Good software programs for easy accounting are challenging to come across. At times, these applications are too expensive for the average accountant or small business. For many small and medium-sized businesses, it is cost-efficient to spend a lot of money on paid accounting software. Hiring a team of professional accountants or outsourcing is often not an option. To this effect, we have gone the distance to research and provide a list of the best free accounting software available on the market.
In some cases, you may need an accounting platform that enables customization to your individual needs. Open-source accounting software is the ideal variant in these cases. By downloading the source code, you can modify it into your desired accounting system.
Free Accounting Software
1. Pandle
- Billing and invoicing
- Tax management
- Fixed asset management
- Bank reconciliation
Pandle is a free accounting software built on the cloud for small businesses and individual accountants. The friendly user interface makes the software relatively easy for any small business owner to become an expert bookkeeper. Pandle’s interactive help feature automatically alerts users when they are making erroneous entries.
Pandle’s paid plan — Pandle Pro — costs $7 per month. A few drawbacks of the free version are its lack of payroll management and revenue recognition, and its users’ inability to integrate other bookkeeping services. Pandle is available on the Web only.
2. ERPNext
- Cash flow monitoring
- Expense tracking
- Billing & invoicing
- Auto-invoicing
- Analytics & reports
ERPNext is free and open-source resource planning and accounting software. Use it to record transactions, generate bills and invoices, track bank and cash balances, and review the financial performance of your business. More than that, ERPNext allows you to manage sales orders, customers, and shipments along with project management and HR functionality.
ERPNext is available as cloud software, iOS, and Android apps. Available in 80+ languages, ERPNext will become a solid and reliable accounting solution for your business.
3. Akaunting
- Cash flow monitoring
- Expense tracking
- Billing and Invoicing
- Vendor management
Akaunting is free accounting software for small businesses to manage their bookkeeping operations. Built with modern technologies, Akaunting provides a convenient interface — available on mobile and tablet — and a multilingual admin and client panel.
Other key attributes include Recurring transactions, inventory management, multi-currency, and tax rates. Akaunting is also an open-source accounting software, providing full privacy as you can install the source code on your host. This free and open-source software is available on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
4. ZipBooks
- Fund accounting
- Non-profit accounting
- Payroll management
- Bank reconciliation
ZipBooks is free accounting software with invoicing and time tracking features for small businesses, contractors, and individual accountants. Simple, easy-to-use, and modern, ZipBooks is software with features like the ZipBooks Business Health Score, Invoice Quality Score, and smart recommendations. Other accounting qualities include: ZipBooks free version limits you to only one bank account, and it lacks fixed asset management. ZipBooks is available on the Web and iOS.
5. HomeBank
- Personal accounting
- Multiple currencies
- Scheduled transactions
- Analytics & reports
HomeBank is free accounting software designed primarily for personal use. It offers multiple account types, data import, and export, scheduled transactions, budget settings, numerous charts, and reports.
HomeBank is available on various operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and Mac OS X, and provides a multi-language software manual.
6. Apache OFBiz
- Product & catalog management
- Promotion & pricing management
- Supply chain fulfillment
- Contracts, payments & billing
Apache OFBiz is free and open-source accounting software that supports financial management, billing and invoicing, and order and project management. It also contains tools for resource planning, E-Commerce, supply chain, and maintenance management, and all this is free of charge! If you have a team of IT engineers, you can extend the functionality and create custom product features.
The software is available for Windows and Linux as desktop software.
Open Source Accounting Software
1. Dolibarr
- Double entry accounting
- Bank reconciliation
- Billing & payments
- Expense reports
Dolibarr is open-source accounting software for businesses and individuals. It supports numerous accounting features, including billing and payments, bank reconciliation, and double-entry accounting. Along with that, it allows you to create sale orders, manage stocks and shipments, track contracts and subscriptions, and even a whole eCommerce CMS. You can also activate the CRM module and get a full-featured business management platform with HR, marketing, and productivity tools.
Dolibarr is available as cloud and desktop (Mac & Windows) software and an Android app. Their standard version is free, but you can also purchase a cloud-hosted version for a price of 9 euros per user.
2. Open Accounting
- Double-entry accounting
- Transactions management
- Analytics & reports
- Mobile app
Open Accounting is an open-source accounting platform where you can add and review recent transactions, see top spending categories, and generate accounting reports.
Open Accounting is free for individual users and subscription-based for multiple-user access. Use it from your browser, Android app and, according to developers, the iOS app is coming soon.
3. GnuCash
- Double-entry accounting
- Scheduled transactions
- Stock/bond/mutual fund accounts
GnuCash is open-source accounting software that implements a double-entry bookkeeping system. Designed for small business accounting, GnuCash is licensed under the GNU GPL and available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X, and Windows.
4. LedgerSMB
- Inventory management
- Time tracking
- Fixed-asset accounting
- Purchase orders
LedgerSMB is a free accounting software that supports double-entry accounting. It’s also an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system with additional functionalities. LedgerSMB is licensed under GPLv2 and available on Linux, BSD, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, and Android. LedgerSMB is optimal for small and medium-sized businesses with the desire to streamline their accounting needs.
5. FrontAccounting
- Invoices/Credit Notes
- Multi-currency
- Accounts payable
- Flexible tax configuration
FrontAccounting ERP is an open-source accounting system designed for small and medium businesses. The software offers online account management with various companies and multi-user remote access. FrontAccounting is available in different languages and supports multi-currency. It also allows customizable tax configuration tools and supports banking and general ledger operations. Key features include:
6. Money Manager Ex
- Late payment reminders
- Recurring transactions
- Cash flow forecasting
Money Manager Ex is a free open-source accounting software suitable for personal and small business accounting. A cross-platform, and easy-to-use personal finance software, Money Manager EX primarily tracks your expenses and income. Features include:
Bonus Tool: actiTIME
- Automated calculation of payroll
- Revenue monitoring
- Integration with QuickBooks
If you want to streamline the collection of pre-accounting data, payroll accrual, and other vital practices that accountants perform, then actiTIME is what you need. Besides allowing for keeping a record of working time, this multifunctional tool serves many accounting purposes:
In other words, actiTIME comprises everything required for a holistic accounting experience. Along with that, the basic version of the tool is available at no cost for single users and small teams of three.
