Open source software and developers who offer shareware or freeware are coming together to provide more free software programs on the internet than ever before, and the neat thing about these free software programs is that they are constantly being updated, upgraded, with fixes and special add ons, so that you can tweak them to your specific needs. Unlike the expensive store-bought accounting software for small businesses, you don’t need to pay to keep current!
Finding a free small business accounting software that fits your needs might take a little bit of time, but considering that you won’t have to pay for them, it is worth your time to download and test a few of these free small business accounting software programs. You can download several of them, enter your information and take them for a test drive to see how you like them. If one doesn’t work for you, simply uninstall it and try another one.
Let’s look at a few of the most popular freeware small business accounting software programs available for download, so you can make your own choices.
AceMoney Lite – Personal and Small Business Accounting Software
AceMoney Lite is a freeware accounting program that works well for both personal finances and small business accounting. It provides online banking options, personal and business finance tracking, and even offers a loan calculator. It does not, however, appear to offer any payroll support or business tax tracking. With overall good reviews, this simple free accounting software is perfect for a sole proprietorship with just the principal owner or a partnership where payroll is not an issue. This accounting software runs on both Windows and Linux OS machines. There is no user support, but there are user forums where users help each other.
OneStep Accounting – Small-Midsized Business Accounting Software
OneStep Accounting software’s standard version is free, and should suffice for most small businesses. For larger businesses, there is a paid version that can be upgraded to when the business needs grow. This free small business accounting software has general ledger ability, along with accounts payable, accounts receivable/invoicing, drill down reporting and more. User reviews indicate that setup is a bit tedious, but ease of use is high once set up is completed. This small business accounting software provides limited support, updates, and technical support for people using the paid version. It is available for Windows OS machines.
QuickBooks Simple Start – Small Business Bookkeeping and Accounting Software
Most people don’t know that Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks accounting software, offers a free Simple Start accounting software program that doesn’t expire, isn’t a free trial, but is really free to download and use. It has some limitations that the full version doesn’t have, like it will not allow you to import data from other versions or programs, so you’ll have to enter all your set up information by hand, but it provides full functionality from a trusted source for accounting software.
The advantage to using QuickBooks Simple Start is that it is fully upgradeable to other Intuit programs in the future should your business needs change or grow, and it is fully technically supported by Intuit. For most small businesses, it has all you will need for your personal and small business accounting needs.
These three small business accounting programs were my favorite picks of the free programs I tested, and each has its strengths and weaknesses, depending on your needs. My overall pick, and the one I use myself, is the QuickBooks Simple Start.
I also found that the popular freeware/shareware site, Download.com, has tons of small business accounting software from which to choose, some free, some for a small fee, and some that are trial versions. Simply visit www.download.com and do a search for ‘accounting’ or ‘bookkeeping’ to see the current listing of free or trial versions of small business accounting software.
Owning a small business for many is a dream come true, but expenses for business start up can really cut into your pocketbook. Using freeware and shareware small business accounting software can really help with expenses and also help you track expenses too. Why not download a few and give them a try? If you don’t like them, you haven’t lost anything but time!
