Managing a SaaS company (Software as a Service) is like going for a wild rollercoaster ride: you have to adapt to the changes in your clientele and the services you provide all the while taking care of the pesky accounting tasks. And if you are still using out-of-date accounting solutions or, worse still, Excel sheets, then accounting can become a true nightmare for you and your co-workers.
However, if you make the big move to online accounting solutions, not only is it easier to deal with the most tedious parts of running your business but you’ll be able to automate most tasks. These accounting solutions boast plenty of features from multi-currency, recurring invoicing, inventory management and automatically constructed, detailed reporting to full mobile support and an automatic bank feed. Furthermore, you can integrate countless third party apps to further improve the performance of your business and create the ultimate cloud-based assistant.
Since automation is the key aspect for every SaaS company, your online accounting solution should reflect that in its features as well:
Although it is more likely that you will be using software that can handle subscription-based billing, if you have a smaller business you can enjoy all the benefits coming from the accounting solution’s own recurring, multi-currency invoicing feature that even allows you to turn on a fast (convenient) payment option for your clients.
The accounting software’s inventory feature can keep track of the services you provide in real-time to discover which are the most popular and which should be discontinued or made more appealing to customers. Additionally, inventory management works seamlessly with invoicing since you can simply drag and drop the necessary data from your inventory into the invoice or, in case of recurring billing, let the software create it for you.
It is possible to establish a constant connection with your bank via a feed, so every time a payment arrives to your account there is a notification thanks to the push notifications and the visual bank feed on your dashboard.
Even though it is probably the most complex accounting process, reporting is fully automated with accounting software and therefore you won’t need to worry about wrong numbers anymore. In fact, the software can handle the rapid changes in your incomes and expenses, generates detailed reports based on various settings, while your accountant can take a look at the numbers remotely to verify them.
One of the biggest strengths of these solutions is that they are not restricted only to desktop computers: you can access your accounting from any device that has a browser or, in the case of smartphones and tablets, through an app that has most or all of the features of the desktop version.
As already mentioned, subscription-based/recurring billing is something that typically isn’t the forte of online accounting solutions. Because almost every cloud-based accounting company supports and offers APIs, it is possible to integrate any tool you want or even program one for yourself. This way you can further automate your business management, allowing you to just sit back and enjoy the ride.
If you need software that can handle recurring billing, then consider using Recurly, Chargify, Braintree or Zoho Subscriptions; in fact, that last option even has an in-house accounting solution, Zoho Books, to ensure an even smoother integration. To further ease subscriptions and their payments, accounting solutions also support payment processors such as good old PayPal or any of its competitors like Stripe and Square. And of course you can always integrate the market’s best CRMs like Insightly, Capsule CRM, G Suite or even Salesforce, e-commerce platforms like Shopify or eBay and expense management tools from Receipt Bank to Expensify. And if you cannot directly integrate these third-party tools into your software, there are bridging solutions like Zapier or OneSaas that will help.
There is no such thing as bad online accounting software (only average at worst), so whichever solution you pick it is certain to make your business life much easier. However, some solutions are obviously better than others, because they are either packed with everything you need or have plenty of integration options that automate those tedious tasks. Thankfully, there are two programs that satisfy both of the above: Xero and QuickBooks Online.
Xero is a progressive and innovative online accounting solution that enables you to manage your accounts more effectively and make your accounting hassle-free. Some of its features include invoicing and quotes, bank reconciliation, inventory, mobile capability, third-party apps, purchase orders and payroll. The mobile version of the software, Xero Touch, makes it possible to access all your accounting data instantly from wherever you may be. Xero integrates and works well with many other third-party applications (such as advanced solutions for CRM, point-of-sale, e-commerce and more). You have a choice of three pricing plans – Starter, Standard and Premium – all of which have slightly different features and a reduced price for the first six months. Xero also provides a 30-day free trial. Customers enjoy efficient and reliable support from Xero online teams. Xero’s US headquarters is in San Francisco, but this publicly listed company’s products are used in over 180 countries. The company has garnered impressive experience in the area of cloud computing and accounting and has continued to innovate and create new products for the market.
It is quite unbelievable that U.S.-based online accounting company Intuit Inc. has already been on the market since 1983. But the success of its main product, QuickBooks shows that they aren’t just simply lucky. The software exists as downloadable software for desktops, and a cloud-based accounting solution dubbed QuickBooks Online, which the company quite aggressively promotes. This latter version, of which we will be talking about, is ideal for everybody from simple sole-proprietors to bigger companies. Regardless of the chosen subscription, you can create invoices, expenses, and estimates with a few clicks, quickly manage sales receipts, create and print checks, payrolls, have multiple tax rates, real-time banking and reports. You can integrate the software with over 300 third-party solutions, and be entitled to full customer support. You also have the option to try out the software completely free of charge for 30 days. Skipping this trial period you get a discount from the monthly subscription fee for six months or a whole year. But if you don’t like the software, you still have a 60-day money back guarantee.
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