Accounting software for medium-size businesses can help you manage a larger workforce by accommodating multiple users and integrating with a variety of business software products. Expect it to be more expensive than accounting software for small businesses and, in some cases, have a more complex user interface. The better news: Midsize options typically come with robust customer service, so you can ask questions around the clock.
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Here are our picks for the best accounting software for medium-size businesses plus their standout features.
Best Accounting Software for Medium-Size Businesses
Product | Promotion | Learn more | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
QuickBooks Online Learn more on QuickBooks Online's secure website | 5.0/5 Best for Overall accounting software for medium-size businesses | $35/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235. | 50% off for first three months or free 30-day trial. | Learn more on QuickBooks Online's secure website |
Xero Learn more on Xero's secure website | 5.0/5 Best for Unlimited users | $20/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80. | 95% off for 6 months. | Learn more on Xero's secure website |
Zoho Books Learn more on Zoho Books' secure website | 4.5/5 Best for Zoho suite integrations | $0 Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275. | 14-day free trial of the Premium plan. | Learn more on Zoho Books' secure website |
QuickBooks Enterprise | 4.0/5 Best for All-in-one software solution with payroll | $1,481/year Additional pricing tiers (per year): $1,922; $2,363; $4,668. Adding users or cloud access costs extra. | 30-day free trial |
Our pick for
Overall accounting software for medium-size businesses
QuickBooks Online
Learn more
on QuickBooks Online's secure website
Starting at
$35/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $65, $99, $235.
Promotion
50% off
for first three months or free 30-day trial.
QuickBooks Online is one of the best accounting solutions for small businesses, and the most robust version of the software, QuickBooks Online Advanced, can be a great choice for medium-size businesses.
QuickBooks Online Advanced supports up to 25 users and three accountants, unlimited class and location tracking, unlimited chart of accounts entries, 24/7 customer support and online training to help your team learn how to use the software. You can generate more than 100 reports for insights on inventory valuations, sales by customer or location, 1099 transactions, purchases by vendor and sales tax liability. The Advanced plan, in particular, lets you sync data between QuickBooks Online and Excel, too, so that you can further customize reports.
Because it’s fully cloud-based, QuickBooks Online is much more flexible than its Enterprise cousin, which is desktop-based. QuickBooks Online is compatible with Windows and iOS operating systems, and you don’t have to purchase an additional license if you want to give someone else access to the software.
While other products on the list, like Xero and Zoho Books, are also fully cloud-based, QuickBooks Online Advanced offers more reports and has the advantage of being popular among accountants.
Pros
- Fully cloud-based, meaning you can access it anywhere there’s an internet connection.
- More than 750 app integrations, including live, in-house bookkeeping.
- More than 100 reports starting at the Plus plan.
- 24/7 phone and chat support in the Advanced plan, plus a dedicated account team and setup assistance.
Cons
- The Advanced plan, which is best suited for medium-size businesses, is expensive at $200 per month.
- Lower-tier Simple Start and Essentials plans don’t support billable expenses, inventory tracking or project profitability features.
Our pick for
Unlimited users
Xero
Learn more
on Xero's secure website
Starting at
$20/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.
Promotion
95% off
for 6 months.
Xero might not offer the industry-specific solutions that some competitors do, but its unlimited user feature is hard to beat if you own a business with lots of employees who need some level of access to your accounting software. QuickBooks Enterprise, for comparison, charges more than $800 extra per year to add one user to its least-expensive Silver plan. And it costs more than $1,300 extra per year to add two users to it. In terms of cloud-based competitors, QuickBooks Online’s Advanced plan doesn’t let you grant access to more than 25 users.
Medium-size businesses will need to subscribe to Xero’s highest-tier Established plan to claim expenses, track projects and access more advanced reports, like 90-day cash flow forecasts. As a plus, all plans come with Hubdoc so that you can upload documents and sync them with Xero. After taking a photo or scanning a bill, Hubdoc pulls the important info from it and Xero uses it to automatically create draft transactions.
Pros
- Unlimited users in all plans.
- Fully cloud-based and simple to use.
- More than 1,000 app integrations.
- Use Hubdoc to store and organize documents.
Cons
- Not as advanced as some enterprise-level software solutions.
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
Our pick for
Zoho suite integrations
Zoho Books
Learn more
on Zoho Books' secure website
Starting at
$0
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $20, $50, $70, $150, $275.
Promotion
14-day free trial
of the Premium plan.
In comparison to products like QuickBooks Enterprise, Zoho Books isn’t quite as advanced — however, it offers a wide range of accounting features for an affordable price. In addition, you can choose from a large selection of in-house solutions for customer relationship management software, payroll, advanced inventory tracking, subscriptions, e-commerce and project tracking. This is convenient for business owners who prefer to stick to a single product suite but are priced out by QuickBooks Enterprise.
Zoho Books gives you access to tools for multilingual invoicing, estimates, and time and expense tracking and reporting. Medium-size businesses will have to subscribe to the Professional plan or up to access features for bill management, stock tracking, purchase orders and approvals, retainer invoices and workflow rules. The same plan lets you handle different types of currency and automatically calculates exchange rates, which could be helpful for businesses that buy from or sell to multiple countries.
Pros
- More affordable than some competitors.
- Fully cloud-based.
- Seamless integration with other Zoho suite products (e.g., Zoho CRM, Inventory and Projects).
- Email support in free plan; 24/5 phone and chat support in paid plans.
Cons
- Not as advanced as some enterprise-level software solutions.
- Fewer third-party integrations and reports than some competitors.
Our pick for
All-in-one software solution with payroll
QuickBooks Enterprise
Starting at
$1,481/year
Additional pricing tiers (per year): $1,922; $2,363; $4,668. Adding users or cloud access costs extra.
Promotion
30-day free trial
One of the most powerful accounting systems on the market, QuickBooks Enterprise is a great all-in-one solution for medium-size businesses. Thanks to its advanced feature set, it’s unlikely you’ll need to integrate with other software for inventory management, payroll or reporting. This is ideal because QuickBooks Enterprise doesn’t integrate with popular, third-party payroll software, and some other integrations require cloud hosting, which costs extra.
The Gold plan and up come bundled with QuickBooks Desktop Enhanced Payroll, ensuring your payroll and accounting systems are seamlessly integrated. And if you’re subscribed to the Platinum or Diamond plan, you’ll have advanced inventory tools and pricing options built in, too. That means you’ll be able to use barcode scanning to speed up inventory counts, manage the order fulfillment process and create pricing rules based on categories like location, customer or vendor. All plans have the ability to run industry-specific reports for construction companies or contractors, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retail shops, nonprofits and professional service businesses.
While you can set up custom user permissions for up to 40 users in the Diamond plan, annual subscription prices rise drastically as you add more licenses. Adding cloud hosting to QuickBooks Enterprise also raises costs. If you don’t add cloud hosting, you’ll be able to access the software on only one computer.
Pros
- Includes more than 200 reports plus industry-specific ones.
- Advanced inventory management and pricing features in the Platinum plan (and higher).
- QuickBooks Desktop Enhanced Payroll in the Gold plan and up.
- 24/7 phone and chat support plus a dedicated account team.
Cons
- Annual subscriptions are expensive; each additional user license costs extra.
- Limited direct, third-party integrations for payroll software and popular point-of-sale systems.
- Must be installed locally; cloud access costs extra, and local-only versions are not compatible with Mac.
How to choose accounting software for medium-size businesses
Accounting solutions for medium-size businesses are often more advanced versions of the same products intended for small, growing businesses. They have invoicing capabilities, a mobile app, a variety of reports and integration options.
In addition to these basics, you might think about:
- Advanced features. Chances are, medium-size businesses carry more products on hand than smaller ones that sell less. Keeping track of inventory items, when they expire and where they’re located will save you time and money in the long run. While basic inventory tracking might suffice for some businesses, others will need to distinguish between parts and assemblies or create purchase orders from within the software. You might also consider pricing rules, workflow automation and industry-specific reporting.
- Your budget. Accounting software for medium-size businesses will be costly, so make sure it includes as many key features as possible. That way, you won’t have to pay extra for third-party integrations. Also pay attention to whether your subscription is billed annually or monthly. Sometimes, monthly discounts apply only if you commit to an entire year.
- User limits. As the owner of a midsize business, you probably won’t want to shoulder accounting tasks alone. Some products charge extra per user, while others come with unlimited users. It’s typically more expensive to add additional users to desktop-based software because it requires a separate license.
- Other integrations. Bigger businesses have more employees, which makes payroll and HR integrations especially important. Look for direct integrations with your payroll software and any other services you might require down the road, like bookkeeping assistance or marketing.
- Accessibility. Do you prefer locally installed or fully cloud-based software? Cloud-based software allows you to access your accounting information from anywhere with an internet connection, which may come in handy when you can’t be onsite. Otherwise, some desktop options let you add cloud hosting.
A version of this article was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet
Last updated on April 5, 2024
Methodology
NerdWallet independently reviews accounting software products before determining our top picks. We collect the data for our software ratings from products’ public-facing websites and from company representatives. Information is gathered on a regular basis and reviewed by our editorial team for consistency and accuracy.
NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, reasonably priced, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. The best accounting software received top marks when evaluated across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories. Learn more about how we rate small-business accounting software.
These ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size, growth trajectory and which features you need most. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one.
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