Akaunting Review
Our review of Akaunting
If you’re looking for basic bookkeeping software for creating invoices, tracking expenses, and viewing financial summaries, Akaunting might be an option you consider for your business.
It gives users the option to self-host (downloading the software to your own device or server) or to use the online-based software hosted on their server. There are different pricing tiers depending on your needs. The software itself is easy to set up, and with the free guides, you’ll likely need minimal help to get started.
The software’s biggest drawbacks are that many essential features (like double-entry accounting and advanced reporting) are locked behind paid add-ons. According to user reviews, there are also occasional bugs, and inconsistent customer support. There’s no live chat, so although you can submit a ticket if you have any queries, it can be stressful if you need help quickly.
All-in-all it could be a solid option if you have basic needs, but you may run into issues as your business grows or if you need further support.
Review breakdown
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Ease of use
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Speed
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Features
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Support
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Price
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User Experience
Summary
Overall Score
User Review
( votes)Software Features
Ease of Use
Akaunting is generally easy to use, with a clean, modern interface that makes basic tasks like invoicing and expense tracking straightforward, even for non-accountants. Most users find it simple to set up and navigate for everyday bookkeeping.
However, the learning curve increases when using advanced features or multiple paid add-ons, as setup and configuration can become more complex. Additionally, users have reported occasional issues with updates breaking plugins and mixed experiences with customer support. Additional features are available as separate apps, so you'll need to be able to manage installation and connecting everything together.
Overall, it’s user-friendly for simple accounting but less so for advanced or highly customised use.
Speed
Not too bad! From what we’ve tested, most pages load within 1-2 seconds. We imagine this could get a little slower depending on how many apps you had installed, as well as the number of users, and the amount of data you need to put through it.
This should be fine for small UK businesses only using core features, but heavy use of add-ons or low-end hosting may lead to a noticeable lag. You could also come unstuck if you use the ‘self-hosted’ version. If this all sounds horribly complicated, it just means that you’ll need to download the software and use it on your own device or server. At this point it stops being ‘online accounting software’, because you’re no longer using it ‘online’, so you’ll only be able to access it from the device it’s saved to. This makes you reliant on the processing power of that device, so things could become very slow indeed!
When we talk about speed in our reviews, we also think about the speed of completing work, not just processing speeds. Hosting a local version of the software means you won’t have the same universal ‘anywhere there’s an internet connection’ accessibility, which can slow you down – especially if there are other users waiting to use it!
Features
Akaunting is designed for small businesses and freelancers, offering essential accounting tools such as invoicing, expense tracking, customer and vendor management, tax handling and multi-currency support. The software supports multiple companies, roles, and permissions, making it flexible for small teams and accountants alike.
However, many advanced or professional-grade features, such as double-entry accounting, advanced financial reports (balance sheet, trial balance etc), bank feeds, budgeting, projects, and custom fields are only available via paid add-ons or on higher-tier plans, so although their are a good range of features available, you'll need to pay a lot more for them. This means that while the standard tier is fairly priced at $12 per month, the total cost can rise quickly as your needs grow. Some features are missing altogether, such as a built in mileage tracker.
Overall, Akaunting is a solid, low-cost solution for simple accounting needs, especially for tech-savvy small businesses that value data ownership, but it may not suit complex or highly regulated operations without investing in paid extensions.
Support
Akaunting offers a comprehensive help centre designed to help you get up to speed quickly. It provides clear guidance on key topics such as invoicing and estimates, bank feeds, and double-entry accounting. There’s also an FAQ section, though it mainly answers a single question, covering a few additional topics like accrual vs. cash accounting and on-premise vs. cloud solutions.
Beyond that, you can join the Akaunting community forum, which has over 70,000 members, or use the ticket hub to contact the app’s developers directly. Unfortunately, there’s no live chat option available on any plan, so if you have an urgent issue while waiting for a ticket response, the community forum will likely be your best bet.
Price
You have the option to go ‘self-hosting’ which means you’d download the local version, using your own server. Whilst this standard option is free, it can come with some complications. For example, security updates and new features or enhancements are automatically pushed to online accounting software, but you’ll need to download these manually if you have a local version. It’s also worth noting setup installation can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing.
For the purpose of this review, we’ll focus on the cloud-based plans. There’s no free cloud-based plan, but the standard cloud-plan can be purchased on a monthly basis for $12 (or the equivalent in your own currency). Don’t let the US dollars pricing put you off, it is available for UK users.
As well as the standard cloud there’s also premium cloud, elite cloud, and ultimate cloud – with the highest tier costing you $218 per month. Each plan is cheaper if you opt to pay yearly instead, and whilst the elite and ultimate cloud are expensive, the features and tools that come with it are extensive (albeit available more cheaply elsewhere).
To give you an example, $12 per month does get things like multiple currencies and unlimited customers and 1,000 invioces. You'll pay $36 per month for the premium cloud package, and then it goes up again to $84 to include things like projects, inventory, and receipt uploads, and beyond to $218 per month if you need budgeting reports or credit notes.
If unlimited users and invoices are what you’re after, you’ll need to choose the ultimate cloud plan. All tiers can use the ticket support, and features include unlimited customers, unlimited vendors, and unlimited reports.
What level of bookkeeping knowledge will I need?
The good news is you don’t need to be a bookkeeping pro to use Akaunting – it’s designed for users with basic bookkeeping knowledge. The guides in the help centre talk you through most things clearly, but a moderate understanding of accounting principles will help you and your business when using more advanced features like double-entry accounting, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting.
Software Screenshots
The software is easy on the eye, with a great help centre to get you started. It’s also super easy to import data like bills, transactions, and manual journals. If this is your first time using cloud-based software, it won’t overwhelm you, which is a good start!
Not having a standard-free tier on the cloud is a shame. Also, many advanced features are behind paid add-ons. For example, full-double entry accounting, advanced reports, etc. f you want more than 10 users on your account, you need to opt for the elite or ultimate cloud plan.
In a nutshell, if you’re looking for accounting software that grows with your business, you may be best opting for one that offers a more affordable solution.
