Picking your next accounting software is as daunting as online dating. There are plenty of options – small business, billing and invoice, open-source, church and more – to choose from, but you’re unsure. You want something that meshes well with your accounting practices as well as increases productivity. Decisions, decisions. Have you ever considered performing cloud accounting or investing in software that performs bookkeeping tasks through the cloud?

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What is Cloud Accounting?

Cloud accounting allows you to carry out various bookkeeping tasks such as balancing books, performing accounts payable and receivable, managing bills, generating reports and more. The cloud, or a private internet-based server, is becoming more popular in various industries. Accounting is no exception. A Sage study found that 67% of accounting professionals prefer cloud accounting, aka online or web-based accounting, to traditional or on-premise accounting techniques. Thankfully, our reliable research team has taken the time to construct a thorough list of the top cloud accounting software. Before diving into this roster, let’s define cloud software and discuss its perks and standard features.

What is Cloud Accounting Software?

Cloud accounting software enables you to perform various tasks via the cloud instead of through your company computer or hardware, unlike an on-premise accounting solution. These tasks include budgeting, general ledger, financial reporting and management, generating invoices and more. You may access cloud software from any location on any device with a strong internet connection.

Cloud vs. On-Premise

Unlike cloud solutions, on-premise solutions are used on one particular computer or worksite. You can’t access it from different locations unless you pay various licensing fees.

Primary Benefits

Like all automated solutions, there are plenty of perks that come with leveraging cloud accounting. These advantages include:

• Accessible from Any Location: Review information from any location on any device with a robust internet signal.
• Current Data: Receive real-time information on KPIs, transactions, bank accounts and other financial data.
• Automation: Carry out simple tasks like report generation, book balancing, record-keeping and more.
• Multiple Users and Easy Collaboration: Provide access for all employees, internal stakeholders, business partners and more to ensure sleek collaboration.
• Enhanced Accuracy: Dwindle errors with automatic data entry. This program also enables you to manually input data and keep it organized.
• Boosted Security: Leverage various security tactics such as two or multi-step authentication for logging in, data encryption to keep information protected, data backups and more. Be sure to ask your vendor about the type of safety precautions they implement for this software type.

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Key Features

Cloud accounting comes with standard features. But remember that just because modules are recommended or popular, it doesn’t mean that they’re the best fit for your organization. With that in mind, a few common accessories include:

• Invoice and Billing Management: Maintain and record invoices as well as bills sent to and received by clients.
• Budget Management: Sculpt the appropriate budget for your organization and stick to it.
• Financial Reporting: Access a variety of bookkeeping reports including profit and loss, cash flow statements, balance sheets and more.
• Accounts Payable: Organize and manage all payments due to companies, partners and more.
• Accounts Receivable: Upkeep which patrons owe you money and evaluate which invoices have been paid or not.

Are you in need of more features? Check out our handy requirements template and list of popular accounting modules to craft an appropriate wishlist.

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Best Cloud Accounting Software

Please applaud our competent research team for compiling such a comprehensive roster of the best cloud accounting software. Keep your feature wishlist close:

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Oracle NetSuite ERP Financial Management

Designed for organizations of all sizes, Oracle NetSuite ERP Financial Management for cloud accounting is sold as a standalone platform and as a module of Oracle NetSuite ERP suite. It serves numerous industries such as media and publishing, manufacturing, IT services, consulting and more. It’s also available as an app for Android and iOS devices.

A preview of Oracle NetSuite ERP-Financial Management’s dashboard.

Accounts Receivable

Automatically initiate invoice deliveries, credit terms and collections management with the accounts receivable apparatus. It permits you to create repetitive invoices and extend self-service access to customers to obtain real-time data on purchase orders, inventory and payment information. You may also post order transactions to general and AR ledgers with prompt tax calculations.

Accounts Payable

The accounts payable appliance enables you to cipher discounts, exception processing and invoice processing. You can also recover bills, item receipts and vendor contracts attached to each vendor or accounts payable transaction.

Invoice and Billing Management

Govern billing operations and obtain full transparency of billing and financial procedures. You may also work with various pricing models, including:

• Flat: Fine patrons on the same amount for each billing cycle.
• Volume: Leverage consumption or entitlement and apply the highest volume unit rate to the total charge.
• Tiered: Apply rates of each consumption or entitlement unit to a specific range to reach the final chargeable amount.
• Rating: Build subscriptions that encompass setup fees, license counts and varying consumptions.

Financial Reporting

Utilize the financial reporting accessory to oversee dashboards and KPIs customized to particular roles. You may personalize or use one of the standard reports. This tool also enables you to dive into transactional information and review all data aspects in real time. You may also work with various global support for internalization and localization such as numerous accounting books, fiscal and tax calendars, audit and compliance reporting, local tax calculations and more.

More Mentionable Modules

Although Oracle NetSuite ERP Financial Management has most of the standard features, it has additional accessories worth mentioning that can streamline your cloud accounting processes. These features include:

• Tax Management: Leverage local and regional tax management with calculations for more than 50 countries and numerous currencies.
• Cash Management: Monitor your business’ money flows and cash position by improving cash, controlling bank accounts and administering liquid assets.
• Revenue Recognition: Automate revenue estimation, distribution, classification and auditing.
• Dashboards: Review real-time information on customer aging, invoice analyses, repeating invoices, exception reports and other KPIs.

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QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is a small and mid-sized cloud accounting software dedicated to contractors, nonprofits, manufacturers, wholesale providers and more. It’s also available as an Android and iOS app.

An example of QuickBooks Online’s dashboard.

Invoice Management

Craft various invoices and accept numerous payment tactics such as credit and debit cards and ACH bank transfers. You may input, revise and allocate diverse invoices, checks, expenditures and bills.

Dashboard and Reporting

The dashboard and reporting modules enable you to draft adaptable dashboards that gauge performance among different periods, budgets, particular numbers and more. The reports featured in this accessory include profit and loss, income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements and more. You may receive email updates and obtain access to a spending roadmap to trace existing trends and allocate financial data among investors.

Bill Payment Management

Guarantee on-time bill payments and due dates with the bill payment management accessory. Users may initiate partial bill payments and the solution will automatically document the remaining balance. This solution also enables patrons to pay expenses through other applications, including Bill.com, Entryless, Veem, PayPal and others.

More Mentionable Modules

Despite QuickBooks Online only having a few of the standard modules, it has additional features worth mentioning to satisfy your bookkeeping needs. These appliances are:

• Job Costing and Project Profitability Tracking: Track labor costs, payroll and expenses and receive an overview of all projects in a centralized location.
• Expense Tracking: Import transactions by connecting this module to bank accounts, credit cards, PayPal, Square and more automatically.
• Sales Tax Management: Add and cipher sales tax to all invoices per date, location, kind of product or service and patron.
• TSheets Time Tracking: Follow time on particular assignments or patrons on any mobile device for timesheets via this apparatus.

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Sage Intacct

Sage Intacct is a small and mid-sized cloud program catering to accounting firms, construction, real estate, healthcare, nonprofits and other industries. It’s also available as an iOS and Android app that permits you to supervise event schedules, navigate hotel maps and connect with other attendees.

A preview of Sage Intacct’s analytics dashboard.

Accounts Payable Management

Track and superintend payments, approvals and reports with the accounts payable management tool. You may establish workflows, internal controls approvals to construct instant, modifiable processes and spending limits to upkeep budget regulations. The vendor payment services extension hinged on the American Express Global Commercial Services substructure enables users to initiate the check, ACH or credit card payment process.

Accounts Receivable Management

The accounts receivable management accessory permits you to merge with other third-party platforms, including customer relationship management (CRM). These integrations enable you to review quotes, sales orders and invoices. You may also receive up-to-date information about client histories, aging balances, invoice analyses, repetitive invoicing, delayed revenue and more via personalized dashboards, reports, graphs and charts.

Budgeting and Planning

Generate and archive various situations on one budget by editing drivers and evaluating business impacts with the budgeting and planning appliance. This accessory allows you to invite and collaborate with others to adjust budgets, showcase plans, create various what-if scenarios and scrutinize details. You may also leverage actuals and best-practice templates.

Dashboards and Reporting

The dashboards and reporting appliances allow you to work with more than 150 pre-existing financial reports, custom reports, dashboards and visualizations. The data visualization extension enables you to dig up valuable KPIs. Trends indicators have red, green or black arrows or dots to alert you if a KPI increases or decreases over time.

More Mentionable Modules

Although Sage Intacct has most of the standard components, it has additional noteworthy tools to streamline your bookkeeping practices. These accessories include:

• Fixed Assets Management: Develop numerous assets from one accounts payable bill and maintain detached tax and accounting books.
• Project Costing and Billing: Fuse various billing terms on one or several projects to send a unified invoice.
• Contract and Subscription Billing: Supervise subscription billing, contract billing, recurring billing and more.
• Cash Management: Pair electronic payment transactions to invoices and transfer finances in accounts across locations and entities.
• Project Accounting: Automate costs, time-trackings, expenses and project bills while also supervising resources and revenue recognition.

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FreshBooks

Another small and mid-sized cloud accounting software, FreshBooks serves manufacturing, financial services, construction and other industries. Its iOS and Android apps enable you to create invoices, receive online payments and take receipts photos.

An example of FreshBooks’ invoice module.

Invoice Management

Add tracked time and expenses, due dates, discounts and more with the invoice management idiosyncrasy. You can arrange to have payment reminders sent to patrons automatically and establish credit card and ACH payments. This appliance enables you to apply late fees to invoices when they are overdue automatically. You may even replicate invoices.

Estimation and Proposal Tracking

The estimation and proposal tracking module allows you to transform tailored estimates into invoices. You may draft adjustable proposals to survey a project’s range, timeframe and deliverables. This apparatus also enables you to assess estimates and quotes before distributing them to a client.

Reporting

Work with a vast amount of financial documents in the reporting appliance such as:

• Profit and Loss
• Sales Tax Summary
• Account Statements
• Payments Collected
• Account Agings and More!

You may also print, send via email or export reports to Excel.

More Mentionable Modules

Despite FreshBooks lacking some standard tools, it contains additional appliances worth mentioning to aid with your accounting. These apparatuses include:

• Payments Management: Establish online payments so this feature can place money into the appropriate account.
• Time Tracking: Leverage this attribute’s timer for you and your employees to clock in. It also automatically logs time.
• Expense and Receipts Tracking: Snap pictures of receipts and add them to an expense or store them in the cloud,
• Double-Entry Accounting: Initiate prompt checks and balances to guarantee debit and credit amounts are equivalent.

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Dynamics 365 Finance

Last, but not least, Dynamics 365 Finance is a solution designed for companies of all sizes and comes as a standalone platform or part of the Dynamics 365 Application Suite. The industries that this program serves include automotive, education, financial services, government, health, retail and more. This platform is also available as an app for iOS and Android devices.

A preview of Dynamics 365 Finance’s main screen.

Accounts Payable

Define vendors and vendor groups, profiles, countless payment options and more with the accounts payable module. You may also establish boundaries for vendors, charges, deliveries and destinations, promissory notes and other valuable information.

Accounts Receivable

The accounts receivable module permits you to establish patron groups, clientele, profiles, interest notes, collection letters, bills of exchange and other accounts receivable data. You may leverage accounting distributions to determine how amounts – revenue, tax or charges — will be chronicled on invoices. You may also activate payment services for credit card usage.

Vendor Invoices

Manually input vendor invoices from a purchase order or acquire them digitally through a data entity via this component. The vendor invoice register addition allows you to deposit invoices and accrue expenses. You may also approve invoices with the approval journal or the vendor invoice page as you receive them.

Budget Management

The budget management appliance comes with four extensions: budgeting, budget control, budget planning and position forecasting. You may leverage the budget planning tool to tailor plans for your organization and let it comply with the pre-determined policies, procedures and requirements. You can adjust the budget control addition to meet the following factors:

• Financial Dimensions
• Time
• Source Documents
• Available Funds Calculations
• Overrider Permissions

Financial Reporting

Gain access to 22 default financial reports with the financial reporting appliance. The report designer appliance enables you to draft a new report or adjust a current one. The report designer contains formatting functions such as filters for dimensions, restrictions on columns and reporting units, non-printing rows and more.

More Mentionable Modules

Although Dynamics 365 Finance contains all the standard modules, it possesses extra modules to aid your bookkeeping practices. These appliances include:

• Fixed Asset Management: Cipher or discard modifications made to fixed assets and split a percentage of one asset book to a new one.
• Expense Management: Stow payment method information, upload credit card transactions and trace money that employees accrue for business expenses.
• Cash and Bank Management: Superintend your organizations’ bank accounts and the financial hardware linked to them including deposit slips, checks, promissory notes and more.
• General Ledger: Define and administer financial records and settle transactions between ledger accounts.
• Project Management and Accounting: Construct six types of projects to govern including time and material, fixed-price, time, investments, cost project and internal.

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Last Words

Cloud accounting is the way of the future, and the best way embrace the future is to learn and adapt to it. The best way to do this is to find a solution dedicated specifically to this type of bookkeeping, which can be daunting, but worthwhile in the end. The idea is to choose the best software that meets your business requirements. Are you in the mood for more cloud accounting software? Check out our sophisticated comparison guide.

How has cloud accounting helped your business? Which software from our roster is your favorite and why? Let us know in the comments!