We looked at multiple features, services and ease of use of various accounting programs to determine which ones are the best QuickBooks alternatives. At Forbes Advisor, we break down the cost, features available and the value of each software to ensure they’re best suited for small businesses. We also look at less tangible benefits, such as customer support quality and ease of use. Finally, we consider reviews from users of each platform to see how customers view the pros and cons of retirement savings calculator each accounting software. The next application on our list of free non cloud-based accounting software which is offline accounting software is AccountEdge Pro.

The Best Accounting Software with Offline Access

Its impressive 95% automation rate means businesses can handle larger volumes of accounting entries without proportionately increasing administrative strain. This efficiency translates to tangible savings, with the potential to cut monthly administrative costs significantly. After creating the project, I was taken to a page designated to that project. Here, I could post updates on the project’s status, track hours worked and view project invoices, estimates, expenses and profitability reports, all from the project’s page. By clicking “more actions,” then “generate invoice” from the top of the page, I could also easily bill a client.

It’s also a good fit for service-based businesses, such as consultants, landscapers and plumbers. QuickBooks Desktop is undergoing changes but is not completely being phased out. The Desktop Pro and Premiere versions have shifted to subscription-based models instead of one-time purchase licenses. Although perpetual licenses for the standalone desktop version are still available through official resellers, this option may be temporary.

1. As a keen learner, the prospect of letting a subscription based app do what should be a relatively straight forward job didn’t make sense to me.
2. However, they also say that accessing the software on mobile devices is extremely difficult and navigating the software menu can be confusing at times.
3. If you know what kinds of income you need to report and what credits and deductions you qualify for, you may skip ahead to the relevant sections.
4. Expense management is a breeze with FreshBooks’ bank integration, which daily updates and neatly organizes your expenditure.
5. Users say the software is comprehensive in its accounting features and easy to use.

QuickBooks Alternatives

You can also set up recurring invoices for regular work or even retainer invoices for ongoing work on long-term projects. Time tracking is an included feature in Zoho Invoice, and you can turn billable hours on a project into an invoice. Perhaps the biggest downside to using this free product is that it isn’t scalable on its own. Square Invoices doesn’t limit the number of invoices you send or the number of customers or users you have on your system. If you have a team working for you, track their hours worked for invoicing purposes using Square’s free team management add-on.

AccountEdge

The company now operates over 3,000 locations across the United States and Canada. Today’s leading accounting platforms offer standard security features such as data encryption, secure credential tokenization and more. While human error will always play some role in security breaches, you can be confident in your accounting platform when it comes to keeping your information safe. To begin, I filled out a simple form with my name, contact information, company name, industry and a chosen platform.

Intuit is also moving QuickBooks Desktop to a subscription model, ending support for versions before 2021. The majority of modern accounting systems are cloud-enabled with a month-by-month subscription. Even non-subscription versions of QuickBooks Desktop are being phased out for the subscription model.

Rob Clymo has been a tech journalist for more years than he can actually remember, having started out in the wacky world of print magazines before discovering the power of the internet. In the rare moments he’s not working he’s usually out and about on one of numerous e-bikes in his collection. We checked how easy it was to set up the different software and how simple the interface was to get started with. We looked at the documentation available and whether the software had a comprehensive knowledge base/FAQ section. Also take a look at our roundup of the best tax software for small businesses. OneUp does boast a power-packed feature set, but it can also be quite complicated to use.

Alternatively, from any screen, I could simply click the “+” button at the top of the screen, then “invoices” to add a new invoice with two clicks. While I appreciated all of Intuit QuickBooks’ features and its intuitive user experience, when testing this product, I would have preferred less upselling within the platform. When I clicked on a feature that looked like it was included, I was frequently rerouted to a page that prompted me to purchase an add-on, which was frustrating at times.