QuickBooks Online is one of the most famous independent company bookkeeping programming choices available today, with multiple million current supporters.
In any case, imagine a scenario in which QuickBooks Online isn’t ideal for your business. Fortunately, on the off chance that you’re on the lookout for a bookkeeping programming application other than QuickBooks Online, you have a ton of decisions. When you run the QuickBooks software you can face the QuickBooks login error. And other error faces like QuickBooks online accountant login very easily solve this error.
What to look for in a great QuickBooks Online alternative
If you’re looking for an alternative to QuickBooks Online, you should start by determining what you’re looking for that QuickBooks Online doesn’t offer.
Does the interface bother you? Is the feature you’re looking for not available? Are you looking for a more inexpensive product or better integration with your other applications?
Whatever your reason for seeking out alternatives, here are a few things you should pay close attention to while searching for a QuickBooks Online replacement.
1. Ease of use
It’s all well and good to search for a product that is loaded with awesome features. However, if you have a hard time accessing and using those features properly, it doesn’t really matter if they’re available or not.
One of the primary things any new user should consider is how easy a product is to use.
One way to do that is to take advantage of the free demos that many of these applications offer. There’s nothing like navigating through a product yourself to really see if it’s the right one for you.
2. Price point
While most small business accounting applications offer multiple plans and affordable prices, it can be costly to get all of the features you want at a price you can afford.
Before you purchase the lowest level plan, be sure it includes the features you’re looking for, and if you have to go up to the next plan level, make sure that the cost is within your budget.
3. Support
One of the features frequently overlooked when shopping for accounting software is support.
It’s one of those things that you don’t think much about — until you need it.
If you’re tech-savvy, chances are you can get by with online support or a robust knowledge base, but if you’re a computer novice, make sure that any product you’re interested in offers supports options that work for you.
Our top 8 picks for QuickBooks Online alternatives
QuickBooks Online is a great small business accounting application, but it’s not for everyone.
Not to worry; there are a lot of great small business accounting applications for you to choose from. If you’re actively searching for QuickBooks alternatives, be sure to check out some of these options.
1. Best for tech novices: FreshBooks
If you’re a sole proprietor or freelancer tired of using a spreadsheet to track business activity, FreshBooks is for you.
FreshBooks requires little in the way of setup, so you can be up and running in minutes. It is best suited for freelancers and sole proprietors. FreshBooks offers a self-employed plan, along with a teams plan for small businesses with multiple users. As an added bonus, FreshBooks includes a highly intuitive interface that even computer novices will be comfortable with.
FreshBooks recently added double-entry accounting capability to the application, a major plus for any small business that has at least one employee.
The application offers good expense management, client invoicing, time tracking, and the ability to record customer payments. You can also create a flat rate or hourly project in FreshBooks, and create client estimates as well.
You can create hourly or flat rate projects in FreshBooks. Source: FreshBooks software.
Although not the best choice for businesses that sell products, FreshBooks is an excellent solution for sole proprietors and freelancers; offering a rapid invoicing option as well as the ability to manage projects and create estimates and proposals.
Both QuickBooks and FreshBooks offer live support options; however, QuickBooks pushes customers to use self-help resources first. Along with an easily navigated interface, FreshBooks offers a variety of other benefits including free toll-free customer support, with email support available as well.
FreshBooks pricing starts at $13.50/month, with the popular Plus plan running $22.50/month, which is a small price to pay to keep your books in order.
2. Best for tight budgets: Wave Accounting
If you’re on a tight budget, but still want an online accounting application that offers double-entry accounting capability, Wave Accounting may be right for you.
Wave Accounting is a cloud-based application that is free. Yes, Wave is a free QuickBooks Online alternative.
Wave Accounting is best suited for freelancers and sole proprietors, conveniently offering all of the accounting features that you need for your small business, including double-entry accounting, sales, purchases, banking, and decent reporting.
Wave Accounting offers custom invoice creation and decent customer management capability. The application is better suited to those that offer services rather than products, since Wave Accounting does not offer inventory tracking or management capability.
Wave Accounting allows you to easily create custom invoices. Source: Wave Accounting software.
For service businesses that need good invoicing capability, Wave includes great invoice customization capability, where you can add your logo and other marketing details. The application also offers invoice templates that you can use when creating an invoice. If you do not get the latest features of QuickBooks you can update QuickBooks and get more latest features.
Both online payment acceptance and payroll options are available through Wave Accounting, though both have a fee attached.
Wave Accounting does not include many support options, though accounting users can access the online help center for answers to questions. If you subscribe to either Wave Payments or Wave Payroll, you will have access to chat support as well.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of using Wave Accounting is that it’s free, with costs only incurred if you subscribe to the online payment application.
There, you’ll pay 2.9% plus $.30 for each transaction, or the payroll application, which has a base fee of $35 for full-service payroll, and a $20 monthly fee for the self-service payroll option.
3. Best for growing businesses: Sage 50cloud Accounting
Sage 50cloud Accounting is a hybrid application that offers the reliability that a desktop application offers along with remote access options.
Sage 50cloud Accounting is better suited for those that are more tech-savvy. Best suited for small and growing businesses, Sage 50cloud Accounting is scalable, with three plans available, with their Quantum plan able to support up to 40 users.
They offer a long list of features for small businesses including good customer management, sales tracking, purchase orders, and a good inventory management module.
Sage 50cloud Accounting also includes automatic bank feeds, vendor payment, and two payroll options: Essentials Payroll for up to 15 employees and Full-Service Payroll for larger businesses.
They offer good reporting capability, with fully customizable reports in a variety of categories. Tech support is good, with telephone, email, and chat support available.
One of the best benefits small businesses can derive from Sage 50cloud Accounting is its scalability.
When you find an accounting application you’re comfortable with, the last thing you want to do is outgrow the application. You won’t have to worry about that with Sage 50cloud Accounting, where you can scale up to the robust Quantum plan, which supports up to 40 users.