Software

These applications are low cost or free, and are supported with in-application ads and other special offers provided based on the user’s personal profile. Since they are stored online, the data can be shared with outside advisors, including the individual’s accounting firm.

When Intuit introduced a new design for its products, it was aiming for a harmonic look and feel across its solutions that made it easier for users to use. But, it didn’t just stop there. The maker of financial management solution decided they wanted to make business easier for small business owners.

Xero is a micro-business SaaS accounting platform which is well established in Australia and New Zealand, and was launched in the U.S. in 2012. The company has made significant investments in personnel to compete with other small business accounting software providers in the U.S. market, and has hired a long list of industry veterans to manage its U.S. operations, including Peter Karpas (U.S. CEO), Jamie Sutherland (U.S. President), Ian Vaicin (U.S. VP- Marketing and Product) and many more.

Wave Accounting is part of Wave Apps, which is a suite of free or low-cost apps for self-employed individuals and micro-businesses to accomplish traditional accounting tasks like billing customers, recording payments, writing checks, and downloading transactions from financial institutions.

Intuit QuickBooks Online was one of the first online small business financial management applications when it was launched in 2000. The application has expanded to include many new features over the years, and it is now available in more than 10 languages and 100 countries.

CPA Practice Advisor's Editor-inChief spoke with cloud accounting vendor Jim Secord, the CEO of small business accounting developer Kashoo on the evolution of online accounting systems.

Acclivity’s AccountEdge Pro 2014 is a U.S. small business accounting software application for both Windows and MacOS which originated as the U.S. version of global small business management system MYOB. AccountEdge is now available in three versions (AccountEdge Basic, AccountEdge Pro, and AccountEdge Cloud) with three localizations (U.S., Canada, and a generic international version). Acclivity also offers solutions for point of sale, a free mobile version of AccountEdge (AccountEdge Mobile for iOS), a web store service, and a time tracking application

Sage 50 Premium Accounting (U.S. Edition) is one of the most well developed accounting products included in this review. The application is more debit and credit oriented than some competitors, but retains forms for simple, quick data entry. Templated charts of accounts are available for more than 50 different industries, users can create their own chart of accounts, or settings can be copied from an existing Sage 50 company.