Startups typically operate at a fast pace with a tight budget while working to secure funding and get off the ground. Once funding is secured, budgets and finances need to be meticulously accounted for and tracked to retain investor or lender confidence and continue to secure capital as needed. Spreadsheets simply won’t cut it, and you won’t want to waste time with free or barebones software that you’ll quickly outgrow.
That’s why the best accounting software for startups is a well-established product that adheres to current accounting standards, has solid financial reporting features, integrates with other business-related software and is easy to work in. It should also offer multiple plan tiers that ideally begin with a free or very low-cost option so that the software can grow with your business.
Here are our top picks for startup accounting software.
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Best Startup Accounting Software
Product | Promotion | Learn more | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Zoho Books Learn more on Zoho Books' secure website | 4.5/5 Best for Overall accounting software for startups | $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 |
Xero Learn more on Xero's secure website | 5.0/5 Best for Simple startup accounting software | $15/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $42, $78. | 30-day free trial or monthly discount (terms vary). | Learn more on Xero's secure website |
QuickBooks Online Learn more on QuickBooks Online's secure website | 5.0/5 Best for Accounting software for well-funded startups | $30/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $60, $90, $200. | 50% off for first three months or free 30-day trial. | Learn more on QuickBooks Online's secure website |
FreshBooks Learn more on FreshBooks' secure website | 4.5/5 Best for Accounting software for startups in creative fields | $19/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $33, $60, custom. | 30-day free trial or monthly discount (terms vary). | Learn more on FreshBooks' secure website |
Odoo | 4.0/5 Best for Accounting software for tech-savvy startups | $0 For use of a single app. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $38.90, $58.40. | Monthly discount for the first 12 months. |
Our pick for
Overall accounting software for startups
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.
Zoho Books packs an impressive collection of features and capabilities for an affordable price, and higher-tier plans let users automate workflows and track project profitability. It’s an especially good choice for users that already use the company’s other in-house apps and for businesses that want software with multilingual capabilities (Zoho Books supports 10 languages).Read full review
Pros
- Less expensive than some competitors; free plan available for businesses with less than $50k in annual revenue.
- Email support in free plan; phone and chat support in paid plans.
- Rich feature set includes excellent invoicing, inventory management, workflow rules and a capable mobile app.
- Add accounting widgets to your phone’s home screen; track time using your Apple Watch.
Cons
- Fewer third-party integrations and reports than some competitors.
- No plan includes more than 15 users (can add additional users for a fee).
Our pick for
Simple startup accounting software
Xero
Learn more
on Xero's secure website
Starting at
$15/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $42, $78.
Promotion
30-day free trial
or monthly discount (terms vary).
Xero allows unlimited users at every subscription tier, a valuable feature for businesses where several users may need at least limited access to the system to run reports or analyze performance. Xero also has a customizable analytics dashboard that lets each user rearrange or hide panels.Read full review
Pros
- Unlimited users in all pricing plans.
- Integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps.
- Feature set includes an excellent mobile app and suite of reports, capable invoicing features, plus automated bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
- Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
- No phone number for customer support listed.
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
Our pick for
Accounting software for well-funded startups
QuickBooks Online
Learn more
on QuickBooks Online's secure website
Starting at
$30/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $60, $90, $200.
Promotion
50% off
for first three months or free 30-day trial.
QuickBooks Online is an industry leader in the accounting field, thanks to its strong feature set, scalability and ability to accommodate small businesses with more complex financial needs. With millions of users worldwide, your accountant will likely be familiar with it.Read full review
Pros
- Easy to share information with your accountant and to find QuickBooks experts and online resources if needed.
- More than 750 app integrations, including live, in-house bookkeeping.
- Robust feature set includes thorough record-keeping, comprehensive reporting, excellent invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app.
- Daily phone support and 24/7 chat support in all plans.
Cons
- Expensive compared with the competition.
- Limited account users with each plan.
Our pick for
Accounting software for startups in creative fields
FreshBooks
Learn more
on FreshBooks' secure website
Starting at
$19/month
Additional pricing tiers (per month): $33, $60, custom.
Promotion
30-day free trial
or monthly discount (terms vary).
FreshBooks is a simple and affordable option for freelancers and very small businesses that don’t require many users and prioritize being able to operate on the go via mobile app. It’s an especially inexpensive choice for those who can work within lower-tier plans’ billable client limits, and all plans include time tracking.Read full review
Pros
- Stay in touch with clients through the FreshBooks mobile app and get notified when invoices have been viewed or become overdue.
- Intuitive, customizable invoicing capabilities compete with those of more robust accounting solutions.
- Track time and add billable hours to invoices in all plans.
- Weekday phone support in all plans.
Cons
- Lacks features that quickly growing companies need, like audit trails for accountants to review.
- Highest-tier Select plan only comes with two users (additional users add $11 per month) and lower-tier plans put limits on billable clients.
- Least expensive plan lacks double-entry accounting reports, bank reconciliation and accountant access.
Our pick for
Accounting software for tech-savvy startups
Odoo
4.0
NerdWallet rating Starting at
$0
For use of a single app. Additional pricing tiers per user (per month): $38.90, $58.40.
Promotion
Monthly discount
for the first 12 months.
If you just want to use Odoo’s accounting app alone, you and an unlimited number of users can do so for free. If, however, you have need for any of Odoo’s dozens of other open-source business apps (for inventory, sales, marketing, manufacturing, HR and more), then you can choose a paid plan to open your access to the full library of apps that integrate seamlessly.
Pros
- Unlimited users.
- Vast library of directly integrated apps means the software can grow with your business.
- Open-source model encourages regular testing and improvement of the software.
Cons
- Paid plan is required to access the full list of features for most apps and any additional apps.
- Phone support is only available for database emergencies.
NerdWallet’s picks for the best startup accounting software
Zoho Books
Best overall accounting software for startups
- $0 per month for the Free plan.
- $20 per month for the Standard plan.
- $50 per month for the Professional plan.
- $70 per month for the Premium plan.
- $150 per month for the Elite plan.
- $275 per month for the Ultimate plan.
Why we picked it: Zoho Books is one of our top picks for small-business accounting software in general. We’ve given it a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars because of its relatively affordable cost, pricing transparency, inclusion of standard accounting features such as double-entry accounting and a customizable chart of accounts, the fact it includes audit trails and users can easily share their books with their accountant, plus key additional features like reporting, invoicing, inventory and a mobile app.
One of the primary reasons Zoho Books takes the No. 1 spot on this list is that it offers six different accounting plans, ranging in price from free to over $250 per month. That means the software can see your startup from early stage with its recurring invoice, automatic bank reconciliation, basic reporting and additional features, to post-IPO stage with advanced inventory and analytics, multicurrency transactions and more. Zoho Books also offers multiple avenues for customer support: You’ll get email support with the free plan and additional chat and phone support options once you upgrade to any plan beyond the free one.
The one area Zoho Books falls short in is third-party software integrations. Zoho offers a full suite of useful business software ranging from CRM and inventory management to e-commerce and analytics, but it has only a couple dozen direct integrations outside of the Zoho software ecosystem (compared with the library of hundreds of apps that Xero, QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks all have). Read our full Zoho Books review.
Xero
Best simple startup accounting software
- $15 per month for the Early plan.
- $42 per month for the Growing plan.
- $78 per month for the Established plan.
Why we picked it: Xero is an increasingly recognizable name in accounting software, and NerdWallet rates it 5 stars because it matches the ubiquitous QuickBooks Online in all the important accounting features and functions plus it comes at a lower price point. It stands out especially for its simple, easy-to-use software as well as its highly rated mobile app for iOS and Android.
Startups can take advantage of Xero’s 30-day free trial to start out, and then choose from three plan options ranging from simple invoicing and billing, bank reconciliation and short-term cash flow monitoring to project tracking, multicurrency business transactions, expense tracking and analytics. You can also add payroll functions through Xero’s Gusto integration with any of its three plans. In addition to the direct Gusto integration, Xero has an entire marketplace of third-party apps that integrate with its accounting software, so you can build the full software solution your startup needs. Read our review of Xero.
QuickBooks Online
Best accounting software for well-funded startups
- $30 per month for the Simple Start plan.
- $60 per month for the Essentials plan.
- $90 per month for the Plus plan.
- $200 per month for the Advanced plan.
Why we picked it: For startups in a secure financial position and with a little more breathing room in their software budgets, QuickBooks Online is an obvious and solid choice for accounting software. It’s tried and true, most accountants and bookkeepers are familiar with it (and likely prefer to work with it over other accounting software) and its app library of more than 750 integrations means that it will likely play nicely with the rest of your business software.
Like others on our list, QuickBooks Online offers a variety of plans that enable the software’s capabilities to expand with your growing business. It ticks all the boxes for standard accounting features, including double-entry and accrual methods of accounting, and it offers from 55 to more than 100 financial reports, depending on your plan. Read our QuickBooks Online review.
» Not sure if QuickBooks is right for you? Check out the top QuickBooks alternatives.
FreshBooks
Best accounting software for startups in creative fields
- $19 per month for the Lite plan.
- $33 per month for the Plus plan.
- $60 per month for the Premium plan.
- Custom pricing for the Select plan.
Why we picked it: If your startup is currently a business of one or only a few employees — particularly in a creative field where the financial focus of the business lies primarily in invoicing, collecting payment, tracking projects and running reports — then FreshBooks could be a great fit for you. The software lends itself well to freelance and very small creative and client-focused businesses. FreshBooks does offer multiple plan tiers and does have the ability to grow with you from a single-person startup to a small business with contractors or employees.
The software will generate double-entry accounting reports, automatically reconcile your bank transactions and grant your accountant easy access to your books in all but the cheapest plan. And, like QuickBooks Online and Xero, FreshBooks has a marketplace of nearly 150 apps that integrate directly with the accounting software. Read our full FreshBooks review.
Odoo
Best accounting software for tech-savvy startups
- $0 per month for use of a single app.
- $38.90 per user per month for access to all apps.
- $58.40 per user per month for access to all apps across multiple companies plus Odoo’s external API.
Why we picked it: Odoo has built an ecosystem of open-source business software. It can be a great option for startups, which can add apps from Odoo’s library of dozens of options as business needs grow and evolve. Similar to Zoho Books, Odoo’s insular network of apps have been designed from the ground up to integrate seamlessly, but connecting Odoo to third-party software becomes more technically complex and costly. With apps for business needs ranging from accounting and inventory to e-commerce and point of sale, however, it’s likely that you can build the full suite of software to best suit your startup’s needs right from within Odoo’s own offerings.
We recommend Odoo for more tech-savvy startups because while its modular setup and user interface is meant to be fairly easy to learn and navigate, it’s still more involved than out-of-the-box accounting solutions like the others on this list. Especially when it comes to customizing the software (including integrating with third-party software), Odoo will often require developer skills or implementation assistance.
Bookkeeping for startups
While accounting software will help you automate your bookkeeping and reduce the risk of errors in your startup’s accounting, it’s still a good idea to hire a bookkeeper to review and manage your books as well as help you prepare for tax season. Our list of the best bookkeeping services names Pilot as the best online bookkeeping service for fast-growing startups.
Last updated on June 20, 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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