
Xero is the next best option because of its user-friendly design and excellent usability.

Designed initially for Sole Traders and Contractor Accounting, the simplicity is also its downfall as it lacks functionality to handle more complicated businesses. It is pretty obvious that this has been designed with the average user in mind and it achieves this is in a simple and understandable way. Top of the list has to be FreeAgent with its clear and uncluttered interface. When investing time and money in accounting software you want something that it is the right fit for your business and is simple to use – this is the first category we are scrutinising. Launched purely as a SaaS service, FreeAgent is based in Edinburgh and was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2018. Arguably, the push for traditional software houses to move to SaaS came from Xero.įreeAgent is our final contender and is possibly the least known of the four even though it has been around for slightly longer than Xero. Xero started life as a fully cloud-based, subscription service and very rapidly gained a wide and loyal following and is recommended by many accountants as standard, even though the online software did not arrive in the UK until 10 years ago. They have also made the transition to a cloud service and have invested heavily ensuring that they have a wide-ranging support network. Quickbooks, like Sage, has been around for several years and had an excellent reputation in the desktop market. That having been said, they are still a very strong player. Time has moved on and with the advent of cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service) offerings, Sage’s dominance has waned somewhat. Sage is probably the best known of our quartet and for many years the desktop version was the name that every accountant would instantly recommend to their clients.

This is why you will not find the likes of Access, Oracle, and SAP featured in this article!

To be included in our list, the accounting software needs to be aimed squarely at new start-ups and small businesses.
