7 Top Accounting Apps For Independent Contractors

As an independent contractor, you are regarded as a business entity in the eyes of the law, and as such you engage in taxes and other business booking activities. The best accounting apps for independent contractors would help you to handle all accounting needs. This ranges from mobile options to free online, and other paid desktop platforms.

In the market today, there are various types of accounting apps, so, how do you identify the best among them? Some of the questions to ask yourself are do you pay yourself a biweekly paycheque? Are there inventory or business assets to monitor? Do you submit your quarterly taxes to the states? Or do you take payment and invoicing a necessity?

However, some platforms can do these needs but maybe a bit pricey. Therefore, the prices of these apps are not the same – some are free, others have a one-time subscription fee while some are based on a monthly subscription.

Also, you must consider the integration features of these accounting apps, for desktop and mobile systems and you might want to think of ease of accessibility.

Top Accounting Apps For Independent Contractors

1. Wave Accounting

This is one of the free accounting apps that can be used on both your Smartphone and online purpose. Although, there is payment for additional features such as payroll and payment processing being free makes rank among the best accounting apps for independent contractors.

The free version is unique and can compete favorably with other paid accounting apps. It is designed with income and expenses tracking, invoicing, collaborators, and live bank connections. Besides, it can track other personal finances and side hustles within the same account.

Also, paid add-on services include payroll, credit card processing, and online ACH. However, note that if you process many payments, you may end-up paying more using the Wave’s free version than with paid accounting apps.

2. Quickbooks

This is regarded as the best accounting app. Though it is not perfect it is still considered as among the best accounting apps because it has set a high standard for what other finance management platforms can achieve. This app is suitable for both large corporations and solo freelancers.

Quickbooks is suitable for small business accounting, and it gives even more than what an independent contractor needs. It is designed for double-entry accounting, live bank connections, payment processing, invoicing, and mobile apps.

It comes with versions for Mac, Windows, and online versions which are best suitable for independent contractors in 2020. Also, there is a version meant for the self-employed and a complete version that can manage all business needs. With $10 monthly, you can access the Simple Start version while $5 is all that is needed for the Quickbooks self-employed version.

3. Xero

This is cloud-based accounting software that assists independent contractors to manage payment and track their expenses and invoice processing. The options available are the $9/month for the Starter version and $60/month for the premium version. However, the Starter version should be enough for freelancers.

The Xero plans include mobile apps, financial reports, invoicing, live bank account connections, and access for multiple team members. Besides, users of Xero apps can also enjoy the Xero Project app – which is an accounting project management app at no additional cost. This is among the best account apps that can handle both project-based and hourly billing.

With this, you can do double-entry accounting, inventory tracking, billing and expense forms, document management, and CRM integrations. These features make it the best choice for independent contractors in 2020.

4. Zoho Books

The Zoho Books offers a complete accounting package, a custom app engine, CRM, and email. It cost $9/month for the basic version ($90 yearly) which is sufficient for independent contractors. With this app, independent contractors can handle invoicing, timesheets, bank reconciliations, expense tracking, sales approval, and recurring transactions.

For the management of the bill, you would need to upgrade to the Standard version which costs $19/month ($190 yearly). The Zoho app is quite impressive but does not scale up for bigger investments. It is the best choice for freelancers and independent contractors.

5. GoDaddy Bookkeeping

If what you do monthly is to send the same fixed-rate invoice to one particular client, you should not worry about spending a lot of hours on bookkeeping assignments or doing the same thing over and over again. So, the GoDaddy app makes the recurring process automatic.

For e-commerce dealers, this is one of the best accounting apps. It is also suitable for independent contractors because it offers both mobile and web access.

It cost $10 monthly for the basic version that includes mileage, payments, invoices, estimates, and time tracking. However, if you want more than just the current-year business report, the standard or premium versions that cost $15 or $29 monthly would be sufficient.

6. InDinero

This is complete accounting software that can do both tax preparation and combined bookkeeping. With $300 monthly (billed yearly), users can access annual state and federal taxes, 50 transactions monthly, invoicing, payment of a bill for two connected banks, and financial statements.

This accounting app combines both tax and account processing in one place. This is quite pricey but offers everything that is needed for proper business management without any stress.

7. Bench

This is an accounting app and accountant in one. It is quite pricey too but it comes to a unique feature that is not present on others, a human accountant. Also, you can log in and access the statement needed for the smooth running of the business.

It cost $159 monthly ($139/month paid yearly). The monthly payment comes with a team of bookkeepers to manage financial accounts and keep up-to-date books. The bench is not designed with accounting but it offers support and reports needed for the accountants to utilize for the tax calculations and management.