When I started my business, I was torn between hiring an accountant or outsourcing our accounting tasks. Both options were not cost effective as a small business so I had to learn how to use excel to keep simple records of income and expenses. That wasn’t enough as I have to worry about sending invoices and receipts. Imagine the relief I felt when a friend suggested that I use an online accounting software.
We cannot underestimate the need for business owners to keep proper accounting records and documents. They need to maintain detailed financial records to help measure profitability.
However, keeping track of what goes on in a company is difficult and time-consuming especially if done manually. That is why using an online accounting software like we do at ReDahlia is a must.
An accounting software saves you cost as you can do it yourself without employing an accountant. We have found out that most of these accounting softwares are easy to use giving you time to focus on other value adding tasks.
Drawing from our own experience, talking to other small business owners and reviews online, we present you the list of top 10 accounting softwares for small and medium businesses.
Top 10 Accounting Software for Small and Medium Businesses in 2019.
Sage Business Cloud Accounting Software
Sage Business Cloud Accounting formerly known as Sage One tops our list of best accounting software for SME’s in Nigeria. It is a cloud-based software that helps you manage all your small business finances. It can be set up for use by multiple people in different locations, either on your laptop, desktop or mobile phones.
It’s easy to use and offers support for more than one user. This accounting system helps you keep your business details in one place. It also manages your company’s cash flow from invoicing to issuing of receipts and from payments to tracking of expenses.
Sage Business Cloud Accounting software offers three subscription plans;
- Invoicing
- Accounting and
- Payroll
Invoicing
Invoicing Package offers unlimited and customized invoices, supports single user and updates automatically. It costs N 3,190 per month.
Accounting
Accounting Package supports 2 or more users, different mode of payment and many more. It costs N6,050 per month and N50,000 for a year.
Payroll
Payroll Package is the cheapest and costs N600 per month.
QuickBooks Accounting Software
QuickBooks also tops our list of best accounting software for SME’s in Nigeria. It was developed and marketed by Intuit, a business and financial software company in California, USA. The software is cloud-based so, it can be accessed from remote locations on your desktop and mobile phones.
QuickBooks and Sage One has similar accounting features. With this accounting software, you can send and create invoices, track your expenses, photograph and save receipts with QuickBooks Online Mobile App. You can also generate account reports.
It offers three plans for SME’s;
- Simple Start
- Essentials Plan and
- Plus plan
Each version has its own unique feature in terms of user support and activity.
Simple Start
With Simple Start, you can create and send unlimited invoices as well as track your sales, expenses and profits. Also, you can track and manage your sales tax. The Simple Start plan supports a single user and costs $10 per month.
Essentials Plan
The Essentials Plan provides the same benefits as Simple Start. With this plan, you can transact in multiple currencies and generate sales quotes. It supports up to 3 users and costs $17 per month.
Plus Plan
The Plus Plan is more advanced than the Essentials. This plan allows you to create purchase orders and track inventory and projects. It supports up to 25 users and costs $30 per month.
Xero Accounting Software
Xero is one of the best accounting softwares for SME’s in Nigeria. Even though it’s not among the bigger names in Nigeria, it is growing in prominence. It has over a million subscribers and suitable for all business enterprises.
Xero is easy to use with a full selection of accounting features including invoicing, multi-currency support, inventory, estimates and lots more. Just like every other accounting software, Xero is cloud-based which makes it easy to access on desktop and mobile phones.
The software allows double-entry accounting and manages your expenses and receipts online, store your files and transactions in one place. Xero simplifies your purchasing process and helps you keep track of your orders.
Xero Accounting software offers three plans for SME’s;
- The Early Plan
- The Growing Plan and
- The Established Plan
The Early Plan
The Early Plan supports 5 invoices and quotes, allow you enter 5 bills and reconcile 20 bank transactions. It costs $9 per month.
The Growing Plan
The Growing Plan supports unlimited invoices and quotes, bills and bank transactions. It costs $30 per month.
The Established Plan
The Established Plan also supports unlimited invoices and quotes, bills and bank transactions. This plan captures and manages your expenses as well as track project time and costs. It costs $60 per month.
Wave
Wave is the best free accounting software for businesses. It is designed mainly for businesses with less than 9 employees and comes with a good selection of accounting features. Just like other accounting softwares, Wave software is cloud-based making it easily accessible.
With this software, you can track your expenses, customize your invoices and receipts as well as automate your payment transactions. Also, Wave allows you to run multiple businesses in one account and generate accounting statements.
Wave offers additional services such as online credit card processing for invoices, payroll and outsourced bookkeeping. Wave’s additional services are paid for.
Invoice NG
Invoice NG is a free cloud-based invoicing software developed by a Nigerian for SME’s. This business software helps you stay organised and efficient. With Invoice NG, you can send professional and customised invoices to your clients. Also, it helps you manage your expenses, track invoices and payments, schedule your invoices either on a weekly or monthly basis.
Invoice NG has an integrated payment solution that makes getting paid faster. You can also use the software to send a friendly payment reminder to your customers as well as customised thank you receipts.
Invoice NG offers two service plans;
- The Free Plan
- The Basic Plan.
The Free Plan
The Free Plan supports multiple businesses, unlimited clients and online payments. It allows you to send unlimited invoices, but the branding is limited. This plan gives access control to a single user.
The Basic Plan
The Basic Plan include all the features of the free plan and also support multiple users. Other features include expense management, recurring invoice, estimate creation, unlimited branding and lots more. It costs N2,500 per month.
Zoho Books
Zoho Books is among our list of best accounting software for growing businesses in Nigeria. The software offers basic accounting features as well as advanced tools like project billing and time tracking. With Zoho Books, you can convert sales order to invoice and send invoices immediately or schedule them.
You can connect your Zoho Books account with payment platforms like PayPal. The cloud-based software allows users to manage multiple time sheets of different projects and track reimbursable expenses.
Zoho Books offers three service plans;
- The Basic
- The Standard
- The Professional
The Basic Plan
The Basic plan supports 2 users, 5 automated workflows and 50 contacts. With this, you can also create customized invoices, track expenses and billable hours. It costs $9 per month.
The Standard Plan
The Standard plan supports 3 users, 10 automated workflows and 500 contacts. It allows you to track bills, manage vendor credits and reporting tags. It costs $19 per month.
The Professional Plan
The Professional plan supports 10 users, 10 automated workflows and unlimited contacts. It also allows you track inventory, create sales and purchase order. It costs $29 per month.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is one of the best finance and accounting software developed by 2ndsite for small and medium-sized businesses. It is a cloud-based software that makes running your accounts easy, fast and secure.
It helps you create a professionally looking invoice in seconds, track your expenses and follow up with your clients. Also, it is easily accessible; you can securely access it from your desktop, tablet and phone.
FreshBooks have four different pricing plans tailored to small, growing and thriving businesses. They are;
- Lite Plan
- Plus Plan
- Premium Plan
- Select Plan
Lite Plan
Lite Plan is ideal for self-employed professionals such as freelancers. With this plan, you have access to unlimited and customized invoice, insightful tax report and many more. It supports up to 5 clients and costs $15 for a month.
Plus Plan
The Plus plan is for small businesses with big goals. It has all features of the Lite Plan and double entry accounting report, late payment reminder and lots more. It supports up to 50 clients and costs $25 per month.
Premium Plan
The Premium plan has all Plus Plan features, supports up to 500 clients and costs $50 per month.
The Select Plan
The Select plan has more advanced features than the other plans. It is mainly for thriving businesses that need customer service. It has super low credit card transaction rate, easy QuickBooks and Xero integration and customized training for you and your team. it supports more than 500 clients. The price is based on individual estimates.
SAP
SAP, an acronym for System, Application and Products is one of the leading business software providers in the world. It is an integrated enterprise system mostly used by big companies. It can also be used by small and medium-sized businesses.
The software helps you manage your sales tax, finances and account reports. Not only does it manage your finances but also physical goods. It can be used to keep track of inventory, raise product order, manage reservations and stock. SAP can also be used to manage relationships with customers and potential customers. The interesting thing about SAP software is that it can be customized to fit a specific company needs.
There are different versions of SAP designed for a small and medium-sized enterprise;
- Business One Cloud
- Business ByDesign
- S/4HANA
SAP Business One Cloud
SAP Business One Cloud manages your finances, sales, customers, purchases and inventory at a lower cost. It creates timely and accurate reports based on your company’s data with analytics and reporting tools.
Business ByDesign
SAP Business ByDesign is a single cloud ERP solution for fast-growing mid-businesses. It connects every function across your company to time-tested practices and in-depth analytics.
S/4HANA
SAP S/4HANA provides the same accounting benefits as SAP Business One. Other advanced benefits include built-in processes for your products and services, automatic quarterly software updates which makes maintenance simpler, faster and less expensive.
Accounteer
Accounteer also made our list of top accounting software for SME’s. This business software helps you to monitor the profitability of your company and organise your business administration. As a business owner, you can use this software to create invoices, track expenses and follow up on clients with ease. It also helps in reconciling bank transactions and accepting online payments from your clients.
Accounteer offers three subscription plans;
- The Free Plan
- The Go for Growth
- The Enterprise
The Free Plan
The free plan allows only 5 invoices in a month but supports unlimited users and offers.
The Go for Growth
The Go for Growth plan supports unlimited invoices, offers, users as well as file storage. It costs $10 monthly.
The Enterprise Plan
The Enterprise plan provides the same services as the Go for Growth plan including automatic bank feeds. It costs $25 per month.
Kashoo
Kashoo is a simple online accounting software designed for business owners. It is easy to set up and has several accounting tools to help you accomplish your accounting tasks easily.
You can use kashoo to create and send invoices by using customisable templates, also track bills and expenses. You can accept online payments, generate financial reports and connect your credit and bank account with it. It supports multiple users for no additional cost and, you can easily access your account on mobile devices.
Kashoo has a single pricing plan that allows you to choose between monthly or annual subscription. To use Kashoo accounting software and mobile app costs $29.95 per month and $199.95 per year.
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