Accounting Software Review

Is Online Accounting Software Right for Me?

If you want to be able to easily track the projects you are working on and send professional invoices to your clients, online accounting software with project tracking is for you. Not everyone needs full-fledged, bloated bookkeeping software. Many entrepreneurs and freelancers work alone or in small groups and do not need to track volumes of inventory or process payroll. Online accounting services create invoices, process payments, provide collaboration tools and track expenses easily online or via a mobile device.

Although most of the products we reviewed are not full-blown, traditional accounting products, they do create the reports and records you need to prepare your taxes. They track all transactions and generate reports that your accountant can use to prepare your business' taxes. In addition, these online services are secure. They use industry-approved online security practices such as password protection, SSL-encrypted connections and redundant data backup.

To discover more about these accounting services, see our articles on online accounting software. If you are ready to start invoicing today, check out our top choice, Sage One, which is affordably priced and simple to use. For more reporting options and cloud accounting, see FreshBooks. On the other hand, if you are interested in a service that you can easily customize with add-ons and modules, see Harvest.Accounting Software: What to Look for

These online business productivity tools are simple. They are designed to help you track projects and get paid. However, there are a few things to consider before you select accounting software to help run your small business. The first is whether you work alone or with a team. Some services charge extra for additional users, and collaboration tools vary among services. A second consideration is whether you need payment processing or not. Many of these online accounting services support credit card processing via PayPal or other payment processor so your clients can submit payments through a payment link included with the invoice.

All online accounting and project tracking services we reviewed can create invoices you can print, save as a PDF file or email to your clients. Accounting software also tracks overdue invoices and balances. While reviewing these services, we compared invoicing tools, project trackers and mobile platforms to help you make an informed choice on the best accounting system for your business.

When comparing accounting software, TopTenREVIEWS considered the following:

Invoicing & Billing

The best accounting software can easily create professional-looking, personalized invoices to help you get paid quickly and track payment information for tax purposes. Accounting programs provide invoicing tools that can configure sales tax, track clients' billing information, monitor balances and track overdue payments. You can create personalized invoices with your company logo with a choice of templates. Many of these services let you alter template themes, layouts and fonts. Using online services, you can also email invoices to clients directly through the software and save them as PDF files. The best companies also help you examine trends using helpful reports. Although most do not directly connect to your bank account, you can use them to track balances and monitor transactions.

Project Tracking

Top accounting software track projects, budgets, tasks, time and expenses to help you bill clients accurately and meet project goals. The most budget-friendly services also allow you to add users or permission-controlled visitors without charging additional fees. This allows you to collaborate with other project stakeholders online. The best accounting systems also allow collaborators to share files and attach files and notes to tasks and projects. For the most part, these services are not suited to track complex inventory scenarios. Though most will allow you to save common items that you sell, these online bookkeeping services are best for those who bill by time or project.

Mobility

Many entrepreneurs started their own businesses to alleviate the burden of going to the office. Mobility is crucial for giving business owners the freedom they want while providing the required level of professionalism. These services are hosted online, which means that they are compatible with PCs and Macs, as well as a variety of browsers. Therefore, you can log in from anywhere and access your account. The best and most modern online accounting also provide tools for mobile devices such as iPads, iPhones and Android phones. Some provide full access with any web-enabled device, whereas others provide mobile apps that can perform tasks such as logging expenses and time. These services offer a range of mobile tools, and we will explain each company's offering in our reviews.

The best accounting software should help you become more efficient and less burdened with tedious tasks. Most small business owners and freelancers report that these services reduce the amount of time they spend performing accounting tasks to just a few hours per month. More free time means that you can spend more time growing your business.