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According to Investopedia research, QuickBooks Online is the best accounting software for small businesses. It is popular with business owners and accountants alike. To help you get started and gain mastery, this software offers an active userbase community and plenty of how-tos and other resources to help you grow.
The best accounting software for small businesses is easy to use, offers robust planning, tracking, and reporting functions, integrates with other software tools, and is easy to share with accountants and bookkeepers.
Before we selected QuickBooks Online, we researched eight different business accounting products and evaluated them on their costs, features, reputation, and customer experience.
Best Accounting Software for Small Business
- Best Overall: QuickBooks Online
- Best Free Software: Zoho Books
- Best for Micro Businesses: Xero
- Best for Service-Based Businesses: FreshBooks
- Best for Part-Time Freelancers: QuickBooks Solopreneur
Why Trust Us
Investopedia collected and analyzed over 200 key data points from eight leading accounting software providers to evaluate the most important factors for readers choosing accounting software for small businesses. We used this data to review each company based on cost, scalability, reputation, accounting features, and other factors. Investopedia developed this process to provide an unbiased, comprehensive review to ensure our readers make the right decision for their needs. Investopedia launched in 1999 and has been helping readers find the best accounting software for small businesses since 2020.
How We Choose the Best Accounting Software for Small Business
We collected 232 individual data points from eight leading accounting applications to evaluate and rate accounting software for small businesses. We researched and evaluated 29 different factors, grouped into four broad categories: cost, features, reputation, and customer experience. To create our star ratings, we assigned each factor a scoring weight. When aggregated, our categories carried the following weights:
- Cost: 22%
- Features: 36%
- Reputation: 10%
- Customer Experience: 32%
