offer you a free plan with attractive features, including a client portal, expenses and mileage tracking, and multilingual invoicing.
Transaction approval. Reduce misquoting errors with Zoho Books’ transactional approval. You can easily verify or edit a transaction before sending it to your client.

Pricing: Free 14-day trial, with paid plans scaling $10/organization every month when billed annually. Businesses with revenue less than $50K/year are eligible for the free Plan.

9. GoDaddy [Online sellers]

Source: GoDaddy Bookkeeping

GoDaddy is known for its web hosting solutions, but did you know it also offers bookkeeping tools for small business owners?

This essential bookkeeping software is great for online sellers due to its direct integration with ecommerce marketplaces.

Unique features:

Web hosting and more. Want to host everything on one platform? GoDaddy offers tons of features including web hosting solutions, website builder, and digital marketing suite.
Direct integration with ecommerce marketplaces. Automatically import data and generate real-time data from ecommerce platforms like eBay, Etsy, and Amazon. GoDaddy Bookkeeping even allows you to view your overall metric from these platforms.

Pricing: Starts at $4.99/month.

10. EZBilling360 [Agencies & freelancers]

Source: EZBilling360

To quote a Sumo-ling, “if cash flow is king, then EZBilling360 is the queen.” This invoice and accounting software is a lifesaver for agencies and freelancers, thanks to its client portal and built-in ticketing system.

Unique features:

Simple built-in ticketing system. Keep track of clients’ requests and assign them to the right team members. You can even sort tickets according to severity levels and track how much time each request took. Cancel your customer service tool subscription. EZBilling360’s got your back.
Client report card. EZBilling360 shows an overview of your client histories, contracts, and rates. With these insights, you can effortlessly identify your most profitable clients or clients you’ve outgrown.
Client portal. On top of automating billing workflows with automatic invoicing, EZBilling360 also allows your clients to manage and pay their accounts themselves.

Pricing: Free 30-day trial, with paid plans scaling from $22.49/month when billed annually. Grab the EZBilling360 one-year deal on AppSumo today for $360 (retail value: $600).

Which bookkeeping software will you pick today?

Alright, let’s do a quick recap on what these booking software tools do best:

Desktera is an all-in-one business management software that automates payroll, accounting, marketing, and sales. Grab the Deskera one-year deal on AppSumo today for $149 (retail value: $1188).
QuickBooks is best for businesses working with an in-house or retainer-based accountant.
FreshBooks is a user-friendly bookkeeping software that helps you effortlessly maintain your financial records.
Sage shines in enterprise management. Go with it if you want to gather all your business data on an accounting platform.
Invoice Crowd is an excellent choice for multi-entrepreneurs, as it allows you to add multiple business profiles from a single account. Grab the Invoice Crowd lifetime deal on AppSumo today for $69.
Xero boasts an outstanding mobile app. Reconcile your transactions and view overdue invoices while on the go!
Wave Accounting is a completely free bookkeeping app. Access unlimited income and expense tracking and more without paying a dime.
Zoho Books is fantastic for small businesses with revenue less than $50K per annum.
GoDaddy Bookkeeping directly integrates with ecommerce marketplaces, making it an obvious choice for online sellers.
EZBilling360 offers a built-in ticketing system, client report card, and self-service client portal. It’s a no-brainer for agencies and freelancers. Grab the EZBilling360 one-year deal on AppSumo today for $360 (retail value: $600).

Ready to amp up your business? Browse hundreds of annual and lifetime software deals on the AppSumo store and grow your business at a fraction of the cost.