Selling online puts pressure on accounting software in ways a service business never does. You are reconciling marketplace payouts that arrive net of fees rather than matching invoices, valuing stock that moves faster than you can count it, and often taking money in more than one currency. Software that is perfectly good for a consultancy falls apart against that.
We have ranked these on the things that actually decide whether an online seller can close a month cleanly: how well they handle inventory and cost of goods sold, whether multi currency is included or a tier upgrade, how they cope with a payout that bundles a hundred orders and a fee deduction, and the real price excluding VAT.
What ecommerce sellers should look for
Inventory is the dividing line. Ordinary cloud accounting will happily record a purchase and a sale, but only some products track stock quantity and value properly, which is what you need to report cost of goods sold and to know your real margin rather than your revenue. If you hold stock, treat inventory as a requirement rather than a feature, and check which tier it appears on, because it is very often the top plan rather than the middle one. The second thing to check is multi currency, which matters the moment you sell outside the United Kingdom or buy from a supplier who invoices in dollars or euros, and which is also usually a higher tier.
Then think about reconciliation, because this is where online sellers lose their evenings. A marketplace or payment processor pays you a single lump sum covering many orders with its fees already deducted, and your software has to break that back down into revenue, fees and tax rather than booking it as one mysterious deposit. Some products do this natively, others need a connector app, and the quality of that connector matters more to your month end than almost any headline feature. Finally, consider whether you have outgrown accounting software altogether: once stock, purchasing, fulfilment and finance stop staying in step, an ERP starts to make more sense than a ledger with apps bolted on.
How we assessed these tools
Every product here was judged on the things that actually decide whether software works for a UK business: the real published price excluding VAT, how it handles HMRC obligations such as Making Tax Digital, RTI or CIS where relevant, the depth of the core job it is bought for, how quickly a non specialist can get productive, and the quality of UK support. We read each vendor's own pricing pages rather than repeating third party figures, and we weight verified user ratings from people who run these tools day to day.
We also try to be honest about fit rather than crowning a single winner, because the right tool for a ten person business is rarely the right tool for a two hundred person one. Each entry below carries its real starting price, its current Assaylist rating and a clear note on who it suits and where it falls short, so you can match the software to your own situation rather than to an average. Where we earn a commission from an outbound link we say so, and it never changes the order of this list.
The best options ranked
1. Xero
Xero is the strongest all round choice for a UK online seller, largely because of the ecosystem around it. The app marketplace carries mature connectors for the major marketplaces and payment processors, which is what turns a bundled payout into properly split revenue and fees, and the bank reconciliation underneath is the fastest in the category.
What you get: The New Zealand built platform that reshaped UK cloud accounting. Four tiers, bundled payroll from the Grow plan upwards, and a very large app ecosystem. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 297 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Ignite at £16, Grow at £37, Comprehensive at £50 and Ultimate at £65 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Fastest bank reconciliation in the category
- Unlimited users on every tier
- Payroll included from the Grow plan
- Huge app marketplace and strong API
Bear in mind: inventory and multi currency both sit on higher tiers, so the plan an online seller actually needs is not the entry one.
Read our full Xero review →
2. QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online leads on automated categorisation, which is worth more to an ecommerce business than to almost anyone else because of the sheer transaction volume. Inventory tracking arrives on the Plus plan along with project profitability, and for a seller running several product lines that margin visibility is the number that matters.
What you get: Intuit's cloud accounting software, sold in four tiers from Simple Start to Advanced. Strong automation, deep app ecosystem, aggressive introductory discounting. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 262 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Simple Start at £14.33, Essentials at £34.2, Plus at £50.4 and Advanced at £110.7 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Strong automated bank categorisation
- CIS from the entry tier
- Project profitability tracking
- Very large app marketplace
Bear in mind: the advertised discount hides a materially higher renewal price, so budget on the standard rate from the start.
Read our full QuickBooks Online review →
3. Zoho Books
Zoho Books gives an online seller more capability per pound than anything else here, and it sits inside a wider Zoho suite that includes inventory and commerce tools if you want them on the same data. For a growing seller watching costs but needing real stock handling, the value is genuinely difficult to match.
What you get: Part of the wider Zoho suite. The UK edition files SA100 and CT600, handles MTD and CIS, and starts at nothing for one user. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 240 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Free at free, Standard at £12 and Professional at £24 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Free plan that files Self Assessment
- Corporation Tax filing from Standard
- Property tracking for landlords
- Native Zoho suite integration
Bear in mind: fewer UK accountants know it well, so check yours will work in it before you commit.
Read our full Zoho Books review →
4. Sage 50 Accounts
Sage 50 Accounts is the choice when stock is the hard part of your business rather than an afterthought. Its inventory and costing depth outclasses the cloud ledgers, and for an established seller holding significant stock across many lines, that capability is what stops the month end being an estimate.
What you get: Sage's desktop accounting software for established small and medium UK businesses. Deep stock, project costing and multi company reporting that the cloud products do not match. It holds a 4.2 out of 5 rating across 201 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Sage 50 Accounts Standard at £115 and Sage 50 Accounts Professional at £234 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Advanced stock management
- Project costing
- Multi company reporting
- AI document capture
Bear in mind: it is desktop rooted and priced well above the cloud options, so only worth it if the stock depth is the reason you are buying.
Read our full Sage 50 Accounts review →
5. Odoo
Odoo is worth a look when the answer is no longer accounting software with apps attached. You switch on only the modules you need, so inventory, purchasing, fulfilment and finance can sit on one data model without buying a full ERP suite. For a seller whose operations have overtaken their ledger, that consolidation is the point.
What you get: An open source business platform of interlocking apps covering accounting, CRM, inventory, manufacturing and more. Free for one app, then per user, with a large implementation partner network. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 218 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run One App Free at free, Standard at £19.9 and Custom at £29.9 per user per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Modular, switch on only what you need
- One app free forever
- Far cheaper than proprietary ERP
- Open source and highly customisable
Bear in mind: the flexibility means getting it right is an implementation project, not a signup.
Read our full Odoo review →Comparison at a glance
Here is how the shortlist compares on what it is best for, the starting price excluding VAT and the current Assaylist rating.
| Software | Best for | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xero | Best overall | From £16 / month | 4.1 |
| QuickBooks Online | Best for automation | From £14.33 / month | 4.1 |
| Zoho Books | Best value | From £0 / month | 4.1 |
| Sage 50 Accounts | Best stock depth | From £115 / month | 4.2 |
| Odoo | Best if you are outgrowing accounting | From £19.90 per user / month | 4.1 |
How much should you budget?
Be careful with headline prices here, because the tier an online seller needs is rarely the cheap one. Inventory tracking and multi currency both tend to sit on the upper plans, so where a service business runs happily on an entry plan at sixteen to twenty pounds a month excluding VAT, a stock holding seller should budget the top small business tier at roughly forty five to sixty pounds. Zoho Books is the exception and delivers real stock handling well below that.
Then add the connectors. The app that splits your marketplace payouts into revenue, fees and tax is usually a separate subscription of perhaps ten to thirty pounds a month, and it is not optional if you sell any real volume, so put it in the budget from the beginning rather than discovering it at month end. If you are considering Sage 50 Accounts or Odoo, the calculation changes shape: Sage 50 is a higher subscription justified by stock depth, and Odoo is priced per user with an implementation cost that dominates the first year.
Our verdict
For most UK ecommerce businesses, Xero is the safest strong choice, less for its own inventory features than for the maturity of the connectors around it, which is what actually decides whether your marketplace payouts reconcile cleanly. QuickBooks Online is its equal on automation and includes inventory on Plus, and the high transaction volume of online selling is exactly where that automation pays off.
Value conscious sellers should look hard at Zoho Books, which handles stock properly at a price the others cannot match. If stock is the genuinely difficult part of your business, Sage 50 Accounts has depth the cloud tools do not, and if your operations have outgrown a ledger with apps attached, Odoo is the honest next step rather than a bigger accounting subscription.
The bottom line
Work out two things before you compare prices: whether you hold stock, and how your money arrives. If you hold stock you need inventory, and that almost always means a higher tier than the one advertised. If your money arrives as bundled marketplace payouts, the connector that splits them is as important as the accounting software itself and costs extra. Get those two answers straight and the choice is usually clear: Xero or QuickBooks Online for most, Zoho Books on a budget, Sage 50 Accounts for real stock complexity.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best accounting software for a UK ecommerce business?
Xero is the strongest overall choice for most UK online sellers, mainly because of the maturity of the marketplace and payment connectors in its app ecosystem. QuickBooks Online is an equally capable alternative with stronger automation and includes inventory tracking on its Plus plan.
Does accounting software track inventory?
Some of it does, but usually only on higher tiers. QuickBooks Online includes inventory on Plus, Xero on its upper plans, and Zoho Books offers it at a lower price point. Sage 50 Accounts has the deepest stock and costing capability of the products here. If you hold stock, check which tier inventory appears on before comparing headline prices.
How do I reconcile marketplace payouts in accounting software?
A marketplace pays you one lump sum covering many orders with fees already deducted, so it has to be split back into revenue, fees and tax rather than recorded as a single deposit. Most sellers use a dedicated connector app for this, which is a separate subscription. The quality of that connector affects your month end more than most headline accounting features.
Do I need multi currency accounting to sell abroad?
Yes, as soon as you invoice customers or pay suppliers in a currency other than sterling. Multi currency handles the exchange differences properly instead of leaving you to adjust them by hand. It is typically a higher tier feature, so factor that into the price you compare.
When should an ecommerce business move from accounting software to an ERP?
When stock, purchasing, fulfilment and finance can no longer be kept in step by separate systems and spreadsheets. If you are reconciling between three tools every month and still not trusting the stock figure, an ERP such as Odoo starts to make more sense than adding another app to a ledger.
Prices were checked against each vendor's UK pricing on 7 August 2026 and exclude VAT unless stated. Vendors change pricing, so confirm the current figure on the vendor's own site before you buy. Some links are commercial; where we earn a commission it never affects our ratings or the order of this list.
