Small Business Accounting Software for 2025

Small businesses face growing operational costs, pushing many to seek budget friendly accounting software. QuickBooks has long been a go to for bookkeeping, but entrepreneurs now look for simpler, more affordable tools to handle their finances.


Several strong alternatives to QuickBooks have appeared, each with features designed for small business needs. Here’s a closer look at the top options:

Wave has built a loyal base among freelancers and small businesses thanks to its free pricing. It covers essentials like invoicing, receipt scanning, and expense tracking. While it lacks advanced features like inventory management or project tracking, its ease and cost make it a great pick.

"I really enjoy wave, I've been using it for over 5 years and it super simple and easy for the client to pay invoices. It is super easy to use and very affordable for the start-up business owner or side hustler. It has limited features in some areas, like payroll, but if you're a solo team, that doesn't matter." - Kimb W., Design, Self-employed.

"2-year Review: I wish I had never used Wave. Stay away. Stay far, far away. The problem with Wave is that they have abysmal community and customer support... Even for paying customers, there is zero option for support other than sending an email or chat, then waiting days or weeks for a response (11 days is my record so far)... Stay away from Wave. There are too many better options for accounting to let your business grind to a halt because of their poor service. All it takes is one problem that goes unanswered for you to have been better off with another provider." - LilBobby_Tables.

"Wave once stood out among accounting applications because it was a free and effective solution for everything short of payroll and customer payments. You must now subscribe to a paid version of the software to get all of its features, but its ease of use, competent invoice and transaction tools, improved mobile apps, and reasonable price still make it a good fit for microbusinesses... We liked Wave a bit better when you could get all of its best features at no cost, but it remains an affordable, responsive, and well-designed accounting solution for very small businesses (including freelancers and contractors). Its multicurrency support, revamped mobile apps, and user permissions features are additional points in its favor."

FreshBooks stands out for service based businesses with its user friendly design and strong invoicing tools. Beyond billing, it includes time tracking and expense management. Starting at $15 per month, it offers a good mix of affordability and capability.

"My life was a mess until I started using Freshbooks. As a self-employed individual in architecture & planning, keeping track of time and invoicing was a nightmare. FreshBooks made it incredibly easy to log my hours for different projects and then seamlessly turn those into professional-looking invoices. Clients can pay online directly through the invoice, which has significantly improved my cash flow. The interface is intuitive, and I didn't need any accounting background to get started. It's been a game-changer for managing my business admin." - Josh G.

"FreshBooks has been a very reliable accounting and financial management platform for us, allowing us to take good care of our finances. It allows us to continuously monitor our expenses, which has helped 1 us develop very disciplined spending habits. The invoicing function in FreshBooks is super easy to use and helps create smart invoices. It also has an amazing reporting function that gives us insightful financial reports to assist us 2 in gauging our financial health." - Verified User in IT Services.

"I've been using FreshBooks for about three years now for my service-based business. Initially, I loved how simple it was to create invoices and track payments. The client portal is also a nice touch. However, as my business has grown, I've started to feel some limitations. The project management features are okay for basic tasks, but not robust enough for more complex projects. Also, the cost of adding team members can add up quickly. While it's great for solopreneurs and very small teams, businesses with more employees or complex needs might outgrow it." - u/ServicePro2022

Xero delivers a wide range of features, from inventory management to payroll and multi currency support. It appeals to growing businesses with its integration to many third party apps. Pricing starts at $13 per month, making it a solid choice for those needing a complete solution.

"Xero has been a useful tool for my business for the past 8+ years, and I use it in conjunction with my accountant to keep track of my business accounts. It's a handy way to code account transactions, and also see how my business is performing. Super easy to track and stay on top of my business financials. It can be hard to get help and support, and also to set up new reports." - Erin M.

"Its great I'm able to reconcile my accounts and match up with the accounts daily. Its easy to use. I like all the features they have to make it easier to keep track of your transactions. I pretty much don't have any issues." - Tammy P.

"Xero allows for unlimited users at no extra cost, making it especially attractive to small businesses with several employees. It supports every element of financial management that both young and growing companies need, using AI effectively in areas like bank account reconciliation and offering advanced reporting abilities... Xero's dashboard provides a good launching pad for the experience. It displays the charts and numbers you need at the beginning of a work session, like account balances, bill and invoice status, and total cash in and out. You can drill down here to see underlying transactions and create new ones."

For businesses already in the Zoho ecosystem, Zoho Books integrates smoothly with other Zoho products. It provides invoicing, project management, and inventory tracking, starting at $15 per month. This all in one approach makes it popular among Zoho fans.

"Zoho Books is a great tool at a great value for small business. It serves as a full ERP system for our small business. We have merged two companies recently and converted and integrated both 1 companies into Zoho Books. The transition was smooth, and the system handles our quotes, invoices, payments, and client billing efficiently. While the bank reconciliation process can be a bit tricky initially, and the separate inventory module seems a bit redundant, the overall value and functionality are excellent. We also wish for easier integration with multiple Amazon stores."

"Zoho Books is an affordable and reliable SME Accounting Solution. We use it as our primary accounting software to create quotes, send invoices, track payments, and allow our clients to access their billing via our client portal. The online accessibility is fantastic for our team collaboration. Setting up automatic payments saves us significant time, around 20 hours per month. It generates essential reports seamlessly, and the integration with Stripe for recurring payments is excellent. It's more than just software; it's an essential part of our business operations. The customization features and approval workflows are very convenient for our team."

"I find using Zoho Books really helpful in keeping track of our billings, invoices, and payments. Having it built into the Zoho CRM saves us so much time, and we can have it linked to our projects for easy tracking of expenses. The ability to clone items has significantly streamlined our process for handling repeat sales orders. The prebuilt reports, especially profit and loss statements and balance sheets, are clear and easy to access, providing the data we need for informed decisions. The expense integration, which allows scanning and automatic import of receipts, is a great bonus. Overall, it's user-friendly and saves us a significant amount of time, probably around 20-25%."

Manager is a free desktop based accounting software. It may not have all the advanced tools of other options, but it covers basics like invoicing and financial reporting, making it ideal for those watching their budget.

"Great alternative to the big guys." Software Advice

"Best small business accounting software with the most features and free." CRM.org

"The Banking Dashboard in Manager makes it very easy to manage banking transactions." G2.com

NolaPro, a cloud based ERP solution, goes beyond standard accounting with tools for inventory management, accounts payable, and more. Its free core package and customizable options fit businesses with unique needs.

"Great software for our business." Mark L

"Good for Non-US Companies." Miodrag D

"Happy I found this app again...low cost inventory tracking is a lifesaver!" Gary K

Each alternative offers distinct benefits, letting small business owners pick a platform that matches their needs. Most providers offer free trials, so users can try out features before subscribing.


As technology advances, the accounting software market keeps growing, giving businesses the freedom to move away from traditional tools like QuickBooks and find options that better align with their goals and budgets.