Most companies have learned that Excel or Google Sheets can’t solve all their accounting needs. Small and large enterprises need the best SaaS accounting software since most generic accounting tools cannot solve these companies’ budgeting and accounting needs.
Using these generic tools would be too painful for companies to manage. Chase had to learn this the hard way. Its $2 billion loss was partly due to the use of Excel.
And in case you are still not convinced why you need the best SaaS accounting software, here are the main reasons:
Without a proper accounting system, no organization can make informed decisions, set sound financial objectives, and understand where to save money and cut costs.
Besides this, a robust accounting application can help you review performance benchmarks, mitigate risks, and have a complete business overview.
If you are interested in investing in the right SaaS accounting software, here are our top picks:
The Best SaaS Accounting Software
1. QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is the best SaaS accounting software for both large and small businesses. It is particularly useful for billing and invoicing.
Most businesses love this accounting software because it gives them flexibility, transparency, and detailed reporting with its automated processes.
Investing in this tool gives you excellent features like revenue recognition, bank reconciliation, financial reporting, and budgeting capabilities.
Its user interface is also friendly and easy to use, which is a plus point. This tool also works seamlessly with third-party payment processors like Stripe and PayPal.
In addition to the above, the QuickBooks Online SaaS software lets you scale faster and effortlessly. With features such as multicurrency support and automatic synchronization of tax rates across countries, businesses can improve their billing systems.
Plans and Pricing
QuickBooks Online offers three packages that address different business needs:
- The Simple Start package is tailored for one user and costs $15 monthly. The package includes invoicing, income and expense tracking, bank integration, send and organize customization, and reporting functionalities.
- The Plus package costs $42 per month. It can accommodate up to five users. The package has all the benefits offered in the Simple Start plan plus employee tracking, bill payments and management, inventory tracking, and project profitability tracking features.
- The Advanced plan has all the features of the Plus plan with expanded capabilities. The plan can accept up to 25 users and includes additional benefits such as batch invoices and expenses, exclusive app integration, and automated processes and tasks.
2. Xero
Xero is a popular SaaS accounting package for small and growing businesses. Most of these businesses believe it is the best SaaS accounting software due to its extensive third-party integration options.
This is where Xerox shines. But you should note that integrations are not part of the software. So, there might be steep learning curves and glitches here and there.
Plans and Pricing
Xero has three paid plans categorized according to the nature and stage of your business:
- Xero Early costs $13 per month but has some limitations regarding the number of invoices and bills sent.
- The Xero Growing plan has all the features offered in the Early plan but without restrictions. This plan costs $37 per month.
- Xero Established is a feature-rich plan without restrictions. The plan costs $35 per month.
3. FreshBooks
If you find QuickBooks complex, then FreshBooks might be a better alternative. This accounting package is simple and ideal for small businesses, freelancers, and independent professionals.
So, this is a fantastic option if you have a business still in its early stages. FreshBook’s features depend on the plan you purchase.
But all plans have basic accounting and financial management features for small businesses. These features include time tracking, automated expense tracking, payment processing, invoicing, reporting, and collaborative tools.
You might love it because it can integrate with 100+ third-party applications.
Plans and Pricing
- Lite is the lowest plan and is specifically designed for independent contractors. The plan costs $17 per month.
- The Plus package is slightly more advanced than the Lite plan. It is suitable for small businesses. The plan costs $30 per month.
- The Premium plan is ideal for growing businesses. It has all the features in the other packages plus a few additional ones, like customized email templates and project and account tracking capabilities. The plan costs $55 per month.
- The Select plan is the most feature-rich and is suitable for businesses with complex needs or that need dedicated support. Its price is customizable depending on your needs.
4. Zoho Books
Zoho Books is one of the best SaaS accounting software because it is cost-effective for small businesses. The tool has many fantastic features, including a friendly user interface.]
Integrations with several platforms such as PayPal, Shopify, and Stripe, invoicing functionality, accounting automation, inventory management, and insights reporting capabilities.
Plans and Pricing
Zoho Books offers multiple premium plans to take care of different business needs:
- The free plan is available for one user and has basic accounting and financial management features such as invoice customization, bank reconciliation, automated payment reminders, and integration with other apps.
- The Standard plan, which costs $12 per month, offers what is available in the free plan plus timesheet and billing, invoice management, bulk updates, and project task expense tracking.
- The Premium package offers all the benefits of the Standard package and additional features such as workflow rules, vendor portal multi-transaction number series, and cashflow forecasting reports. It costs $36 per month and supports ten users.
- The Professional plan is for five users and costs $24 per month. This package has several capabilities, like timesheet and customer approval, workflow rules, retainer invoices, and purchases and sales approval.
- The Elite and the Ultimate plans cater to those with advanced accounting needs. They cost $129 per month and $249 per month, respectively.
5. Sage Intacct
If you are looking for the best SaaS accounting software for managing subscription billing and revenue recognition, you should consider Sage Intacc.
This package offers consistent revenue visibility and native subscription billing, making it suitable for SaaS companies.
Once the revenue recognition functionality is implemented, most conventional processes will be streamlined automatically.
Another outstanding feature of Sage Intacct is the add-on integrations with CRMs. It works perfectly with Salesforce.
The only issue with this software is that it charges an extra cost for integrations and premium add-on capabilities.
Plans and Pricing
- Sage Intacct offers a customized pricing model, depending on the module you choose and the size of your team. But you should expect to spend around $20,000 on an annual subscription.
6. Wave Accounting
Wave is a simple accounting program for small businesses. The tool offers real-time updates and financial insights to empower businesses to make informed decisions.
And the good thing is that you get some of these benefits for free. The free version of Wave Accounting has accounting, invoicing, and banking (for the US) capabilities.
The billing functionality lets you customize client invoices, track payments, and send reminders. This will simplify how you manage financial operations and taxation.
On top of this, you can take advantage of the banking integration capability to manage cash flows.
In terms of account management, the double-entry accounting system limits accounting errors caused by duplicate data entry or manual inputs.
So, the reports you generate from the system are accurate. Moreover, its smart analytics tools provide useful insights into your spending patterns, thus helping you identify areas for improvement.
Plans and Pricing
- The free version offers accounting, invoicing, and banking support.
- The paid plan covers what is in the free program plus payments, payroll, and advisory capabilities. You will be charged 2.9% plus $0.6 per transaction for payments. To access the payroll option, you must pay $40 per month, while the advisory services cost $149 per month for bookkeeping and a one-time fee of $379 for accounting and payroll coaching.
7. Maxio
SaaSOptics and Chargify merged to form Maxio, a well-established accounting package for SaaS-based businesses.
This tool can track SaaS revenues, metrics, and expenses on the same interface. Generally, Maxio has a lot to offer small and large enterprises.
Including revenue management, recurring billing, expense amortization, integration with payment gateways, and reporting. Its only drawback is the inability to accept preferred payment methods.
You will need additional software for this.
Plans and Pricing
- The Essentials package starts at $599 per month and comes with expert guidance and support.
- The Growth and Scale packages offer customized pricing. These packages also come with advanced billing and revenue modules.
8. Oracle NetSuite
Oracle NetSuite is also the best SaaS accounting software with diverse functionality. Besides the accounting capability, the suite has ERP, B2C and B2B e-commerce, and CRM, among others.
The good thing about this program is that it supports businesses of all sizes and industries. Some features offered by the Oracle Netsuite accounting package include tax reporting, financial reporting, revenue management.
Revenue recognition, project planning and budgeting, and automated ledger spreadsheets. This SaaS-based accounting software provides a simpler way to sync communication between your organization and your CPA.
Plans and Pricing
- Oracle NetSuite offers customized pricing and mainly targets midsize to large corporations, especially in the manufacturing sector. On average, the cost of implementation is more than $10,000 per year.
9. Recurly
Recurly is the best SaaS accounting software for medium- to large organizations. It prides itself on being the best accounting package in terms of customer retention.
Its top features are recurrent billing, subscriber management, and customer payment orchestration. This software can manage up to 50 million subscribers and over $10 billion in annual revenue.
Plans and Pricing
- The Core plan costs $0 per month.
- The prices for the Professional and Elite plans are customized according to your needs.
10. Chargebee
Chargebee is a billing platform designed with a SaaS subscription model in mind. This package gives your accounting and finance teams control over recurring billing cycle management.
It covers invoicing, cash collections, transaction recording, and management or accruals. Apart from this, ChargeBee integrates seamlessly with Xerox, Microsoft Dynamic GP, QuickBooks, and Sage Intacct.
Plans and Pricing
- The Starter plan is free to use and offers many essential features.
- The Performance plan has everything in the Starter package plus more options. It costs $599 per month.
- The Enterprise plan has everything in the Performance plan but with additional custom benefits. The plan has a customized pricing model.
Summing It Up
Whether you are an established or growing business, you don’t have to get bogged down in manual accounting processes and time-consuming tasks.
It would be best to have robust accounting software that elevates the strategic value of your work. The recommended ones are automated and scalable enough to support your growing needs.
Also, Read: 5 Best Cloud-Based ERPs For Small Businesses in 2024
