

It may also help you decide which accounting services you might eventually want to source from an accountant. You can then get a better idea of what kinds of additional accounting features you’d be willing to pay for. However, if your turnover is small or your finances are relatively simple, then you may get all the performance you need from a freeware accounting app.įor example, if you’re just setting up in business and getting the lie of the land, free accounting software may help you get started without too much initial expenditure. Accounting is quite literally ‘serious business’, and errors can prove damaging as well as very costly, so if your business is above a certain size it’s worth shelling out for a mainstream accounting package such as Sage, QuickBooks or FreshBooks. With accounting software, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. But if you’re going to do this, it really helps to use software that’s compatible with whatever your accountant uses, so you can simply share files and transfer your data over to them. If you handle the simpler tasks such as bookkeeping and cashflow management, you can save your accountant’s time for the heavier lifting such as handling your corporation tax returns.

And, as such, when you make your decision, you can be confident you’re making the right one.Even if you use an accountant, you can reduce your overall costs by tackling some of the workload yourself. Whichever way you fall, trying out a free trial will help you perform a quick cost-benefit analysis of your options. Or, you might find that the reports, tax assistance, and payroll that more expensive accounting options offer will save you enough time and money to justify their monthly fees. You might find that, as you use the free trial, the added features aren’t useful for you, and a free accounting software option works perfectly fine. With a free trial, you’ll be able to try out the more expensive options and see if they provide enough value to justify their costs. In fact, FreshBooks, Sage, Xero, and QuickBooks all offer free trials on each of their accounting software options. Luckily, a happy middle ground exists: Many of the most powerful accounting software options offer a 30-day free trial to new customers.

On the other hand, pretty much nothing beats free, especially when you’re so keenly focused on your business’s finances. On the one hand, you want the best for your business, and accessing the best accounting software possible could very well be worth it. After reading through this guide to free accounting software, it’s easy to be on the fence.
