Best Quickbooks Alternatives for Businesses in 2021
Bonus material: Class is in session. Learn game-changing lessons from world-class experts like Chris Voss, Marie Forleo, James Clear, and more.
Money is serious business. And when Quickbooks just isn’t cutting it for your business, it’s time to find the best Quickbooks alternatives to handle invoicing, bookkeeping, and other money management challenges.
Well, you’ve come to the right blog.
Today I’m going to introduce you to 10 powerful Quickbook alternatives to get your money sorted and make you feel more confident about how you handle bookkeeping.
- Deskera
- FreshBooks
- Kashoo
- Fiskl
- Xero
- Wave Accounting
- Odoo
- Zoho Books
- Bonsai
- Gusto
- Sage Business Accounting
About Quickbooks
Before we tell you about some Quickbook alternatives, we’ve gotta dive into the tool we’re comparing against. This isn’t some small player in the bookkeeping space — Quickbooks is owned by Intuit, the umbrella company behind other popular money apps like TurboTax and Mint.com.
Quickbooks is known and used so widely that most CPAs, HRs, bookkeepers, and entrepreneurs have at least a cursory understanding of the tool and how to use it. What they don’t understand can be easily grasped by following one of the numerous video tutorials and blogs across the web. It’s a powerhouse software with lots of free information to help you get started.
I mean think about it: No one is writing “alternative” posts about small-time, never-heard-of-it-before software. To endure the pain of alternative posts being written about your product, you’ve first gotta be a leader in your industry.
Quickbooks is a bookkeeping tool that lets you do everything from sending invoices to paying employees and creating financial reports.
Quickbooks is also not just a single tool with one interface. Quickbooks has multiple pricing plans focused on different types of businesses. Quickbooks Self-Employed, for example, is one of their lowest-cost plans and has stripped-down features tailored toward one-person businesses.
And, of course, it helps you prepare for tax season. In fact, since Quickbooks and TurboTax are cousins, they sync together pretty seamlessly, allowing you to track expenses and income throughout the year, and file taxes without a headache. Well… no more of a headache than tax season is on its own, anyway.
So, if it’s so tool-rich and well-known why would anyone look for an alternative to Quickbooks?
Great question!
*blushes* Thanks, I know.
The answer might be as unique as each person asking it. But I bet most Quickbook alternative searchers have one of these things in common. The negative user reviews around Quickbooks show themes around pricing, inflexible/un-customizable tools, poor customer support, and a complicated interface.
Okay, okay — what are your alternatives, then?
Let’s find out.
1. Deskera
Quickbooks Online has established its brand, but it’s a more expensive solution for startups and small businesses. It is more suitable for big companies that need advanced features and integrations.
However, due to the availability of inventory management features, Deskera Books is ideal for startups and small businesses. Here’s a comprehensive comparison between Quickbooks and Deskera.
With Deskera’s intuitive, user-friendly interface and excellent onboarding experience, you’ll start using the system in less time. Additionally, the Deskera dashboard and home screens for each function help businesses focused on day-to-day operations keep everything running smoothly.
Overall, Deskera Books is an excellent choice for less experienced accountants and small businesses.
Cost: Deskera starts at $29 per month, paid annually. Grab the annual deal of Deskera to access the all-in-one features your business needs.
Best for: SMB business owners, multiple entities or feel as though they have too many apps and integrations.
2. FreshBooks
Source: FreshBooks
No conversation of Quickbooks alternatives is complete without mentioning FreshBooks. If Quickbooks and TurboTax are cousins, then FreshBooks is Quickbooks’ archnemesis.
FreshBooks offers many of the tools offered in the Quickbooks tool suite. But it’s known for being simpler, and it’s built specifically for small businesses.
With a focus on small business, FreshBooks points more resources to what matters to entrepreneurs: time tracking, invoicing, reporting, and more. But most importantly, FreshBooks tries to streamline the screen to make it easier to quickly do what you need, without getting lost in the weeds of dozens of tools.
If you’re looking for another name-brand bookkeeping tool, FreshBooks is a popular option for small business owners.
Cost: FreshBooks often offers discounts for the first several months. But their non-discounted, recurring monthly subscription starts at $15.00 per month.
Best for: Small businesses, freelancers, agencies
3. Kashoo
Source: Kashoo
The first AppSumo partner on our list, Kashoo is built for small business owners and freelancers looking to simplify their bookkeeping. Kashoo offers a simple interface, making it easier to do daily financial tracking without feeling loaded down with unnecessary additional tools.
Kashoo helps you visualize your finances with its reporting feature. You can also use it to send invoices, track income and expenses, upload and track receipts, and accept credit card payments.
But the superpower of Kashoo is its machine learning capabilities. You can use set-and-forget tools to make bookkeeping much simpler. As they say on their website: “Sort a whole year’s worth of small business expenses in less time than it takes to drive to your accountant.” They set ease of use as their North Star.
That’s a pretty compelling idea for busy entrepreneurs.
Cost: Kashoo starts at $16.65 per month, paid annually.
Best for: Busy entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to save time and cost
4. Fiskl
Source: Fiskl
Another powerful AppSumo partner and Quickbooks alternative, Fiskl is built for businesses looking to save time and money on bookkeeping and invoicing tools. They even have a free version of their tool, which is pretty rare in the business finance tracking space.
So what does Fiskl offer?
You get many of the tools you love with Quickbooks: time and mile tracking, reports, invoicing, expense tracking, and much more. Fiskl also offers customizable invoices that you can design to be on-brand.
Fiskl is perfect for business owners who like to work from their phone. While they have a desktop version, Fiskl is built for mobile (Android and Apple), providing the tools you need to run the financial side of your business from your pocket.
Cost: Get a 1-year deal on Pro Plan through AppSumo for $149. They also have a free plan. The lowest-cost premium plan starts at $7 per month, billed annually.
Best for: Solopreneurs without accounting departments looking for a better way to manage business finances on mobile and desktop
5. Xero
Source: Xero
One consistent theme across this article is that Quickbooks can leave small business owners feeling overlooked. Fortunately, dozens of powerful small business bookkeeping tools have risen to help entrepreneurs stay ahead of their business finances.
One such company is Xero. Built for small businesses from freelancers to coffee shop owners, Xero helps you track expenses, conduct inventory management, access financial reports, and accept payments.
They also integrate with popular tools (like Gusto, who is also on this list) to make sure you get all the functions you need, without throwing them all into one confusing interface.
Xero boasts a popular mobile accounting app. If you want to see how your business is doing on-the-go, they’ve got your back.
Cost: Xero starts at $9 per month.
Best for: Small businesses, solopreneurs, freelancers
6. Wave Accounting
Source: Wave Accounting
The next Quickbooks alternative on our list is Wave Accounting.
This tool is built for entrepreneurs and small businesses. With a careful eye for intuitive design, Wave Accounting pushes against the often-complex nature of tools like Quickbooks Online. It’s a business app meant to simplify bookkeeping and payroll.
Wave Accounting lets you create and send invoices, collect credit card payments, and of course, track income and expenses. It also includes a mobile app for easy, real-time accounting on-the-go.
It also offers payment reminders to let clients know they still need to pay your invoice. (“Come on, Simon — I’ve got 11 cats to feed!”)
Cost: Wave Accounting doesn’t charge a monthly fee for the tool. Instead, they just collect payments per transaction, which start at 1% transaction fees for ACH transfer. Their payroll tools begin at $20 base fee and $6 per active employee or contractor.
Best for: Entrepreneurs, small businesses, and freelancers
7. Odoo
Source: Odoo
Odoo is the next accounting software on our list. It’s actually several business tools rolled into one. Accounting is an appetizer within Odoo, not the main course.
That said, they offer the basic tools you want from any Quickbook alternative: reporting, automatic transaction recording, bank account synchronization, and the ability to track income and expenses.
Odoo is also a mobile app, enabling you to get a real-time view of your financial position, even when you’re away from your desktop. But the real benefit of Odoo comes down to the nature of how large the tool is.
You can seamlessly connect Odoo Accounting with other Odoo tools — like a CRM, website builder, timesheets, and more — to handle all your business projects and logistics in one tool family.
Cost: If you only use Odoo Accounting (and not additional tools from the Odoo tool suite), then it’s free. Add additional tools, and it starts at $24 per month.
Best for: Companies looking to manage dozens of business tools under a single tool suite
8. Zoho Books
Source: Zoho Books
Zoho is a Quickbooks alternative that helps you track your business finances and handle payroll.
They are user-friendly, help you track income and expenses, and provide you the tools you need to treat employees well (through pay, insurance, retirement investing options, etc.). It’s an HR system and business accounting tool rolled into one.
This tool has a fairly simple interface compared to Quickbooks Online and packs many of the same features. You can create and send invoices, track time, sync Zoho with your bank for automatic reporting—and more.
Cost: Zoho Books starts at $9 per month.
Best for: Businesses that want to manage multiple business tools in a single tool suite
9. Bonsai
Source: Bonsai
Another popular accounting software, Bonsai is made exclusively for freelancers and solopreneurs. So to be more specific: Bonsai is a Quickbooks Self-Employed alternative.
Bonsai understands that freelancers wear many hats, so it tried to include all the financial needs a freelancer has in one place. You can send invoices, track income and expenses, track your time, and even manage leads—yes, it’s a CRM, too. (I’m a freelancer. I’m allowed to geek out at least a little—this was made for me.)
But let’s stay focused. As a small business accounting software, Bonsai offers financial tools to handle almost all your day-to-day business tracking. From accepting payments to preparing for tax day, they try to pack it all into this tool.
Cost: I couldn’t find their price online, but Fundera reports that their pricing starts at $16 per month, paid annually.
Best for: Freelancers and solopreneurs
10. Gusto
Source: Gusto
GUSTO! (Oh, am I not supposed to shout it? With a name like Gusto, I just figured…)
Most of the Quickbooks alternatives on this list have handled the accounting software side of Quickbooks. But what about payroll? How do you handle paying employees?
Gusto is one of the most popular payroll tools on the market. They help you handle the financial details that matter most to your employees: payments, health and dental insurance, retirement savings, and more.
Gusto is an HR tool to compete against Quickbooks Payroll. The great news is, Gusto also integrates with several of the tools on this list to connect payroll to bookkeeping.
Cost: Gusto starts at $6 per employee per month for their basic plan.
Best for: Gusto, like Quickbooks, serves a very wide market. It serves small businesses and enterprise companies alike.
11. Sage Business Accounting
Source: Sage Business Accounting
Like Wave Accounting, Sage combines payroll and many popular accounting features. It’s a popular Quickbooks alternative that’s designed to help small businesses take charge of the financial side of their businesses.
Sage Business has invoicing, like other tools mentioned on this list. But they also provide quote tracking so you can visualize your proposal success rate in the same place you see your income, helping to pull more of your business data into one online accounting platform. Get a better idea of cash flow, income and expenses, and upcoming work — all in one place.
But don’t be fooled: Sage isn’t just in the online accounting software and payroll industries. Sage provides dozens of software, making it a great tool for companies that want to use the same company for their CRM, accounting tools, supply chain management, and more.
Cost: Sage Accounting starts at $10 per month.
Best for: Small businesses who want to use a single company for most of their digital tool suite
Pick Your Favorite Quickbooks Alternative
You’ve seen the options. Now it’s time to act. Which Quickbooks alternative caught your attention? Tell us your favorite in the comments.
Also, if you didn’t see a clear winner, there’s always Excel. Just kidding.
Instead, pay attention to the AppSumo store. We frequently partner with powerful accounting tools to help entrepreneurs like you—and we discount those tools to help you get the absolute best deal on the software you need to run your business.
By