Which accounting software do most accountants use with their clients?

In the U.S., QuickBooks—especially QuickBooks Online—is the most common choice accountants use with small-business clients. In a 2025 reader survey of accounting professionals, QuickBooks Online/Online Accountant was selected by 66.4% of voters, compared with 7.9% for Xero. It’s a professional readership survey, not a census of all accountants, but it supports the broad picture. (cpapracticeadvisor.com)

Xero is another widely used option. Many accountants work with whatever software a client already uses, so it’s worth asking your accountant before choosing.

There's no single authoritative survey on this, and the sources I found measure different things, but they point to the same answer: QuickBooks Online is the most common client-facing platform in the US, and Xero is the usual choice outside it.

• QuickBooks Online: One industry guide calls it the default choice most accountants already know, and says it has the largest accountant and integration network. One firm-software review says QBO remains the most widely adopted general ledger among US accounting firms. A market-share tracker estimates QuickBooks at about 37% of the companies it tracks, though that measures company usage rather than accountant usage.
• Xero: Its strongest position is in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. A purchase-data ranking of small and mid-sized tech-forward companies puts Xero first, ahead of QuickBooks, though that dataset isn't representative of all businesses.
• Other common options: Sage 50 serves traditional small businesses that want desktop software. FreshBooks and Wave are popular with freelancers and micro-businesses. Sage Intacct and NetSuite are typically used for complex or multi-entity clients.

Most firms don't rely on the ledger alone. One overview describes a typical stack of a general ledger system (often QuickBooks Online or Xero), Excel, and separate tools for payroll, tax, document management and reporting. For the firm's own operations, the CPA Practice Advisor 2026 reader survey found that QuickBooks Time, BILL, and Canopy were among the most-used in-firm tools, and TaxDome was the top-voted client portal.

If you tell me your country and whether you're a practitioner or a business owner choosing software for your accountant, I can narrow this down.

Most accountants and accounting firms rely on a core set of industry-standard software to manage their clients' financial data. While the specific choice often depends on the size of the firm and the complexity of their clients, QuickBooks Online and Xero are the most widely used platforms for general ledger and bookkeeping work.

1. Core General Ledger (The "Books")

These platforms are the foundation for most accounting practices because they are designed to handle multi-client management and integrate with other professional tools.

• QuickBooks Online (QBO) Accountant: This is arguably the most common choice, particularly for firms serving small to mid-sized businesses. Its ubiquity in the market means that most clients are already familiar with it, and it offers robust tools for accountants to manage multiple client accounts from a single dashboard.
• Xero: A top competitor to QuickBooks, Xero is highly favored for its automation features, bank reconciliation capabilities, and real-time collaboration tools. It is widely used by professional bookkeepers and remote accounting firms, especially those with international or multi-currency clients.

2. Specialized Solutions

For more mature, complex, or enterprise-level clients, firms often move beyond standard small-business software:

• Sage Intacct: Frequently used by accounting firms for larger, more complex clients that require advanced reporting, multi-entity consolidation, and deeper financial controls.
• Oracle NetSuite: Often serves mid-market and growing businesses that have outgrown entry-level accounting platforms.

3. Essential "Stack" Components

Accountants rarely use just one piece of software. A typical professional "tech stack" also includes:

• Practice Management Software: Used to manage the firm’s internal workflow, deadlines, and client communication (e.g., Karbon, TaxDome, Financial Cents).
• Tax Preparation Software: Dedicated tools used specifically for tax filings (e.g., Drake Tax, UltraTax, CCH Axcess).
• Document Management & Capture: Tools like Dext are commonly used to automate the collection and processing of receipts and invoices, feeding clean data directly into the accounting software.
• Microsoft Excel: Despite the rise of cloud platforms, Excel remains an indispensable "go-to" tool for accountants for complex calculations, data manipulation, and custom reporting.

How to Choose

If you are looking for the right software for your practice or your business, professionals recommend evaluating platforms based on:

• Client Needs: Does the client have complex inventory or multi-currency needs, or do they just need simple bookkeeping?
• Scalability: Will the software support the client as they grow, or will you be forced to migrate them to a new system in 12–24 months?
• Integration: How well does it connect with your existing payroll, payment, and tax software?
• Firm Proficiency: The "best" software is often the one your team is already trained to use most efficiently.

QuickBooks is the most common choice, especially in the U.S. In a 2025 survey of accounting and tax professionals, QuickBooks Online/Online Accountant was the top online small-business accounting product (66.4%); Xero was next at 7.9%.¹

It depends on the country and business, though: in a 2024 UK survey, QuickBooks (36%), Xero (32%) and Sage (31%) were close.² Many accountants work with whatever software their clients already use, so it’s worth asking your accountant before choosing.

¹ CPA Practice Advisor, 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards
² QuickBooks UK, survey of accountants and bookkeepers