Searching for best accounting software for small business Canada? Accounting software assists in recording and reporting financial transactions with the guide of an accountant.
Businesses use it to manage accounts, track revenue and expenses, and store receipts and important financial documents. Good accounting software also helps to keep small businesses in compliance with tax laws and prepares filings at tax time.
The question begging for a serious answer is, what is the easiest accounting software for small business in Canada?
Choosing the best accounting software for self-employed may not be an easy task for a small business. This is because there is a variety of accounting software available, each with its capability and price tag.
Industry type and the number of employees are two factors that can determine the best accounting software for a small business Canada. The following are the best seven accounting software for small businesses out there based on research:
Top 7 Accounting Software in Canada
Intuit’s Quickbook Online
QuickBook Online is a cloud-based software that can be accessed through a web browser or mobile app. It features one main dashboard on which all accounting features can be accessed. This makes bookkeeping with the software easy and efficient. It also offers many online recourses and training to assist new users.
QuickBook Online offers a 30-day free trial, as well as four options for subscription. The Simple Start plan is $25, the Essentials is $50, the Plus is $80, and Advanced is $180 per month. You will enjoy the first months discount, so accountants can offer wholesale pricing to small businesses.
The Simple Start meets the needs of most service-based small businesses. Essentials or Plus has more options for inventory and customizations useful to product-based small businesses. And the Advanced subscription is a new offering that provides robust financial reporting powered by Fathom. Fathom is a web-based financial report analysis tool used by many large companies.
Pros
- It is scalable
- It is mainly for accounting professionals
- Intuit’s integrates easily with third-party applications
- It is cloud-based and has a mobile app.
Cons
- It requires an upgrade for more users
- Businesses occasionally suffer from syncing problems with banks and credit cards
Xero
Xero is the best accounting software for small businesses Canada when talking of simplicity. It has a clean interface and fully integrates with third-party payroll services. Also, businesses can collect payments online from customers through its integration with Stripe and GoCardless.
Xero has a 30-day free trial and three monthly subscription options with a full-service payroll add-on. All three plans offer Hubdoc, a bill and receipt capture solution.
The Early is $12, the Growing is $34, and the Established is $65 per month. You can subscribe to full-service payroll through Gusto and costs an additional $39 monthly, plus $6 per employee.
The Early plan limits usage, allowing entry for only 20 invoices or quotes and five bills per month. This makes it suitable for small businesses with high-ticket transactions that come a few times per month, such as consulting or small service providers.
The Growing and Established plans both offer unlimited invoices and bills. But the Established plan has additional features like multi-currency, expense management, and project costing.
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Pros
- It is cloud-based and has a mobile app
- It offers payroll integration with Gusto
- Xero features a third-party app marketplace
- It offers a simple inventory management
Cons
- It has limited reporting
- Fees are charged for ACH payments
- It has limited customer service
Freshbooks
FreshBooks software sends, receives, prints, and pays invoices, while also taking care of basic bookkeeping needs. It offers more customizations for invoicing than any other accounting software. It enables service-based businesses to easily send proposals, track project times, and receive payments.
FreshBooks has four different plans, with a 10% discount for businesses that choose to pay yearly. The Lite is $6, the Plus is $10, the Premium is $20, and the Select is at a custom pricing per month. The major difference between the four plans is the number of clients that can use it per month.
The Lite plan allows up to five clients, the Plus plan allows up to fifty clients, and the Premium plan allows for unlimited clients to be billed per month. The Select plan does not have a limitation on the number of clients that can be billed per month. It also offers additional unique features.
Pros
- It is cloud-based
- It has a user-friendly interface
- Freshbooks offers third-party app integration
- It is affordable
- It features advanced invoicing features
Cons
- It does not offer payroll service
- Its mobile app has limitations
Wave Accounting
Wave is the best accounting software for service-based small businesses that send simple invoices and do not need to run payroll. An accountant can pull reports from wave accounting at year-end. You can access the features online pr on the mobile app
Wave charges customers for its payment gateway. It charges 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, and 3.4% plus 30¢ for American Express. These premium charges are a little higher than other accounting software. For ACH payment, Wave charges 1% per transaction with a $1 minimum fee, unlike others that do not charge.
Wave has two payroll plans as add-on services, and one plan is $20 per month plus $6 per employee or contractor. Here, Wave processes payroll and prepares payroll tax calculations while the user manually completes payroll tax forms and submits tax payments. The other plan is $35 per month plus $6 per employee or contractor. Here, payroll is full-service, which means that all tax filings and payments are completely managed by Wave.
Pros
- It offers free accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning
- It has no transaction or billing limits
- Wave allows for multiple businesses in one account
- It allows for an unlimited number of users
- It has a mobile app
Cons
- It has limited third-party app integrations
- Wave offers higher fees for credit cards and ACH payments
- Its full-service payroll is limited to only 14 states
Sage Business Cloud Accounting
Sage Business Cloud Accounting or Sage One offers online accounting and business services for small businesses. It is cloud-based and allows businesses to choose industry, company size, and needs. It also matches businesses with specific accounting solutions.
Sage Business Cloud Accounting is best for small businesses with multiple users. Its software does not require any accounting knowledge. An accountant can use the software and access business books for no extra fees.
The features of Sage Business Cloud Accounting include:
- Managing business finances and cash flow
- Accepting and receiving payments
- Creating and sending invoices
- Managing payroll
- Availability on all devices, making it easy to check business financials on the go
- Integration with third-party financial institutions and other apps, including AutoEntry, Zync, and more
- Tools for Tax compliance
- Dashboard with easy-to-read financial reports and analysis view
- Inventory control
- Forecasting of cash flow
- Sharing of access with the company’s accountant in real-time on any device
- Add-ons like estimating and human resources management.
Pricing for Sage Business Cloud Accounting is two-tiered, namely:
Accounting Start: $10 per month for entry-level accounting to help manage cash flow
Accounting: $25 per month for powerful cloud accounting with invoicing, cash flow, management, and actual entries.
Accountedge Pro
AccountEdge is the best accounting software for small business Canada for experienced accountants. It has robust features and reporting capability and is a bit more complex than some of the other software. It works best for small business owners that are already familiar with accounting terminology.
AccountEdge Pro is desktop accounting software with new features and enhancements developed over the years. Businesses that need to access their finances on the go or from a smartphone can use the cloud-based app or the hosting platform. It has a basic version and a pro version and offers comprehensive accounting solutions full of customizations.
The features of AccountEdge Pro include:
- Bank feeds with integration
- Direct deposit
- Inventory management
- Payment processing
- Turning quotes into invoices
- Customer and vendor management
- Full-service payroll
- Free accountant copy
- Synchronizing of data with company files
The Pro’s pricing is as follows:
AccountEdge Basic: $149 one-time fee, $199 per year for 1 user
AccountEdge Pro: $499 one-time fee, $199 per year, and additional fees for licenses and add-ons such as payroll services, checks, and credit card processing.
Godaddy
GoDaddy, a big name in the web hosting and website creation space, offers accounting software for small businesses. Its software has tools to automate and organize your bookkeeping and accounting solutions. It is easy to use and requires no prior accounting knowledge. It allows businesses to automatically create and send invoices, accept online payments, and view business reports.
GoDaddy is the best accounting software for small businesses that are into e-commerce. Its design allows for easy use by e-commerce sellers, and it synchronizes to Amazon, Etsy, eBay, PayPal, and more. Though it is great for online sellers, it is not good enough for small businesses looking for a comprehensive accounting solution that includes automation, tax forms, and payroll.
The features of the GoDaddy software include:
- Synchronizes with online retailers
- Online payment processing
- Tracking of sales and expenses
- Creating and sending invoices
- Recurring invoices
- Viewing of business reports including profit and loss
Pricing for GoDaddy is as follows:
Get Paid- offered at $4.99 per month; includes invoices and estimates, and accepts payment from smartphones. It also tracks mileage and time, and current-year business reports.
Essentials- offered at $9.99 per month; includes everything from the Get Paid tier, plus unlimited business reports, automatic credit card imports, and sales data imports
Premium- offered at $14.99 per month; includes everything from the Essentials tier, plus recurring invoices.
Best Accounting Software for Small Business Canada-Conclusion
A business without a well defined accounting system is doomed to fail. Therefore, it is a wise decision to get an accounting software that is easy to operate and understand.
With the list best accounting software for small business Canada above, you are sure of getting a good accounting system for your business today. Carefully consider the pros and cons as it fits your company.