Businesses usually fail not because the business wasn’t making any profit but because of poor accounting. Accounting should be a business priority, from the small, repetitive tasks such as invoicing and bookkeeping to balancing books. It doesn’t necessarily mean that one needs to invest a big amount of money towards accounting, especially since it’s not part of one’s core business. That’s the reason why most small to mid-sized businesses, especially startups, choose to do accounting outsourcing. Even if you decide to outsource your accounting needs, you still need to find a tool that fits your business’ accounting and invoicing needs.

Here are ten accounting tools that you can use for your business. These programs do not cost a lot of money and are easy to use with a lot of resources available in case you need help setting it up:

1. Wave

Wave is an accountant-approved accounting software that is cloud-based and 100% free, making it an ideal program for freelancers, entrepreneurs and businesses with less than ten employees. You can send invoices, schedule recurring invoices, keep track of payables and even draw up business reports (balance sheets, sales tax reports) and do payroll for your employees. There’s even a software you can use to help keep your records by uploading receipts into your account.

And yes, it’s 100% free.

2. Quickbooks

Most businesses in the early days of startups have probably used Quickbooks at one point or another and it’s not surprising – it does everything you need in an accounting software. Bill management, payroll, invoicing, report generation, check print-outs, tax preparation – name a financial task, Quickbooks can do it! Monthly plans range from $9.99 to $39.95.

3. Freshbooks

If you are a freelancer that needs an invoicing tool, Freshbooks is a popular choice. You can accept credit card payments, generate estimates, capture billable hours and schedule recurring invoices. Paid packages start at $19.95 a month but you can try it for free for 30 days.

4. Xero

Xero is a one-stop shop for all your accounting needs as it helps you track sales, recurring invoices, schedule payments, pay employees and even prepare your taxes! You can capture receipts and have real-time updates on where your financial standing is. What’s makes Xero a great tool is that it integrates with more than 350 accounting apps such as Paypal, so you can create a customized experience. Plans start at only $9 a month.

5. Zoho Books

Like Freshbooks, Zoho Books comes with a time tracking tool, helping you manage timesheets and track reimbursable hours. Along with invoicing and acceptance of online payments, you can automate banking tasks, track your business expenses and inventory and calculate taxes. It comes with a flat $24 a month plan.

6. Tallie

Geared toward its name, Tallie is more focused on tracking and tallying business expenses. Employees can scan receipts and the software can calculate expenses per project or business aspect. Managerial user access can detect duplicate expenses and approve or reject ones when reports are reviewed. You can even have it automatically detect expenses when it is integrated from Quickbooks – helping you gain insight on your business spending. Pricing starts at $9 a month per active user.

7. Kashoo

Kashoo’s special feature is that ability to collaborate with business partners, bookkeepers and accountants. Single user plans are only $5 a month or $50 a year with business plans at $20 a month or $200 a year.

8. Monchilla

Monchilla is also a cloud-based alternative to Quickbooks that has the special feature of new hiring reporting. It automatically sends new hire details and reports it to your state. It also can help you track the vacation and sick leaves of your employees. Monchilla plans cost $5 per month for a company and additional $5 per month per employee for payroll.

9. QuickFile

Another free software, QuickFile has this tagline – “accounting system for the non-accountant.” You can tag data uploaded into the software by incoming and outgoing (payments vs expenses). You can also download the app into your phone and convert your phone into a receipt scanner, integrate with Paypal to be able to receive payments.

10. Turbo Cash

If you are someone who still hasn’t wrapped around his head around the cloud, Turbo Cash can be downloaded directly to your computer. This is something you might want to try especially if you have concerns about storing financial information online. It’s free, available in 25 different languages in over 80 different tax regimes and open-sources so you can keep track of creditors/debtors, send out invoices, manage balance, view inventory and do value-added tax accounting anywhere.

Deciding on a tool that works best with your business needs is like helping your business make more profit. A lot of the accounting tools we mentioned are either free or affordable and they have basically the same features. It might take a few trials on different software programs before you find one that suits your business. The key here is to not stop trying!

Managing your business’ finance and accounting on your own is taxing and does not always result in favorable results. With our customized solutions, rest assured that all your concerns would be addressed accordingly and at the same time, it would allow you to concentrate on other important factors vital for your company’s growth. Learn more!