Imagine trying to keep track of all your business finances with pen and paper. Sound intimidating? However, the right client accounting software will transform how you handle your books, making the process easier and simplified.
With the business accounting software market size predicted to boost to $36.27 billion in 2028, accounting services systems have revolutionized how businesses handle their finances.
This article will discuss the best accounting services software, divided into different categories. Learn how these innovative tools can make your financial life easier and more organized.
Best Client Accounting Software: A Quick Overview
Proposals and engagement letters software
- Cone
- Ignition
- GoProposal
- Proposify
Project management software
- Cone
- Jetpack Workflow
- Canopy
CRM software
- Cone
- HubSpot
Billing software
- Cone
- FreshBooks
- QuickBooks Online
Email management software
- Cone
- Karbon
What Is A Client Accounting Software?
Client accounting software is a software for accounting firms that monitor financial activities for businesses and their respective accountants. It's a computerized system that records a company's money, makes bookkeeping easier, and
facilitates financial reporting.
Client accounting software typically:
- Tracks Transactions
- Manages invoices
- Generates financial reports
- Handles payroll
- Integrates with Other Tools
- Ensures compliance
Top Client Accounting Software According to Client Requirements
Proposals and Engagement Letters
- Cone - Modern, comprehensive and affordable Proposal and Engagement letter Software
Cone proposal software is a modern solution opted for by many accounting firms. It enhances their proposal and engagement letter processes with an e-sign option.
Best Features
- Customizable Accounting and Bookkeeping Templates: Cone provides various accounting proposal templates to match specific client needs and service offerings.
- Pricing Engine: Provides a robust pricing engine to price services for e.g. bookkeeping services based on multiple factors like number of transactions, frequency of reconciliation etc., making it easier to price and profitably.
- Automated invoicing: Cone creates invoices automatically as soon as your proposal is accepted and no more manual work.
- Affordability: Compared to many competitors, Cone offers a far more affordable alternative, with monthly fees starting at just 6.5£ or $8 per user/month.
- Billing and Payments: All-in-one platform for proposals, Engagement letters, Billing and Payments.
- Native Integrations: Has native integrations with major accounting software like Xero, QBO and payment gateways like Stripe, GoCardless among others.
Best For: Accountants and small businesses seeking an all-in-one proposal and billing solution.
Pricing:
- Essentials: $8 or £6.41/month
- Growth: $11 or £8.83/month.
2. GoProposal
GoProposal software has easy management aspects, allowing users to monitor their proposals hassle-free. The software’s user-friendly interface emphasizes a structured format, making it better than other GoProposal alternatives.
Best Features
- Proposal Generation: Provides an intuitive proposal generation feature, allowing organizations to develop branded and professional proposals quickly.
- Engagement Letter Integration: Documents the required terms and conditions when generating and managing engagement letters.
- Client Interaction: Smoothes the client interaction through online proposal acceptance and e-signatures for easy approval.
- Digital Signatures and Approval: Review, approve, and sign proposals and engagement letters electronically, accelerating the closing process.
- Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics: Enables deep insights into the activity of proposals through information and statistics.
Best For: Perfect for accounting firms looking for a structured way to create proposals and price their services.
Pricing
- Solo plan at £65
- The basic plan at £95
- Standard plan at £130
- Premium plan at £205
3. Proposify
Proposify is a flexible proposal management solution that offers a wide range of customization possibilities. Its characteristics make it a useful tool for any organization that needs to produce and manage proposals and engagement letters and make it stand out from proposify alternatives.
Best Features
- Interactive Proposals: Proposify's proposal templates can be customized, with the addition of interactive pricing tables.
- Proposal Monitoring: Businesses can monitor how clients respond to proposals and engagement letters with its monitoring options.
- Collaboration Tools: Facilitates teamwork by enabling people to collaborate on proposals and give immediate feedback.
- Reporting and Analytics: Analytics and reporting tools allow users to monitor proposal performance, including open rates, time spent on each part, and more.
- Payment Integration: The platform integrates with payment gateways by allowing users to collect payments directly through the proposals.
Best For: Sales teams needing visually stunning, customizable proposals.
Pricing:
- Basic: $35/seat
- Team: $49/seat
- Business: $65/seat
Pro Tip: For a detailed guide on pricing, check out this Proposify pricing article.
Also Read: Analyze and compare Proposify with other software with the help of these articles:
- Proposify vs QuoteWerks - Which is Best for Your Proposal Needs?
- PandaDoc vs Proposify vs Cone: Finding the Right Proposal Software for You
- Better Proposals vs Proposify: The Best Option to Choose in 2024?
Project Management Software
4. Cone
Cone is a practice management software made for accounting and tax firms. It emphasizes essential tasks into one easy-to-use platform and allows you to manage proposals, tasks, emails, and billing for $5 per user per month. Cone simplifies your work and keeps everything organized by bringing these functions together. With Cone, you can boost productivity, improve client interactions, and streamline your firm’s operations.
Best Features
- Project Management System: This feature allows users to develop, assign, and track tasks flawlessly.
- Streamlined Client Requests: Easily send client forms, collect e-signatures, and request files, all while Cone’s automated follow-ups ensure a smooth workflow.
- Enhanced Client Portal: Cone’s client portal enables quick and efficient collaboration between accountants and clients, facilitating faster decision-making.
- Unified Proposals: Includes proposals and engagement letters capabilities.
- Recurring projects: Very easy to create recurring projects like bookkeeping and payroll projects.
- E-mail or Inbox integration: Manage your inbox and workflows together.
- Reporting: Access reporting related to productivity and projects.
Best for: Small business firms that require a unified platform for project management, proposals, and billing.
Pricing:
- Starter: $5 or 4£ per user/month
- Essentials: $10 or 8£ per user/month
- Growth: $15 or 12£ per user/month
Book a demo today!
- Jetpack Workflow
Jetpack Workflow is reliable accounting client services software with project management ability. It enables an easy workflow flow and tracks every finance project with real-time analytics. For those exploring Jetpack Workflow alternatives, this software stands out for its ability to streamline accounting tasks and provide comprehensive project tracking.
Best Features
- Smooth Workflow: This tool excels at helping businesses manage recurring tasks and deadlines, which are common in the accounting field.
- Comprehensive Dashboard: A powerful dashboard delivers current activities, work allocation, and schedules for future activities.
- Integration Capabilities: The software incorporates different accounting tools, such as QuickBooks, to centralize their financial data and project management.
- Client Management: A centralized client management system makes it easy to track client details, deadlines, and communication in one place.
- Customization: The app allows customization for users to include the workflow according to the organization and handle projects.
Also Read: Jetpack Workflow vs. Karbon vs. Cone: Navigating the Best Workflow for Your Practice
Best For: Ideal for accounting firms focused on task management and workflow optimization.
Pricing: The software offers the following plans:
- Starter Yearly: $30 per user
- Starter Monthly: $45 per user
- Canopy
Canopy practice management software meets the needs of modern accounting firms. It blends workflow automation, project management, and team collaboration attributes into one unified platform.
Best Features
- Impeccable Communication: Its communication tools allow team members to share updates, discuss projects, and provide real-time feedback.
- Advanced Workflow Automation: This feature allows firms to automate routine tasks, such as document management, client onboarding, etc.
- AI integration: AI capabilities include automated data entry, predictive analytics for financial forecasting, and intelligent recommendations based on historical data.
- Collaboration Tools: The platform allows collaboration among team members through internal communication, shared workspaces, and the capability to comment on tasks.
- Client Management: Canopy ensures that client interactions are well-documented and easily accessible.
Best For: Perfect for collaborative teams needing advanced project management with communication tools.
Pricing:
Plans for Growing Firms:
- The base package is free for up to 250 clients.
- For firms managing over 250 clients, Canopy charges for every additional 50 users.
For small businesses with 4 or fewer users:
- The Starter plan costs $45 per user per month when billed annually, or $60 if billed monthly.
- The Essential plan is priced at $66 per user per month billed annually, or $88 monthly.
Also Read: Curious about how Canopy’s pricing stacks up against other options? Check out this comparison to see which solution offers the best value for your practice.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- Cone
Cone CRM software for accountants makes managing leads, clients, and projects easy by bringing everything together in one platform. Cone offers everything from client relationships management (CRM) to proposals, engagement letters, invoicing, time tracking, billing, and email—all in one place.
Best Features
- Centralized Client and Contacts Database: Easily manage all your clients and contacts in one place.
- Client Contact Management: It provides tools for storing and managing client information, providing quick access to required client details.
- Deals management: Easily manage your sales pipeline at one place.
- Inbox: Connect your email.
Best For: Small to medium-sized firms wanting an integrated CRM with proposal and project management features.
Pricing:
- Essentials: $8 or £6.41/month
- Growth: $11 or £8.83/month.
- HubSpot
With features for managing client communications, automatically following up, and recording interactions, HubSpot CRM is an all-inclusive platform that simplifies customer relationship management.
Best Features
- Comprehensive CRM Platform: Full-featured CRM platform with the latest tools for monitors client relationships, from ongoing communication to lead generation.
- Automation and Customization: The feature allows customization to fit the needs of accounting firms, automating client follow-ups, emails, and task assignments.
- Analytics and Reporting: Delivers detailed analytics and reporting on client interactions, enabling businesses to track engagement.
- Automated Reminders: Routine tasks, like reminding clients and sending emails, when automated, free the accountant's time.
- Reports and Insights: Facilitates actionable insight into client behavior, thus fine-tuning services.
Best For: Ideal for businesses of all sizes seeking a scalable CRM with marketing and sales automation.
Pricing:
- Marketing Hub Professional: $800 per month.
- Marketing Hub Enterprise: $3600 per month.
Pro Tip: Learn more about outsourced bookkeeping for your practice.
Billing and Invoicing Software
- Cone
Cone client management and billing software has a comprehensive billing module that caters to businesses of every type.
Cone’s Proposal and Billing Software provides an all-in-one solution for automating proposals, invoicing, and payments. It helps you close deals quicker, save time, and automate your billing process.
Best Features
- Recurring Billing: Keeps track of all the transactions and manages finances to create billings in a few clicks.
- Easy Invoice Creation: Even users without a strong accounting background can generate professional invoices and handle billing schedules.
- Payment Gateways Integration: This integration boosts the payment process, enhancing cash flow and diminishing time spent chasing payments.
Best For: Firms needing an all-inclusive solution for billing, proposals, and client management.
Pricing: Here are the plans-
- Essentials: $8 or £6.41/month
- Growth: $11 or £8.83/month.
- FreshBooks
Known for its robust invoicing abilities, FreshBooks features payment reminders, late fees, and time-tracking integration.
Best Features
- Automatic Payment Reminders: Automates sending payment reminders to clients along with late fee updates.
- Real-time Tracking: Supervises every task from the beginning and records every transaction with real-time updates.
- Project-based Billing: Features integration with time tracking and billing that ensures invoices are accurate and paid on time.
- Reporting: Offers valuable insights into the company's financial health, permitting better decision-making.
- Detailed Insights into Billing Invoices: Provide invoice aging reports and incorporate different apps and tools to further boost it's functionality.
Best For: Freelancers and small businesses looking for simple, user-friendly invoicing and expense tracking.
Pricing: Have a look at the packages-
- Lite: $5.70/month
- Plus: $9.90/month
.
- QuickBooks Online
Quickbooks Online accounting software provides a comprehensive suite of billing features that bring results.
Best Features
- Easier Reconciliation: Offers customizable invoices, automatic syncing with bank accounts, and recurring payments.
- Multiple Payment Methods Support: Allows clients to pay via direct bank transfer, credit card, or online addresses.
- Easy Integration: It integrates with other QuickBooks products, offering a unified financial management experience.
- QuickBooks Ecosystem: The software's integration with the QuickBooks ecosystem allows businesses to monitor their financial processes, from tax filing to billing and payroll.
- Customization Options: Enables companies to customize invoices to reflect their brand, creating a unified and expert client experience.
Best For: Businesses of all sizes need comprehensive accounting and billing features.
Pricing:
- Simple: $17.50/month
- Essentials: $32.50/month
- Plus: $49.50/month
- Advanced: $117.50/month
Email Management Software
- Cone
Cone practice management software boosts overall efficiency in accounting businesses with its sophisticated email management features, including integrated email tracking, customized templates, and effective attachment handling.
Features
- Integrated Email Tracking: By automatically monitoring and recording every correspondence with clients, no email exchange is overlooked or lost.
- Email Templates and Automation: This provides accountants with fast, professional email communication by providing easily adjustable email templates and automation options.
- Collaborative Email Inbox: Provides a shared email inbox for team members to see, assign, and work together on emails.
- Communication: Accountants may reply to clients more quickly and reliably by using integrated email tracking and templates, saving time when writing and sending emails.
Best For: Firms looking for integrated email management within their practice management software.
- Karbon
Karbon accounting software ensures effective client communications and streamlined project alignment by integrating email with task management, offering email prioritization, and facilitating team collaboration through a shared inbox.
Best Features
- Email Integration with Task Management: Integrates emails with task and project management to let users link emails to active projects.
- Collaborative Email Inbox: Provides a shared email inbox for team members to see, assign, and work together on emails.
- Email Prioritization and Filtering: Prioritize and filter emails according to client priority, urgency, or project deadlines.
- Email Responses: Collaborate on client emails using the collaborative email inbox to ensure that responses are prompt and well-organized.
- Task and Project Alignment: Karbon guarantees that client communications are closely related to ongoing work by attaching emails to tasks and projects.
Best For: Teams that need collaborative email management with task integration.
Pricing:
- Team: $59 per month
- Business: $89 per month
- Custom Pricing: It depends on your priorities and selected features.
Pro Tip: Comparing software with their competitors will give you a clear insight into their features and pricing. Check out these articles that compare Karbon with its competitors.
- Pixie vs. Karbon vs. Cone - The Right Tool For You
- Karbon vs Canopy: How Do These Top Accounting Practice Management Software Compare For Your Business?
- Karbon vs TaxDome: How Do You Choose the Best Practice Management Software For Your Practice
Why Does Choosing the Right Client Accounting Software Matter?
An accounting firm must select and use the correct client accounting software. Below are why accounting software matters:
Enhanced Efficiency: The software automates and simplifies tasks that might require manual input. By automating expense tracking, invoicing, tax preparation, and payroll processing processes, the software comes with features such as automatic updates, data syncing, and incorporation with other financial tools that augment productivity.
Better Client Relationships: With features such as real-time reporting, client portals, and customized dashboards, clients can access their financial information. This transparency encourages credibility and permits clients to stay enlightened about the business's financial health. The right software enhance client relationships by providing secure messaging platforms and document-sharing capabilities.
Simplified Processes: The software encourages the standardization of accounting processes. Its uniformity diminishes the risk of omissions and errors, leading to more appropriate financial records. The software also has features that ensure adherence to relevant regulations and standards.
Scalability and Growth: Growing your accounting firm will increase the demands on your systems. The software allows users to add new clients and manage more complex accounting with a crucial increase in workload. This scalability ensures that companies can enhance their operations without being hindered by inadequate or outdated systems.
Also Read: 6 Must-Have CPA Firm Practice Management Software
Pro Tip: Also, learn about the importance of accounting firm workflow process.
The Bottom Line
Client accounting software is revolutionizing contemporary businesses that handle their financial affairs. Whether you're looking to streamline proposals, manage projects, or handle billing and client communications, these tools provide the essential support to keep your firm running smoothly.
As an accounting firm looking to provide high-quality service to your customers, you can also choose some of these tools and incorporate them into your accounting practice.
Software like Cone in such matters can be one of the better options due to its extensive features offered at an affordable cost.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What is the most user-friendly accounting software?
Cone has an intuitive user interface and features such as expense monitoring, financial reporting, and simple invoicing.
- What is client-based accounting?
Client-based accounting entails maintaining financial records and services customized for each client. This guarantees accurate, individualized bookkeeping, invoicing, and financial reporting.
- What is customer accounting software?
Customer accounting software streamlines customer service and relationship management by assisting firms in managing client-related financial chores like invoicing, payment tracking, and communication.
- What is the most commonly used accounting software?
Because of its extensive features, scalability, and user-friendliness, Cone and QuickBooks Online are highly preferred client accounting software for small and medium-sized enterprises.