Manager Accounting Software Review: Features, Pros & Cons

Manager.io Accounting Software is an innovative solution for small businesses, offering a comprehensive set of financial management tools at an unbeatable price - free! 

Whether you're a freelancer or a small business, Manager.io has everything you need to keep your finances in order. 

In this Manager accounting software review, we'll dive into the features, benefits, and drawbacks of this Aussie-made accounting software, so you can decide if it's the right choice for your business.

Manager accounting software review 2024: Is Manager software any good?

This Manager accounting software review has found that Manager is a highly recommended solution for small businesses looking for a cost-effective, user-friendly, and feature-rich accounting solution suitable both for beginner and professional accountants. The software has received positive reviews for its comprehensive financial management features, ease of use, and affordability. 

Manager comes with generous invoicing, expense management, reporting capabilities, and support for multiple currencies and languages. Many users appreciate its intuitive interface, making it easy to navigate and understand, even for those without accounting experience. 

Additionally, the software is constantly being improved by its developers, ensuring that it remains relevant and up-to-date. 

Manager pricing plans

First of all, how much does Manager accounting software cost? Let’s first review Manager.io prices:

^{*These prices are approximate as Manager.io prices vary based on the user’s location}

Are there any Manager.io coupon codes or promo discount vouchers?

We did the research, and it seems there are no Manager.io coupon codes or discount vouchers at this time.

Manager.io overview: what is Manager accounting software & what is Manager software used for?

Manager is a free accounting software for small businesses based in Sydney, Australia, but provides its services globally. It comes with various tools to help businesses manage their finances, including invoicing, expenses management, bank reconciliation, reporting, and multi-currency support. 

The software is designed to be user-friendly and accessible, making it a good choice for businesses across all industries and levels of technical expertise. The software's robust feature set and ease of use make it well-suited for businesses that need to manage their finances efficiently and effectively without the need for a dedicated accounting department or expensive accounting software. 

This small business accounting software is available in three different versions: desktop, cloud, and server. The desktop version is free to use for single users, but it doesn't offer the software's full functionality. 

You'll need to subscribe to the cloud-based version if you need multi-user access and other advanced functionality like user permissions and remote access. The server version can be a good option if you want to self-host. 

Manager free accounting software vs paid: what’s the difference?

Manager offers the desktop version of its software free of charge. The desktop version can be a great option for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners with more basic needs. 

You'll be able to use all the features and enter as much data as required with the free version. There are no time limits, no usage limits, and no ads. However, the free software lacks functionality like multi-user access, user permissions, remote access, and automatic backups and updates. It's available for different operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. 

If you're a small business that requires multi-user capabilities, you'll need to subscribe to the cloud-based version. With a cloud-based subscription, you'll be able to use the software on your desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. There'll be nothing to download or install. 

The best thing is that unlike other software like QuickBooks Online and Freshbooks, which charge you on a per-user basis, Manager has a flat monthly fee of $52. You can add as few as five people or as many as 50; the price remains the same. This makes the software an excellent pick for accountants and bookkeepers with many clients. 

There's also an annual subscription at the cost of 10× monthly price. This means an annual plan will get you two months free every year. You can choose a yearly plan during sign-up or switch anytime after. Annual plans are $520. 

Manager accounting software features list

The main features of Manager.io are:

• General ledger

• Bank reconciliation

• Expense claims

• Estimates and quotes

• Accounts payable and receivable

• Invoicing

• Payroll management

• Time and service billing

• Inventory management

• Financial reports and statements

• Fixed asset management
   

1. General ledger

Manager has a General Ledger functionality that acts as a central record-keeping system where users can get a complete history of their company's financial transactions. It provides an overview of all transactions, including sales, purchases, payments, and receipts. You’ll be able to categorize transactions into different accounts, such as revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity, and get an accurate picture of the company's financial position.
 

2. Bank reconciliation

You can use the Bank Reconciliation feature to easily reconcile your bank accounts and keep your financial records accurate and up-to-date. This helps ensure your financial records will accurately reflect the actual state of your bank accounts, reducing the risk of errors and improving financial reporting accuracy.
 

3. Expense claims 

With the Expense Claims feature, people will be able to request reimbursement for expenses they have incurred while conducting company business. Users who can use this feature include employees, partners, directors, sole traders/proprietors, and others. 

People simply need to submit their expenses along with receipts, and then managers can approve or reject the claims. The approved claims are then processed and entered into the company's financial records, so that the expenses can be reimbursed to the payers.
 

4. Estimates and Quotes

The Estimates and Quotes feature lets you create and manage estimates and quotes for clients. This feature will help you provide clients with a detailed breakdown of the costs involved in a project, helping manage expectations and ensure that clients are aware of the costs involved. 

You can include details such as item description, price, discounts, tax info, issue and expiry date, and more. You can associate each estimate or quote with a client. Repeat sales quotes can be easily prepared by cloning previous ones.
 

5. Accounts payable and accounts receivable

The Accounts payable and Accounts receivable in Manager.io can help you accurately track and manage financial transactions, reducing the risk of errors and improving financial reporting accuracy. 

With the Accounts payable capability, you’ll be able to manage and track supplier payments, ensuring that you’re paying your suppliers on time in order to avoid late payment fees. The Accounts receivable feature can help you manage and track customer payments and overdue invoices so that your financial records accurately reflect the amounts that are owed to the business. 

Accounts payable and receivable will automatically appear in the Balance Sheet and chart of accounts.
 

6. Invoicing 

Manager comes with solid invoicing options to help you create and manage invoices efficiently and accurately. You’ll find customizable invoice templates with which you can create tailor-made invoices that fit your brand and style. It’s also possible to set up recurring invoices. 

You can easily create sales invoices for demanding payment from customers for goods or services. Purchase invoices are how you enter sales invoices received from suppliers into Manager. 

Manager can also directly invoice billable expenses. A billable expense can also be recorded directly on an existing sales invoice. You can send the invoice to your customer directly from the software by email or download the invoice in a PDF format to your device.
 

7. Payroll management 

Manager has a payroll management feature with which you can record employees' wages, salaries, bonuses, commissions, and various allowances. You can record multiple employee payments simultaneously. Keep in mind that the payment form records the payments; it doesn't complete them. 
 

8. Time and service billing 

In Manager, you can use the Billable time option to record work for a customer who will be invoiced on an hourly basis at a defined rate. You can use this functionality to record hours for consultants, lawyers, and other contractors who bill by the hour. 

Keep in mind that Billable time is not a time clock. It does not record the start or stop times of tasks. It cannot be used to monitor employee attendance or directly support payslip generation.
 

9. Inventory management 

Manager.io accounting software has a neat Inventory Management feature. With it, you'll be able to manage your company's stock levels, including purchasing, storing, and selling of products. The software provides real-time updates on the stock levels of each item in the inventory, allowing your business to make informed decisions about purchasing and sales. 

You'll be able to add inventory locations, record the movement of inventory items between inventory locations, add inventory write-offs, and generate inventory reports to get a real-time view of changes in quantities, values, or locations of inventory.
 

10. Financial reports and statements

The accounting Manager online software includes many predefined reports to summarize, analyze, and present transaction data. Reports and bank statements are available related to tax codes, fixed assets, inventory, expense claims, capital accounts, and other aspects of accounting. You'll find Profit and Loss statements, Cash flow statements, Balance sheets, Statements of changes in equity, Customer statements, Supplier statements, and more. 
 

11. Fixed asset management

If your business has any fixed assets, you can easily add and manage them via the system. You can treat fixed assets as an expense, dispose of fixed assets, migrate fixed assets from previous accounting software, calculate depreciation, and more. 

Manager.io pros and cons

Here are the advantages and disadvantages of Manager:

Manager accounting software advantages

• The desktop version is free to use forever: If you’re a freelancer or a solopreneur, or even a startup with humble needs, the desktop version might be everything you need to manage your small business. And you won’t have to pay a dime. You can invest the money you would save on other more critical matters of the business. 

• The cloud version is very affordable: The cloud accounting version is only $50 per month, or $500 per year, which most businesses can afford. By storing your information on the cloud, you can ensure your data remains secure even if you encounter issues with your laptop or office computer. This provides peace of mind as the loss of years worth of information can be catastrophic. Cloud technology also gives you the option to grant others access to your account information by providing them with the necessary login credentials. 

• The pricing is not user-based: Unlike most other accounting software, Manager doesn’t charge you on a per user per month basis. You can even manage multiple businesses with the cloud version, and the price stays the same. 

• You can downgrade at any time: If at any point you decide you no longer need the functionality of the paid web-based version, you can downgrade back to the free desktop edition. You'll never lose access to your data when you stop your subscription, as you can always download a full backup and import it into the desktop edition for free.

• You can control how your accounts work and display: Manager.io stands out for its customizable accounting functionality. You have the power to modify the arrangement of information, tabs, and how information is processed, resulting in a highly user-friendly experience.

• The server version is great for larger businesses that want to self-host: If you’re a larger business with a basic understanding of server operations, the server edition can be a great alternative to the desktop and cloud versions. The server version gives you a high level of security by enabling access control via a secure internal network. Although some practice and education may be necessary, most people should be able to manage with ease.
   

Manager accounting software disadvantages

• It might not be ideal for large businesses: The software may have limitations in its simplicity, making it less suitable for larger businesses. If you require a range of advanced features, this may not be the ideal accounting software solution for you, but it's still worth exploring.

• There are no separate mobile apps for Android and iOS: If you’re often working on the go, you might be disappointed to hear Manager doesn’t have mobile apps for smartphone devices or iPads. But you can always use the cloud-based version via any modern browser on your mobile device. 

Manager software complaints & praise (manager.io reviews from real customers)

We looked at hundreds of reviews of Manager accounting software, and most of them speak positively about the platform. Most users like the free desktop option, which comes with more flexibility, better performance, and faster support than other accounting software, all while paying zero dollars per month. They like that you have no limitations except for fancy cloud backups and multiple-user access. All features are free to use. What's more, users say it has quicker deployment and training times.

Plenty of reviews talk about how Manager does everything small businesses need. It offers multiple currencies, configuration for multiple counties, and an unlimited number of different business accounts. All features are rich and customizable, which makes the setup process simple and effective.

Other user reviews say one of the Manager’s major strengths is the flexibility of setting up the chart of accounts. In contrast to other comparable software, Manager.io offers complete freedom in customizing your accounts. The user interface may be minimalistic, but it is user-friendly. You have the option to enable or disable various modules to suit your needs, resulting in a streamlined accounting and software experience.

Customers who have used the software say the developers regularly update the software. There are updates happening several times per month to deal with things like bugs, and new features are added often. 

Some negative Manager accounting software reviews say the reporting options are quite limited and that the custom reports feature is not thoroughly documented. Other users complain about the lack of automatic connection to banks. 
 

Review of manager.io support

Cloud edition users can obtain most customer support online by clicking on the Customer Service button on the homepage. You'll then be redirected to a help page where you can find troubleshooting resources for everything you need, including managing your subscription, changing your domain name, and downloading backup. If you require further assistance, you can contact the support team by email at the address at the bottom of the support page.

There’s also a Guides page on the Manager website that contains hundreds of helpful articles with explanations of each one of the software’s features, along with instructions on how to use them. The forum is another fantastic resource where you can connect with fellow users and help each other with any issues related to the software. Members of the support team also frequent the forum to answer user questions. 

Is Manager accounting software worth it? Key takeaways

This comprehensive review has found that Manager is a cost-effective, user-friendly, and feature-rich accounting solution for small businesses.

But is the Manager accounting software worth it? 

Our answer is yes, especially for individuals and small businesses with basic accounting needs. Manager only offers a few features on purpose to keep the software simple and easy to navigate for beginners. Its free version is great, but if you need to share information with other users, you'll have to upgrade to the paid cloud-based version. 

Overall, Manager is a great value for money, and its flexibility makes it stand out from most Manager accounting software alternatives. And with a free basic package, there's no harm in trying it out.

And if you want to explore other accounting software options further, check out our list of 15 of the best accounting software for 2024, which includes apps like Xero and Zoho Books.
 

Our final Manager.io rating

4/5