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Buyer's guide Accounting software

Choosing AI accounting software for a small business

Match the ledger to the country you file in first, then compare what the AI books on its own, whether your history moves across and who checks it.

Tick Mark Books ResearchPublished 18 min readEditorial policy
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On this page
  1. The short answer
  2. The 6 tools compared
  3. What will one month cost at 100 transactions, with the ledger counted?
  4. Which country’s tax work will it actually do?
  5. What does the AI do, and does a person check the books?
  6. Will my history and my payment apps come across?
  7. Can I sign up on my own and let my accountant in?
  8. Can I take my books with me if I leave?
  9. The tools that stand out
  10. Which one to pick
  11. How we compared
  12. Questions buyers ask
  13. Sources

The short answer

A month at 100 transactions costs $20 a month on Zoho Books’ Standard plan, which also has a free plan to start on, and $65 a month on Digits’ Essentials plan, where the AI categorizes, reconciles and verifies inside the ledger.

FreeAgent leads for British businesses, filing Self Assessment and Corporation Tax returns from £10 a month (about $13). Digits comes with no bookkeeper, so the person who checks its books is hired from a partner firm.

On 29 October 2026 we listed 40 tools: 10 of them under Accounting software and 10 with a free plan.

  • Zoho Books has a free plan and a paid plan from $20 a month, and it is the 1 of the 6 with a free plan.
  • FreeAgent files Self Assessment and Corporation Tax returns straight to Britain’s tax authority from £10 a month (about $13).
  • Digits does the booking and checking itself for $65 a month, but a licensed human reviewer is not part of a plan and comes from its partner directory.
  • Digits, Sage Accounting and Zoho Books are the 3 of the 6 that move your history in, while FreeAgent and Pennylane move it in part.
  • Digits, FreeAgent, Sage Accounting and Zoho Books are the 4 of the 6 you can sign up for without a sales call, while Puzzle sells its software online and arranges services and migration by call.
Logos of Digits, FreeAgent, Pennylane, Puzzle, Sage Accounting, Zoho Books. 6 tools compared, from $20 a month.

The 6 tools compared

Table 1 Price and the questions that separate them, checked 27 October 2026
ProductFromStripeMoves your history inSign up without a sales call
Digits
$65 a month
Yes
Yes
Yes
FreeAgent
about $13 a month
Partly
Partly
Yes
Pennylane
about $7.82 a month
–
Partly
Partly
Puzzle
–
Partly
–
Partly
Sage Accounting
about $27 a month
Yes
Yes
Yes
Zoho Books
Free, then $20 a month
Yes
Yes
Yes

What will one month cost at 100 transactions, with the ledger counted?

Price the ledger and the monthly volume together. Digits, FreeAgent, Puzzle, Sage Accounting and Zoho Books are each the general ledger itself, so you pay for no QuickBooks or Xero subscription underneath them. At 100 transactions a month, Zoho Books costs $20 a month on Standard and Digits costs $65 a month on Essentials.

Zoho Books also has a free plan and is the 1 of the 6 with one. FreeAgent starts at £10 a month (about $13) and Sage Accounting at £20 a month (about $27).

Which country’s tax work will it actually do?

Buy the ledger that is built for the tax authority you file with. Zoho Books sells to American businesses with sales and use tax tracked across the states where you register and 1099 e-filing, and it sells separate editions for Canada, Britain and Australia. Which return you owe is a question for your accountant.

FreeAgent is built around British businesses. It files Self Assessment and Corporation Tax returns, sends quarterly income tax updates and applies value-added tax rates to invoice lines. Sage Accounting retired its American edition on 31 December 2024, and in Britain it submits value-added tax returns while you complete Self Assessment yourself. Digits sells only to American businesses, does not calculate sales tax and files no return.

What does the AI do, and does a person check the books?

The AI sorts your transactions, and a person still checks the books. Digits, FreeAgent, Puzzle and Sage Accounting are the 4 of the 6 that categorize transactions. Zia in Zoho Books fills in the account and vendor for each bank line as a suggestion for you to confirm.

Digits categorizes, reconciles and verifies inside the ledger, and it says over 96% of transactions post with no accounting action. It reconciles bank, card and payroll accounts as statements come in. Its automated checks send uncertain items to a checklist, and a licensed reviewer is hired from a partner firm because no plan includes a bookkeeper. With FreeAgent, you approve each bill or receipt it captures. Sage Accounting uses customer data to train its AI, Digits trains its own in-house models on that data, and Pennylane says customer data never trains external models.

Will my history and my payment apps come across?

Digits, Sage Accounting and Zoho Books are the 3 of the 6 that move your history in, and they are also the 3 of the 6 that connect to Stripe.

Sage Accounting brings your transactional data, chart of accounts and customer and supplier lists across through MoveMyBooks, and it pays for that migration. Digits connects to QuickBooks Online directly, takes Xero by spreadsheet file and charges no migration fees, and QuickBooks Desktop users also move by spreadsheet file. Zoho Books moves QuickBooks or Xero books across at no charge. FreeAgent imports opening balances and bank transactions, but past invoices and bills need a third-party tool. Digits connects to Stripe, Ramp, Mercury and Gusto, and Puzzle connects to Stripe and Gusto.

Can I sign up on my own and let my accountant in?

Digits, FreeAgent, Sage Accounting and Zoho Books are the 4 of the 6 you can sign up for without a sales call. Digits, FreeAgent, Pennylane and Sage Accounting are the 4 of the 6 that let your accountant sign in.

Pennylane sells its French plans online with a free trial, but its English-language page sends visitors to a contact form. Puzzle sells its software plans online and arranges services and migration by call. FreeAgent and Zoho Books are the 2 of the 6 with a free trial or free plan. Zoho Books offers accountant access in part, so ask it what your accountant can do in the file.

Can I take my books with me if I leave?

Yes. Digits, FreeAgent, Pennylane, Puzzle and Zoho Books all let you take your books out, but what comes out differs. Puzzle exports the full general ledger detail, with every historical journal entry in one file, plus the chart of accounts, transactions and statements as Excel, spreadsheet or printable files.

Pennylane exports trial balances, general ledgers, the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement. FreeAgent exports the whole account to a spreadsheet and its attachments to a compressed archive, for record keeping, since the export cannot be loaded back in. Digits exports reports and financial statements to Excel and a tax package for a preparer, and it describes no single full general-ledger export. Zoho Books exports every report as a printable document or spreadsheet, with instant exports capped at 5,000 records for printable documents and 20,000 for spreadsheets.

The tools that stand out

Digits

Best for American businesses replacing QuickBooks: Digits categorizes, reconciles and verifies transactions inside its own general ledger, with plans from $65 a month.

  • Price: From $65 a month
  • Who it’s for: An American startup or small business that wants an AI-kept ledger in place of QuickBooks, with bank feeds, receipts and invoicing on Essentials at $65 a month.
  • Skip it if: A business outside the United States should pick Zoho Books, which sells separate editions for Canada, Britain and Australia, because Digits serves American entities only.

Digits is a general ledger that books and reconciles itself, built to replace QuickBooks or Xero. The AI bookkeeping, reconciliation, quality checks and the Ask Digits assistant are all in the plan fee, with no credits or AI add-on.

A solo operator pays $65 a month on Essentials, the plan Digits points solopreneurs to, with bank feeds, receipts in Vault and invoicing included and no per-user charge. Signing up carries no setup fee, and QuickBooks Online history comes across through a direct connection up to a cutover date, with Xero by spreadsheet file. Payment processing costs for Bill Pay are priced separately.

Digits collects vendor tax forms and flags vendors eligible for a 1099, but the filing itself happens in tax software, while Zoho Books e-files those forms from inside its ledger. Stripe, Ramp, Mercury and Gusto connect natively, and payroll syncs from 20 providers.

What it does well

  • AI bookkeeping, reconciliation and the Ask Digits assistant are included in the plan fee.
  • QuickBooks Online history moves in through a direct connection, free of migration fees.
  • Payroll syncs from 20 providers, with Gusto connected natively.

Where it falls short

  • It serves only American entities with American bank accounts and dollars, and it names no value-added tax handling.
  • There is no item-level stock tracking or cost-of-goods-sold engine on any plan.
  • Support is by email and web form only, with no phone or chat.

FreeAgent

Best for British sole traders filing Self Assessment: FreeAgent lets a sole trader file Self Assessment straight to Britain’s tax authority from inside the product.

  • Price: From about $13 a month
  • Who it’s for: A British sole trader or small limited company that files its own Self Assessment and wants its bank feeds and filing in one account.
  • Skip it if: An American business that needs contractor forms filed should pick Zoho Books, which e-files 1099s with the Internal Revenue Service from inside the ledger.

FreeAgent is cloud accounting built around British businesses, with bank feeds, filing and AI receipt capture. Open Banking feeds import transactions automatically for the major British banks, and unsupported banks fall back to statement upload or manual entry. Support accountants answer by phone, email and chat, so a person is on hand to check what the software records.

Plans are priced per business type, and the price is £10 a month (about $13), with nothing to pay for setup. A small business signs up, subscribes and cancels online on its own. Switching brings in contacts, opening balances from your trial balance and past bank transactions at no stated cost, but historical sales invoices and bills need a third-party tool such as AutoEntry or Dext.

Bills are captured and tracked as accounts payable, while paying them goes through partner products. Support runs 9am-5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am-4pm Friday. The whole account exports to a spreadsheet and every attachment to a zip file, for record keeping.

What it does well

  • Self Assessment returns are filed straight to Britain’s tax authority from inside the product.
  • Support accountants in Britain answer by phone, email and chat.
  • The whole account exports to a spreadsheet and every attachment to a zip file.
  • It runs in the browser with native iPhone and Android apps.

Where it falls short

  • Paying bills is left to partner products in its Payment solutions directory.
  • Support has no weekend or after-hours cover.
  • Historical sales invoices and bills need a third-party tool such as AutoEntry, Dext or Fabio to move in.

Pennylane

Best for French businesses working with an accounting firm: Pennylane puts a French business and its accounting firm on one platform, with a separate accountants’ side for the firm.

  • Price: From about $7.82 a month
  • Who it’s for: A small business in France that wants its accounting firm working on the same platform, with plans in euros and French value-added tax and e-invoicing built in.
  • Skip it if: A business in the United States should pick Digits, which sells its plans online with a trial, because Pennylane offers American visitors only a contact form.

Pennylane combines invoicing, accounting and business banking for small businesses and their accounting firms. Pennylane says its AI runs reconciliation, categorization and compliance in the background and surfaces cash-flow risks and funding needs. The firm works on its own accountants’ side of the same platform, covering bookkeeping, invoicing, value-added tax and compliance across clients.

Starter includes bank sync, transaction matching and receipt reading, but it requires activating the Pennylane Compte Pro business account. Pricing is a flat monthly fee per business, however many transactions or connected accounts it carries. Every plan opens with a 15-day free trial, and every plan issues invoices, credit notes and quotes with a payment link, while Essentiel adds automated reminders for unpaid invoices.

Its markets are France, Germany and Spain. Trial balances, general ledgers, the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement export in a few clicks, where Digits describes no single full general-ledger dump. The accounting page promises a migration through its imports but names no source system.

What it does well

  • Its accountants’ side lets firms handle bookkeeping, invoicing, value-added tax and compliance across clients on the same platform.
  • Trial balance, general ledger, balance sheet and profit and loss export in a few clicks.
  • Invoices, credit notes and quotes carry a payment link on every plan.
  • A flat monthly fee per business covers the books however many transactions they hold.

Where it falls short

  • Starter requires activating the Pennylane Compte Pro business account.
  • American buyers get a contact form instead of a self-serve plan.
  • The 15-day trial ends with no standing free plan to stay on.

Zoho Books

Best for American businesses filing contractor forms: Zoho Books e-files 1099s with the Internal Revenue Service from inside the ledger and tracks contractors on every plan, with paid plans at $20 a month.

  • Price: Free, then $20 a month
  • Free plan: yes
  • Who it’s for: A small business or startup that wants one ledger tied to the wider Zoho app suite, starting on a free plan and filing contractor forms itself.
  • Skip it if: A business that runs payroll on Gusto should pick Digits, which connects Gusto natively, because the Zoho Books integrations directory has no Gusto entry.

Zoho Books is a cloud ledger with the Zia AI assistant. Zia answers finance questions in plain English, flags anomalies in report data, pre-fills categories on bank statement lines and drafts invoices, quotes and reports from a prompt. The AI is part of the subscription, with receipt autoscan from 50 scans a month on Free to 1,000 on Premium and above.

The free plan comes with email support only, and bank feeds start on Standard. A freelancer who needs bank feeds and receipt capture pays $20 an organization a month billed monthly on Standard, and paid plans add voice and chat support from 9am to 9pm Eastern time on weekdays. Zoho moves existing books across from QuickBooks or Xero at no charge.

Separate country editions cover Canada, Britain with value-added tax filing to its tax authority, and Australia, where Digits serves American entities only. It runs in the browser, as a Windows desktop app and as iPhone and Android apps. Stripe, PayPal, Square and Authorize.Net connect as payment gateways.

What it does well

  • 1099s are e-filed with the Internal Revenue Service from inside Zoho Books.
  • A free plan includes receipt autoscan for 50 scans a month.
  • Books move across from QuickBooks or Xero at no charge, with assisted migration support.
  • Stripe, PayPal, Square and Authorize.Net connect as payment gateways.

Where it falls short

  • Bank feeds start on Standard, not Free, so a business that needs them pays $20 an organization a month.
  • The free plan gets email support only.
  • Instant exports cap at 5,000 records as a printable document and 20,000 as a spreadsheet, and larger ones run in the background.

Which one to pick

  • If you need the smallest monthly bill and a free plan to start on: pick Zoho Books. Zoho Books is the 1 of the 6 with a free plan, and when you outgrow it, 100 transactions cost $20 a month on Standard, the same as its $20 a month starting price.
  • If you need your British tax return and quarterly estimates done from the same ledger: pick FreeAgent. FreeAgent files Self Assessment and Corporation Tax returns to Britain’s tax authority, works out what you owe each quarter from your books and sends the quarterly income tax updates, and it applies British value-added tax rates to invoice lines.
  • If you need the AI to categorize and reconcile inside the ledger: pick Digits. Digits uses AI to book transactions to your chart of accounts and reconciles bank, card and payroll accounts as statements arrive.
  • If you need payroll for a growing team inside the ledger: pick Sage Accounting. Sage Accounting has payroll built in, and you add users by moving up a plan, with unlimited users on Plus, for sole traders and firms of up to 49 employees.
  • If you need your French accounting firm working on the same platform: pick Pennylane. Pennylane lets an external accountant into the books from its cheapest paid plan, and accounting firms work on its own accountants’ side.
  • If you need past months caught up on a startup’s Stripe and Gusto accounts: pick Puzzle. Puzzle catches up past months of bookkeeping and connects to Stripe and Gusto, and it is built for an American startup on Mercury, Brex, Ramp, Stripe and Gusto that wants to replace QuickBooks.

How we compared

We compared 6 tools on price, free plan and 3 questions a buyer asks, reading each vendor’s pricing page and product pages between 26 October 2026 and 27 October 2026. We did not sign up for or run any of them. In all we answered 51 questions about what they do.

Questions buyers ask

Does AI accounting software replace my bookkeeper?

No. Digits gives you no bookkeeper with a subscription and refers businesses that want one to certified partner firms, which bill separately. Its automated checks send uncertain items to a checklist, and a licensed reviewer comes from a firm in its partner directory. With FreeAgent, checking the AI is your job: you approve each bill or receipt it captures. Puzzle can catch up past months of bookkeeping for you.

Is there free accounting software for a small business?

Yes. Zoho Books has a free plan and is the 1 of the 6 with one. FreeAgent and Zoho Books are the 2 of the 6 with a free trial or free plan.

Will the software file my taxes?

FreeAgent does: it files Self Assessment and Corporation Tax returns straight to Britain’s tax authority. Sage Accounting submits value-added tax returns from inside the product but leaves Self Assessment for you to complete. Digits prepares the books and exports a tax package for a preparer, but files no return itself. Zoho Books e-files 1099 contractor forms with the Internal Revenue Service.

Can I move my QuickBooks history into a new ledger?

Yes, with Digits, Sage Accounting and Zoho Books, the 3 of the 6 that move your history in. Digits brings QuickBooks Online history across through a direct connection up to a cutover date and charges no migration fees. It names no QuickBooks Desktop import, so Desktop users move by spreadsheet file. Zoho Books moves QuickBooks or Xero books across at no charge.

Can my accountant sign in to my books?

Yes, with Digits, FreeAgent, Pennylane and Sage Accounting, the 4 of the 6 that let your accountant sign in. Zoho Books offers accountant access in part, so ask it what your accountant can see and change in the file.

Is my financial data used to train the AI?

Yes, with Sage Accounting. Its AI and data ethics principles say customer product data is analyzed together with other customers’ data to train AI models, with no opt-out for anonymized data. Digits never uses customer data to train outside models, but it trains its own in-house accounting models on that data and publishes no opt-out. Pennylane says customer data is never used to train external models, so ask it about its own models.

Which accounting software connects to Stripe?

Digits, Sage Accounting and Zoho Books are the 3 of the 6 that connect to Stripe. Digits also connects Ramp, Mercury and Gusto and syncs payroll from 20 providers. Sage Accounting adds PayPal, Shopify and WooCommerce. Zoho Books adds PayPal, Square and Authorize.Net.

Sources

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