Discover The Most Commonly Used Accounting Software in India – Plus a Free Alternative!

Whether it is manufacturing, automotive, telecom, or whatnot, keeping track of finances is the primary requirement of a business. And to ensure that your books are all aligned and clean, it is crucial to have accounting software.

There are several financial aspects of a business, such as inventory management, payrolls, receivables, tax calculations, ledgers, etc. And working and managing these aspects manually can lead to a lot of hassle.

Therefore, you need to check what is the most commonly used accounting software and whether it has all these features. Looking at the market, there are several accounting software that can satisfy the financial management needs of a business.

So, here is a comprehensive guide on the most commonly used accounting software and which one you should go for!

The Most Commonly Used Accounting Software in India 2024

When it comes to accounting software, there are hundreds of choices for you, thanks to the evergreen market size. As per stats, the market of accounting software in India will surge at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2024 to 2031, making it worth $21.86 billion.

Indian businesses use a variety of accounting software, and all of them have unique features that make them stand out. Let’s have a look at the most commonly used accounting software in India!

1. Tally

When we talk about the most commonly used accounting software in India, Tally ranks on top. It is regarded as the most used accounting software and has been in the market for over two decades.

The software has recently launched its ERP 9 version, which packs some incredible features required in accounting software.

• Tally provides banking transaction support that includes generating and managing cheques, reconciling business transactions, and handling e-payment transactions.
• It has inventory management features, such as tracking stock status, managing stock categories, creating multiple price lists, and accessing stock reports.
• Tally provides cutting-edge security features, including user-level access controls and a vault controlled by a password for data security.
• An innovative feature of Tally is the budget and control features. With this feature, you can allocate budgets to different departments to track expenses and credit limits.

2. Intuit QuickBooks

Intuit QuickBooks is an amazing cloud-based accounting software that is easy to scale and allows clients to keep a smooth workflow with smart automation features.

• Use the QuickBooks tool to keep track of the invoices that your clients send. Further, you also get automatic payment reminders and payment matching features.
• The GST and VAT tracking features of the tool allow its clients to organize expenses into sales categories and track sales tax on the net income.
• Keep track of low stock, best-selling items, total sales, and total taxes via real-time inventory management.
• Intuit QuickBooks packs some of the best security features, including multi-factor authentication, password-protected logins, audit trails, and data encryption.
• The tool supports a plethora of integrations that enable clients to add extended functionality to the tool for smoother workflow and accounting needs.

3. Busy

Busy is one of the most powerful and  most commonly used accounting software in India. It has a user base of over 3,00,000 and is available as a desktop, mobile, and cloud app.

• Busy provides you with complete GST management features, including GST invoicing, filling, and returns. Furthermore, it also has GST reconciliation and GSTIN verification features.
• It has a comprehensive set of inventory management features, such as managing inventory across different locations, batch-wise inventory stocking, item critical level alerts, managing quotations, challans, invoices, etc.
• The busy software also comes in the form of a mobile app that enables access to sales, stock, and purchase data on the go. Furthermore, it also provides access to 100+ reports.
• Besides accounting, Busy is also a mini-ERP software that provides features like payroll, customer service, multi-branch management, discount scheme management, etc.

4. Zoho Books

Zoho Books is a subset of Zoho’s power business product suite. Widely popular for its business tools, Zoho has integrated some of the most powerful features into its accounting software, making it  most commonly used accounting software.

• With Zoho Books, you can easily streamline and optimize your receivables process, including multi-lingual invoice generation, receiving timely payments, automated quote generation, etc.
• You can control your spending with Zoho Books by keeping a check on vendor bill payments, tracking outstanding payments, incurred expenses, and more.
• Zoho Books enables effective GST management with features like automatic GST tracking of your sales and purchase transactions, direct GST filing from within the software, and generating GST-compliant invoices.
• The tool is your perfect partner for syncing your books with the bank. For example, Zoho can be used to automatically reconcile bank accounts and import and categorize banking transactions.

5. Vyapar

Translated as a business in English, Vyapar is an exceptional accounting software company that has a customer base of around 1 crore in the country. Here are some critical features that make it desirable for the audience.

• The Vyapar app provides you with a comprehensive business dashboard that you can use to check in-hand cash, stock value, bank balance, etc. By analyzing these factors, you can make informed business decisions.
• The reporting features of the Vyapar software are off the charts. The tool provides you with sales reports, day books, profit and loss statements, cash flow analysis, purchase reports, GST reports, balance sheets, etc.
• Manage your sales and purchases easily with sales invoices, delivery challans, purchase bills, payment-in and payment-out, etc.
• The tool also integrates some stunning security features, such as password or fingerprint-based access control and automatic backup of data in case of data loss.

6. ProfitBooks

ProfitBooks is one of the best answers to the question: what is the most commonly used accounting software in India? Primarily famous for its super interactive user interface, ProfitBooks hosts some of the best accounting features!

• The software offers you an integrated invoicing and billing system that includes tracking payments, creating professional invoices, sales reports, payment gateway integrations, etc.
• Seamlessly track your business expenses with the help of real-time reporting and analytics. You can track your day-to-day expenses, upload receipts, automatically calculate paid taxes, and monitor spending patterns.
• Get cutting-edge inventory management features, such as managing purchase orders, fulfilling sales orders, managing multiple warehouses, providing multi-currency support, and providing in-depth inventory reporting.
• Powerful financial reporting features, such as access to crucial reports like inventory valuation, low stock alerts, pending orders, stock wastage, and more. ProfitBooks also provides you with 45+ filterable reports.

Mocha Accounting: A Free and Powerful Alternative!

All the described software is great in its own way. However, not all of them are ideal for a small business. Some might lack features that you need, and some of them can be pricey.

However, Mocha Accounting is a perfect software in terms of features, benefits, and price. Here is a brief overview of the Mocha software!

• Security features: Mocha packs powerful and reliable security features that include ingenious encryption technology and data backup on a secure server for iron-clad protection.
• Inventory: The software hosts several utilitarian inventory features, such as inventory details tracking, product performance reporting, automated reminders for restocking, real-time tracking of inventory, and inventory history.
• Reporting: Get robust reporting capabilities. You can easily monitor KPIs or key performance metrics, such as sales, expenses, bank accounts, etc., for informed decision-making. Share reports with your team and stakeholders via secure links. Lastly, Mocha ensures compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Bills and expenses: Mocha has these features for bills and expenses that add a lot of convenience to your business workflow. You can manage recurring bills, set bill reminders, prepare for upcoming bills, and track overdue bills. Furthermore, you can manage vendor credit, if any.
• Banking features: Mocha has a bunch of banking features, too. For example, the tool automatically categorizes the transactions based on set banking rules. You can create these banking rules based on the amount split, bank description, etc. Lastly, Mocha also provides a bank reconciliation feature and safely links your bank accounts.

These are some of the best features of Mocha that will be in the free version. Yes, the Mocha software has a free version that you can try out. And the best thing is that it does not place any bar on the features. The accessible features in the free version and the paid one are the same.

Conclusion: Why Small Businesses Love Mocha Accounting

Well, we believe that you would have got your answer to the question: what is the most commonly used accounting software? There are many of them in the market, but all of them have some missing features or may not fit into the needs and budgets of small businesses.

Now, Mocha is a tool that is loved by small businesses as it has all the necessary features you need. It is GST-compliant and has a free version with all the features you need, or you might need. Though it has a paid version, it is cost-effective as well. So, what are you waiting for? Try out the free version by scheduling a demo!