Here is a partial list of some available programs you might want to evaluate.

Let’s start with FarmRaise, an accounting program that also keeps inventory and manages cash flow. It can create invoices tailored to your farm operation (a plus), and there is an app that works offline. The program has flat rate pricing of $432 a year for their entire set of products. It is a relatively new company created by people with farm backgrounds. The program allows you to snap photos of and digitize receipts and track your farm mileage on the go. An added feature unique to FarmRaise is that it alerts you to opportunities to apply for farm grants and has tips on how to do so.

GnuCash is a double entry accounting program with a lot of features such as check printing and loan repayment assistant, and it can handle multiple currencies. The program also has small business accounting features like customer and vendor transactions. In addition, the program uses a checkbook-style register. The open source program claims to be completely free, so you might want to take a look at it. It is almost impossible to find free accounting software programs these days.

If you are in search of a forever free, cloud-based accounting software package, then Wave Accounting is another program worth considering. It is good for people who don’t have much accounting experience and would like something fully functional yet easy to use. It does have some robust features like being able to send unlimited customized invoices. It also has receipt scanning capture features. The program uses a double-entry accounting scheme. One drawback to Wave is that if you want to process payroll or credit cards, you will have to add two paid add-on options. This program has poor customer support, but then again, it is free.

FreshBooks is an alternative to QuickBooks that is supposedly easier to use and more intuitive. They both offer live support and FreshBooks has an Easy Switch feature where specialists handle moving all the data from QuickBooks to their program. Both programs handle payroll and mileage tracking. Bills and receipts can be scanned in both programs, and they both offer unlimited invoicing and will handle online payments like credit cards. You can try it for free. It may be cheaper than QuickBooks, depending which modules you get.

QuickBooks has been around for years and is very popular. It has comprehensive features and can integrate with pretty much anything. The program can cost as much as $200 per month versus FreshBooks’ most expensive plan of only $55 per month. QuickBooks can do single entry accounting, but it is set up to be a double-entry system. QuickBooks can do payroll as well as invoicing. It can accept payments anytime, anywhere.

Xero is one of the cheapest accounting programs out there at only $13 a month. It can integrate with Gusto Payroll and includes a lot of other extensive features.

Red Wing Software, a company that has been around for 40 years, makes CenterPoint Accounting for Agriculture. CenterPoint has various modules that you can purchase designed exclusively for farms. This software would meet the needs of any advanced dairy corporation or partnership. They have complete payroll solutions that work with most time clocks, and they also offer employee portals where company and personal information can be viewed or changed. Inventory and depreciation modules are also available. The program can be locally installed or cloud based. Pricing is customized for each customer.

Sole proprietors will want to check out Farm Biz Accounting. It was developed in cooperation with the Minnesota Adult Farm Management instructors and specifically designed for people wishing to move from farm account books to computer software. Farm Biz Accounting retails at a one-time cost of $249. This program has all the features a good basic farm accounting program should utilize, including a first-rate search feature. Check writing by computer is an option on every expense transaction. The program does not connect to or access the cloud. You can try it before you buy it using the free demo evaluation copy.

The company also has a more advanced program called Ultra Farm Accounting that handles inventory, payroll, and billing and invoicing for all your custom work. It costs $550. It provides automatic transfer of data directly into Fin Pack from the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota. Mistakes are easy to correct in these programs because months are never closed.

Finally, don’t forget about Quicken. Quicken used to be owned by Intuit, the company behind TurboTax and QuickBooks, but Intuit sold Quicken in 2016. Nevertheless, Quicken is a very popular and powerful program. It is also inexpensive, easy to use, and flexible for both agricultural and nonagricultural businesses. The interface looks like a checkbook register. The Quicken income and expense categories do not include farm topics, but they can be easily added. One plus of this program is that it has QuickFill that recognizes and populates repetitive transactions, saving valuable typing time. If you find later on you need a program that is more heavy duty like QuickBooks, the files can be easily transferred. It is my understanding that payroll can be added for a fee to Quicken. For 2024, Quicken Deluxe will cost $72 a year. Quicken has a very extensive network of users who can offer support and answer questions if needed.

Accounting software can help any dairy farm stay on top of their business activities. This list is by no means complete, but it is a good starting point. The core of most entries should come from a checking account dedicated to dairy activities. Credit and debit cards designated only for business use can help provide support for all expenses. And remember to keep all supporting documents such as sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips, and canceled checks to back up and double check the entries in your accounting software.

• Are robotics for you?
• Fit your facilities to your herd
• Attention to recruitment leads to long-term success
• What are your accounting options?
• A silent profit drain