Accounting can be a challenge for even the most seasoned small business owners. You need to keep track of income and expenses, manage your employees’ payroll, and create financial reports to help you make smart business decisions. And that’s just scratching the surface! Fortunately, there are many great accounting software programs available that make it easy for you to take care of all these tasks—without having to hire an accountant or spend tons of money.

1. QuickBooks

QuickBooks is the most popular accounting software for small businesses. It’s used by more than 23 million people to manage their finances, track expenses and generate invoices.

The program keeps track of every penny you spend–and it can even help you predict when you’ll run out of money if sales slow down.

It’s easy to use: once installed on your computer (or mobile device), QuickBooks will automatically pull in information from bank accounts, credit cards and other sources so that all your business transactions are recorded automatically without any further input needed from you or your employees. You can also enter manual entries if something isn’t already set up with one of those connections mentioned above–like when a customer pays cash instead of using a credit card or checks into an Airbnb instead of staying at an Airbnb property (or even just doesn’t have an account).

2. Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software that was founded in New Zealand in 2004. It’s been around for over a decade, and it’s currently used … More >>>