Wave
Free accounting and invoicing; paid payroll and payments.
Buyer's guide
Accounting software
For most small businesses the answer is QuickBooks Online or Xero, and the deciding factor is which one your accountant already works in. Everything below that is Wave or FreshBooks; everything above it is an ERP decision, not a software one.
28 products, grouped by the size of business they are built for rather than ranked against each other — Wave and SAP S/4HANA are not competitors, and a list that puts them in the same order is not telling you anything. Each links to our full review. Deciding between two of them? See thehead-to-head comparisons, and for the trades with their own requirements, software by industry.
Sole traders and freelancers
One person, invoices and expenses, no payroll or inventory.
At this size the job is getting paid and surviving a tax return. Anything with a general ledger you have to configure is working against you.
FreshBooks
Invoicing-led, built around billable time and client work.
ZipBooks
Light bookkeeping with a free tier.
Kashoo
Simple double-entry books for very small operations.
Small businesses
Roughly $100k–$5M, a handful of staff, payroll, maybe inventory.
This is the crowded tier, and the honest answer is that the three below are more alike than any review admits. The deciding factor is usually which one your accountant already works in.
QuickBooks Online
The default in the US; the widest pool of accountants who know it.
Xero
The main alternative; strong bank reconciliation and app ecosystem.
Zoho Books
Sensible if you already run other Zoho products.
Growing and mid-market
Past $5M, multiple entities or locations, a real finance function.
The tier where businesses outgrow small-business software and buy their first proper ERP. It is also where implementation cost starts to exceed licence cost, which no pricing page will tell you.
Sage Intacct
Cloud financial management; strong multi-entity consolidation.
NetSuite
Oracle’s cloud ERP; the common landing place for scaling companies.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
SMB ERP for businesses already in the Microsoft stack.
Acumatica
Cloud ERP priced on resources rather than per user.
SAP Business One
SAP’s small and mid-market ERP.
Epicor ERP
Manufacturing and distribution focus.
SYSPRO
Manufacturing and distribution ERP.
AI-native accounting
New ledgers built since 2018 around automation, mostly for startups and software companies.
Two different markets share this label. Digits, Puzzle and Kick replace QuickBooks for small companies; Rillet and Campfire replace NetSuite for venture-backed ones. Uplinq is the odd one out: a bookkeeping service, not software you run. None of the software handles inventory, and fewer accountants know it, so ask yours before switching.
Digits
AI general ledger that books and reconciles continuously; $65–$250 a month.
Puzzle
Startup-focused ledger with burn and runway reporting; optional bookkeeping services.
Kick
Low-cost AI bookkeeping with a free plan; US only.
Uplinq
A done-for-you bookkeeping and tax service, AI-assisted, from $300 a month.
Rillet
AI-native ERP for SaaS finance teams; strongest on revenue recognition.
Campfire
AI-native accounting and close for venture-backed companies.
Enterprise finance
Large, multi-national, or heavily regulated.
Selection here is a project with a budget and a steering committee, not a shortlist. These reviews are for orientation before that starts.
SAP S/4HANA Finance
SAP’s in-memory finance core.
Oracle ERP Cloud
Oracle’s enterprise cloud suite.
Workday Financial Management
Strongest where HR and finance share one system.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance
The enterprise tier above Business Central.
Infor CloudSuite Financials
Industry-specific cloud financials.
Unit4 Financials
Built for services, public sector and non-profits.
FinancialForce
Native to Salesforce; services organisations.
Specialist tools
Bought alongside a general ledger, never instead of one.
Worth separating out, because these get compared against accounting systems they are not competing with.
BlackLine
Close and reconciliation automation on top of an existing ERP.
Every product, in one table
No pricing column, deliberately. Most vendors here quote per deal rather than publishing rates, and above the small-business tier implementation routinely costs more than the licence — so a single figure would mislead more than it helped.
| Product | Built for | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Wave | Sole traders and freelancers | Free accounting and invoicing; paid payroll and payments. |
| FreshBooks | Sole traders and freelancers | Invoicing-led, built around billable time and client work. |
| ZipBooks | Sole traders and freelancers | Light bookkeeping with a free tier. |
| Kashoo | Sole traders and freelancers | Simple double-entry books for very small operations. |
| QuickBooks Online | Small businesses | The default in the US; the widest pool of accountants who know it. |
| Xero | Small businesses | The main alternative; strong bank reconciliation and app ecosystem. |
| Zoho Books | Small businesses | Sensible if you already run other Zoho products. |
| Sage Intacct | Growing and mid-market | Cloud financial management; strong multi-entity consolidation. |
| NetSuite | Growing and mid-market | Oracle’s cloud ERP; the common landing place for scaling companies. |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central | Growing and mid-market | SMB ERP for businesses already in the Microsoft stack. |
| Acumatica | Growing and mid-market | Cloud ERP priced on resources rather than per user. |
| SAP Business One | Growing and mid-market | SAP’s small and mid-market ERP. |
| Epicor ERP | Growing and mid-market | Manufacturing and distribution focus. |
| SYSPRO | Growing and mid-market | Manufacturing and distribution ERP. |
| Digits | AI-native accounting | AI general ledger that books and reconciles continuously; $65–$250 a month. |
| Puzzle | AI-native accounting | Startup-focused ledger with burn and runway reporting; optional bookkeeping services. |
| Kick | AI-native accounting | Low-cost AI bookkeeping with a free plan; US only. |
| Uplinq | AI-native accounting | A done-for-you bookkeeping and tax service, AI-assisted, from $300 a month. |
| Rillet | AI-native accounting | AI-native ERP for SaaS finance teams; strongest on revenue recognition. |
| Campfire | AI-native accounting | AI-native accounting and close for venture-backed companies. |
| SAP S/4HANA Finance | Enterprise finance | SAP’s in-memory finance core. |
| Oracle ERP Cloud | Enterprise finance | Oracle’s enterprise cloud suite. |
| Workday Financial Management | Enterprise finance | Strongest where HR and finance share one system. |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance | Enterprise finance | The enterprise tier above Business Central. |
| Infor CloudSuite Financials | Enterprise finance | Industry-specific cloud financials. |
| Unit4 Financials | Enterprise finance | Built for services, public sector and non-profits. |
| FinancialForce | Enterprise finance | Native to Salesforce; services organisations. |
| BlackLine | Specialist tools | Close and reconciliation automation on top of an existing ERP. |
Pricing guides
What each product costs once the add-ons, extra users and implementation are counted. Where a vendor only quotes per deal, the reported figures are given with their sources, including where those sources disagree.
Acumatica Pricing in 2026: How Consumption-Based Licensing Works
Acumatica prices by transactions rather than seats and caps renewals at 10 percent a year. What the licensing guide says and what buyers report paying.
Business Central Pricing in 2026: Licenses, Implementation and the Real Total
Microsoft publishes $80, $110 and $8 per user a month. Why the license line is the small part of a Business Central budget, and what the rest costs.
FreshBooks Pricing in 2026: Plans, Add-Ons and What You Will Really Pay
FreshBooks lists at $23, $43 and $70 a month. The $11 per-seat fee and the billable client caps decide what you actually pay each year.
NetSuite Pricing in 2026: What Businesses Actually Pay
Oracle publishes no NetSuite price list. Here are the reported ranges for the platform, seats, modules and implementation, with their sources.
Sage Intacct Pricing in 2026: What It Costs and Why Quotes Vary
Sage publishes no rates. Reported per-user figures sit three to eight times apart, so here is what actually drives a Sage Intacct quote.
SAP Business One Pricing in 2026: License Types, Hosting and Partner Costs
SAP publishes no Business One price list. Reported per-user rates, perpetual versus subscription, hosting and partner costs, with sources named.
Zoho Books Pricing in 2026: Every Plan, and Where the Free One Stops
Zoho Books runs from $0 to $275 a month. Where the free plan stops, what forces each upgrade, and the $3 seat fee that changes the math.
Alternatives
For readers leaving a product rather than choosing a first one: what to move to, by the reason for leaving.
FreshBooks Alternatives in 2026: Six Options, Who Each Fits
FreshBooks charges $11 for every extra seat and caps billable clients at 5 or 50. Six alternatives, what each costs, and who each one actually fits.
NetSuite Alternatives in 2026: Seven Systems, and Who Each One Fits
Oracle publishes no NetSuite prices and reported renewal rises disagree. Seven alternatives, what each one licenses, and who each one fits.
QuickBooks Alternatives in 2026, by Your Reason for Leaving
QuickBooks raised Essentials, Plus and Advanced on August 1, 2026. The alternatives worth moving to, sorted by the reason you are leaving.
Xero Alternatives in 2026: Six Options and the Reason to Pick Each
Xero's Early plan allows 20 invoices and 5 bills a month, and projects wait for a tier rising to $97 on October 1. Six alternatives and when to pick each.
Common questions
What is the best accounting software for a small business?
For most US small businesses it is QuickBooks Online or Xero, and the deciding factor is usually which one your accountant already works in rather than any feature difference. Below roughly $100k in revenue, Wave or FreshBooks will do the same job for less.
When should a business move from accounting software to an ERP?
Usually when consolidation, inventory or multi-entity reporting starts being done in spreadsheets alongside the accounting system. That workaround is the signal, not revenue — a single-entity $20M business may never need one, and a $3M group with four entities often does.
Why does this comparison not show prices?
Because most of these vendors do not publish them. NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Workday and Infor all quote per deal, and for the mid-market and up, implementation routinely costs more than the licence. Any table quoting a single figure for these products is guessing. Where a vendor does publish prices, as most of the newer small-business tools do, the review gives them with the date they were checked.
What is AI-native accounting software?
A general ledger built from the start around automation: transactions are categorized, reconciled and often posted as they arrive, rather than waiting for a bookkeeper at month-end. Digits, Puzzle and Kick do this for small businesses; Rillet and Campfire do it for venture-backed companies that would otherwise buy NetSuite. The automation still needs review by someone who knows the business.
Is the cheapest accounting software worth it?
At the sole-trader end, yes — Wave is free and genuinely sufficient for invoices and expenses. The cost of being under-specified shows up later, at the point where you need payroll, inventory or a second entity and have to migrate mid-year.
Still choosing?
Head-to-head comparisons ↗Picking the system is the easy half. The harder question — whether the problem is the software at all, or the way the numbers are being produced — is what we do. If you need someone to run the books rather than advise on them, the directory lists practices checked against the IRS register.