There’s no excuse for not accounting for your finances as a sole proprietor. Everyone needs to have a way to monitor their income and take care of legal and financial responsibility. If you don’t, the IRS will come looking for you!
Now, you don’t have to worry about filing late. Instead, you can use an accounting software program to easily track your business income and keep financial accounts for reporting. Below you may find the list of best accounting software for sole proprietor available on the market with its pros and cons.
Our Top 5 Accounting Software For Sole Proprietor
Best Accounting Software For Sole Proprietor Reviews
1. Best Overall: QuickBooks Self-Employed
For those who are self-employed or in the business of working on their own, QuickBooks Self-Employed is the way to go. It’s a great software that will help you track your expenses and income with ease. You can also deduct things like medical expenses, business travel, and certain taxes from your gross profit for tax time. With this program in hand, you’ll be able to run your company smoothly from start to finish all year long.
QuickBooks Self-Employed Features
Track expenses for tax time. If you’re self-employed, you know the major headache that is tax time. Lucky for you, QuickBooks Self-Employed has a tool that will help you track your expenses all year long and automatically deduct them from your gross profit, so when it comes time to file taxes, the process will be much easier.
2. Best Easy-to-Use Features: Xero
Do you ever find that keeping track of your business finances is an uphill battle? If so, there is software available for Mac and Windows which can help: Xero. It’s an intuitive cloud-based accounting software platform that’s designed specifically for small businesses.
What makes Xero different from other accounting software? We will go through some of the benefits and features in this post and answer some common questions you may have about using this software.
Xero is easy-to-use, web-based accounting software that lets you keep track of your business finances. It’s cloud-hosted, meaning it will automatically update all of your devices, so you never need to worry about the system going out or not having access to certain files. There are also many mobile apps available for iOS and Android devices and a desktop program.
3. Best Free: Wave
Wave is the best accounting software for sole proprietors. There are so many features that I can’t even name them all, but here are some of my favorites. First, I like that it has a simple interface and is easy to navigate, making it quick and easy to do my invoices and calculate my finances.
It also allows me to use templates for different types of documents, so I don’t have to start from scratch every time I create something, saving me time! Another great thing is how quickly data transfers between Wave and other services like Facebook or Google Docs.
This is super helpful for keeping track of my money, and it helps me make sure that I have not spent more than I should on a transaction. And the best part about Wave is the customer support. I have asked a few questions, and anyone from customer services has responded quickly and given me great tips and answers! This software makes managing my business more accessible than ever, and it’s helped me become more successful.
4. Best for Professional-Looking Invoices: FreshBooks
FreshBooks is cloud-based accounting software for sole proprietors designed with human, not machine, understanding. Review and introduce the features of FreshBooks to become familiar with them.
Features of FreshBooks
- Online invoices
- Basic financial statements
- Automatic backup and recovery of data on every desktop computer, mobile device, and tablet
- Automatic security camera integration to review receipts using video files from an external camera (no installation needed)
- Easy integration into the Microsoft Office ecosystem via OneDrive or OneNote for remote storage and sharing documents without storing them to your local hard drive or USB drive.
5. Best for Small Business: FreeAgent
The FreeAgent app is cloud-based accounting software for sole proprietors, freelancers, and microbusinesses. It includes everything you need to manage your books. The app includes invoicing, time tracking, bank reconciliation (matching your bank statements), expenses and mileage tracking, and more. In addition, freelancers can take tax deductions such as travel and parking costs by categorizing them under an “Office” expense in the app.
FreeAgent Features
- Keep track of all your income and expenses.
- Calculates tax deductions for you, so all you have to do is fill in the blanks.
- Sends customisable invoices to customers from within the app.
- Lets you know when payments are due, so you can chase them if they’re late or write-off bad debts if they don’t pay up.
- Tracks mileage across multiple vehicles for full tax deductibility.
- Online backup and secure file storage.
- Password protection to keep your data private.
- Plain English guides and exportable pdf versions of product documentation.
- Online support forums with unlimited free help desk support.
Buyer’s Guide
Not too long ago, businesses had only three ways of accounting for their finances: they could do it themselves by hand, hire an accountant with a team of bookkeepers, or use an accounting software program. While sole proprietors still have the last two options, they are increasingly using the third to simplify their accounting needs and keep up with legal requirements.
While the options are more varied than ever, the basic tenet of accounting is still the same: a business needs to monitor its income and expenses to accurately picture its financial standing.
This allows them to see whether they are doing better than expected and take action if needed. Also, they need to be aware of any potential issues before they become a crisis. When you’re small, there always seems to be something that comes up at the last minute.
The best way for you to handle these emergencies is with an accounting software program that will merge your financial records and allow you to backtest any profit you can’t explain.
FAQ
What Is Accounting Software For Sole Proprietor?
Accounting software is designed to help small businesses keep track of their finances and stay within the tax laws. The best accountant software will have features that enable the users to easily track expenses, record revenues, and generate a profit or loss sheet. Accounting software helps small businesses save time by doing all of the tedious manual processes, which can eventually cause errors in their accounting records.
What Is The Best Accounting Software For Sole Proprietor?
There are many different accounting software options for sole proprietors, but a few stand out among the crowd. QuickBooks is an all-inclusive accounting package for small businesses, boasting an intuitive interface and great customer support. Xero is another strong option, and it offers limited free use to boot! Even better, Xero handles double entries so you don’t have to worry about that part of your work flow.
Which Quickbooks Is Best For Sole Proprietorship?
If you’re a small business owner and you need something very basic, the Standard Edition of QuickBooks is a great starting point. You’ll be able to handle all your finances and balance your books without breaking the bank.
However, suppose you’re looking for more features for running payroll or taxes, better customer service, or some other features that require more complicated accounting practices. In that case, the Enterprise Edition might work better for you.
