Best Free Accounting Software
Compare free accounting software.
Finding the best free accounting software for your business might take a little research.
Accounting and bookkeeping software varies widely in terms of features. We’ve summarised some key points about each of the best free accounting software solutions in the UK, to make it easy for you to compare.
And if you’re not sure about which features will work for you, read on. There’s plenty more coming up about how to review and choose the accounting software for small business that best suits your needs.
Reduce costs and extend your reach with Wise Business.
Free accounting software can help you grow your business.
You can also improve your reach, protect your margins, and save time and money by using Wise Business to pay and get paid in multiple currencies.
Improve your cash flow by helping clients overseas to pay you faster - and cut your international payment costs when working with suppliers or employees based abroad.
You’ll get bank details for the US, UK, euro area, Poland, Australia and New Zealand, to receive fee-free payments from these regions. Hold 40+ different currencies, and switch between them using the mid-market exchange rate. That’s much cheaper than your normal bank.
Wise Business can help you save time as well as money thanks to smart integrations with Xero and Quickbooks. Check and reconcile payments, analyse your business performance, and connect seamlessly to customers and clients all over the world.
Best free accounting software in the UK.
Compare the best free accounting software in the table below.
Compare the costs
| Invoicing | |
|---|---|
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✓ |
| GnuCash | ✓ |
| ZipBooks | ✓ |
| Quote management | |
| Wave | ✘ |
| Quickfile | ✓ |
| GnuCash | ✓ |
| ZipBooks | ✓ |
| Expense tracking | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✘ |
| GnuCash | ✓ |
| ZipBooks | ✓ |
| Receipt tracking | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✓ |
| GnuCash | ✘ |
| ZipBooks | ✓ |
| Cash flow tracking | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✘ |
| GnuCash | ✓ |
| ZipBooks | ✘ |
| Time tracking | |
| Wave | ✘ |
| Quickfile | ✘ |
| GnuCash | ✘ |
| ZipBooks | ✘ |
| Project tracking | |
| Wave | ✘ |
| Quickfile | ✘ |
| GnuCash | ✘ |
| ZipBooks | ✘ |
| Inventory tracking | |
| Wave | ✘ |
| Quickfile | ✘ |
| GnuCash | ✓ |
| ZipBooks | ✘ |
| Payroll | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✘ |
| GnuCash | ✓ |
| ZipBooks | ✘ |
| Custom business reports | |
| Wave | ✘ |
| Quickfile | ✓ |
| GnuCash | ✓ |
| ZipBooks | ✘ |
| Handle VAT | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✓ |
| GnuCash | ✘ |
| ZipBooks | ✓ |
| MTD compliant | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✓ |
| GnuCash | ✘ |
| ZipBooks | ✘ |
| Smart bank feeds | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | £15 + VAT per year |
| GnuCash | ✘ |
| ZipBooks | ✘ |
| Bank transaction reconciliation | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✘ |
| GnuCash | ✓ |
| ZipBooks | ✓ |
| Multiple currency support | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✓ |
| GnuCash | ✓ |
| ZipBooks | ✓ |
| Add extra users | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✓ |
| GnuCash | ✘ |
| ZipBooks | ✘ |
| Mobile app | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✓ |
| GnuCash | Android app |
| ZipBooks | ✓ |
| 3rd party app integrations | |
| Wave | ✓ |
| Quickfile | ✘ |
| GnuCash | ✘ |
| ZipBooks | ✓ |
If you can't find a solution that offers you all the features you want, head over to our comparison of the best paid accounting software.
Accounting software features explained.
VAT and MTD
If your business has a taxable turnover above £85k you must use digital VAT records and returns under the Making Tax Digital for VAT scheme. Choose HMRC-recognised MTD software from the table above to make this easier.
Smart bank feeds and bank transaction reconciliation
Connect your business bank account to your accounting software to automatically sync transactions and access bulk transaction categorisation. Avoid manual accounting, cut down on errors and have more time to grow your business.
Multiple currency support
With multi currency support your accounting software will allow you to invoice and get paid in foreign Invoice and get paid in foreign currencies, and have your bookkeeping software automatically check, chase and reconcile your accounts.
If you work with customers or suppliers overseas, you could benefit even more with a Wise Business account.
Pay invoices, buy inventory, and handle payroll with the real exchange rate in over 40 currencies and get your own UK, Eurozone, Australian, New Zealand, and US bank details without a local address.
Learn more about Wise Business→
If you can't find all the features you want with a free accounting solution, check out our comparison of the best paid accounting software.
Accounting software integrations.
Third party integrations let you do a lot more than bookkeeping with your accounting software.
In fact, smart third party integrations allow you to integrate your bookkeeping software with your ecommerce store, accept different types of payment, and manage and grow relationships with your customers.
Check out our handy table to see how different accounting software options work with some popular integrations.
If you send or receive international payments for your business, choose accounting software that integrates with Wise. You’ll be able to keep track of and automate payments, while benefiting from quick and safe international payments which are far cheaper than your regular bank.
Spend less time on business admin and more time on connecting with customers and growing your business.
Head over to our comparison of the best paid accounting software to find out which solutions integrate with Wise and the other popular apps in this table.
| Integration | Wave | Quickfile | GnuCash | ZipBooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CRM | ||||
Hubspot | ✓ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
Mailchimp | ✓ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
Ecommerce | ||||
Shopify | ✓ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
Amazon | ✓ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
Payments | ||||
Stripe | ✓ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
Square | ✓ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
PayPal | ✓ | ✘ | ✘ | ✓ |
Wise | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
Best free accounting software FAQ.
Save time and money with Wise Business
Smart, simple ways to save time and money. Spend less on bank fees and watch your business grow.