Even the smallest of businesses need an accounting system, but a lot of small business owners don’t even know where to start. Unfortunately, a lot of them aren’t sure how to handle it, so instead they just let receipts and paperwork pile up until tax time, and then they are completely overwhelmed.

While it is possible to keep track of everything on paper, there is no reason to anymore. There are many free online accounting software programs now, such as Wave and NuCash, but be careful when using these programs. A lot of the free software programs make their money but collecting your customer’s information and then selling it, so be sure to read the fine print. If you do allow the company to sell your customer’s information, you are required to let them know that it will be sold.

There are many cheap online accounting software programs available that don’t own your customer’s information, so it is probably best to go that route. Quickbooks online has their most basic version available for $7.99/month, and if you call into their sales department instead of buying it online, you can get even better discounts. Their most recent special was $14.99/month for the ‘Plus’ version, which is the highest version you can buy.

Quickbooks online has helpful features, like syncing with your bank accounts and credit cards. They import transactions into your Quickbooks account, so all you have to do is input the details. This ensures that you don’t miss any purchases or valuable deductions, and helps you to keep a close eye on all of your finances. It’s like having your own bookkeeper for only $7.99/month!

Whatever you decide to do, don’t just sit there and let it pile up because you aren’t sure what to do. There are many online tutorials available teaching you how to do your accounting, and Quickbooks specifically has a huge knowledgebase you can pull from.