10 Best QuickBooks Alternatives You Should Consider

QuickBooks is one of the most popular and leading accounting and invoicing tools. However, it may still have certain qualities that don’t make it an ideal option for your business.

Maybe the pricing is too high, or the features are too many. You might have never used the tool and found its interface complicated. That’s when you realize it’s time to switch to another invoice tool altogether.

The right invoicing tool can work wonders for your business. However, choosing an alternative can be exhausting, considering the plethora of options available.

In the following article, we review a list of QuickBooks alternatives based on their features and pricing. This will help you find a tailored solution for your business.

Why Consider a QuickBooks Alternative?

Here are the most common reasons users seek alternatives to QuickBooks:

• High costs: QuickBooks features may not be budget-friendly for many small businesses or solo entrepreneurs in the US. If you want to save business expenses without sacrificing key functions, you need an alternative.
• Need limited features: As an independent business owner, you may not need an abundance of features that QuickBooks provides. Finding an alternative that provides just the features you need may be ideal.
• Steep learning curve: You may need an alternative accounting software where you can get started straight away without spending too much time learning the platform.
• Integrations: Other tools than QuickBooks provide better integration to your existing systems and even offer flexibility in managing business processes.
• User restrictions: A lot of users switch to QuickBooks alternative simply because QuickBooks offers limited users per plan and adding more users increases the costs.

10 Best QuickBooks Alternatives to Consider for Your Business

Here are the top 10 QuickBooks Alternatives:

1. InvoiceOwl – Best for overall invoicing processing and estimating for small businesses
2. Xero – Best for managing finances & accounts
3. FreshBooks – Best for user-friendly invoice generation
4. Zoho Books – Best for scalable invoice automation for Zoho users
5. Sage 50 – Best for managing business finances and inventory
6. Square Invoices – Best for simple accounting needs like invoices and bank reconciliations
7. Invoice Ninja – Best for invoice processing for international clients
8. Wave Invoicing – Best for invoicing processing for entrepreneurs on a budget
9. Stripe Billing – Best for small businesses with recurring revenue
10. Paymo – Best for overall project management for small businesses

1. InvoiceOwl

InvoiceOwl is an invoice processing and estimating tool that provides invoice processing automation for small businesses across plumbing, contractors, carpentry, and HVAC.

Primarily, InvoiceOwl helps businesses to reduce accounting-related paperwork, streamline invoice and estimate generation, and receive timely payments.

InvoiceOwl offers an easy-to-use and simplistic design where solopreneurs can estimate while on the go. The features of the tool help businesses improve cash flows, comply with tax regulations, and digitize account receivables for businesses that rely on paper-based invoices.

The user-centric approach and affordable pricing of Invoice make it one of the best invoicing alternatives to QuickBooks.

Advanced features of InvoiceOwl

• Invoice generation: Allows businesses to generate invoices and customize their invoice with information, such as billing name, branded logo, photo attachments, and payment instructions.
• Estimates generation: Facilitates you to generate accurate estimates and even leverage templates to send quick quotations and get paid faster.
• eSignature: Provides users with a digital drawing pad for eSignatures that lets them sign off the documents and approve payments.
• Reporting: Offers a comprehensive view of your business transactions and invoices under an invoice reporting dashboard that helps you make informed decisions, track your business performance, and improve basic financial reporting.

Why is InvoiceOwl the best alternative to QuickBooks?

Check out some of the top three reasons why InvoiceOwl is the best alternative to QuickBooks:

1. Affordable pricing with essential features: InvoiceOwl offers an affordable pricing structure ideal for small business owners and freelancers. You just pay for the core functionalities like invoicing, expense tracking, and payment processing without extra costs. With QuickBooks, you might end up paying for features that you do not require.
2. User-friendly interface: InvoiceOwl is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses, including those in electrical and construction. Even for those with limited tech experience, it is known for its simplicity and appealing design, which helps you quickly get started without a long learning curve. The straightforward interface allows you to send invoices, track payments, or manage invoices in minimal time.
3. Seamless integrations: InvoiceOwl can seamlessly integrate with other critical tools that you use, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, payment gateways, and accounting tools. You can synchronize your invoicing and estimating with multiple tools to ensure a smooth experience for your clients.

Pricing of InvoiceOwl compared with QuickBooks

Free Trial (3 days)	Simple Start $15/month
Growth $9.99/month	Essentials $30/month
Champion $23.99/month	Plus $45/month

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2. Xero

Xero is a reliable accounting software that offers several toolkits to manage finances with precision. The tool provides various services like accounting, invoicing, expense tracking, payroll, and bank reconciliation.

The tool is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses as it offers a user-friendly interface to simplify complex accounting tasks.

Xero makes it accessible for business owners without a strong financial background. The platform also facilitates key features, such as multi-currency transactions, detailed financial reporting, and integration with other third-party apps.

Key features of Xero

• Expense management: Allows users to capture receipts on the app and add categories to expenses for easy reporting.
• Payroll processing: Allows businesses to manage employees, taxes, and leaves with its built-in features. It also integrates with external payroll services for more advanced needs.
• Financial reporting: Allows users to generate in-depth financial reports that help in decision-making.
• Multi-currency support: Supports multiple currencies to make it easy for companies to handle transactions across countries.

Xero pricing

Early $15/month

Growing $42/month

Established $78/month

Why consider Xero as an alternative to QuickBooks?

Xero stands out as one of the best alternatives for businesses with its global-friendly features, including multi-currency support, automated currency conversions, and project-based cost tracking. These features empower international businesses to effortlessly manage financials, optimize profitability, and make data-driven decisions.

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3. FreshBooks

FreshBooks is one of the most popular names for small business accounting.

With FreshBooks, companies and self-employed individuals can easily organize their finances, eliminate the time and effort they spend on preparing data for accounting, and save time on mundane entries.

Some of these important tasks include invoice processing and payment reminders through emails in addition to customizable through integration with third-party applications.

Key features of FreshBooks

• Invoicing: Allows you to create professional-looking invoices. You can automate recurring invoices, set up payment reminders, and track the status of invoices.
• Expense tracking: Supports users to import expenses from bank accounts, track them, and categorize them for better financial management.
• Time tracking: Provides a built-in time tracking tool that allows users to track billable hours directly within the platform.
• Reporting: Generates detailed financial reports for users to track profit and loss, view tax summaries, and gain key insights into your business performance.

FreshBooks pricing

Lite $7.60/month

Plus $13.20/month

Premium $24.00/month

Why consider FreshBooks as an alternative to QuickBooks?

FreshBooks as an alternative to QuickBooks, is ideal for businesses looking for better ease of use and an intuitive interface to get started quickly without spending much time learning the tool.

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4. Zoho Books

Zoho Books is a cloud-based accounting tool. It is a top choice for business owners to manage their finances, automate business workflows, and collaborate across departments.

One best thing about Zoho Books is it integrates seamlessly with other Zoho products and third-party applications. This makes it a flexible choice for businesses looking to scale and those that are already using Zoho for other business functions.

Key features of Zoho Books

• Purchase order management: Allows you to create, customize, and manage purchase invoices directly within the tool.
• Client portal: Provides a dedicated dashboard for clients to view invoices, make payments, and collaborate on projects.
• Project management tools: Allows you to associate expenses and timesheets with specific projects.

Zoho Books pricing

Standard $15/month (Billed annually)

Professional $40/month (Billed annually)

Premium $60/month (Billed annually)

Why consider Zoho Books as an alternative to QuickBooks?

Zoho Books provides mobile accessibility, which is absent in QuickBooks. Users can easily download the Zoho Books app on their smartphones from Google Play or Apple App Store and get started with the tool from their phones.

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5. Sage 50

Sage 50 is an accounting solution that caters to small and medium-sized businesses. It primarily offers end-to-end solutions for financial management.

The platform allows users to manage their accounts payable and receivable, cash flow statements, and budgets. The platform also enables businesses to comply with tax regulations to make it easier for them to handle taxes and reporting.

Key features of Sage 50

• Accounts payable and receivable: Provides easy inventory tracking and managing of bills, payments, and customer invoices.
• Budgeting: Allows users to create detailed budgets and forecasts to plan for future financial health.
• Tax compliance: Facilitates built-in tools for simple tax preparation that help ensure compliance.
• Inventory management: Allows businesses to track inventory levels, manage stock across multiple locations, and automate purchase orders when needed.

Sage 50 pricing

Standard $60.08/month

Professional $103.92/month

Premium $177.17/month

Why consider Sage-50 as an alternative to QuickBooks?

Sage 50 provides plans that include unlimited users at no extra costs, whereas QuickBooks limits the number of users and may charge extra for additional accounts.

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6. Square Invoices

Square Invoice is a digital invoicing solution that allows businesses to create, customize, and send professional invoices at a quick rate.

Square Invoice primarily caters to industries, such as restaurants, banking, retail, & professional services.

The best part of Square Invoice is that it seamlessly integrates with Square’s payment processing system, which already has numerous users. It enables users to pay e-invoices through various methods, such as credit cards, ACH transfers, and digital wallets.

Key features of Square Invoices

• Customizable invoices: Allows you to create professional-looking invoices with custom branding elements.
• Real-time tracking: Facilitates users to track the status of their invoices in real time, including when an invoice has been viewed, paid, or is overdue.
• Integrated payments: Enables clients to pay invoices online through various methods, including credit cards, ACH transfers, and digital wallets, which are all integrated with Square’s invoice processing.
• Batch invoicing: Allows businesses to create and send multiple invoices at once to better manage their cash flow.

Square Invoice pricing

Free $0/month + processing fees

Plus  $29+/month  + processing fees

Premium  Custom  + processing fees

Why consider Square Invoices as an alternative to QuickBooks?

Square Invoices is a free tool you can access from your Square account. Whereas, with QuickBooks, you’ll need a monthly QuickBooks online subscription to access its invoicing feature along with other accounting tools.

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7. Invoice Ninja

Invoice Ninja is an invoicing and billing platform that offers a full suite of tools for creating and managing invoices, tracking expenses, and handling payments.

Businesses can even automate their payment reminders, and leverage multiple currencies and payment gateways. It is an ideal tool for companies that deal with various international clients and need flexible choices in terms of budgets and features.

Key features of Invoice Ninja

• Recurring billing: Allows users to set up and automate recurring invoices for regular clients or subscription-based services.
• Expense tracking: Facilitates you to track and categorize expenses, attach sales receipts, and manage your spending effectively.
• Invoice templates: Provides a range of pre-designed templates to suit different types of invoices, ensuring a professional look for each one.
• Partial payments: Allows clients to make payments in installments rather than paying the full amount at once for large invoices.

Invoice Ninja pricing

Free $0 per year

Ninja Pro Pay annually for 10 months + 2 free $120 Per year

Enterprise  Pay annually for 10 months + 2 free $160 Per year (1-2 users)

Why consider Invoice Ninja as an alternative to QuickBooks?

Invoice Ninja is a cost-effective alternative to QuickBooks, offering streamlined invoicing, payment processing, customization, flexibility, and integration capabilities, making it an ideal option for businesses.

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8. Wave Invoicing

Wave Invoicing is a part of the Wave financial tool that offers numerous accounting and financial management functions.

Wave Invoicing allows businesses to create and send unlimited professional invoices while offering numerous pre-designed invoice templates for customization.

It also includes features, such as automatic payment reminders, recurring billing, and the ability to accept online payments through credit cards and bank transfers.

Wave Invoicing is a comprehensive solution for managing business finances in one place. It offers a user-friendly interface and integration with other Wave products, such as accounting and receipt scanning.

Key features of Wave Invoicing

• Recurring invoicing: Allows users to set up recurring invoices for regular clients, automating the billing process for ongoing services or subscriptions.
• Payment integration: Allows you to accept payments directly from invoices via credit cards and bank transfers.
• Automatic reminders: Sends automatic reminders to clients for unpaid invoices, helping ensure timely payments without manual follow-up.
• Reports and analytics: Provides basic reporting features that give insights into your invoicing and payments. You can track and analyze cash flow trends, and monthly financial statements, and generate reports to monitor business performance.

Wave Invoicing pricing

Starter plan Free

Pro plan  $16/month, billed monthly

Why consider Wave Invoicing as an alternative to QuickBooks?

Wave Invoicing as an alternative to QuickBooks is better if you’re seeking free and easy-to-use accounting software over advanced features. QuickBooks is comprehensive but comes with a cost and added complexity.

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9. Stripe Billing

Stripe Billing is a subscription management platform meant for businesses to manage their complex billing cycles.

The software allows businesses to automate invoicing, manage subscriptions, and accept payments in multiple currencies.

Stripe Billing integrates seamlessly with the broader Stripe ecosystem, offering advanced features like smart invoicing, customized payment terms, and API invoicing. With numerous API options, it’s highly flexible and scalable, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Key features of Stripe Billing

• Automated invoicing: Facilitates users to generate automated invoices to receive payments and even leverage customizable templates that match their brand style.
• Retry logic: Allows users to minimize failed invoice payments with automatic smart retry logic that adjusts retry attempts based on customer behavior.
• Customized billing logic: Helps you create billing scenarios, such as volume discounts, usage-based pricing, etc, with its API.
• Dunning Management: Provides automated tools to handle failed payments, including sending reminders and updating payment methods, helping to reduce churn.

Stripe Billing pricing

Stripe Billing offers custom pricing plans depending on volume and use.

Why consider Stripe Billing as an alternative to QuickBooks?

Stripe Billing surpasses QuickBooks in offering specialized features such as recurring billing, subscription management, and scalable payment processing, making it ideal for businesses with complex billing needs.

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10. Paymo

Paymo is a project management platform that caters to small businesses, freelancers, and agencies.

Paymo offers an integrated solution that offers time-tracking, invoicing, and project management tools under a single platform. This helps teams manage entire workflows from start to finish.

The platform allows users to create invoices directly from timesheets and track payments. Additionally, Paymo provides reporting tools that give insights into project progress, team performance, and financial health. This helps businesses stay organized and on top of their work.

Key features of Paymo

• Invoice generation: Facilitates easy invoice generation based on logged time, project tasks, or flat rates. Invoices can be customized to match your brand with logos, colors, and personalized notes.
• Time-based invoicing: Allows users can generate invoices directly from timesheets. This ensures that all billable hours are accurately captured and billed to clients.
• Invoice exporting: Provides easy export of invoices. Users can export them in PDF format or in bulk in a CSV and even sync them with your current accounting software.
• Add & track expenses: Allows you to track expenses at the client or project level. This allows you to skip storing receipts and get a head start on preparing for tax season.

Paymo pricing

Starter $5.9/user/month

Small business $10.9/user/month

Business  $16.9/user/month

Why consider Paymo as an alternative to QuickBooks?

Paymo offers invoicing with many other project management functions, such as time tracking, task management, and team scheduling, allowing you to manage projects and invoices under one platform.

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Factors to Consider When Choosing an Invoicing Tools

1. Cost vs. features

The most important consideration you need to have is to weigh the costs of the tool against the features it provides. Before you choose a new accounting software and invoicing solution, look for a solution that provides the functionalities you need without charging you for extras you won’t use. Consider whether the pricing is scalable as your business grows.

2. Ease of use

A simpler tool with accounting features can streamline your operations, and make it easy to onboard your team and train them to use the tool. The software should be intuitive, with a clean interface that makes it easy to perform tasks without getting bogged down in complicated menus or settings.

3. Integration with other tools

Your accounting software needs to play well with the other tools you’re already using, like CRM systems, payroll services, or e-commerce platforms. In addition, limited integration options with popular US apps and tools like Stripe, Square, or PayPal may lead businesses to seek alternative solutions with more comprehensive integration capabilities.

4. Customer support

Reliable customer support can make a big difference, especially if you run into issues while getting used to a new system. Look for a provider that offers quick support options, whether that’s through live chat, phone support, or a detailed knowledge base. Businesses often seek solutions and doubts regarding bill payment and advanced invoicing features with 24/7 support or US-based support teams.

5. Data storage & scalability

With regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in place, many U.S. businesses are becoming increasingly concerned about data storage and security. This has them looking for alternative solutions that offer stronger data protection, such as customers’ sensitive information, and maintain compliance.

6. Customization & scalability

Your business is unique, so your accounting software should be able to adapt to your specific needs. Look for a solution that allows customization, whether generating specific reports or customizing the dashboard. Furthermore, tax compliance is critical, so ensure the software supports varied sales tax regimes and uses tax calculations for seamless filing and payment.

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Make Invoice Processing Easier and Hassle-free with InvoiceOwl

Choosing the right invoicing software is an important step in managing your business effectively. Exploring alternatives to QuickBooks Online can open up new possibilities that align better with your needs and budget.

Remember, the best invoicing and accounting software is the one that fits seamlessly into your workflow and helps you achieve your goals without unnecessary complications. Take the time to find the perfect match, and you’ll be well on your way to a smoother, more efficient business operation.

InvoiceOwl is a great tool to consider as it fits seamlessly into your workflow and helps you achieve your business goals without unnecessary complications. It allows users to make estimates and invoices in seconds and facilitates a 100% paperless workflow. Try the tool for free to learn how InvoiceOwl can automate your invoice processing.