Best Accounting Software in the UAE
Nowadays, no growing business can dream of surviving without accounting software. Every business, be it big or small, needs multi-functioning accounting software. Many budding small business owners in UAE often struggle with managing finances and other related tasks and are not even satisfied with the results.
Imagine all the time and hassle that you bear for account management; a small monthly fee can save you from all this, and you can spend that time on growing your business. So what is the solution? Financial management solution – it may seem like a simple choice, but the decision is crucial in determining the success of your business.
Comparison of Best Accounting Software in UAE
One simple solution for solving a multitude of business issues, but then, it brings forth the one million dollar question - what is the best accounting software in UAE? The markets of the UAE are flooded with many types of accounting software that offer different types of facilities.so, how can you find out the one that will suit your needs?
Let us discuss the pros and cons of the most popular accounting software in the UAE.
QuickBooks
QuickBooks is one of the most popular options amongst accounting software in the UAE, especially for managing small businesses. It offers cloud accounting, which means you can access it from anywhere, at any time.
We all know how busy business owners can get, so not being able to access your accounts at any time can be a deal-breaker for most small business owners. Being an international company, Quickbooks also offers its customers the VAT feature that saves you from any legal hassles as it is compliant with UAE law.
Its features are useful for entrepreneurs starting their small business ventures. The software is easy to use, efficient, affordable, and provides you with good results, accounting reports, and invoices. It allows you to track all of your expenses, so you don’t go overboard and create quotation documents.
On the downside, QuickBooks, like any other software, is not perfect, as:
- it has file size issues
- Allows a limited number of users
- May suffer system crashes
- Doesn’t offer business-specific features
- Cannot facilitate bar code scanning.
Xero
Hailing from New Zealand, Xero is popularly known as an international software company in the UAE. It caters mostly to small- to medium-sized business owners and is quite a catch when it comes to accounting software. Xero offers many interesting features to its customers, aiding them in their business ventures.
The best thing about Xero is how user-friendly, streamlined, and easy it is! It offers easy integration with payment applications such as GoCardless, Stripe, and PayPal. It is effortless to manage as it offers integration with time tracking and generates invoices from two platforms, so invoice numbering problems don’t occur.
Other helpful features include:
- It has a helpful and active community forum so anyone can discuss their issues
- allows easy management of contacts as it groups all the clients and vendors
- generates detailed and well-described analytics and reports
- has a user-friendly visual interface
- allows many users to utilize the same platform
All these features truly make it the best choice for account software for small and medium business owners in UAE. With Xero, you can give access to administrators and co-founders, thus making account management super easy. Compared with QuickBooks, Xero is seen as an affordable alternative. It is easier to set up, modify and manage recurring invoices.
On the downside, some of its cons include limited custom reporting, slow response time, and payrolls.
Sage
Sage is a widely popular accounting software amongst small to medium business owners. It offers its services in multiple plans. The cheapest plans of Sage provide limited facilities like sending invoices, tracking expenditure, and income. Then as you increase the amount you pay for the plan, they provide better facilities like project management services.
One of the unique features of Sage is its 30 days free trial policy without the need to add your credit card details.
Pros of using Sage are plenty, like:
- It is cloud-based, so you don’t need to specifically install any program.
- Offers an in-depth reporting facility for the best financial reports, balance sheets, etcetera
- Offers ways for budgeting, auditing, and job costing
- It allows to link bank accounts and credit cards with the software
- Can run multiple reports at the same time
It isn’t even expensive but relatively light on the pocket compared with competitors
Cons of Sage include the fact that it isn’t the most user-friendly software, so you might need to train your staff to use it. Also, it is time-consuming and tricky to set up the program, so you might need to go through the hassle of finding an expert for this task. Over-complicated features lead it to be ranked as a rather less efficient software.
Many experts believe that though Sage is accounting software and made to support small and medium scale businesses, it is perhaps better used as a means for project management rather than handling financial matters.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is a popular accounting application for those who want to handle accounts from their mobile. It comes with interesting features that facilitate small and medium businesses, such as:
- project management utilities
- time tracking tools
- tools for managing the expenses
- producing well-detailed and efficient reports.
All these qualities make FreshBooks an excellent choice for startup businesses in the UAE and should be of great interest to any entrepreneur and freelancer that is planning to start.
Some of the most talked-about qualities of FreshBooks include:
- an easy and quick way to create invoices
- provides templates so you can add your brand logo
- ability to choose a particular color that is exclusive to your brand
- automatic reporting of expenses
Some of the problems people face with FreshBooks are issues with importing expenses when done automatically. FreshBooks tend to miscategorize items. It is a tad bit on the pricey side, suffers frequent crashes, and it may be slower to use for some users.
The accounting software you choose to run your business in UAE will depend on your budget, preferences, and accounting needs.
DISCLAIMER
This article is written in general terms and therefore cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; application of the principles set out will depend upon the particular circumstances involved and we recommend that you obtain professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on any of its contents.