Starting a business solo tin can exist challenging. Whether you're a sole proprietor or running a pocket-size to medium-sized concern (SMB), accounting software can help you manage your finances easily and accurately — just those programs can be pricey. And equally you're getting off the ground, being able to invest in one might not be feasible.


Luckily, in that location are some nifty gratuitous bookkeeping software options available to manage business finances. Let's accept a await at the seven top free accounting and bookkeeping software applications on the market.

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one. Wave: Best for Sole Proprietors and Minor Businesses

best free accounting software wave

Best for Sole Proprietors and Pocket-sized Businesses

Moving ridge Accounting is ane of the more than tested, reliable options listed here. It's an accessible, intuitive program that doesn't require much — if whatever — training to understand.

Its entire suite of bookkeeping features is available for complimentary — including unlimited income and expense tracking, the ability to run multiple businesses from a single account, and unlimited depository financial institution and credit bill of fare connections.

Nigh of Moving ridge'southward issues are relatively nit-picky. For i, it doesn't allow users to rail accounts payable. It also doesn't have a comprehensive mobile application for its accounting features.

Still, the program is one of the sounder, more robust complimentary accounting applications available, and it's scalable enough to conform anybody from independent contractors to sole proprietors to small business owners.

Moving ridge'south Key Benefits

  • Accessible setup and interface
  • Unlimited bank and credit menu connections
  • Unlimited income and expense tracking
  • Exportable accounting reports

Wave'due south Key Drawbacks

  • Can't rails accounts payable
  • No comprehensive mobile application

two. ZipBooks: Best for Small Businesses Looking to Upgrade From Spreadsheets

best free accounting software zipbooks

Best for Small-scale Businesses Looking to Upgrade From Spreadsheets

ZipBooks is a web-based financial software with a solid suite of bookkeeping features. The company offers a free plan called ZipBooks Starter — an option that includes basic bookkeeping functionality, along with profit, loss, and balance sheet reporting.

It also covers certain invoicing and quote-related bases — plus the power to accept payment via credit card or PayPal. It's a powerful, easy-to-use solution, only its free plan is extremely free programme-ish.

The program's features yous tin can admission with a free plan are restricted to the point that information technology might be easy to outgrow. Y'all can only link one banking company account and view bones reports with its starter option. Should your needs extend beyond that, you'll need to upgrade to one of its premium plans.

And while those upper-tier plans are reasonably priced, they're obviously non what someone who wants a free plan is looking for. Again, the solution itself is sound, but if you want a complimentary program that will remain gratuitous as you lot scale, you should wait elsewhere.

ZipBooks' Key Benefits

  • Unlimited Invoices
  • Power to manage unlimited vendors and customers
  • Accepts digital payments via Square and Paypal

ZipBooks' Primal Drawbacks

  • Only allows you to connect one bank account
  • Only lets yous view basic reports

iii. GnuCash: Best for Sole Proprietors

best free accounting software gnucash

All-time for Sole Proprietors

GnuCash is a gratuitous, open-source accounting solution that can be downloaded for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. It offers double-entry accounting resources, a checkbook-style register, scheduled transactions, and customizable visual reporting.

GnuCash's initial setup and somewhat dated-looking interface might plow a lot of potential users off. But if you're willing to tough out its tricky installation and don't need your bookkeeping solution to be especially pretty, you're left with a solid application that covers a lot of bases for free.

That said, it'due south non much of a long-term solution for businesses anticipating a lot of growth. It's better suited for sole proprietors who need a program to get them through their day-to-twenty-four hour period. If you fit that bill, check GnuCash out.

GnuCash's Key Benefits

  • Double-entry feature ensures books balance
  • Upkeep management tools can assistance plan financial strategy
  • Works on a diverseness of operating systems
  • Can handle internationalized dates and currencies

GnuCash's Fundamental Drawbacks

  • Installation is less straightforward than most other platforms
  • Interface isn't particularly attainable or visually highly-seasoned
  • No customer back up

four. CloudBooks: Best for Freelancers and Pocket-size Businesses

best free accounting software cloudbooks

All-time for Freelancers and Small Businesses

CloudBooks is a free accounting and invoicing solution tailored to adapt small-scale businesses and freelancers. The program boasts a user base of operations of over two million subscribers and has a suite of capabilities that cover invoicing, time-tracking, reporting, and payment needs — among others.

The platform is an invoice management solution, higher up all else — and that can exist a do good or drawback in its own right, depending on what you need.

While CloudBooks has features extending beyond that functionality, invoicing appears to exist its main selling point — meaning it's not quite as fully fleshed out with accounting functionality as other programs listed hither.

So if you're looking for exceptional invoice creation and management software, you should check out Cloudbooks. If you need a more robust bookkeeping-specific solution, yous might want to look elsewhere.

CloudBooks' Fundamental Benefits

  • Allows for unlimited users
  • Features email support
  • Offers complimentary cloud information storage
  • Upgraded plans are reasonably priced

CloudBooks' Key Drawbacks

  • Only lets you bill one client
  • Caps your number of invoices at v
  • Lacks phone or conversation back up

5. Sunrise: Best for Minor Businesses Looking for a Bookkeeping Solution

best free accounting software sunrise

Best for Pocket-sized Businesses Looking for a Bookkeeping Solution

Sunrise is one of the more prominent bookkeeping applications available for small businesses. Users can leverage the program to easily search and categorize business organization expenses, transport customized invoices, and receive recurring payments.

It offers a free, self-service plan that provides businesses with a decent suite of features and a fair amount of flexibility when information technology comes to bookkeeping — assuasive for unlimited invoices and transactions.

Sunrise sets itself apart from other bookkeeping solutions with its dedicated bookkeeper services, but those services come at a hefty premium. As I mentioned, its complimentary plan is self-service — which works for small-scale businesses but might not be sustainable as your business expands.

Ultimately, Sunrise is a straightforward, effective bookkeeping software with a costless programme that tin suit the needs of several minor businesses. If you demand a relatively short-term bookkeeping solution with a reasonable upgrade fee, Sunrise's gratuitous program is worth checking out.

Sunrise's Fundamental Benefits

  • Lets you lot manage income and expenses
  • Lets y'all ship unlimited invoices
  • Lets you lot generate profits and losses

Sunrise'south Fundamental Drawbacks

  • Suite of features is pretty restricted, relative to that of its paid program
  • Lacks payment integrations
  • No greenbacks period insights or alerts

vi. Brightbook: Best for Creative Professionals and Freelancers

best free accounting software brightbook

Best for Creative Professionals and Freelancers

Brightbook is a web-based accounting solution tailored to adjust the needs of independent contractors, freelancers, and small business owners — though it tends to work better for the former 2.

The programme is essentially designed to democratize accounting software. Information technology has an extensive suite of features available for gratuitous — including resource for invoicing, visibility into your cash flow, fiscal reporting, and drafting financial statements — along with some paid features bachelor for one-time fees.

Ane area where Brightbook struggles is its lack of mobile support. The program doesn't have a mobile application, and it can't be accessed via mobile browsers. And the application itself isn't quite as sophisticated every bit some of the more well-established options.

Still, Brightbook is a solid choice for freelancers or independent contractors — specifically creative professionals. It's a little bare-basic, but it still covers a lot of bases that other options on this listing might have stuck behind paywalls.

If you're looking for a comprehensive suite of bookkeeping features and don't heed working with a relatively stripped-back programme, consider checking Brightbook out.

Brightbook's Key Benefits

  • Tin be used for multiple companies
  • Interface gives you lot solid visibility into virtually aspects of your business
  • Full suite of features is free

Brightbook's Key Drawbacks

  • Fairly bare-bones — lacking some more sophisticated features
  • Can't be accessed via mobile
  • Reporting features are express

7. Akaunting: Best for Businesses Looking for a Truly One-Cease Costless Accounting Software

best free accounting software akaunting

Best for Businesses Looking for a Truly I-Stop Free Accounting Software

Akaunting is a free, open up-source accounting solution for pocket-sized businesses and freelancers with a global achieve and sizable user base. The program's total suite of features is available for free — making it one of the few "one-stop-shop" solutions on this listing.

The platform is entirely online, pregnant you lot can access it from any desktop, tablet, or mobile device anytime, anywhere. Information technology offers resources that help y'all manage greenbacks flow, track expenses, bargain with invoicing, and set transaction categories.

It also features a client portal — allowing you to share the transactions and invoices with your clients and take bulk payments. Akaunting boasts a base of operations of over 270,000 users and is available in over 50 languages, making it one of the nigh popular, wide-reaching open-source solutions on this list.

Some users report trouble with Akaunting's support department's responsiveness. The application as well seems to be one of the less accessible ones on this list when it comes to ease of use. But if you're in the market place for a free, comprehensive accounting solution and are willing to tough those problems out, wait into Akaunting.

Akaunting's Fundamental Benefits

  • Truly one-end for free
  • Accessible from anywhere
  • Open up source and secure

Akaunting's Key Drawbacks

  • Questionable back up
  • Potentially difficult to operate

8. Zoho Books: Best for Scaling Businesses

best free accounting and bookkeeping software zoho books

All-time for Scaling Businesses

Zoho Books is a robustly featured accounting solution tailored to help pocket-sized businesses. Its free plan is restricted to organizations generating less than $50,000 in annual revenue, just if you qualify, Zoho Books can comprehend a lot of your bases.

The platform has end-to-terminate accounting resource to handle the more monotonous, frustrating elements of this side of your business organization — including invoicing and raising sales orders. The programme too has a client portal to assist you seamlessly connect with your customers.

With a user-friendly interface and a solid mobile application, Zoho Books is ane of the more straightforward, accessible solutions listed hither. But it still comes with its share of limitations, including a lack of payroll management resources. The complimentary plan besides only gives yous access to email support — not chat or vocalisation.

But autonomously from those issues, Zoho Books is a pretty sound application. If its suite of features covers your needs and your business meets its revenue requirements, consider looking into Zoho Books' gratis plan.

Zoho Books' Key Benefits

  • End-to-finish accounting features comprehend a lot of bases
  • Accessible interface
  • Solid mobile awarding

Zoho Books' Cardinal Drawbacks

  • Back up is restricted to email
  • Only certain businesses qualify
  • No payroll management resources

Free Accounting Software: Features to Look For

1. Accessibility

If you're in the marketplace for free accounting software, odds are you're non an auditor. You're trying to grow a business concern, and if you want to make that happen, you lot need to focus on your long-term plans and day-to-day operations. You don't desire to exhaust too much time and energy learning a convoluted, overly technical accounting software — at least not notwithstanding.

As your business expands, leveraging an bookkeeping platform with an accessible interface and straightforward functionality is in your best interest. Then when y'all're trying to pivot down the right gratuitous accounting software for your visitor, prioritize accessibility.

ii. Connectivity With Credit Cards and Bank Accounts

Manual receipt entry can exist a massive time drain for businesses — particularly ones with a high transaction book. And so finding gratuitous accounting software that can connect with your credit cards and bank accounts to help automate that process is e'er a good call when exploring your options.

iii. The Power to Consign Your Records

Every bit your concern expands, it's almost bound to scale out of your free accounting software'south limited capabilities. When you see that kind of growth, you'll probably want to upgrade to a paid accounting application. Only moving on from your free solution doesn't mean moving on from the information you lot accrued in information technology.

You need to maintain the historical records contained in your gratuitous programme as you make the shift to a new awarding. Plan for that process ahead of time past leveraging a program that will let you seamlessly export and migrate those existing records to a paid platform.

4. The Specific Features You Need

At the end of the day, your concern is your business organisation — and you have specific needs and priorities that volition dictate what you want out of an bookkeeping solution.

When yous're selecting yours, brand sure y'all empathize what those needs and priorities are, and seek out programs with the features required to accommodate them.

Free Accounting Software Limitations

one. Limited Number of Users

Many free bookkeeping software solutions merely allow yous to grant access to a stock-still number of users — and that "fixed number" is oftentimes 1. If y'all demand to take multiple people within your arrangement regularly leverage the solution, yous might want to explore the possibility of leveraging a paid pick.

two. Lack of Scalability

Several costless bookkeeping applications limit the number of transactions yous can acquit out or the number of records you're allowed to maintain — equally your business scales, you lot'll probable be dealing with more of both. So in some cases, going with a free accounting solution might not exist sustainable.

3. Difficulty Migrating Your Data

Equally I mentioned earlier, if you need to shift from 1 accounting awarding to another, your existing data will have to shift too. Some gratuitous accounting solutions make that process more convoluted and frustrating than others — bear that in mind when you pick your preferred platform.

4. A Lack of Access to a Fuller Suite of Features

Costless accounting solutions are free for a reason. In many cases, they're offered in the context of a "freemium" model — they essentially provide the blank essentials every bit a preview for a fully fleshed-out awarding. When you're leveraging a gratis accounting program, you're likely settling for less until you can justify springing for the premium pick.

When to Upgrade from Complimentary Accounting and Bookkeeping Software

In many cases, free bookkeeping solutions are designed to help go you off the ground. Upgrading from yours is something yous need to experience out for yourself. If y'all find you're bringing on more clients or processing more than transactions than your costless programme allows for, it'southward probably fourth dimension to spring for a paid option.

And many of those options are thoughtfully tiered — offered at reasonable prices that are advisable for your business'southward calibration. So if y'all're finding yous're hitting a wall with your complimentary bookkeeping solution, try to find an affordable program that suits your emerging needs.

Editor's notation: This mail was originally published in October 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Originally published Nov 11, 2021 5:00:00 PM, updated December 14 2021