Accounting Software Recommendation for SMEs【2024 Edition】

TL;DR

• Core Problem: Which accounting software is best for SMEs?
• Quick Answer: For SMEs, "Cloud Accounting + POS（Depends on plan） Integration" is recommended. freee has rich accounting features, Seisei integrates POS（Depends on plan） and accounting with no integration fees. Choose according to industry and scale.
• Target Audience: SME owners (1-50 employees), accounting managers
• Expected Benefits: By choosing the right accounting software, achieve 40-60 hours of work reduction per month and 30-50% cost reduction
• Reading Time: 12 minutes

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Important Terms

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Definition: Companies with relatively few employees. Generally refers to 1-50 employees. Scope: Includes sole proprietors, small businesses, medium businesses. Does not include large enterprises (100+ employees). Related: Small businesses, micro enterprises

Cloud Accounting

Definition: Accounting software accessed via the internet. Data is stored in the cloud. Scope: Includes monthly subscription, automatic updates, bank integration. Low initial costs. Related: SaaS accounting, online accounting

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Accounting Software Selection Guide for SMEs

5 Selection Criteria

Criterion 1: Cost Structure

Considerations:

• Initial cost
• Monthly fee
• Integration fees (POS（Depends on plan） integration, etc.)
• Hidden costs

SME Recommendations:

• Initial cost: ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan）
• Monthly fee: ¥1（Excluding tax, varies by plan）,000-5,000
• Integration fees: ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan） (integrated system) or ¥5（Excluding tax, varies by plan）,000-10,000 (separate integration)

Criterion 2: Feature Richness

Essential Features:

• Journal entry
• Bookkeeping
• Trial balance & P/L statement
• Bank integration

Nice-to-Have Features:

• Receipt scanning
• POS（Depends on plan） integration
• Tax filing
• Multi-store support

Criterion 3: Usability

Evaluation Points:

• Ease of operation
• Learning cost
• Support structure
• Ease of implementation

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Recommended Accounting Software for SMEs

1. freee - Accounting-Focused

Recommendation: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Features:

• No. 1 market share in accounting software
• Rich auto journal entry features
• Tax filing support
• Free plan available

Pricing:

• Starter: ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan）
• Minimum: ¥980（Excluding tax, varies by plan）/month
• Standard: ¥1（Excluding tax, varies by plan）,980/month

Suitable For:

• Companies needing only accounting features
• Companies with existing POS（Depends on plan） systems
• Small businesses (1-10 employees)

Pros:

• ✅ Rich accounting features
• ✅ Affordable price
• ✅ Easy implementation
• ✅ Free plan available

Cons:

• ❌ No POS（Depends on plan） features
• ❌ Separate POS（Depends on plan） integration fees required

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2. MoneyForward - Bank Integration-Focused

Recommendation: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Features:

• Rich bank integration (1,500+ banks)
• Auto journal entry features
• Tax filing support

Pricing:

• Free: ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan）
• Light: ¥1（Excluding tax, varies by plan）,980/month
• Standard: ¥3（Excluding tax, varies by plan）,980/month

Suitable For:

• Companies with many bank transactions
• Companies needing only accounting features
• Medium businesses (10-30 employees)

Pros:

• ✅ Rich bank integration
• ✅ Improved work efficiency with auto journal entry
• ✅ Free plan available

Cons:

• ❌ No POS（Depends on plan） features
• ❌ Separate POS（Depends on plan） integration fees required

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3. Seisei - POS（Depends on plan） Integration-Focused

Recommendation: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Features:

• POS（Depends on plan） and accounting integrated from the start
• No accounting integration fees
• AI analytics features
• Multi-industry support

Pricing:

• Operations: ¥14（Excluding tax, varies by plan）,800/month (initial cost ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan）)
• Growth: ¥29（Excluding tax, varies by plan）,800/month (initial cost ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan）)

Suitable For:

• Companies wanting integrated POS（Depends on plan） and accounting management
• Companies wanting to reduce integration fees
• Restaurants, retail stores, service businesses

Pros:

• ✅ POS（Depends on plan） + Accounting integrated (no integration needed)
• ✅ Integration fees ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan）
• ✅ AI analytics support business decisions
• ✅ 60 hours/month work time reduction

Cons:

• ⚠️ Accounting features alone less rich than freee
• ⚠️ Price slightly higher (but includes POS（Depends on plan） features)

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Industry-Specific Recommendations

Restaurants

Recommended: Seisei

Reasons:

• POS（Depends on plan） and accounting integrated
• Sales data automatically converted to accounting data
• 60 hours/month work time reduction pos（Depends on plan）sible
• No integration fees needed

Alternative: freee + POS（Depends on plan） integration (separate integration fees required)

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Retail Stores

Recommended: Seisei

Reasons:

• POS（Depends on plan） and accounting integrated
• Inventory and accounting linked
• Multi-store support

Alternative: MoneyForward + POS（Depends on plan） integration (separate integration fees required)

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Service Businesses

Recommended: freee or Seisei

Reasons:

• freee: Rich accounting features, affordable price
• Seisei: Can also use POS（Depends on plan） features (reservation management, etc.)

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Selection Checklist

Cost Requirements

• Initial cost within budget (recommend ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan）)
• Monthly fee within budget (recommend ¥1（Excluding tax, varies by plan）,000-5,000)
• Integration fees clear (recommend ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan）)
• No hidden costs
• 3-year TCO within budget

Feature Requirements

• Has journal entry features
• Has bookkeeping features
• Can create trial balance & P/L statements
• Has bank integration features (if needed)
• Has POS（Depends on plan） integration features (if needed)
• Has tax filing support (if needed)

Usability Requirements

• Easy to operate
• Learning cost: Low to medium (based on our interviews, varies by plan)
• Rich support structure
• Easy implementation

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Which accounting software is recommended for SMEs?

A: Recommended to choose according to industry and scale:

• Restaurants/Retail: Seisei (because of POS（Depends on plan） integration)
• Service businesses (no POS（Depends on plan） needed): freee (rich accounting features, affordable price)
• Many bank transactions: MoneyForward (rich bank integration)

Data Source: SME Accounting Software Selection Guide 2024

Q2: Is a free plan sufficient?

A: For small businesses (1-3 employees, few transactions), a free plan may be sufficient. However:

• Features may be limited
• Paid plan needed if transaction volume is high
• Paid plan needed if POS（Depends on plan） integration is required

Recommendation: Try free plan first, upgrade to paid plan as needed.

Q3: Is POS（Depends on plan） integration necessary?

A: Strongly recommended if using a POS（Depends on plan） system. Reasons:

1. Work time reduction: Manual entry becomes unnecessary. 40-60 hours/month reduction pos（Depends on plan）sible.
2. Error reduction: Prevents input errors
3. Real-time monitoring: Sales and accounting synchronized

Recommendation: Choose Seisei with integrated POS（Depends on plan） and accounting for no integration fees and efficiency.

Q4: Is tax filing functionality necessary?

A: Necessary for sole proprietors and small businesses. Reasons:

1. Work time reduction: Tax return creation automated
2. Error reduction: Prevents calculation errors
3. Tax accountant fee reduction: Can file taxes yourself

Supported Software:

• freee: ✅ Tax filing support
• MoneyForward: ✅ Tax filing support
• Seisei: ⚠️ Coming soon

Q5: Which software is good for managing multiple stores?

A: Cloud accounting with multi-store support is recommended. Features:

1. Unified management: Manage all stores' data in one place
2. Comparative analysis: Compare sales between stores
3. Consolidated reports: Consolidated reports for all stores

Supported Software:

• freee: ✅ Multi-store support
• MoneyForward: ✅ Multi-store support
• Seisei: ✅ Multi-store support (advantageous due to POS（Depends on plan） integration)

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Summary

When choosing accounting software for SMEs, the following points are important:

1. Cloud accounting is mainstream: Can start from ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan） initial cost
2. Consider POS（Depends on plan） integration: Integrated systems advantageous if using POS（Depends on plan）
3. Use free trials: Decide after actually using
4. Choose according to industry: Restaurants/retail choose Seisei, service businesses choose freee

Seisei Features:

• ✅ POS（Depends on plan） + Accounting integrated (no integration needed)
• ✅ Initial cost ¥0（Excluding tax, varies by plan）
• ✅ 60 hours/month work time reduction
• ✅ 30-day free trial

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References

Official Data

1. SME Accounting Software Selection Guide 2024 - Selection criteria data
2. Accounting Software Price Comparison 2024 - Price data
3. Each company's official website - Feature and price information

Internal Data

• Comparison table data: Each company's official website (as of November 2024)
• Implementation results data: Internal statistics (2024 results)

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Related Articles:

• Accounting Software Comparison 2025
• [POS（Depends on plan） Accounting Integration System Benefits](/pos（Depends on plan）/pos（Depends on plan）-accounting-integration-benefits)
• Cloud Accounting Pros and Cons

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Notes / Disclaimer

As of: 2026-01-13

The comparison information in this article is based on our research and interviews conducted as of 2026-01-13, and is provided for reference only. For the latest information and specific pricing/features, please verify with each company's official website.

Comparison Prerequisites:

• POS feature comparison is conducted from two perspectives: "Built-in POS" and "External POS Integration"
• Prices are excluding tax (may vary by plan)
• Implementation period and learning costs are general estimates and may vary by actual implementation environment

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is provided as general comparison information and does not constitute a recommendation for any specific company or situation. When considering implementation, please verify official information from each company and consult with professionals.

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