Determining which accounting software is the best choice for an accountant or accounting firm depends on several factors.
These factors include the firm’s accounting services, its clients, the complexity of its clients’ accounting needs, and the number of clients the firm is handling as well as how much of the firm’s work needs to go beyond general ledger accounting.
A firm that deals mainly with taxes might give more importance to things like tax preparation, document management, workflow, and collaboration with clients than to the specific software utilized by clients.
An outsourced accounting firm, on the other hand, will have another requirement: it has to ensure that clients from different domains can be managed efficiently while using the same processes, ensuring secure access to data, correspondingly, information reviews, and appropriate reporting.
Best Accounting Software for CPA and Accounting Firms
It is more useful to understand what different platforms are designed to do. The following platforms are considered the best accounting software by leading companies using them for years:
1. QuickBooks Online: A Strong Fit for Firms Serving Small and Growing Businesses
QuickBooks Online is a very reputed cloud accounting software in the area of small businesses which makes it effective for CPA firms and accounting companies who are already using it or are planning to invest in it.
In a sense, it’s wrong to think of QuickBooks online as just being another accounting solution that the businesses would benefit from. Instead, it allows accountants to efficiently manage the different clients they are representing from a single point.
What All Can QuickBooks Online Do for Accounting Firms
Based on how the client of the accounting firm uses the QuickBooks subscription, it can help them with
- General ledger accounting
- Bank feeds
- Bank reconciling
- Invoicing
- Expense tracking
- Accounts receivable
- Accounts payable
- Financial reporting
- Access for clients
- Access for accountants
- Automated processes
- Integration with other apps
For a CPA firm, the value is often less about any individual feature and more about standardization across a large population of small-business clients. The more the number of similar firms using the online book keeping technology, the easier it will be to train and educate staff, familiarize clients, conduct audits, troubleshoot problems, prepare reports, and execute month-end processes.
2. Xero: Cloud Accounting with a Strong Accountant and Bookkeeper Ecosystem
Xero is also an important cloud accounting platform when it comes to managing accounting firms or bookkeeping firms.
Xero’s relevance for accounting firms does not end at transaction processing. In fact, it has created a whole ecosystem that revolves around accountants as well as bookkeepers. Firms that want to focus on cloud collaboration and will like to perform evaluations of other small business accounting systems can take a look at Xero as one of the systems.
What Xero Is Designed to Support
In essence, Xero is intended to support the following:
- Bank reconciliation
- Invoicing
- Payables
- Receivables
- Expense management
- Financial reporting
- Bank feeds
- Payroll processes where applicable
- Integration with other software
- Accountant and bookkeeper collaboration
- Practice management
The key question for an accounting firm is how well these features can fit together. For instance, Xero deserves attention in the cases when an accounting practice serves mostly small businesses, professional services firms, and industries that have many third-party applications.
3. Sage Intacct: Designed for More Complex Financial Management
Sage Intacct competes in an entirely different segment of the accounting software industry.
While small business-oriented accounting solutions usually focus on simple bookkeeping and financial management tasks, Sage Intacct is more suitable for corporations needing advanced financial management capabilities.
Currently, Sage Intacct suits accounting and CPA companies and emphasizes features like core financials, accounts payable and receivable, budgeting and forecasting, dashboards, reporting, project accounting, and multi-entity management.
Where Sage Intacct Becomes More Applicable
One of the key advantages of Sage Intacct is its approach to multi-dimensional and multi-entity financial management. According to Sage, the platform can handle several entities in a single environment and enable automated multi-entity consolidation with reports that can be tailored from consolidated level to the level of individual entities. Sage Intacct must be analyzed in more detail in the cases when clients of an organization have to face specific needs in:
- Multi-entity accounting
- Advanced reporting
- Dimensional analysis
- Project accounting
- Complex financial management
- More effective automation
- Scalable reporting
However, it does not apply to very small companies whose main requirement is simple bookkeeping. At the same time, it would be useful for accounting firms providing services to clients who have multiple legal entities, multiple locations, international operations, complex reporting structures, departmental reporting needs, project-based operations, and more sophisticated financial processes.
4. NetSuite: When Accounting Becomes Part of a Broader ERP Requirement
NetSuite should be viewed in a different way compared to QuickBooks Online or Xero. NetSuite is being built upon the comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) architecture.
This enables it to be of help to accounting firms that work with clients involving sophisticated operational and financial needs. While conventional accounting software is mainly based on financial transactions recording, ERP systems bring finance management to connected business processes.
Depending on the process set-up, those steps may include finance management, procurement, inventory management, order processing, revenue management, customer relationship management, supply chain processes, operations across various subsidiaries, and various kinds of reporting.
When to Start Using NetSuite
Accounting firms may use NetSuite under following conditions:
- Many subsidiaries
- Complex operations
- Large number of transactions
- Inventory tasks
- International operations
- Complex revenue processes
- Requirements typical for ERP
- Integration of financial and operational systems
Every day accountants meet needs of their clients that go beyond traditional financial consulting. If the client operates in ERP, accountants have to understand how financial data circulates in the greater system. NetSuite’s value lies in its acting as an adequate ERP system with extensive finance management functionalities and not as yet another accounting software desktop solution.
5. Zoho Books: Accounting Within a Broader Business Software Ecosystem
Rather than operating as a standalone accounting application, Zoho Books take a different approach and can be used as part of the wider Zoho ecosystem. For accounting professionals, it provides features specifically designed around managing client organizations.
Its accountant functionality includes the ability to create and manage client organizations, review activities, work with journal entries, manage charts of accounts, track budgets, and perform other accounting tasks.
Why the Ecosystem Matters
Zoho Books provides an accountant-focused client-management experience in which an accountant can create and manage client organizations and access the accounting environment according to assigned permissions.
Its client functionality can connect clients with multiple Zoho Finance applications, including Zoho Books, Zoho Expense, Zoho Payroll, Zoho Inventory, and Zoho Ledger.A firm’s clients may need more than accounting. It is used by accounting firms in need of:
- CRM
- Expense management
- Inventory
- Payroll
- Business applications
- Workflow automation
- Customer portals
Zoho also offers Zoho Practice, which is specifically designed for accounting and bookkeeping companies. It describes Practice as a practice-management platform that can centralize client management, documents, tasks, workflows, team collaboration, time tracking, and workpapers.
6. CCH Axcess: A Broader Platform for CPA and Tax Firms
CCH Axcess deserves separate treatment because it addresses a different problem from general-purpose small-business accounting software. It is designed specifically for tax and accounting firms and extends across tax, audit, workflow, document management, client collaboration, practice management, and other professional-firm functions.
CCH Axcess acts as a cloud platform spanning tax, audit, and firm management, with modules including Tax, Workflow, Practice, Document, Engagement, Client Collaboration, Portal, and other professional-firm applications.
Where CCH Axcess Fits Best
CCH Axcess is particularly relevant for firms where the technology requirement goes beyond bookkeeping. It can be worth evaluating for:
- Tax practices
- CPA firms
- Audit and accounting firms
- Multi-service accounting practices
- Firms managing significant tax workflows
- Firms seeking integrated practice management
- Firms building Client Accounting Services practices
The important distinction is that CCH Axcess is primarily a professional-firm operating platform, while products such as QuickBooks Online and Xero are more commonly encountered as client accounting platforms.
How These Software Platforms Differ From Each Other?
The most useful way to compare these products is by the problem they are designed to solve.
The best software depends on the accounting firm‘s operating model and the complexity of its clients.
Should An Accounting Company Standardize One Platform?
Not necessarily. Standardization can create significant operational benefits. If most clients use the same platform, a company can potentially simplify:
- Training
- SOPs
- Staff allocation
- Review
- Troubleshooting
- Reporting
- Client onboarding
However, forcing every client onto one platform can also create problems. A technology platform should fit the client’s requirements. A business with a simple accounting environment may not need an enterprise ERP. A multi-entity organization may outgrow a small-business accounting platform. A tax-focused CPA firm may need a specialized professional-firm platform in addition to the accounting systems used by its clients.
Accounting Software and Accounting Outsourcing Services: How They Work Together
Software does not operate an accounting function by itself. Even highly automated systems require:
- Configuration
- Data validation
- Review
- Exception handling
- Reconciliations
- Workflow management
- Client communication
- Professional judgment
That is why technology and accounting outsourcing services should be considered together.
An accounting firm may have excellent software but still experience operational bottlenecks because employees spend too much time managing repetitive tasks. Conversely, an outsourced accounting team can operate efficiently when the technology environment is standardized and well-integrated.
How We Help CPA and Accounting Firms Build Scalable Accounting Operations
At CapActix Business Solutions, we support CPAs and accounting firms with accounting outsourcing services designed to complement their technology environment and operating model. Our approach supports:
- Bookkeeping
- Accounts payable
- Accounts receivable
- Bank and account reconciliations
- Financial reporting
- Month-end accounting
- Accounting cleanup
- Management reporting
- Back-office accounting support
For CPA firms and outsourced accounting firms, combining appropriate accounting software with a structured delivery model can create a more scalable way to handle recurring accounting work while allowing internal professionals to focus on client relationships, review, tax, and advisory activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best accounting software for CPAs and accounting firms?
No singular accounting system is universally optimal for every CPA and accounting organization; the best option is determined by considerations such as size of clientele, complexity of accounting process, services rendered and diversity of clientele.
Various platforms such as QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Intacct, NetSuite, Zoho books and CCF Axcess take care of different combinations of the above.
Is QuickBooks good for CPA firms?
QuickBooks Online can be useful for CPA firms working with small burgeoning clients that want cloud accounting, collaboration, reporting, work automation, and integrations. Good fit depends on the firm’s client base.
Is Xero good for accounting firms?
Xero offers an accounting application and a bookkeepers or accountants ecosystem with the required tools for client dealing, collaboration and working process. Firms working with small cloud-oriented businesses may find Xero appealing and useful.
When should an accounting firm consider Sage Intacct?
Consider looking into Sage Intacct when sophisticated financial management is needed by the clients as well as advanced types of reporting and accounting.
Is NetSuite accounting software or ERP software?
NetSuite is generally positioned as a broader cloud ERP platform rather than a basic bookkeeping application. It can be relevant when clients have more complex financial and operational requirements.
What is the difference between accounting software and practice management software?
Accounting software primarily manages financial transactions and accounting records. Practice management software focuses more broadly on how an accounting firm manages clients, workflows, employees, deadlines, billing, capacity, and profitability. Many CPA firms need both.
Can outsourced accounting firms use accounting software for multiple clients?
Yes. Multi-client accounting is a common requirement for outsourced accounting firms. The technology should support appropriate client access, standardized workflows, permissions, reporting, and secure collaboration.
How much does accounting software cost?
Pricing varies substantially by platform, users, modules, client volume, transaction volume, integrations, and service requirements. Firms should evaluate total cost of ownership rather than comparing subscription prices alone.
The Bottom Line on the Best Accounting Software
The term “best accounting software” implies that a single answer exists. However, for CPA and accounting firms, that is usually not the case.
QuickBooks Online and Xero are often most relevant to the firms that serve small and growing businesses.
Sage Intacct may be relevant in situations with complex financial management work involving multi-entity operations, dimensional management and advanced reporting.
NetSuite becomes part of the conversation when the client’s needs go beyond basic accounting tasks towards Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) functions.
Zoho Books offers possibilities for accounting needs linked to the whole Zoho ecosystem.
CCH Axcess should be considered when the firm’s needs are of tax and audit nature and include workflow and document management as well as client collaboration.
The best choice that could be made would be to begin the selection process by analyzing the firm’s service model and client complexity, studying the workflow and finding the bottlenecks before determining any integration and security needs and then comparing different solutions against those requirements.
