When there is more and more user-friendly accounting software available out there… Who still wants to use Excel to do accounting the hard way?
You probably are overwhelmed by a lot of ads claiming themselves are the best accounting software. And you might be confused…
Which is the best, easy-to-use, value for money accounting software?
To answer this question, it’s worthwhile to take a look at what accounting software most people are searching and using right now.
Here is a quick summary of the top 5 accounting software trending in Malaysia.
SQL accounting software
Wave accounting software
UBS accounting software
Xero accounting software
Autocount accounting software
This ranking is extracted from a keyword research tool. It tells you what the top brands are Malaysian searching for right now.
Though a trending software doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best, it’s still worthwhile to take into consideration. Because there must be a good reason why most people use it.
That being said, let’s take an in-depth look into each of the top 5 accounting software now.
1. SQL Accounting Software
Having 8,199 monthly searches in Malaysia, SQL is the most popular accounting software in Malaysia. Hence, their claim as the No.1 accounting software in South East Asia used by more than 230,000 companies could be legit.
SQL accounting software has many features that cover all the essential needs to prepare a professional account. Since there is no point repeating all the same things over here, you can have a detailed look here if interested. But we will highlight some features we personally like the most.
As you know, Whatsapp has become the most used communication tool in business other than email. SQL has taken a step forward to integrate their accounting software with Whatsapp. You can send Quotation, Invoice, Statement of account and other business documents to your clients via Whatsapp with a few simple clicks.
Another key feature we like the most is the advanced security and confidentiality. To maintain the harmony among the employer and employees, you would want to keep the payroll information as the top-secret, right?
SQL accounting software allows you to grant your staff access right in cash book entry for recording expenses transactions, but hide the transactions with sensitive keywords, like ‘director’s remuneration’ or ‘bonus’ etc from them.
2. Wave Accounting App
There is one big advantage that easily makes it an irresistible accounting software compared to the others. What’s it?
It’s FREE!
If you’re a consultant, freelancer or online business owner, then this would be the best accounting software for you.
Besides, Wave Accounting has designed its software in a user-friendly way that you don’t need a professional accountant to prepare the account unless your business transactions are complicated. But this is also a disadvantage as it slows down the transactions recording process.
It has all the functions you need to prepare a professional account. But the payroll function is only available to U.S. and Canada.
Here are the features listed by them:
There’s one thing you need to take note of. Wave Accounting claims that their free receipt scanning tools can automatically import information which sounds great. But we have tested it on our own...
Most of the receipt information we have to key in ourselves... Which means the AI is not that intelligent yet. But who knows it might improve in the next few years, if not months, right?
Anyway, it’s definitely the best accounting software for small business owners or freelancers who have a tight budget. But we recommend you to hire a clerk or accountant to handle the accounting work so you can focus more on your business. You don’t want to spend days and weeks just to record bills that don’t earn you money, do you?
And no worries.
Wave Accounting allows you to invite business partners or advisors to collaborate with you in real-time in your Wave account. So you don’t have to share your password with anyone. It’s safe and convenient.
Cost: Free
3. UBS Accounting Software
Founded in 1988, UBS accounting software has a long history. In fact, a few of our employees learned how to use UBS in their high school. Like the other accounting software we have just discussed above, it has all the essential tools you need to prepare a professional account.
However, based on our past experience using UBS, it might require a good knowledge of accounting ie. double entries. This means it might not be an easy tool for people who have zero accounting knowledge.
Maybe UBS have noticed this issue, they launched a newer and better Sage UBS software in July 2020 that claimed to be more simplified. Since we are not using UBS anymore, we are unable to share with you our experience in using this new Sage UBS accounting software. But you can watch their software demonstration here. Furthermore, you can try their software for free for 30 days.
If you don’t like paying a monthly subscription, then UBS accounting software might suit you better. You only have to pay a one-time fee for lifetime usage.
4. Xero Accounting Software
Cloud accounting is getting more and more popular nowadays thanks to the fast speed internet. Xero is one of the cloud-based accounting software like Wave.
Xero has all the essential functions for you to prepare a professional account.
The features are listed below:
Basically, Xero accounting shared a lot of similarities with Wave accounting. They are both a good choice for online business owners, freelancers. With the ‘Go Mobile’ feature, you can issue invoices everywhere you want as long as you have your mobile phone and internet with you.
But compared to Wave accounting, Xero accounting has a more localized function than Wave. For example, Xero can be linked to your CIMB bank account. When your bank account is connected, your latest bank transactions automatically show in Xero. It saves you a lot of time preparing an account so you can have more time focusing on your business. We believe Xero will partner with more Malaysian banks soon.
Plus, there are many accounting firm in Malaysia collaborating with Xero. You can easily look for an accounting partner to look over your Xero account. Again similar to Wave Accounting, Xero allows you to invite accounting partners or advisors to collaborate with you in real-time in your Xero account. You don’t have to share your password with other people. So it’s safe and convenient.
If you would like to try out Xero accounting software to see if it’s a good fit for you, they offer a free trial for 30 days.
Cost: USD 20 to 40 per month
5. Autocount Accounting Software
Autocount accounting software has become more popular recently.
It doesn’t only have all the essential tools for you to prepare a professional account, it goes beyond to include many premium features that cover every industry needs.
And the best part?
They offer flexibility in feature selection. Meaning you don’t need to pay for the features that you don’t need. Hence, you could save a lot of your budget.
There are too many features to cover in this article and I want to make this article short and precise. You can read further if you’re interested.
In short, it’s very easy-to-use. For example, it doesn’t need strong knowledge about accounting entries.
In fact, our accounting firm is mainly using Autocount accounting to prepare monthly / quarterly / yearly for our clients. Why?
Because it has everything we need for different industries that may need complicated accounting entries. And its flexibility and flow allow us to work efficiently so we can deliver work on time.
Autocount accounting software provides a clear and informative report for the user to easily understand the financial account. This is also one of the reasons we stick to Autocount accounting.
Like the UBS accounting software, you only need to pay a one-time fee for Autocount accounting software. So if you don’t like to pay a monthly subscription, Autocount would be a good option for you. And you can request a free trial from them.
Conclusion
The top 5 accounting software we have covered today are:
SQL accounting software
Wave accounting software
UBS accounting software
Xero accounting software
Autocount accounting software
So which is the best accounting software for you? If you ask for my opinion, I would say it depends on your need.
If you’re a freelancer, online business owner or small business owner, and if you would like to do the account on your own, I would recommend Wave or Xero. It’s convenient that you can manage your account on your mobile phone.
If you prefer flexibility in account preparation, then I would suggest Autocount, SQL or UBS accounting.
If you have too many transactions to maintain and would like to hire a person to handle it for you, then you can consider using our accounting services. This way you don’t have to invest in any accounting software and still get a professional account you need.
Plus, you don’t need to hire an expensive full-time staff who can easily cost you RM2,500+, not yet including bonus, allowance or training costs to stay in compliance. We provide accounting services in KL & Selangor at a price as low as RM297 per month. You can contact us to learn more here.