Accounting and invoicing software
Accounting and invoicing software keeps a small business's books. It sends invoices and takes card or bank payments, imports bank transactions and matches them to invoices and bills, tracks expenses and receipts, and produces the profit and loss, balance sheet and tax reports an accountant needs. Many now sort transactions into categories and read receipts with AI.
QuickBooks Online
Intuit's cloud accounting for US small businesses, from a free tier to plans with AI bookkeeping
Xero
Cloud accounting with three US plans, no per-user fees, Gusto payroll and the JAX AI assistant
FreshBooks
Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses, priced by number of billable clients
Wave
Free invoicing and double-entry bookkeeping for small businesses, with a $19 Pro plan for bank sync
Zoho Books
Accounting with a free plan under $50K revenue, six US plans priced per organization and the Zia AI assistant
Sage Accounting
UK cloud accounting with payroll and the Sage Copilot AI assistant included in all three plans
FreeAgent
UK accounting for sole traders, companies and landlords, free with a NatWest Group business account
Invoice Ninja
Source-available invoicing, payments, expenses and time tracking, hosted from free or self-hosted
Side by side
How to choose
- 1
Is it built for your country's tax rules, such as US sales tax, UK Making Tax Digital VAT returns or GST?
- 2
How many users does each plan include, and does your accountant get free access?
- 3
Do you need payroll, bills, inventory, projects or several currencies? Several of these are on higher plans or paid add-ons.
- 4
Is the price an introductory discount? Check what the plan costs once the first months are over.
Questions
What are accounting and invoicing software?
Accounting and invoicing software keeps a small business's books. It sends invoices and takes card or bank payments, imports bank transactions and matches them to invoices and bills, tracks expenses and receipts, and produces the profit and loss, balance sheet and tax reports an accountant needs. Many now sort transactions into categories and read receipts with AI.
Which accounting and invoicing software have a free plan?
Of the 8 listed here, 5 have a free plan: QuickBooks Online, Wave, Zoho Books, FreeAgent and Invoice Ninja. Free plans are limited; each tool's page lists the limits.
Which of these accounting and invoicing software costs least to start?
Of the tools here with a published price, the lowest entry price is FreeAgent's Landlord (unincorporated) plan at £8.33/mo billed annually, as published on its pricing page on 21 October 2026. The cheapest plan is not always the best value: check what each plan includes.