Accounting software is essential for tracking your business finances, but expensive software can drain your finances. Here are six options that cost you nothing.
- Double Entry Accounting software, free download
- Free Double Entry Accounting Software
- Free Double Entry Bookkeeping Software
- Free Double Entry Accounting Software Download
- Free Double Entry Accounting Software
Powerfull community driven multiuser web based free accounting software with groups, ledgers, draft vouchers, tags, reporting and much more Webzash Easy to use free and open source web based double entry accounting software.
You need accounting software to keep better track of your business’ money and—hopefully—hold on to more of it. But software can be expensive, especially if you’re a small business without a lot of capital.
- Unlike many other so called 'free' accounting software packages, Adminsoft Accounts is not just a free trial, it really can be used for free, for ever. No time out, and no reduced functionality. It's a full double entry accounting system, complete with Accounts Receivable (Sales Ledger), Accounts Payable (Purchase Ledger), General Ledger.
- FreeDebks (free d ouble e ntry b ook k eeping s ystem) is a double entry accounting software, which aims to be simple and versatile. Target users are private people, association and even small firms. Basic knowledges in accounting are required in order to use FreeDebks.
And if you spend most of your money on new accounting software, what will that software keep track of once you have it?
Luckily, there’s a solution for anyone facing this conundrum: free accounting software.
6 best free accounting software products for small businesses
Your time and effort are valuable, so if your free accounting software is costing you hours of extra work every month, is it really free? The best free software is easy to learn, easy to use, and doesn’t require you to overcome an unending series of hurdles.
That’s why all of the products in this article have an ease-of-use rating of at least four (out of five) stars on Capterra (based on at least 30 user reviews) and an overall user rating of at least 4.5 stars.
We looked at more than 90 accounting software options in our directory that offer a free version, then picked the six best options based on the criteria above (find our full methodology here). Presented in alphabetical order, all of these products are truly free (not just a free trial) and meet our accounting software definition by offering these essential features:
- General ledger
- Accounts payable
- Accounts receivable
- Bank reconciliation
- Financial reporting
Let’s get started!
1. GnuCash
Ease of use: (4.2/5)
GnuCash is an open source, double-entry accounting solution for small businesses and individuals. With a deep feature set and consistent updates, GnuCash offers businesses of all sizes a slew of resources to keep their books in line.
Like any open source product, GnuCash requires a little more lifting from the user in terms of setup and maintenance, but there are plenty of guides and tutorials to help newcomers (or “GnuComers”).
The main user interface in GnuCash. Source
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| GnuCash gets consistently good reviews for being easy to use. The user interface is straightforward, clearly designed for function over form. | GnuCash’s interface is pretty dated, as you can see in the screenshot above, so if you like your technology to be sleek and modern, this could be a major turnoff. |
| GnuCash is a solid option for small businesses using double-entry accounting. The program offers a number of highly praised features, including foreign currency rates and a range of reporting features. | GnuCash is an open source project, not a stand-alone business. If you need support, you’ll have to source it from other users and developers. That all means that if you’re not comfortable handling your own tech support and hunting for answers when you run into a problem you can’t solve, GnuCash isn’t a great choice for your business. |
Product Information | |
| Cost to upgrade: None; GnuCash is totally free, though if you really like it you can make a donation. | |
| Most suitable for: GnuCash is popular among small- to midsize-business owners working in financial services and among nonprofits. GnuCash is available on Windows, Linux, and Mac. | |
| Mobile apps:Android | |
2. Manager
Ease of use: (4.7/5)
Manager is a free and highly functional accounting program available in more than 70 languages. It’s very easy to use (as indicated by its ease-of-use rating), and the basic desktop version is free forever with no strings attached.
The Balance Sheet screen in Manager. Source
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Users love that Manager is free without stripping out any features, offering everything from aged receivables to project-based accounting. | Multiple users find Manager’s reporting feature limited at best and say that importing your data can be a bit of a headache. |
Product Information | |
| Cost to upgrade: Upgrading to cloud saves, and multi-user access costs $39/month or $390/year. | |
| Most suitable for: Manager is overwhelmingly used by small businesses (98%), and most reviewers are owners and managers at accounting and retail firms. | |
| Mobile apps: N/A | |
3. SlickPie
Double Entry Accounting software, free download
Ease of use: (4.8/5)
SlickPie is a Canada-based accounting software vendor that offers a solid free option for small businesses and freelancers. There are some limits to the free version; users can work with no more than 10 different customers for invoicing.
That limit may be sufficient for very small businesses, and if so, you could ride it for a long time. Everything else in the free version is open to unlimited use, so you’ll have access to reports, support, and bank reconciliation at all levels. But as soon as you add that 11th customer, you’ll need to upgrade.
The SlickPie interface. Source
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| SlickPie has some nice time-tracking options that work well for freelancers and service providers. The software also offers some good sales tax management tools to help retailers keep everything up-to-date. | SlickPie’s main drawback is its limitation on invoicing. Sending invoices to 10 companies per month might be a limit you never hit, or a limit you hit right out of the gate. That all depends on your business type. |
| The simple layout and clean design make SlickPie easy to learn your way around, so most users shouldn’t have too much trouble with the software’s learning curve. | SlickPie does not have dedicated apps, but is designed to be mobile responsive, meaning it should work in the browser on your smartphone or tablet of choice. |
Product Information | |
| Cost to upgrade: The Pro plan costs $39.95/month, increases the monthly invoice limitation to 50, and adds phone support to the email support included in the free plan. | |
| Most suitable for: SlickPie has a high number of reviews from small-business owners in the IT and web service fields. | |
| Mobile apps: N/A | |
4. Sunrise
Ease of use: (4.5/5)
Sunrise recently went through a branding overhaul (it used to be called Billy) after it was acquired by Utah-based small business loan company Lendio in 2019. Under the fresh coat of paint it’s still the same, free accounting software with unlimited invoices and transactions.
As a result of the merger, small-business users can also easily secure a loan through the app, if interested.
A customized invoice in Sunrise. Source
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Sunrise doesn’t put a cap on transactions in its free version, so you can continue to use it even as your business grows. | After Billy was acquired by Lendio, the program was limited to use in North America. It’s not available outside of the U.S. or Canada. |
| Users love the interface and the software’s invoicing feature. | |
Product Information | |
| Cost to upgrade: Sunrise’s self-service option is free, though there is a charge for accepting credit card payments (2.9% + 30-cent processing fee) and bank transfers (1%). They also offer three paid plans that include a dedicated bookkeeper, ranging from $99/month to $499/month. | |
| Most suitable for: Most Sunrise reviewers are small-business owners in the marketing, advertising, and IT/tech sectors. | |
| Mobile apps:iOS, Android | |
5. Wave Accounting
Ease of use: (4.5/5)
Wave bills its accounting package as “the world’s fastest-growing small-business accounting software.” The company offers a completely free, no upgrades available, what-you-see-is-everything-there-is accounting program.
Initially, Wave made money by showing in-app ads, but it now reaps profits from companion apps that charge fees for payments and payroll. Wave’s core accounting package is aimed at businesses with nine or fewer employees.
The Wave accounting interface. Source
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| If you’re an aesthetics person, Wave Accounting is a good choice. The software is very attractive. | While Wave Accounting is indeed free, Wave Payments and Wave Payroll are not, so if you need to accept payments and run payroll (which are virtually never free, by the way) you’re going to have to spend money. |
| The engine under the hood is strong too, allowing users to run reports, connect to their bank, and integrate Wave’s invoicing and payroll systems (payroll has an associated fee). | Some users complained that Wave’s reporting options are somewhat limited, and noted that it doesn’t offer an option for customizable reports. Wave also lacks an audit trail, which leaves it vulnerable to fraudulent employees. |
| Many users say in their reviews that they can’t understand how such a professionally produced product is free. | |
Product Information | |
Cost to upgrade:
| |
| Most suitable for: Wave is mostly used by small-business owners and leaders at all types of businesses, from marketing and advertising to IT, tech, real estate, retail, and design. | |
| Mobile apps:Android, iOS | |
6. ZipBooks
Ease of use: (4.6/5)
ZipBooks is a free cloud-based accounting solution and one of the newest players in the field (it launched in Utah in 2015). ZipBooks relies on partnerships with payment providers to generate cash.
The company basically acts as an affiliate for these payment processors, allowing it to provide accounting functions for free. You can use the ZipBooks accounting tool for free without using its payment processing offering, though.
The ZipBooks dashboard. Source
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Users agree that ZipBooks is very simple and user-friendly, even for those without an accounting background. | The free version doesn’t include recurring invoices, notifications, reminders, or saved invoice items. |
| The free version includes unlimited invoices, vendors, and customers, and integrates with Square and PayPal to accept payments. | |
Product Information | |
| Cost to upgrade:For $15/month you can add auto-billing, notifications, time tracking, multiple bank accounts, and five team members. $35/month adds tags, customization, advanced reports, and unlimited users. | |
| Most suitable for: ZipBooks is frequently used and reviewed by small-business owners in the marketing and advertising, IT, and tech sectors. | |
| Mobile apps:Android, iOS | |
Final thoughts on free and open source accounting software
While free is great, it’s not the most important consideration you should make when selecting a tool that you’ll be using every day to keep your business afloat.
There are plenty of people you should talk to before you make an accounting software decision (for example: if you have an accountant, ask for their opinion), and if you’re already using other business software, make sure the accounting software you choose integrates well.
Finally, make sure you know where to go for more information. Most software vendors offer user forums where you can post questions for the company or members of its development team.
Methodology
This article was updated Jan. 21, 2020. Products considered for this article fulfill the following criteria:
1. It must be free
For the purposes of this article, we classified a product as free if:
- It offers a free, standalone version of the software.
- It is not a trial version of the software where you must purchase a product version after a limited amount of time.
2. Meets our accounting software definition
The products that met the above criteria for a free version were then evaluated against our accounting software definition: Accounting software automates an organization’s financial functions and transactions with modules including accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger. Accounting solutions allow a comprehensive, real-time, on-demand analysis of an organization’s financial status.
This check verified the basic accounting software capabilities and appropriateness for the category. A product was classified as accounting software if it contained all the core features—accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger.
3. Have a minimum number of reviews
Software that met the market definition also needed a minimum of 30 reviews across Gartner Digital Markets with an overall rating of at least 4.5 out of 5.0 and an ease-of-use rating of at least 4.0/5.0.
Disclaimers
The content in this piece provides opinions and points of view expressed by users and does not represent the views of Capterra.
Looking for Accounting software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Accounting software solutions.
When you start saving money or think to manage money from personal management then you may face some problem to manage this money. Personal finance is an only solution to manage your money well and double entry accounting system can help to proper accounts with personal finance. There have two systems to maintain your personal finance (1) double entry system (2) Accrual basis. Two systems discussion is given below;
Contents
- 10 Personal Finance Software:
- 11 Performance Calculation:
Double Entry Accounting Basis
When the transactions have occurred accounts effects on two sides and it will equal. One is debit accounts and another is credit accounts. A journal entry has recorded in the first steps in this system. In the journal, entry debit is shows in left side and credit is shown on the right side and both sides are equal. For example, Alex receives cash for selling the goods $ 300. The journal entry is given below;
Cash Dr. 300
Sale Cr. 300
The transitions show that Alex sale goods and increase his cash amount and also increase his assets. On the other hand sales credit and it increases revenue accounts. To journalize the entries then the transactions goes to ledger accounts.
Accrual Basis
There are two types of ways to record your accounts. One is cash basis and two is an accrual basis. You may consider any one of these. The difference is that
Cash accounting recorded the transaction when the money is received or paid. In accrual basis transactions has recorded when the transaction has occurred and earned. For example, I buy a train ticket $ 100 now for traveling my village but I will go after seven days later. In cash basis, the transactions have recorded today when I buy the ticket and in accrual basis, the transaction has occurred when I will travel in train.
Free Double Entry Accounting Software
Why choose double entry system?
In double entry system transaction has recorded two times in accounting books and it will be equal. There has no chance to theft or fraud. Transactions accountabilities are must in this system and it also worlds wide as well as most popular in the accounting arena. Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) is also recommended to double entry system in accounting or bookkeeping.
Types of accounts
Personal finance maintained double entry accounting and it goes to many steps to maintain. In double entry system there has a golden formula which is given below;
This formula shows three accounts assets, liabilities and owners equity but there have another two accounts income and expenses. In short, there have five types of accounts;
- Assets
- Liabilities
- Owners equity
- Income
- Expenses
Assets:
When the owners started the business they make sure capital and other long-term assets to start a business are called assets. There have various types of assets like as long-term assets and short-term assets, tangible assets and intangible assets. In short-term assets consist of cash, bank, the interest of Investments, Accounts receivable, Inventory. Long-term assets are consists of Goodwill, Investments, premises, machinery, furniture and so on.
Liabilities:
Liability is created when you owe money from someone like as an institution, outsides form your business and maybe a bank. There have various types of accounts in liabilities such as long-term liabilities, short-liabilities, accounts payable, notes payable, bonds, debentures, issued shares, preferred stock, stock dividend, capital, net income. Short-term liabilities are consist of accounts payable, salaries payable, notes payable and interest of debentures. Long-term liabilities are consists of issued share, shares capital, bond, debentures, capital, and net income.
Owners Equities:
An owner equity is consists of capital which is brought from owners additional capital, the net profit which is brought from the income statement, the dividend declared. Owner’s equity shows the net worth of equity, strengthen of owners fund and bring it balance sheet in liabilities side.
Free Double Entry Bookkeeping Software
Income:
When a goods or services sold to clients is bring in a value for the business that is called income. In personal finance, income is increased asset value. For example, company’s works salaries accounts are not valuable for us, but they give us their potentiality and salary statement shows that inflows of value which is given from employees. In the point of views, income increase when assets debited and income show credit. So that when income is credit it will be increased.
Expense:
An expense is an outflow of a business or persons. For example, Alex purchases a computer for his personal use. Here Alex paid cash for computer and its creating expense. Expense increases our liabilities and takes value assets. Expenses decrease assets and increases liabilities. Expense shows debit it is indicated the value of expense increase.
Personal Finance Software:
In the thirteenth century, when double entry accounting system was invented, in that time paperwork or record to the transactions in the written way. On that day’s software is not available and it’s just like a dream. They did not know how to record transactions properly but nowadays we record our transactions in software. The software is a system to format everything and solution to big issues when we reduce our works and labor on its. There are many types of software in an open source or the internet. But we don’t know which one is the best software to fit for your business. I discuss several of software to use your business and I hope you will find your best one.
Money manager EX:
Money manager EX is a great wizard to solve your problem. It’s a simple interface and easy reporting tools. You see that there is a wizard on your hand to guide this process. You can see the following benefits to use this software which is given below;
- Making money transactions so simple with a wizard-based interface and easy reporting tools
- It’s like a hand guide through process
- All kinds of receive and spend money you can add this program
- To Advance amount setting up to adding payee
- Tracking your monetary system (in and out money flow in your business)
- Forecasting budgeting and cash flow features.
- To enough records manually on your database.
- To keep up-to-date on your hand and speeding up your works and saving labor.
Gnu Cash:
Gnu Cash is suitable and flexible software for your personal cash maintenance and projects. If you are using home accounting you will prefer to use Gnu Cash software. Why you use it? Discussing below as a bullet point;
- Gnu Cash is flexible and convenient to the user for its interface.
- Suitable for small business and home accounting
- The guideline is given so that you are setting up easily your accounting process.
- QIF and DX format to import your data.
- To support double entry and tax tools for small business and home finance.
- Data analysis and reporting tools are available
- You can get free financial adviser and also reconciliation tools.
Mvelopes:
Thinking about personal finance, you may think it is so easy but apparently, it will be hard to track your records. Where from money comes and where to go. To success comes first on an initial stage. If you record your transaction well you will succeed. You may appoint an accountant for your transactions which is banks and cash related. If you want to easier and faster you may choose software which one is the best Mvelopes is one of them to use your home finance and small business. Here I discuss the below;
Free Double Entry Accounting Software Download
- You can use it mobile or desktop
- It’s an online tool than dedicated programs
- This software is available for free and paid version but the free version has a limitation.
- This software set up your budget and saving plan
- then When you set up this software it needed US phone numbers as well as Us sign up for Mvelopes. Hope you will manage it.
- In the free version, you can use four accounts and 25 envelopes. Envelopes mean categories which are using as spending and income.
Home Bank:
The home bank is one of the finest tools which I ever saw. This tool has lots of benefits to use. Complex and multiple transactions solve using these tools. Home finance and small business you can easily and more comfortable to use. We can discuss below how it is good for our finance;
- To support an unlimited number of accounts.
- Best use for a novice user.
- To solve complex accounts and linked together transfers back and forth.
- Giving templates for easy setup software.
- Easily used for billing and saving no matter how complicated personal finance
- The home bank used high graphics and color to visualized its chats for how spending your money.
- it gives you extra software uses for vehicles which are named “vehicular cost tool” is used for car mileages speed and cost.
The home bank used for in-home finance and it is not advanced financial tools to use but it recovers everything for a novice user.
AceMoney Lite:
AceMoney Lite is free and paid both versions are available for personal finance as well as small business software. Simple interface and doing a complex task so easily. We are discussing AceMoney Lite software;
Free Double Entry Accounting Software
- To use only two accounts but it will be well enough for many people and the family.
- This software is a great time saver when it will come to all transaction in one place.
- Best use for personal user
- Programming is superb and graphics are excellent in this software.
- Bank transactions are not shown automatically but if you download and add data if your bank is online.
If you want to use more advanced software then you can use it paid version.
Quick Books:
Quick is one of the best software to use home finance and small business. So much authentic simple and easy software is to use. You can use it free and paid version both. Now we can discuss software’s features below;
- Proper Double entry system used.
- Easy setup and client support.
- Easily maintain bank and personal transactions.
- To understand easily and get many statistics and charts to show your real business position.
- Unlimited entries can input in this software.
- Easy to use Windows, Linux, IOS
Money Dance:
Money dance one of the finest software to use home finance. It works money incoming to external sources and internal money flows which are means the bank and other personal sources. We can discuss this software some important features in below;
- Money dance connects to the internet all time and gets update real currency convert.
- Easy to use for the user.
- It’s connected with online banks and gets the transaction.
- If the software connects with the net then I will calculate my net assets for depreciation and I will evaluate my net worth easily.
- Using windows, Linux and IOS easily.
If you learn more then click here.
Performance Calculation:
Using software is to be known the health position of personal finance. But we can evaluate it other ways which is so much effective to know the financial position. I am discussing these different systems which we can follow to calculate the performance of home finance. There are three main tools to calculating finance health. These are (1) Balance Sheet (2) Income Statement (3) Cash flow Statement
Balance Sheet:
The balance sheet shows financial position named as assets and liabilities. The position of balance sheet you can meager your financial position. When assets are increased the fixed and fictitious assets will increase and when liabilities increase the long term and short term liabilities, as well as equity, will be increased. The balance sheet tells us the position of assets, liabilities, and equities. Assets and liabilities side is always equal and equilibrium. It makes always in particular date and end of the years. This is the structure of companies or person’s financial position and shows the real scenario.
Income Statement:
The income statement shows your income and expenses comparison. Income shows the right side in ‘T’ form and expense are left side in ‘T’ form. In the modern chart, it shows upper side in income and bottom side in expenses. It gives us how much income receive and outgoing. Income is sales inventory and gains from anything. The expense is salary rent and loss anything. Income statement makes for profit and loss accounts in companies or persons. When income is greater than expenses it shows net profit and expenses are more than income than its net loss. Net profit added in liabilities side as a owners equity and net loss added in assets side in the balance sheet. Income statement makes at the end of the months and shows the profit and loss accounts.
Cash Flow Statement:
Cash flow statement shows that how much money inflows and outflows in your bank and cash accounts. It has two methods (1) direct method (2) Indirect method. Most of the people and organizations maintain indirect method. Cash flow related to net income and when we calculate cash flow we started with net income. It shows cash transactions in cash and bank accounts and also the adjustment in bank accounts. There have three steps to its prepare (1) Operating activities (2) Investing activities and (3) Financial activities.
Operating Activities:
all kinds of income and expense are adjusted in operating activities.
Investing activities:
all kinds of investment whether it is long-term and short-term like as land, machinery and so on which is adjusted with adjustment at the end of the month.
Financial activities:
Financial activates which is occurs in fiscal years and continuities of money flow like as bond issued, issuing share, shares capital and so on and adjusted with the adjustment at the end of particulars date.
These three are preparing in cash flow statement to evaluate money inflow and outflow.
In above discussion of the different method to evaluate health position for home finance but in modern days software is more accurate than the manual system. So that reason, we discussed software for personal finance in the above.