Managing accounting is challenging, but handling accounting processes for multiple businesses can be even more complicated. Luckily, multibusiness accounting software streamlines all accounting and bookkeeping operations for users, enabling them to manage their strategies without losing their minds.
In this article, we’ll be looking at the top software tools for multibusiness management. These solutions were selected for their enhanced features and capabilities that simplify account management tasks for multiple businesses, so users can optimize their operations using the latest and greatest streamlined software.
Top multibusiness accounting software comparison
| Starting price | Basic accounting functions | Multibusiness support | Financial forecasting | Built-in integration support | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage Intacct | Custom | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Try Sage |
| Acumatica Cloud ERP | Custom | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Try Acumatica |
| Zoho Books | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Try Zoho |
| QuickBooks Online | $30/mo. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Try QuickBooks |
| Xero | $15/mo. | Yes | No | No | Yes | Try Xero |
| Wave Accounting | $0/mo. | Yes | Yes | No | No | Try Wave |
Pricing and product details accurate as of 2/23/2024.
Sage Intacct: Best overall for multibusiness accounting
Sage Intacct delivers financial management software that provides visibility into business operations with data-driven insights. It has a customizable controller dashboard that lays out business financials and essential information through reports, statements and a wide range of visualizations.
The reporting dashboard allows real-time data analysis with a detailed general ledger and other custom reports. And for users managing accounting for multiple businesses, Sage Intacct provides essential insights to compare the statistics and figures of numerous entities.
Pricing
Sage doesn’t provide transparent pricing on its website and encourages shoppers to call for a quote.
Features
- Custom real-time reports.
- Fixed asset management.
- Specialized features for different industries.
- Robust dashboards.
- Collaboration tools.
- Financial and resource analytics.
Pros
- Both a desktop and cloud-native version of the Intacct software.
- Connects with third-party solutions such as Salesforce, with even more integrations through its web services API.
- Automations to optimize cash management processes.
Cons
- No transparent pricing information online.
- Implementation and utilization can come with a steep learning curve.
Acumatica Cloud ERP: Best ERP
Automatica’s all-in-one cloud ERP solution provides many great features for managing multiple growing businesses. The software can handle the unique requirements of various industries, with tools for construction management, field service and inventory management and optimization.
Managers of warehouse locations will especially enjoy the solution’s warehouse management system and, of course, its multientity and intercompany accounting support. Furthermore, Acumatica’s flexible software licensing plans make scaling easy for organizations, as they charge based on the functionality and data use, not the number of users.
Pricing
Pricing information is available by request on the Automatica website.
Features
- Collaborative capabilities.
- Single data model.
- Real-time insights.
- Financial management
- Point of Sale system.
- Project accounting.
- Multientity and intercompany accounting.
Pros
- Flexible pricing plans that charge businesses only for the data they use, not the number of users.
- Mobile apps for accessing multibusiness accounting data on the go.
- Real-time visibility into financial data.
Cons
- No free trial.
- Primarily a U.S.-optimized solution.
- Features may be too limiting for global enterprises.
Zoho Books: Best for enterprises
Zoho Books’ online accounting software is great for users looking to consolidate business accounting processes into one streamlined system. It even offers a free plan with a limited version of the software so businesses can experience its capabilities without breaking the bank.
The paid plans have many impressive features for multibusiness accounting, including bank feed connections, sales orders and workflow management. And if you’re still unsure whether a Zoho Books paid solution is right for you, you can sign up online for a 14-day free trial of the full-featured Premium plan.
Pricing
Zoho Books offers six different price tiers to choose from:
- Free: Costs $0 (for businesses with a yearly revenue below $50K).
- Standard: Costs $15 per organization per month, billed annually.
- Professional: Costs $40 per organization per month, billed annually.
- Premium: Costs $60 per organization per month, billed annually.
- Elite: Costs $120 per organization per month, billed annually.
- Ultimate: Costs $240 per organization per month, billed annually.
Features
- Zoho Books mobile app.
- Scheduled reporting and real-time data analysis.
- Customized invoicing.
- Expense management.
- Customer portal and vendor portal.
Pros
- Transparent pricing for paid solutions is provided online.
- Vendor portal that allows vendors to access and manage their own transactions.
- Powerful built-in integrations with many popular third-party solutions including Office 365, G Suite and Stripe.
Cons
- Free and lower-priced solutions (the Standard plan) lack cash flow forecasting and timesheet management capabilities.
- Complicated initial deployment.
For more information, read our full Zoho Books review.
QuickBooks Online: Best user experience
Intuit Quickbooks is a trusted resource for providing robust workforce management software, and its accounting solution is no exception. The cloud-based tool helps users manage their multibusiness accounting operations through its platform, which acts as a single source of truth to unite each client and business in one user-friendly system.
With its automatic data integrations and real-time updates across devices, all your important information will be easily accessible for more visibility and functionality. This unified data can give you deeper insights into your client’s growth, workflow productivity and overall business performance.
Pricing
QuickBooks Online offers four different pricing tiers to choose from:
- QuickBooks Simple Start: Costs $30 per month.
- QuickBooks Essentials: Costs $60 per month.
- QuickBooks Plus: Costs $90 per month.
- QuickBooks Advanced: Costs $200 per month.
Features
- Automatic bank feeds.
- Online customer invoicing.
- Automatic tax calculation.
- Audit every detail of a transaction.
- Customizable reports.
- Data encryption.
Pros
- Bulk importing feature.
- Unlimited invoices to an unlimited number of clients.
- Intuitive and user-friendly software.
- All plans come with cash flow forecasting, which isn’t always included within lower-cost accounting software plans (looking at you, Zoho Books).
Cons
- Prices may not be affordable for smaller business management.
- High price jumps from one plan to the next, especially for those going from the QuickBooks Plus plan to QuickBooks Advanced.
For more information, read our full Quickbooks Online review.
Xero: Best for small businesses
Xero’s accounting software is advertised as “made for small businesses,” so if you’re managing accounting for multiple small companies, Xero’s an excellent option. Like others on this list, it provides core capabilities that facilitate and support fundamental accounting operations across each of its plans. But it has a particular emphasis on streamlining processes for busy small-business owners.
Its lowest-priced plan, the Early plan, does limit the number of invoices you can send per month, but it’s a great, cost-effective option for new users with fewer or smaller accounts. And if you require more software functionality, scaling up is easy, as Xero supports unlimited users and has relatively low prices across each plan.
Pricing
Xero offers its accounting software in three price tiers:
- Early: Costs $15 per month.
- Growing: Costs $42 per month.
- Established: Costs $78 per month.
New users can also get 50% off of their first three months.
Features
- Time-tracking tool.
- Xero’s mobile app, Xero Expenses.
- Admin task automation.
- Workflow management..
- Document management.
- Financial reporting.
Pros
- 30-day free trial.
- Wide range of supported integrations with third-party solutions.
- Users aren’t locked in and can cancel their plans at any time.
Cons
- Payroll comes as an add-on through Gusto starting at $40 per month.
- Xero limits users to one organization per subscription, so multibusiness accounting would require an account subscription for each business, which can be expensive depending on the plan.
For more information, read our full Xero review.
Wave Accounting: Best low-cost option
Wave Accounting is a helpful free tool for accounting. Users can access basic accounting software features through the entirely free accounting plan.
That said, the basic product does lack some of the perks included in other systems, but Wave offers these as optional add-ons for additional fees. It also gives you the option to upgrade to a paid plan that includes slightly more features, including unlimited receipt scanning, thorough automations and unlimited users.
So, depending on your accounting needs, Wave’s software offerings could provide you with a great free or low-cost solution.
Pricing
Wave has one fully free accounting software solution and one paid plan for growing (but still small) businesses:
- Wave Starter: Free for life. Includes basic accounting tools only.
- Wave Pro: $16 per month (billed month to month) or $170 per year (billed annually). Includes unlimited users, receipt scans and discounted pricing on transaction fees.
Wave Starter users have the option to add mobile receipt scanning for the cost of $96 per year or $11 per month. Users of either plan can add payroll starting at $20 per month plus $6 per person paid.
Features
- Expense tracking.
- Accounting dashboard.
- Online payments.
- Income tracking.
- Bank and credit card connections.
- Overdue invoices and bills reporting.
- Profit and loss reporting.
- Sales and tax tracking.
Pros
- Automatic payment deadline reminders for clients (with paid plan only).
- User-friendly interface with easy software setup.
- Supports up to 15 business profiles within one account.
Cons
- Connecting data from third-party solutions can be difficult, as Wave doesn’t provide any built-in integrations.
- With extra features listed as add-ons, it may not be a great fit for businesses needing a more robust solution.
For more information, read our full Wave review.
Key features of multibusiness accounting software
Multibusiness support
As a multibusiness accounting solution, your software should be able to support the management and accounting processes for multiple entities. A helpful multibusiness tool should allow you to visualize the data for all the businesses and accounts you manage on one platform and access the information for each one individually as needed.
Robust user dashboard
A user dashboard is always helpful in accounting software, as it can help you easily view and manage your multibusinesses data in one centralized location. A robust user dashboard should consolidate financial information across your entities, reveal real-time insights and provide helpful visual representations of critical financial data.
Integration support
A solution that supports integration with third-party tools can significantly simplify your accounting processes. Built-in connections with banking systems, payment processors, financial instruments and other business solutions can streamline data entry, reduce manual effort, save time and drive faster data insights.
Data consolidation
Multibusiness accounting comes with multibusiness financial data. But accounting solutions should consolidate data from each business and generate reports from this data for streamlined visibility. Consolidating financial data is vital for creating reports that reveal essential information about the financial health of the entire organization, and it can help drive insights for optimizing your accounting processes.
Automated capabilities
Automation is a vital element of accounting software solutions, as it minimizes how long it takes to carry out tasks and streamlines processes for a more efficient workflow. For example, automated calculations in accounting tools save users effort and ensure accuracy by reducing mistakes due to human error. Automated tools can also notify people of deliverables for a faster and more efficient workflow.
How do I choose the best multibusiness accounting software software for my business?
Selecting the best multibusiness accounting software for your business requires a strategic approach and careful consideration, as your ideal solution should satisfy your organization’s specific needs. It’s helpful to assess the unique factors that determine a tool’s usefulness for your business, such as its size, the complexity of its accounting processes and any industry requirements.
From here, you can consider how each solution would support these needs. For instance, the advanced features offered by Zoho Books make it a good option for streamlined data consolidation. Acumatica Cloud ERP is a helpful all-in-one system for managing growing entities with unique industry requirements.
Alternatively, if you seek a unified solution with built-in connections and automatic data integrations, Intuit QuickBooks could be your best bet. Sage Intaact’s robust dashboard is optimal if you want to access comprehensive financial visibility and data-driven insights across multiple businesses. And if you are looking for scalability and cost-effectiveness in your solution, one of Xero or Wave Accounting’s free or low-cost software plans may be the right choice for your business needs.
Methodology
This is a technical review using compiled literature researched from relevant databases. The information provided in this article is gathered from vendor websites or based on an aggregate of user feedback to ensure a high-quality review.
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