Top 9 QuickBooks alternatives: Best options for businesses in 2025

You started out with a few clients, a handful of fixed expenses, and a system that mostly made sense, as long as no one asked for a cashflow forecast or a quick P&L. Then came the missing receipts, the missing transactions, and the eventual uncomfortable phone calls with a bookkeeper about why the general ledger just won’t balance. So, you signed up for QuickBooks or QuickBooks Online. Because that seemed like the grown-up thing to do.

But now you’re trying to build custom reports, integrate your payroll and accounting software, or just run a basic reconciliation, and you’re hitting a wall. Or, at least, that something meant to streamline your small business is actively making it harder to manage. 

If you’re thinking it might be time to make a change, this guide breaks down the most popular QuickBooks desktop and QuickBooks online alternatives, what they offer, and how to choose one that aligns with your business needs.

What does QuickBooks do?

QuickBooks is a cloud-based accounting software developed by Intuit that helps businesses manage their financial tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and cash flow monitoring. It works by pulling data from connected bank accounts and credit cards, allowing users to categorize transactions, generate reports, and manage payments from a single dashboard. 

It includes tools for:

• Sending invoices

• Paying expenses 

• Tracking cash flow 

• Creating key financial reports like profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements

• Expense tracking

• Capturing receipts

• Logging mileage

Bank feeds allow users to sync bank accounts and credit cards to reconcile transactions automatically. Cash flow tools provide basic forecasting based on historical data and upcoming bills or invoices. 

For tax season, users can generate reports and share access with accountants or export year-end documents for quarterly or annual filing.

Why look for a QuickBooks alternative?

QuickBooks is one of the most widely used accounting software platforms for a reason. It’s familiar, well-documented, and handles core finance functions well enough for many small businesses. 

It doesn’t, however, always manage to keep up as your business grows, and you may find yourself spending more time on workarounds and troubleshooting just when you most need to focus on core business functions. And once you start to layer on third-party tools to handle tasks like inventory tracking, payroll, or time tracking, QuickBooks can feel more like a patchwork provisional solution than a reliable tool. 

If you’ve moved from asking, “Does QuickBooks work?” to “Does QuickBooks work for my business?” you’re not alone. When your accounting software starts to slow you down or requires too many jerry-rigged fixes, it might be time to explore software like QuickBooks that… isn’t. Here are some of the most common reasons QuickBooks users make the switch:

• Limited customization. QuickBooks locks many workflows and report structures behind pre-set templates, and you may find yourself forcing complicated workarounds for custom reports, project tracking, or specific account layouts. 

• No built-in HR functionality. QuickBooks requires you to manage HR in a separate system, leaving it disconnected from payroll and finance data.

• Scalability issues. As your transaction volume grows, QuickBooks may lag, especially once you need to keep track of more than 25 users and multiple departments.

• Integration limitations. QuickBooks connects to plenty of apps, but managing and maintaining all of those integrations can become its own IT burden. Custom setups for payroll, CRM, or e-commerce may need ongoing attention and maintenance.

• Performance issues with large datasets. QuickBooks Online, in particular, can struggle to handle large datasets and extended transaction histories. The general ledger, in particular, isn’t built for scale, which can mean slower loading times and longer reconciliation cycles.

• Limited industry-specific features. If you operate in a specialized industry with unique regulatory and reporting requirements, like construction or international consulting, you may miss niche features like job costing or multi-currency handling. 

Track spend down to the decimal

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What to Look for in a QuickBooks alternative

If you’re moving off of QuickBooks or weighing other options before you commit, spend some time thinking through how your organization operates and comparing those business needs to different feature sets. Do you need a full accounting suite? Or will straightforward bookkeeping support suffice? Not every solution solves for the same problems, and those that do can take different approaches. 

Payroll integration

Payroll that plays nicely with your books can save your team valuable time—31.5% of HR leaders spend significant time on payroll. Even better? Built-in payroll software can simplify employee pay, taxes, and benefits by syncing data directly to your general ledger. 

Cash flow management

Real-time cash flow visibility is what helps your leadership make smart, data-driven decisions. Some tools offer a simple dashboard, while others provide granular insight into your preferred metrics. If you’re in a growing phase, you may want to focus on tools that support budget tracking and forecasting. 

Time tracking

If your business bills by the hour or needs better visibility into how time is spent, time tracking helps surface where your team’s effort is going. Time entries that connect directly to a project, job, or invoice can make a big difference for accuracy and accountability.

Bank reconciliation

This is how you actually verify the numbers that feed your financial statements. Look for a system that can connect to your bank accounts, pull transactions, and match them efficiently to spare yourself the spreadsheet copy-pasting. 

Multi-user access

Depending on the size of your business, multiple team members may need access to your accounting system. Role-based permissions let you share relevant information with an external accountant, finance team lead, and operations personnel without opening the books to everyone. 

Mobile accessibility

Even hybrid and in-office teams can benefit from on-the-go access to important financial data, especially in an urgent situation. The mobile experience shouldn’t be an afterthought. If you’re fully remote, consider accounting software that builds table-stakes features into the app for more functionality away from the desktop.

Invoicing and billing automation

If you send invoices to clients, invoice automation software with built-in billing can save your sanity and your bottom line by reducing delays and missed payments. Consider a tool that supports recurring invoices, automatic reminders, and applies late fees on your behalf. 

Third-party integrations

The right integrations can save your team hours of manual work and keep your data accurate across systems. A platform that connects natively to tools you already rely on for payroll, CRM, time tracking, and e-commerce can cut down on time spent managing clunky workarounds or wrangling third-party tools. 

Scalability

The tool that works perfectly when you have five clients may start to sputter when you’re managing fifty. If you expect your business to grow significantly, or for your back office to become more complex, think about software that can handle more users, more automation, and more data along with you. 

What are the alternatives for QuickBooks? Top 9 competitors

There’s no shortage of accounting software other than QuickBooks, but not all tools are designed to meet the same challenges. Solutions for sole proprietors might emphasize invoicing and payment tracking, while more sophisticated tools for mid-size companies could go further, with features like expense tracking, full double-entry accounting, inventory management, and tax prep. 

Below, we’ve broken down the key features of leading QuickBooks competitors to help you compare.

1. Rippling 

Rippling brings HR, benefits, payroll, and vendor payments into a single, centralized system, so approvals, tax filings, and compliance don’t get lost across tools. It automates state, local, and federal tax filing, plus W-2s and 1099s, without charging extra for compliance basics. 

Rippling also gives finance teams tools to manage corporate cards, reimbursements, and vendor payments from the same systems they use to manage HR and payroll. Using real-time employee data, Rippling automates spend approvals and allows you to route, flag, and auto-categorize transactions accordingly. All financial activity syncs directly with the company’s general ledger, reducing manual entry and reconciliation. If your organization manages headcount and spend together, Rippling combines tighter control and comprehensive reporting. 

Key features of Rippling:

• Granular spend analysis by department, location, team, and individual employee

• Duplicate payment detection and prevention through intelligent matching

• General ledger sync with transaction-level categorization

• Custom approval logic based on real-time HR and department data

• Live dashboards for viewing total company spend, including payroll

• Corporate cards, expense management, travel, and bill pay

2. Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software platform designed for small businesses. It supports invoicing, bank reconciliation, fixed asset tracking, and third-party app integrations. All plans include unlimited users, which makes it a sensible choice for teams. Some plans restrict the number of bills or invoices per month, however. If you’re debating Xero vs. QuickBooks, consider which tool will best fit your business as your finances become more complex.

Key features of Xero:

• Unlimited users on all plans

• Built-in asset and inventory tracking

• Automated bank feeds and reconciliation

3. FreshBooks

FreshBooks is an online accounting solution built for service-based businesses that offers tools for invoicing, expense tracking, estimates, time entries, and payment collection. The software offers basic double-entry accounting, but some features, like accountant access or bank reconciliation, are restricted to higher-tier plans. If you’re comparing FreshBooks vs QuickBooks, keep in mind that the overall feature-set prioritizes client billing over inventory or complex reporting.

Key features of FreshBooks:

• Time tracking tied to client projects

• Recurring invoices and payment reminders

• Mobile expense and receipt capture

4. Wave

Wave offers free accounting software suitable for very small businesses, freelancers, and sole proprietors. It supports basic bookkeeping features like invoicing, income and expense tracking, and financial reporting, but Wave’s simplistic feature set doesn’t go much further than the essentials. To go beyond connecting bank accounts and categorizing transactions, and access features like payroll or payments requires an upgrade to the paid plan. 

Key features of Wave:

• Free invoicing and accounting tools

• Bank and credit card connection

• Basic reporting: profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow

5. Zoho Books

Part of the Zoho business suite, Zoho Books offers cloud-based bookkeeping, automation, and compliance tools for small businesses. It supports international invoicing, tax calculation, and customer or vendor collaboration. Zoho Books can automate straightforward workflows like approvals and payment reminders, but getting the most out of the tool may require a subscription to other Zoho products. While it supports manual tax rules and multi-currency transactions, setup can require additional configuration depending on your region.

Key features of Zoho Books:

• Expense categorization and recurring bills

• Approval workflows

• Client and vendor communication portal

6. Bench

Bench pairs cloud-based bookkeeping software with a remote team that handles monthly reconciliations, categorization, and financial reports for small businesses. Other services include catch-up bookkeeping, tax filing, and support for sole proprietors and other businesses with straightforward finances. Organizations that use accrual accounting or complex entity structures may need to look elsewhere for adequate support, however. The platform does not support invoicing, inventory, accounts payable, or real-time collaboration with the accounting team.

Key features of Bench:

• Monthly bookkeeping by a human-led team

• Financial statements delivered via secure dashboard

• Federal and state income tax prep (U.S. only)

• Historical cleanup and catch-up services

7. Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Sage offers cloud accounting for sole proprietors and small businesses with straightforward features like invoicing, bank account syncing, and cash flow forecasting. For international users in the EU and UK, Sage also offers VAT tools. Both of Sage’s two plan tiers include mobile access and real-time dashboards for convenient access to current financial data. The entry-level plan, however, doesn’t include some client-facing features like quotes and estimates.

Key features of Sage Business Cloud Accounting:

• Cash flow dashboards

• Automated bank feeds and reconciliation

• Cash flow dashboards

8. NetSuite

An enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform more than a true accounting solution, NetSuite nevertheless provides some advanced financial features, including audit control and multi-entity support. The finance and accounting module offers general ledger, bank reconciliation, fixed asset management, compliance, and real-time reporting tools.  

NetSuite was built for larger organizations with an international presence or consolidated reporting needs, and the comprehensive collection of tools can translate into more complicated onboarding. Depending on how many modules a business uses, extensive support from a NetSuite partner may be required, which may or may not be included in plan pricing. For smaller organizations, a NetSuite competitor designed for ease of use may be a better fit.

Key features of NetSuite:

• Multi-centity general ledger

• Automated journal entries and approval workflows

• Built-in audit trail and access controls

• Fixed asset tracking and depreciation schedules

9. Striven

Striven’s accounting software is part of a larger business management platform that includes CRM, inventory management, HR, and project management tools. The accounting module covers general ledger, journal entries, bank reconciliation, and budgeting, with real-time data syncing across departments. Payroll, however, requires a separate setup. It’s designed for small and mid-sized businesses looking for integrated accounting in a consolidated platform. 

Key features of Striven:

• General ledger with budgeting and journal entry tools

• Bank reconciliation and cash-flow tracking

• Fixed asset management and depreciation schedules

• Billing, purchase orders, and cost tracking

Smart tools make spend simple

See Rippling

Rippling: The best alternative to QuickBooks

Rippling’s all-in-one workforce platform pulls together payroll, time tracking, benefits, and expense management so you’re not bouncing between five different tools to get a clear view of your finances. It also plugs into your accounting software or, depending on how your business runs, can take over some functions entirely. 

By consolidating all of your company’s finances, Rippling offers an up-to-date view of cash flow across your organization and unprecedented control over spend. While most solutions only allow for basic employee-manager approval chains, Rippling’s expense management software runs on an advanced policy engine that lets you set hyper-custom policies based on the vendor, dollar amount, and expense category, helping you block out-of-policy expenses with ease. You can also tee up automated workflows that help you control spend, like triggering an alert when a department’s expenses sharply increase. 

With Rippling you can: 

• Automatically route expenses and bills to the right approver every time. 

• Flag out-of-policy spending with hyper-custom policies, like by vendor or value, for further review. 

• Close the books faster with AI-powered transaction categorization, and integration with your accounting systems.

FAQs about alternatives to QuickBooks

What is the best alternative to QuickBooks?

The best alternative to QuickBooks depends on what you’re solving for. Some tools offer streamlined feature sets with competitive pricing, while others match QuickBooks in functionality with features like invoicing, inventory tracking, and payroll. If you’re switching from QuickBooks Online, you’ll want strong bank reconciliation and double-entry accounting baked in. Larger business? You might lean more towards a tool with comprehensive reporting or multi-entity support. For those looking for an all-in-one solution that syncs spend with payroll, HR, and other workforce management tools, Rippling is the best alternative to QuickBooks.

Is there a Google alternative to QuickBooks?

No, Google doesn’t offer an alternative to QuickBooks. If you have the time and the know-how, however, you can piece together an accounting solution using tools like Sheets, Forms, and Drive. It’s an approach that can work in the short term, but lacks core features like double-entry accounting, bank reconciliation, and audit trails that most businesses require. As your transactions and compliance burden increase, the “free” solution may cost you money in the form of penalties, returns, refunds, and missed payments. A dedicated accounting solution, even a barebones free option, typically offers more structure and accuracy than a DIY setup.

Is there a free alternative to QuickBooks?

Yes, there are free alternatives to QuickBooks, but they may come with tradeoffs. Most offer basic bookkeeping and tablestakes features like invoicing and expense tracking, but don’t offer more advanced tools like inventory management, multi-user access, payroll, or inventory tracking. If your business needs are clear-cut and you’re comfortable with limited support or automation in exchange for a lower price point, a free accounting software might be enough to get you up and running. If you have plans to grow, however, it may make more sense to skip straight to a paid accounting solution. 

What is the easiest QuickBooks alternative for small businesses?

The easiest QuickBooks alternative for your small business depends on what you need most. In general, look for accounting software that covers basic tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and bank reconciliation with a learning curve that you can live with. A free plan may be enough for lean teams and sole proprietors. If you’re looking for more complex features—think payroll or inventory tracking—consider upgrading or focusing on tools with more extensive support like Rippling. 

What is better than QuickBooks?

What’s better than QuickBooks depends on your finance team’s needs. Some companies outgrow QuickBooks Online when they need deeper bank reconciliation, custom reporting, or better expense tracking. Others want accounting software that includes built-in payroll, inventory tracking, or time tracking. The best QuickBooks alternative, whether it’s Rippling, Xero, Wave Accounting, Zoho Books, FreshBooks, ADP, Gusto, or another tool, will support automation, offer strong invoicing, and integrate with your bank accounts. If you’re managing complex finances with multiple users, it might be time to explore an accounting solution with more flexibility.