Business & Finance

What does business & finance software cover?

Three jobs. Business formation services file your LLC or corporation and act as its registered agent. Accounting and invoicing software keeps double-entry books and gets invoices paid. Payroll and HR services pay employees, file payroll taxes and run benefits. Every ranking here uses US list prices, and each one counts what you pay after the intro discount ends, after the free first year of agent service runs out and after per-person fees are added at your real headcount.

In what order should you set them up?

In the order the business needs them. Walk through it:

1. Form the company. Contracts, invoices and a bank account then sit in its name. Northwest Registered Agent charges $39 plus the state fee, and filing yourself costs only the state fee.
2. Start the books before the first invoice. QuickBooks Online Simple Start costs $38 a month after $19 a month for the first 3 months.
3. Add payroll before the first paycheck. Gusto Simple costs $49 a month plus $6 per person. That’s $79 at five people.

Some situations change the path.

• Freelancing without a company? Start with invoicing alone. Wave’s Starter plan is free with unlimited invoices.
• Raising venture money? Form a Delaware company through Stripe Atlas for $500, including the Delaware filing fee.
• Living outside the US? doola’s $297 yearly plan covers formation, an EIN without an SSN, an agent and a US address.
• Hiring abroad first? Use an employer of record such as Deel, at $599 per employee a month.

Category	Top pick (score)	Price	Best for
Business formation	Northwest Registered Agent (9.1)	$39 + state fee; agent $125/yr after year one	One LLC in one state, home address kept private
Accounting	QuickBooks Online (8.5)	$38/mo ($19/mo for 3 months)	Businesses with an outside accountant
Payroll and HR	Gusto (8.8)	$49/mo + $6 per person	2 to 50 employees in one or a few states

When can you skip paid software?

Sooner than vendors suggest. Skip the formation service if you live in the state and don’t mind your address on the public record. Skip paid accounting while revenue is small, because Zoho Books is free under $50,000 a year. Don’t bother with payroll software until someone is on payroll. QuickBooks pays up to 20 contractors for $25 a month.

Which official rules matter most?

• The IRS issues EINs free: “You never have to pay a fee for an EIN,” says its EIN page.
• Keep tax records for at least 3 years, 4 for employment tax and 7 for a bad-debt deduction, per the IRS.
• With a payroll provider, the IRS still holds the employer ultimately responsible for federal tax deposits. Don’t skip your own EFTPS login.

When should you call a professional?

Before the big, hard-to-reverse choices. Call a business attorney when you pick an entity type or split ownership between founders. Call a CPA or enrolled agent about an S corp election, sales tax or state income tax. In practice, changing an entity later takes more paperwork than choosing well at the start. These pages compare software. They are not legal or tax advice.