12 Awesome Tools To Support the Digital Accountant at Work

Accountants today are more than number crunchers and tax advisors. They are strategic partners who juggle many tasks and responsibilities.

With an abundance of software and tools for accountants in the market, each claiming to be a game-changer, finding the right tools to streamline your multifaceted accounting workflows can be overwhelming. 

And that's where this blog comes to your rescue!

We have researched comprehensively and identified 12 top-tier tools to supercharge your accounting workflows.

TL:DR: top 12 tools for accountants

1. Scribe: process documentation and sharing made seamless.
2. FreshBooks: simple cloud-based accounting solution.
3. Xero: great for collaborating with clients.
4. QuickBooks Online: a powerful tool for accounting professionals.
5. Google Workspace: Your digital accounting office suite.
6. Expensify: Streamlined expense reporting for accountants.
7. DocuSign: Effortless signatures for accounting documents.
8. Airtable: Versatile database solution for accounting operations.
9. Toggl: Digital time-tracking clock for accountants.
10. Gusto: Empowering accounting professionals with comprehensive payroll solutions.
11. Calendly: A reliable scheduling solution for accountants.
12. Zapier: Intuitive automation for accounting workflows.

Why do you need accounting tools for your business?

From handling complex financial data, ensuring regulatory compliance, managing business operations and playing a vital role in strategic decision-making, an accountant's work has broadened like never before.

Given these diverse challenges, having an arsenal of efficient accounting software and tools is no longer a luxury but a necessity.

Accounting software automates many of the routine tasks involved in financial management like:

• Recording transactions.
• Managing accounts payable and receivable
• Reconciling bank statements.
• Generating financial statements and tax reports.

Accounting software reduces errors, provides financial health insights and ensures compliance with accounting standards and tax regulations.

Accounting tools simplify and streamline the essential financial operations of any organization.  

What are the advantages of using cloud-based accounting software?

Cloud-based accounting tools offer many advantages for accountants.

If you're working remotely, you can access accounting tools from anywhere—long as you have an internet connection. This allows accountants to work from home or other locations outside the office.

Cloud tools also enable real-time collaboration with clients and coworkers. Multiple users can access and work on the same accounts simultaneously, with changes synced automatically.

Providers also frequently update cloud software, so you'll always have the latest features and compliance updates without manually updating the software.

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Which software is best for accountants?

Our handpicked selection covers a broad spectrum, from dedicated accounting software to productivity tools, process documentation applications and more, ensuring a well-rounded suite that caters to the multifaceted needs of modern accountants.

Each tool has its unique strengths, so strap in for a deep dive into the world of modern accounting tools and find the ones that can genuinely transform your financial management process.

‎1.‎ Scribe

G2 rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

‎Scribe, our pioneering tool, is redefining how accounting professionals manage and share their accounting processes and documents.

Scribe allows accountants to focus more on strategic tasks that add value to their clients or firm.

Key highlights:

• Effortless creation of step-by-step process documents.
• Provides real-time editing and updating of documents.
• Seamless sharing via links and embeds.
• Protection of sensitive accounting information with intelligent information blurring features.
• AI-powered accounting manual generation.

✅ Try Scribe's free Accounting Manual Generator

2. FreshBooks

‎FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting software designed to help accountants grow their businesses smarter. It offers a range of features to manage a company's financial health, allowing you to focus on delivering top-quality accounting services to your clients.

Key highlights:

• Simple and easy-to-use interface for managing bookkeeping tasks.
• Award-winning customer service with helpful support just a phone call or email away.
• Customizable invoices and estimates that reflect your branding and personality.
• Convenient payment solutions that work for both you and your clients, allowing you to get paid faster.
• Automatic expense tracking that connects to your business bank account and credit card.

3.‎ Xero

‎Xero is an online accounting software solution designed for accountants and bookkeepers. It allows you to partner with Xero for more efficient workflows and collaboration.

Key highlights:

• Automate admin tasks to increase efficiency.
• See the big picture faster with all your tools in one place.
• Join the partner program for benefits.
• Manage tax preparation, filing and compliance.

4.‎ QuickBooks Online Accountant

QuickBooks Online Accountant supports accounting professionals working with small businesses. It offers a range of features and resources to help streamline bookkeeping and provide valuable insights into clients' business performance.

Key highlights:

• Automatically detects and resolves common bookkeeping issues for accurate and timely book closings.
• Provides visual representations of clients' business performance and comparisons with local industry peers.
• Offers self-paced lessons to help expand knowledge and skills for advising clients.
• Enables secure communication with clients, sharing of documents and consolidation of notes and contact information from a single dashboard.

5.‎ Google Workspace

Google Workspace is a suite of cloud-based productivity software that can be used by accounting professionals to streamline their work and improve efficiency.

The suite offers various tools, including Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Calendar, for tasks like:

• Emailing.
• Creating and collaborating on documents.
• Analyzing spreadsheets.
• Creating presentations.
• Scheduling meetings.

Key highlights:

• Affordable pricing for a helpful package of tools.
• Reduces the need to buy many point solutions.
• Google Sheets is a powerful tool for financial data analysis and budgeting.
• Data storage and sharing are made simple with Google Drive.
• Provides robust security features, ensuring data integrity and confidentiality.

6.‎ Expensify

Expensify is a dedicated tool for expense reporting and management. Its array of features simplifies the process of tracking, approving and processing expenses and reimbursements for accountants.

Key highlights:

• Offers automatic receipt scanning technology.
• Seamlessly integrates with major accounting software, including QuickBooks and Xero.
• Facilitates real-time expense reporting, approval and reimbursement.
• Enables automatic reconciliation of corporate card expenses.
• Allows the establishment of expense rules for company-wide compliance.

7.‎ DocuSign

DocuSign is a leading electronic signature platform that streamlines document signing and enhances workflows for accounting professionals. DocuSign's secure and compliant features enable accountants to meet legal, financial and tax requirements efficiently.

Key highlights:

• Accelerates document turnaround time, replacing traditional paper-based processes.
• Enables secure electronic signatures that meet legal requirements.
• Provides authentication to protect sensitive client information.
• Offers an audit trail for transparency and compliance.
• Supports various tax and accounting documents, including IRS-approved forms and agreements.

8. Ai‎rtable

Airtable offers a unique solution for accounting and bookkeeping firms by providing a customizable database application.

With Airtable, accounting professionals can tailor databases to their needs, enabling efficient tracking and management of information related to products, clients, projects, employees and tasks.

Key highlights:

• Customizable as per your accounting task needs.
• Offers a user-friendly interface for building and structuring databases.
• Provides a wide range of column formats, such as text, URL, phone, email, currency, dropdowns and formulas.
• Facilitates easy analysis and reporting across projects, clients and tasks.
• Allows for the creation of forms to collect client information directly into the database.

9.‎ Toggl

Toggl is an effective time-tracking software offering indispensable features for finance teams and accountants.

It simplifies bookkeeping, invoicing and payroll tasks, enhancing productivity and precision in accounting roles.

Key highlights:

• Easy tracking of billable hours across various projects and devices.
• Instant setup and intuitive usage promote seamless onboarding.
• Maintains data accuracy through time entry locking and required fields.
• Summary, detailed and weekly reports enhance transparency for all stakeholders.
• Integrates with 100+ popular online tools, including Slack, Asana, Trello and Xero.

10.‎ Gusto

Gusto is a robust, all-inclusive platform that combines payroll, benefits and HR management into a seamless accounting experience. As a tool designed to automate and streamline accounting tasks, Gusto effectively serves over 4,500 accounting professionals.

Key highlights:

• Provides easy-to-use dashboards for managing multiple clients.
• Allows seamless integration with popular accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero and FreshBooks.
• Provides educational resources, including a free certification program and live webinars for continuing professional education (CPE) credits.
• Offers the ability to feature your firm in the Gusto Partner Directory, increasing your visibility to Gusto's 300,000+ customers.

11‎. Calendly

Calendly is an innovative scheduling solution designed to make booking appointments and managing time simpler and more efficient.

Its intuitive and user-friendly design aids in seamlessly integrating scheduling tasks into the everyday workflows of accountants and accounting firms, thus promoting productivity and operational efficiency.

Key highlights:

• Enables easy booking for new clients, improving client acquisition.
• Increases profitability by reducing time spent on non-billable scheduling tasks.
• Integrates with core tools used daily, creating a cohesive workflow.
• Automates personalized client communications to reduce meeting no-shows.

12‎. Zapier

Zapier is an innovative automation tool that offers significant benefits to accounting professionals.

With its wide range of integrations and easy-to-use interface, Zapier simplifies the process of automating accounting workflows and reduces errors associated with manual data entry.

Key highlights:

• Native integrations with popular accounting software, such as QuickBooks Online, Xero and FreshBooks.
• Customizable automated workflows called Zaps connect accounting apps with other tools.
• Ability to automate repetitive tasks like invoice creation, payment reminders and data syncing.
• Increased accuracy and reduced human errors in financial data management.

Embrace the digital accounting revolution

There's no doubt about it—the accounting world has evolved at an impressive pace.

The 12 tools featured in this blog are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the vast sea of software that can revolutionize your accounting workflows.

The best tools aren't necessarily the most popular or expensive. 

A good tool is one that seamlessly integrates with your existing processes, meets your unique needs and ultimately makes your life as an accountant easier and more efficient.

So don't shy away from trying out different tools until you find the perfect blend that takes your accounting practice to the next level.

Need something to try right away?

Take Scribe's magical process documentation tool for accountants a free spin today!