Are you looking for intelligent, scalable accounting solutions for startups? Get accounting software. They can automate the tasks that you would manually do, such as tracking expenses, creating reports, bank reconciliation, invoicing customers, monitoring profit and loss, and others.
This post includes:
● What are the essentials of the best startup accounting software?
● Top 7 accounting software for startups
● Wrapping up
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What are the essentials of the best startup accounting software?
You may be overwhelmed with promising and good-priced accounting software. Some software focuses on data security and invoicing efficiency, while others have been performing complex debtor analytics and financial reporting. Each accounting software is unique and highlights certain features that make it suitable for any business.
Some features to look for in a startup accounting software
- Flexibility
- Accurate reporting
- Technical support
- Easy integration
- Cost
- Data security
- User-friendly platform
- Best-in-class features
Top 7 accounting software for startups
Here are the top 7 accounting software tools for startups:
1. Xero
Xero is best for business reporting, with a simple, intuitive design, user-friendly interface, dynamic online dashboard and other features.
The Starter pack at £12 per month plus VAT offers,
● MTD VAT returns filing
● Open banking integration
● Strict bills and invoices limits
The Standard plan is available at £26 per month plus VAT, offers
● Short-term cash flow and business snapshot
● Bulk reconcile transactions
● No usage restrictions
The Premium pack comes at £33 per month plus VAT, offers
● Everything from the Standard plan
● Multi-currency handling
Keep an eye out as prices are scheduled to go up in September 2022.
2. QuickBooks
QuickBooks has over 4.5 million customers worldwide, offering excellent features and affordable pricing. A dedicated self-employed plan starts from £8 per month.
Small businesses can go with the Simple Start plan costing £12 per month excluding VAT and offers unique features like
● Prepare and submit VAT returns to HMRC
● Send pay-enabled invoices
● Create estimates and quotes.
Upgrade to the Essentials pack for £22 per month excluding VAT, and enjoy
● Managing bills
● Accepting and making payments in more than 145 currencies
● Allows adding up to 3 users
For the Plus plan at £32 per month, you get
● Managing stocks
● Tracking employee time
● Add up to 5 users
All packs offer good customer support, an intuitive mobile interface, and integration with over 700 applications.
3. FreshBooks
FreshBooks software is the easiest one to use and is preferable to startups in the UK. It offers three plans at affordable prices and has a slick user interface that performs things like creating invoices and entering payments in a few minutes.
The Lite plan comes at £11 per month excluding VAT and offers
● Sending unlimited invoices to a maximum of five clients
● Making Tax Digital VAT return filing
● Tracking unlimited expenses
Upgrade to the Plus plan at £19 per month excluding VAT, and enjoy:
● Sending unlimited invoices to up to 50 clients
● Inviting your accountant to the platform
● Bank reconciliation
The Premium package is available at £30 per month excluding VAT and offers
● Unlimited invoice sending to a maximum of 500 clients
● Tracking project profitability
● Tracking accounts payable
For sole traders, this application is the cheapest option. But, adding users, you must pay £7 per person every month and is therefore not recommendable for larger teams.
4. Zoho Books
Zoho Books is best for project tracking and has a CRM tool, email hosting and project management solution. The software platform is simple and user-friendly and starts with a free plan suitable for tiny businesses with essential features.
The Free plan of Zoho offers:
● Managing up to 1000 invoices every year
● Making Tax Digital VAT return filing
● Tracking expenses and mileage
Upgrade to a Standard pack available at £12 per month excluding VAT, and offers:
● Managing up to 5,000 invoices per year
● Automatically importing transactions
● Adding recurring expenses
For the Professional pack at £24 per month excluding VAT, you get
● Bill management
● Multi-currency handling
● Retainer invoices
If you wish to add an extra user, you must pay £2.50 per user per month. Additionally, you need to buy the bulk auto scan feature, which costs £8 per month for 50 monthly scans.
5. Crunch
Crunch offers you an expert accountant along with other features.
Apply for the Sole Trader Pro plan at £24.50 per month excluding VAT, and enjoy
● Unlimited access to an accountant
● VAT filing
● Self-assessment tax return
On up-gradation to the Limited Company Pro plan at £39.50 per month excluding VAT, you get
● Real-time tax dashboard
● Corporation tax and VAT filing
● Payroll for two directors
The Limited Company Premium plan comes at £115.50 per month excluding VAT, offers
● Payroll up to four directors
● Annual accountancy health checkup
● Bespoke IR35 solution
Crunch is not only a robust accounting software that handles everything related to tracking expenses to invoicing and bank reconciliation; it also provides personalized insight and expert support and determines whether to pay yourself through dividends or PAYE and others.
6. Sage
Sage has an over 6 million customer base and offers a range of services at a reasonable cost.
With the Accounting Start plan at £12 per month plus VAT, you get
● Creating and sending sales invoice
● Submitting VAT returns
● 24×7 customer support
For the Accounting Standard plan at £24 per month plus VAT, you get
● Advanced reporting
● Unlimited users addition
● Generating cash flow statements
For the Accounting Plus plan at £30 per month plus VAT,
● Supporting multiple currencies
● Inventory management
7. FreeAgent
FreeAgent is suitable for small businesses that remove the limit on users, clients, projects, and features.
The Sole Trader plan at £19 per month excluding VAT offers
● Invoicing
● Tracking expenses
● Self-assessment tax return filing
Partnership/LLP plan at £24 per month excluding VAT offers
● Profit share calculations
Limited Company plan at £24 per month excluding VAT offers
● Dividend vouchers
● Corporation tax filing
All programs offer good customer support.
Wrapping up
There is several startup accounting software in the market, and it takes some effort to find the right one. Make sure whatever the software is, it must meet your needs and is easy to understand.
