Making financial reporting simple and affordable can feel like a distant dream to many small business owners, startups, and solo entrepreneurs.

Luckily, there are plenty of free accounting software solutions to make that dream come true. Business owners can use these free solutions to manage expenses, create balance sheets, handle cash flow, and prepare for taxes. The accounting systems tackle complex financial processes and automate specific workflows. These best free accounting tools provide a snapshot of their overall financial condition. 

These no-cost bookkeeping tools benefit those looking to establish accounting systems without expensive software. Plus, you may want to try multiple business accounting software before deciding what’s best for you. In this article, we’ve done the legwork to help you find the best free accounting software. Each of these tools has a free version or offers a free trial. We also dive deep into their features, pros, and cons so it’s easier to find the best one for your accounting needs. 

How did we select and evaluate the best software?

At G2, we rank software solutions using a proprietary algorithm that considers customer satisfaction and market presence based on authentic user reviews. Our market research analysts and writers spend weeks testing solutions against multiple criteria set for a software category. We give you unbiased software evaluations; that’s the G2 difference! We didn’t accept payment or exchange links for product placements in this list. Please read our G2 Research Scoring Methodology for more details.

10 free accounting software to try in 2024

Accounting software makes managing financial transactions, income, cash flows, and expenses effortless for businesses. These tools automate account payable and receivable processes. You can integrate them with budget forecasting tools, enterprise resource planning or ERP systems, and billing tools to unify financial reporting. 

The list below contains honest user reviews from the free accounting software category page on G2. It’s important to note that in the context of this list, software that requires payment after a free trial is considered free. To be included in this category, a solution must:

• Help an organization maintain a chart of accounts and a general ledger
• Provide accounts receivable and invoicing automation features
• Automate accounts payable workflows for payment processing and purchase orders
• Allow creation of journal entries for transaction and account balance adjustments
• Track costs and revenues to help companies determine profitability
• Manage cash, bank accounts, and payment methods
• Help users with the financial close process at the end of each accounting period
• Deliver reports like financial statements and dashboards for tracking financial KPIs

*This data was pulled from G2 in 2024. Some reviews may have been edited for clarity.

1. QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online simplifies accounting processes with features like income and expense tracking, custom invoice creation, estimate creation, and bank account syncs. Through this tool, users can generate sales and profit reports and manage and pay bills. QuickBooks Online also lets you track inventory, prepare 1099s, and track profitability. 

What users like best:

“We like that it is easy to start accounting journal entries for any new entities considered to have a separate balance sheet. It has a large variety of ready-to-use and set-up functionality. QuickBooks Online is connected to most baking APIs and factoring accounts in North America. It is priced very well for companies of every size and use case.”

– QuickBooks Online Review, Andrii L.

What users dislike:

“Although Quickbooks Online has many useful features, the pricing plan has some disadvantages. Furthermore, I occasionally have to utilize other tools to handle the project because it is not very configurable to match practically all tasks.”

– QuickBooks Online Review, Sara C.

2. Sage Intacct

Sage Intacct is a robust accounting tool helping businesses with core accounting, multi-entity management, order management, and cash management tasks. The platform provides advanced dashboards and reports, making it easier for users to gather crucial financial insights. Other key features include inventory management, time and expense tracking, workflow automation, and integration capabilities. 

What users like best:

“The open-ended API system allows easy integration, which enables a high volume of information to be stored in Sage Intacct. It can be beneficial in understanding trends and identifying areas for improvement. The report financial writer has many uses, from stock items sold to analyzing financial statements. We use Sage Intacct daily. An amazing support system in the top right corner covers all issues.”

– Sage Intacct Review, Josh U.

What users dislike:

“What I dislike about Sage Intacct is being unable to download same-day transactions on the bank feed. Instead, we have to wait until the next day before we see them, which can cause a delay in payment allocations. I’ve also noticed that we can’t add a PO number for an old invoice from a locked period. I can understand we can’t amend the values because it can affect the financial reports. Still, it’s frustrating not being able to edit the reference to have the PO added, which means I’ll have to add it manually using Adobe Acrobat Pro.”

– Sage Intacct Review, Hon-Wai P.

3. QuickBooks Desktop Pro

QuickBooks Desktop Pro caters to small-to-medium-sized businesses and various accounting tasks, including invoicing, payroll management, expense tracking, and inventory management. It supports accounts payables and receivables to allow you to stay on top of vendor and customer payments. QuickBooks Desktop Pro helps businesses generate cash flow statements, profit and loss reports, and balance sheets. Other features include bank reconciliation, tax preparation, job costing, and time tracking. 

What users like best:

“I like having all of my financial information in one place, the ease of creating and sending invoices, merchant services, and Outlook integrations, and my bookkeeper being able to use it to keep everything up to date.”

– QuickBooks Desktop Pro Review, Bernhard H.

What users dislike:

“Sometimes the system will glitch or little quirks like the paycheck preview screen being too small to view all information.”

– QuickBooks Desktop Pro Review, Yuneis A.

4. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is designed for businesses with extensive accounting needs. The platform provides many features, including inventory management, custom reporting, and pricing rule management. Users can access data remotely while ensuring data security with automated backups and user access controls. Apart from these wide range of features, the platform also helps you manage sales orders, vendor transactions, and payroll functionalities. 

What users like best:

“It’s user-friendly and easy to use. Multiple users can use it, but only the admin has the right to change some important settings. Bank feeds are a cool feature, and we can upload bulk transactions with GL, which can record bulk transactions within a few minutes.”

– QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Review, CA Hiten S.

What users dislike:

“One potential disadvantage of QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is its higher cost than other versions of QuickBooks.”

– QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Review, Jamila G.

5. Xero

Xero revolutionizes accounting for small and medium-sized companies with its cloud-based capabilities. It allows you to effortlessly create invoices and quotes, reconcile bank transactions, and get an overview of financial performance. The platform also lets you manage and forecast cash flow. Advanced plans unlock features for managing expense claims, multiple currency transactions, and job costing. 

What users like best:

“Apart from seamless accounting services, Xero offers direct integration with many popular inventory management software like CIN7 Core, making it easy for businesses to have perfect synchronization of data across an organization. Once connected, Cin7 Core becomes the central hub for inventory-related activities. Purchases, sales, and manufacturing processes sync seamlessly with Xero. It integrates well with job cards and links inventory to specific jobs. I have experienced prompt support from the customer service team for troubleshooting and resolving in case of occasional sync issues.”

– Xero Review, Sharath P.

What users dislike:

“The lack of interest in engaging and actually listening to your customers. These current changes you are promoting don’t have the basic functionality of the current version. e.g., tracked inventory needs to show the available inventory in quotes and invoicing. Please stop making unnecessary changes. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it! All you are doing is annoying your users and giving us a reason to start looking around for alternative software.”

– Xero Review, Rachel O.

6. FreshBooks

FreshBooks is an online accounting platform known for helping businesses save time with task automation. It makes financial recordkeeping easy with features like invoicing, expense tracking, payment processing, and sales tax reporting. You can also send proposals, set up recurring billing, and run business health reports using FreshBooks. 

What users like best:

“FreshBooks has been one of the most creative accounting services ever since. You can pick it right up and just go whenever you want. As a startup and a multi-disciplined artist, much of my business has been part-time, so I have been in and out, but FreshBooks has always been here and had my data ready. That supported my small business before and after the pandemic. It’s flexible and pleasant to log into and so useful!

My favorite features are the timer and the expenses in the project menu. I love how all the features work together to save time and make things easy for my clients. The service has provided most of what I need and very little of what I don’t. The platform doesn’t look stale and exciting. It’s an inviting app that feels very comfortable to use. Customer service is extremely responsive as well.”

– FreshBooks Review, M. A.

What users dislike:

“I wish it were easier to keep things accurate. For example, within expenses, I wish I could sub-categorize expense accounts instead of having to create journal entries. I also wish transactions could be coded to assets and liabilities as well, not just expenses and cost of goods. I feel like I have to do more steps to keep my bookwork accurate, and it gets very confusing.”

– FreshBooks Review, Bridget V.

7. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is an all-in-one business management platform that helps businesses connect finance, sales, service, and operations in a single tool. Perfect for small and mid-sized organizations, this platform creates and manages general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and cash flow for financial agility. 

What users like best:

“I like how it easily connects with other Microsoft tools like Office 365, making it super convenient. It has everything you need to manage finances, operations, sales, and customer service in one place. Plus, it’s user-friendly and can be customized to fit your business perfectly. Being cloud-based, it’s accessible from anywhere and can grow with your business.”

– Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Review, Vojtěch M.

What users dislike:

“Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central may not be the most intuitive software at first as there is a bit of a learning curve initially, especially for users unfamiliar with similar business management platforms. Moreover, it can be pricey, especially for smaller businesses. Implementation and support fees are also substantial costs. Some integrations with third-party tools can be difficult.”

– Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Review, Rohan M.

8. QuickBooks Online Advanced

QuickBooks Online Advanced provides powerful accounting solutions to mid-sized and growing businesses. The platform features custom business analytics, visual cash flow, revenue dashboards, and cash flow visualization. Businesses can also create custom user roles, access real-time data from multiple locations, and track mileage using this online accounting software. 

What users like best:

“This is valuable for businesses that deal with stocks. QuickBooks Online Advanced can grow with businesses, accommodating increased transaction volumes and complexity without requiring a switch to a different platform. The ability to generate customizable reports provides valuable insights into financial performance, helps with decision-making, and gives users peace of mind regarding the safety of their financial data.”

– QuickBooks Online Advanced Review, Mohammad A.

What users dislike:

“Customer service is not good. If client payments fail, it logs it as “payment disputed” (even if it was just due to insufficient funds), and it is not easy to clear. Also, sometimes payment will go through just to be returned to the customer, and QuickBooks keeps all the fees. No issue with Stripe on this. The payment won’t even go through, to begin with an accurate reason as to why.”

– QuickBooks Online Advanced Review, Ashley D.

9. Zoho Books

Zoho Books is the go-to solution for accountants, small-scale businesses, and mid-market organizations. Its core features include invoicing, sales order management, banking, inventory management, expense tracking, and reporting. Users can also manage audit trails, documents, e-invoicing, and GST filing with Zoho Books. 

What users like best:

“All accounting tasks have been easier to carry out through Zoho Books. The ease of entering data and doing automatic calculations is the best thing that can happen to me. I don’t like accounting because of all the number management involved. However, with Zoho Books, it is much easier to carry out operations. It has been my salvation to generate accounts receivable because they are also very secure, and you have confidence that the data entered will not be exposed.”

– Zoho Books Review, Caroline B.

What users dislike:

“Zoho Books has limitations in customization for reports and invoices. It is easy to integrate with other Zoho applications but challenging to integrate with third-party applications. Migrating data for a business with a large amount of data is very complicated.”

– Zoho Books Review, Guru B.

10. TallyPrime

TallyPrime is a business management solution that makes it effortless to manage receivables, payables, and payment timelines. The platform enables businesses to track stock movement, optimize cash flow, and create insightful reports. Companies can also use TallyPrime to comply with tax regulations, along with other features like e-invoicing, payroll management, credit management, and enhanced security. 

What users like best:

“TallyPrime has a straightforward user interface, GST compliance, support for many currencies, powerful inventory management, banking features, and data security.”

– TallyPrime Review, Deep D.

What users dislike:

“This software does not seamlessly integrate with other third-party applications, which is challenging for the business. TallyPrime is not mobile friendly, so you cannot expect accessibility on the go.”

– TallyPrime Review, Swetank D.

Comparison of the free accounting software 

Still not sure about what’s best for your accounting needs? Check out our detailed comparison of accounting tools below.

Frequently asked questions on free accounting software

Q. What is the best free accounting software?

According to G2 data, QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, and QuickBooks Desktop Pro are the best free accounting software programs.

Q. What is the best accounting software for small businesses?

According to G2 data, Quickbooks Online, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct are considered the best accounting software solutions for small businesses.

Q. How do I choose free accounting software?

Start by exploring the free accounting solutions we listed in this article. Consider evaluating them against the following features and your budget to find what’s best for your accounting needs. 

• Features: Does the software support invoicing, expense tracking, banking reconciliation, and financial reporting?
• Ease of use: Is it user-friendly? If not, you may require training to use it effectively.
• Customization: Can you customize the software as per your business needs?
• Integrations: Does it integrate with payment gateways, CRMs, and other tools you use?
• Security: Does the software have robust security measures in place to protect your data?

Keep your finances in order

Whether you’re a small business, freelancer, or solo entrepreneur, you want to spend more time doing what you love. Using free accounting software lets you create invoices, track expenses, and simplify complex accounting tasks—without paying a dime. Consider trying the affordable solutions in the list to find the perfect tool that meets your needs and saves you time. 

Looking to calculate assets, liabilities, and equity without relying on a tool? Check out this free balance sheet template to get started!