Which Accounting Software Is Best For You?

• What do you need the software to do? and
• How much do you want to pay?

Here we review our five favourite options
Xero
This is really lovely looking software that is available for both PC and Mac. It is perfect for Mac users as it doesn’t strip down any of the features for Mac users as often happens with software. It also has a mobile app to allow you to do almost all of the features on the go. There is a built in payroll system and the reporting is detailed making BAS time easy! Xero also includes 24/7 phone, email and live chat support free of charge. Starting at $9 a month, but more of the features are available for $50 a month.  It is widely used by our clients.

Wave Accounting
For a very small business we recommend Wave Accounting. They offer a free, cloud based software package. There are a comprehensive list of features all for free! For a micro business this is a great starting point for a small business that plans to stay small such as a freelancer, sole trader or entrepreneur. It has a simple dashboard and is very easy to navigate.

FreshBooks
For those that are planning on doing most of their tasks on the go, then we recommend FreshBooks. It is a user friendly cloud based software that has a large range of mobile app features. It starts at $9.95 a month, with a limit of 5 clients, $19.95 per month for up to 25 clients and for just $29.95 you can have unlimited clients. However, FreshBooks isn't as great with the reporting, so might be best for those that aren’t registered for GST.

MYOB Essentials
As the name suggests it is just the essentials and doesn’t include inventory management. It also doesn’t allow you to raise purchase orders so this would need to be created outside of the system. It does however provide great payroll function. The price is good for small businesses with the $25 a month plan providing 25 bank transactions, 5 invoices and 5 bills and payroll for 1 person. The $35 plan has unlimited transactions and for $45 it is unlimited payroll. This makes it a fair bit cheaper than software such as Xero.

QuickBooks
Appearance and functionality that users love, making it the leader of accounting software. Customised reporting that can be scheduled and organised in a calendar to avoid deadlines. There are smart searching features to speed up reviews of payroll and finances. For those that are holding inventory QuickBooks Pro provides direct warning messages when issues arise and also includes a shipping manager feature which includes a drop down of packaging options. QuickBooks is also the most cost effective with the QuickBooks Pro only $35 a month.

Get in touch today if you are considering a new system and want advice on the best solution for your business.