Upfront Conclusion
The best accounting software for s-corps right now is Freshbooks and Zoho Books.
Did you start an S-corp? or are you planning to switch from your C-corp status to being an S-corp? The process of becoming that will begin with you filing Form 2553 with the IRS to choose the right accounting software to use as an S-corp.
To use this second chance, if you have switched from C-corps status to S-corps status or are initially launching as an S-corp to stay in the market and survive amidst the numerous competitions, you must be at the top of what you are doing.
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These include having your finances and business performance at your fingertips, tracking your payroll, and dealing with tax penalty protection and the tax exemption reporting and processes that come with S-corps accounting. You’ll need the best accounting software for S-corps.
To help you select the right and best accounting software for S-corps, we have researched and made this list of the best accounting software just for you. Let’s dive in!
| Brand | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Freshbooks | $17 – $55 per month | S-corps invoicing |
| 2. Zoho Books | $10- $200 per month | Collaborative work |
| 3. Patriot | $20 – $30 per month | Overall Efficiency |
| 4. Xero | $20 – $40 per month | All-in-one |
| 5. Wave | Free | Cost-free |
Top Best 5 Accounting Software for S-corps
If you want to keep accurate accounting and management of your S-corps business, the following are the best six accounting software that is right for this purpose.
1. Freshbooks – Best Invoicing Software for S-corps
Freshbooks is cloud-based accounting software, and from our research, it is the second-best option for S-corps in managing their finances, keeping track of time, income, expenses, and even tax and tax refunds, for which S-corps are well known.
It requires no clicks to create an expense as it offers you Quick Expense Creation directly from the Expenses tab. Freshbooks lets you do basic tasks in as little as 2 minutes, regardless of invoicing a client, recording a payment, or the time spent on a project.
Freshbooks is also well known among S-corps for its excellent invoicing feature and the safety and security it offers to S-corp’s business data.
Pricing
Freshbooks pricing plans include the following;
- Lite plan: $17 per month and $108 per year.
- Plus plan: $30 per month and $180 per year.
- Premium plan: $55 per month and $360 per year.
- It also offers you 30 days of free trials.
We recommend its Lite plan for your S-corp as it is affordable, has excellent value for your money, and offers particular functionalities and add-ons that suit S-corps.
Highlights and Hidden Gems:
- Helps you to pay self-employment taxes, health insurance, employee expenses, retirement planning, and many more.
- Freshbooks offers payroll assistance and payroll tax reporting capabilities. It also has some add-ons to give the best payroll preparation as it suits your S-corp business.
- You can also track your revenue, expenses, and time.
- It incorporates double-entry features to provide you with the best analysis of your business.
- Its integration with online payment platforms makes your payments more accessible and faster.
- It lets you create custom estimates and invoices.
- Freshbooks offers you great user-friendliness and customer integration.
- The software works on the double-entry system, so you are ensured of your accounting process.
Disadvantages and Limitations:
- You can only distribute your assets by generating a tax bill.
- You have to follow the rules and regulations when you have to withdraw money out of an S Corp.
- Your business must be at a domestic level.
- Limitations of users and billable clients.
- The interface needs to be improved, like QuickBooks.
Why Do We Recommend Freshbooks as One of the Best Accounting Software for S-corps?
The primary reason why we recommend Freshbooks is because of the top invoicing feature it offers S-corps. Though other accounting software offers invoicing creation and convertibility to S-corps, Freshbooks is top of the game at invoicing for you.
You can create and customize invoices with Freshbooks, and you can also convert your estimates to invoices. You will love this feature!
Also Read: Accounting Software For Investors
2. Zoho Books – Best Accounting Software for S-corps’ Collaborative Work
Zoho Books is online accounting software that is the next software to make our list of the best accounting for S-corps businesses. It is also one of the best accounting software for small businesses in general.
It offers many features, including time management, faster payments, etc., to facilitate easy finance management and automate your business processes. Zoho Books software is famous for making collaboration among teams possible.
Marketing and consulting firms, as well as small and large businesses, can benefit from this software. All these features make your complex accounting easier and help your organization and small businesses.
Pricing
Zoho pricing plans are:
- A free trial of 14 days is available.
- Standard plan: $10 per month billed annually or you can pay $12 billed monthly.
- Professional plan: $20 per month billed annually or you can pay $24 billed monthly.
- The Premium plan: $30 per month billed annually or you can pay $36 billed monthly.
- The Elite plan: $100 per month billed annually or you can pay $129 billed monthly.
- The Ultimate plan: $200 per month billed annually or you can pay $249 billed monthly.
We recommend the standard plan for you as it is the best plan for a small S-corp. This plan has features and add-ons that best fit S-corps. However, if you want a larger group of collaboration, you can go for any of the two other plans. It is also a great value for your cash.
Highlights and Hidden Gems:
- Zoho Books is also good for drawing up payroll tax reporting, which is one of the taxes that S-corps have to report on.
- With it, you can also track expenses, income, and time used on projects.
- It also facilitates faster online payments and tracks mileage.
- You can create custom estimates and invoices. You can turn your estimates into invoices with just one click.
- It offers numerous integrations such as Integrations with Microsoft office and outlook for better business management.
- It automates marketing and sales, among many other awesome features.
Disadvantages and Limitations:
- Limited integrations are offered.
- Weak documentation and lack of support.
- Users’ restrictions are based on your pricing plans.
- Payment plans are a bit confusing and frustrating.
- No overall Payroll services are available.
- Automatic matching needs to be better.
- Technical knowledge and experts are required.
Why Do We Recommend Zoho Books as One of the Best Accounting Software for S-corps?
While Zoho Books offer so many other features common in the accounting software industry, it is well known and excellent for optimizing collaboration between teams. It makes for efficient in-app team communication, project tracking, etc. Therefore, we recommend Zoho books as the best accounting software for S-corps for this reason.
Also Read: Cheap Accounting Software
3. Patriot – Overall Best Accounting Software for S-corps
Patriot is a great software solution for small firms that need basic features like tracking outstanding accounts and issuing invoices. Patriot Accounting stands out from other accounting software due to its low cost and robust functionality. It is aimed at small businesses and is offered at two price ranges ranging from $15 to $25 monthly.
The Basic and Premium allow you to generate and track an unlimited number of customers and invoices and accept credit card payments. With Premium Accounting, you can also design personalized invoice templates with your business logo and custom colors and schedule recurring invoices and payment reminders.
Patriot Accounting allows you to set guidelines for when to notify clients of past-due payments. Users of Premium Accounting can additionally set up automated payment reminders.
Pricing
Patriot pricing plans include;
- Patriot Basic Accounting costs $20 per month. (Unlimited use)
- Patriot Premium Accounting costs $30 per month.
- Offers trials for 30 days and demos. (Video-based, self-guided, and personal)
The Pro accounting plan is the best choice for S-corps as it comes with features that an S-corp best needs. Smaller S-corps have also grown with this plan.
Highlights and Hidden Gems:
- Automatic Billing
- Bank Reconciliation
- Billing & Invoicing
- Cash Management
- Credit Card Processing
- Customer Accounts
- Customer Statements
- Customizable Invoices
- Online Invoicing
- Online Payments
- Payroll Management
- Profit/Loss Statement
- Purchase Order Management
- Real-time, detailed financial reporting
- Designed for businesses with multiple companies
Disadvantages and Limitations:
- Response and support could be better.
- Additional charges (somewhat expensive)
- Technical errors and bugs are present.
- Lack of customizable reports and receipts.
- More integrations and detailed instructions are needed.
Why Do We Recommend Patriot as One of the Best Accounting Software for S-corps?
Patriot Accounting offers various accounting features depending on whether you subscribe to their Accounting Basic or Premium Accounting plans. Patriot Accounting is loaded with essential features.
Creating an account is relatively straightforward, and the dashboard allows you to manage users, generate invoices, accept payments, and enter or settle bills. You can access more specialized tasks using the toolbar on the left.
Also Read: Accounting Software for Startups
4. Xero – Ideal All-in-one Accounting Software for S-corps
From our research, Xero accounting is the runner-up to Freshbooks as one of the best accounting software for S-corps businesses. It offers you many tools and features, such as payroll management, tax accounting, etc.
Xero helps accountants and bookkeepers to manage their bank connections, pay bills, claim expenses, accept payments, and track projects anytime and anywhere. It makes banking and crypto accounting easier. It’s also well-loved and used among S-corps businesses for its flexibility in customizing these features and functionalities.
It offers various features with S-Corps distribution and pricing plans that suit several small businesses, including the day trading business.
Pricing
Xero has three pricing plans which are;
- The Starter plan: $25 per month.
- The standard plan: is $40 per month.
- Premium plan: $54 per month.
- Xero also offers a 30-day free trial.
For any of these plans, Xero gives you optional add-ons of Claim expenses and track projects for your S-corps priced at $4/month and $7/month, respectively.
We recommend the starter entry plan as it is a good option for your S-corp business, has good features that suit it, and are also a good value for your money.
Highlights and Hidden Gems:
- You can easily create a sales quote with Xero.
- Xero also serves as an online S-corps filing system so you can use it too.
- Along with other features, it offers top-notch 24/7 customer support.
- Inclusive payment and payroll features are some of the essential elements for S-corps.
- Your taxes are calculated automatically by Xero.
- Accurate accounting reports are generated and presented by Xero.
- You can also track your business income and expenses.
- Easy bank reconciliation of all transactions that concern your S-corp business.
Disadvantages and Limitations:
- Expensive due to add-on charges and plans.
- Duplication of contacts and reports.
- Cancellation of transactions takes a lot of work.
- Constantly changing reports.
- Lack of built-in Debator Chasing function.
- Technical issues and bugs.
Why Do We Recommend Xero as One of the Best Accounting Software for S-corps?
If you need the best multi-feature accounting software to serve your S-corp business, Xero is the right option. From customer support, payroll tax calculation, and reporting to security to security and safety features for your S-corp business data and information, you will love Xero accounting software.
It also offers access to professional accountants willing to resolve any accounting issue your S-corp may have.
These are the main reasons why We recommend Xero accounting to you.
Also Read: Accounting Software For Partnerships
5. Wave – Best Free Accounting Software for S-corps
Wave Accounting is one of the best accounting software for S-corps that you will come across, and the good thing is that it is free.
This would be the right option if you are looking for cheap or free accounting software but also need quality performance. However, although it does not offer many features like Xero or QuickBooks, Wave accounting software will cover most of your basic bookkeeping needs as an S-corp.
With its user-friendly dashboard, organizations can access invoicing, banking, trading, payments, payroll, and accounting, and it also provides expert consultations. Wave Accounting allows you to do more advanced accounting activities such as recording income/expense, tracking, sending invoices, etc.
Pricing
Wave Accounting is free of no cost.
It is among the best accounting software for day traders because it is free and has remarkable features. Invoicing, Banking, and Accounting are 100% free, while you have to pay for the following features.
- Payroll: $40 per month
- Payments: 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction and 3.4% + $0.60 per AMEX transaction.
- Advisors: Bookkeeping support costs $149 monthly and $379 monthly for accounting and payroll coaching.
Highlights and Hidden Gems:
- You can easily see how your S-corp business is performing with one look at your dashboard
- Wave facilitates faster online payments and bank reconciliation of all transactions.
- It tracks your S-corp’s business income, expenses, and costs.
- It enables you to create and send professional invoices within seconds.
- It empowers you to scan receipts from anywhere, anytime, through Wave mobile app.
- It allows you to track total income/expenses and get paid quickly.
- You can create, customize and send invoices and estimates with Wave.
- Resourceful customer support and articles are just at your call.
- It also facilitates payroll tax reporting for your S-corp business.
Disadvantages and Limitations:
- Slow payment speed needs significant improvement.
- Whenever updates come, it changes the entire function.
- Major bookkeepers hesitate to use it, and only small business owners use it.
- Although the features are good, they need to be updated.
- Needs to improve interface and customer service.
Why Do We Recommend Wave as One of the Best Accounting Software for S-corp?
We strongly recommend Wave Accounting software because of its free feature, suitable for S-corps with a small budget. It also has a set of features that will satiate your basic accounting and business management needs.
What’s more? There is a blog, help center, and community to help you with technical and accounting issues.
Also Read: Disadvantages Of Accounting Software
Final Tip
Every business needs accurate accounting, and when you file to be classified as an S-corp, a small business, or a partnership with the tax return, you need to be at the top of your accounting.
One of the few ways to do so is to use the right accounting software suitable to S-corp’s needs. To make it easy for you, we have researched and listed the best accounting software for S-corps in this post.
Starting from QuickBooks – the overall best accounting software for S-corps to Freshbooks, Feel, Sage 50, and Wave accounting. We have explained and differentiated their features, Pricing and recommended the best plan for you.
As one of the things you must do and prepare as an S-corp is the employee payroll and its tax calculation and reporting, our last tip is to select the best to give you error-free tax filing. You could also outsource to good payroll services such as ADP or Paycheck if the accounting software of your choice in this list does not offer payroll preparation. It’s tax calculation and reporting.
With these, your S-corp business will be close to turning into the next big thing. Try out this software and start winning.
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