• Desktop Small Business Accounting Software For Mac
• Intuit Quickbooks Desktop Pro 2018 Small Business Accounting Software

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The Ultimate Small Business Accounting Software Guide. Desktop solutions can only be accessed on the PC where they reside, while online solutions can be accessed from anywhere - but if your Internet connection is down, so is your accounting software. On the plus side, online providers often roll new features into the service on an ongoing basis. A critical aspect of small business software, accounting software stores important transaction data, automates tasks, produces reports and can save you hours of bookkeeping time. The following list includes the best selections for small business accounting needs, based on a variety of criteria. The best accounting software for small business is FreshBooks, a straightforward, intuitive and powerful accounting solution that should handle any numbers you throw at it—and at a compelling price that works with your small business setup. And now recently redesigned, the new FreshBooks sports a more modern, cleaner and user-friendly interface. The eight best business accounting software options are: QuickBooks Desktop. QuickBooks Online. Jun 10, 2019  Based on the above criteria and the time we invested in learning how each product performed, we recommend QuickBooks Online as the best accounting software for small businesses. QuickBooks has a pricing plan that fits most SMB budgets ($17 to $150 per month), and can meet your business needs whether you are a solopreneur or own a large corporation. The best accounting software for small businesses should be affordable, easy to use, and allow you to easily track income and expenses. The software should also include detailed financial statements to give you insight into the health of your business.

Accounting is the language of business, and good accounting software can save you hundreds of hours at the business equivalent of Berlitz.

There's no substitute for an accounting pro who knows the ins and outs of tax law, but today's desktop packages can help you with everything from routine bookkeeping to payroll, taxes, and planning. Each package also produces files that you can hand off to an accountant as needed.

Small-business managers have more accounting software options than ever, including subscription Web-based options that don't require their users to install or update software. Many businesses, however--including those that need to track large inventories or client databases, and those that prefer not to entrust their data to the cloud--may be happier with a desktop tool.

We looked at three general-purpose, small-business accounting packages: Acclivity AccountEdgePro 2012 (both the product and the company were previously called MYOB), Intuit QuickBooks Premier 2012, and Sage's Sage 50 Complete 2013 (the successor to Peachtree Complete). All three packages offer a solid array of tools for tracking income and expenses, invoicing, managing payroll, and creating reports.

These full-featured and highly mature programs don't come cheap. Acclivity AccountEdge Pro, at $299, is the least expensive; and prices climb if you opt to use common time-saving add-ons such as payroll services, or if you add licenses for multiple user accounts.

All three are solid on the basics, but they have distinct differences in style and focus. The more you know about your accounting requirements, the more closely you'll want to look at the software you're thinking of buying.

Sage 50 Complete should appeal most to people who understand the fine points of accounting and can use the product's many customization features (especially for businesses that manage inventory).

Click to read our hands-on review of Sage 50 Complete Accounting 2013.

QuickBooks works hard to appeal to newbies who need only the basics and might be intimidated by the level of detail and technical language exposed in the other two packages. At the same time, it also has a slew of third-party add-ons that meet specific needs and greatly expand its capabilities.

Click to read our hands-on review of Intuit QuickBooks Pro 2012.

AccountEdge Pro balances accessibility with a strong feature set at an affordable price. It's especially suitable for businesses that need to provide simultaneous access to multiple users.

Click to read our hands-on review of Acclivity AccountEdge Pro 2012 for Windows.

Desktop Small Business Accounting Software For Mac

Intuit Quickbooks Desktop Pro 2018 Small Business Accounting Software

Best Overall: Quickbooks

Intuit’s Quickbooks is the 800-pound gorilla of the small business accounting world. While it isn’t perfect and isn’t cheap, it is one of the most fully featured accounting software packages in existence. Windows and Mac versions exist for the desktop, but Quickbooks is slowly working to push users into the cloud (subscription instead of one-time cost). The Mac version does not have nearly the full feature set of the Windows or online version, so keep that in mind when choosing software for your business.

Because Quickbooks is so widely used, it is easy to find tutorials, guides, videos and other information on how it all works. But the downside is that you need tutorials, guides and videos to understand how it works. Intuit’s own help forum is often riddled with incorrect answers, so getting through a frustrating issue may take longer than you would hope. But, at the end of the day, it is the best known and most popular accounting software for a reason: it works well for a wide range of businesses and business needs. Quickbooks Online offers several versions ranging in cost from $5 for the self-employed version up to $25 per month for the Plus version. Payroll and payments services cost extra.