Automation · Keeping the books

General ledger software for small business only works if someone keeps it clean.

Excello turns general ledger software for small business into finished books: every transaction is recorded in your QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo ledger daily, mapped to your chart of accounts and reviewed by accountants weekly or every business day.

Still on spreadsheets? Excello can set up QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo for you, quoted before any work starts.

Book a call See how it works

Your ledger stays in your own account, under your admin login.

Ledger
Recorded daily
Reviewed weekly or daily
Reconciled monthly
Closed within five business days

What general ledger accounting software does

The master record

The general ledger is the master record of every financial transaction a business makes, sorted into accounts. Every report you read, from the balance sheet to the profit and loss, is built from it.

General ledger accounting software keeps that record: it takes in bank, card and sales activity, posts each transaction to an account and totals the accounts into statements.

The software does the arithmetic. Whether the ledger is right depends on what goes in and how carefully it is checked.

How Excello keeps your general ledger

Four steps

Step 01

Recorded

Bank, card, payroll and sales activity is pulled into your ledger every day from your connected accounts and tools.
Step 02

Mapped

Each entry is mapped to your chart of accounts. Routine, clear-cut matches post automatically.
Step 03

Reviewed

Accountants review the ledger every week or every business day and correct anything coded to the wrong account.
Step 04

Closed

Accounts are reconciled, adjustments posted and the month closed within five business days as standard.

Best small business general ledger software: four packages compared

Choosing a ledger

The best general ledger software for a small business is usually the one your bank, payroll and sales tools connect to cleanly, and the one your accountants know well.

For most small businesses that means QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo, and Excello works inside all three. Microsoft general ledger software, Dynamics 365 Business Central, tends to suit growing companies with more complex operations.

A ledger is only as good as what goes into it, and who checks it.

Four general ledger software packages compared
Package	What it is	Often chosen by	With Excello
QuickBooks Online	Cloud accounting software from Intuit	Small businesses that want a wide choice of add-on apps	Excello works inside it
Xero	Cloud accounting software used by small businesses worldwide	Teams that want every plan to include unlimited users	Excello works inside it
Odoo	An open-source business suite with accounting as one of its apps	Businesses that want accounting, inventory and sales in one system	Excello works inside it
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central	Microsoft's business management system	Growing companies that need deeper operations and supply chain features	Discussed case by case

Basic general ledger software, and when to move past spreadsheets

Starting out

In the first months of a business, a spreadsheet or basic general ledger software can be enough. The signs it is time to move are usually easy to spot.

Bank and card transactions are being typed in by hand
More than one person needs to work in the books
An investor, lender or tax adviser has asked for financial statements
Payroll, sales tax or VAT has started
Nobody is sure the balances match the bank

Setup

From spreadsheets

Quoted separately before work starts

QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo set up
A chart of accounts that fits
Bank and card accounts connected
Then onto the monthly service

Ask about setup

General ledger system software: what a clean ledger needs

The standard

Whichever general ledger solution software you run, a clean ledger has the same six qualities. Excello keeps each of them in place every month.

Standard 01

A chart of accounts that fits

Enough accounts to read the business clearly, with no duplicates or vague catch-alls.

Standard 02

Every account connected

Each bank account, card and payment tool feeding the ledger, so nothing is entered twice or missed.

Standard 03

Documents behind entries

Receipts, bills and invoices attached where the transaction needs them.

Standard 04

Consistent categories

The same kind of cost coded to the same account every month.

Standard 05

Monthly reconciliation

Every account agreed to its statement before the month is reported.

Standard 06

Closed periods

Past months locked once they are closed, so reported numbers stay put.

Depreciation software for small business, inside the ledger

Fixed assets

Depreciation spreads the cost of equipment, vehicles and other long-lived assets across the years a business uses them, so a large purchase doesn't distort a single month.

Most accounting software can record depreciation, and some include a register for fixed assets. Separate depreciation software for small business is rarely needed if the schedules are kept up to date.

Excello checks your depreciation schedules and records depreciation at each month-end close, alongside prepaid expenses and accruals, so the profit and loss shows the true cost of each month.

Your general ledger stays in your own software

Nothing to migrate

Frequently asked questions

What is general ledger software?

General ledger software records every financial transaction a business makes and sorts it into accounts, which produce the balance sheet and profit and loss. Excello keeps that ledger current inside QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo.

What is the best general ledger software for a small business?

For most small businesses it is QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo, chosen by the tools and advisers you already work with. Excello works inside all three, so the choice can rest on what fits your business.

Can Excello set up a general ledger if we still use spreadsheets?

Yes. Excello can set up QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo with a chart of accounts that fits your business. The setup is quoted separately, before any work starts, and your books then move onto the monthly service.

We use Sage, Zoho Books or Microsoft Dynamics. Can Excello help?

Other ledgers are looked at case by case. Tell us which software you use and how your books are set up, and we'll talk through on a call how Excello could work with them.

Who owns the general ledger?

You do. The ledger stays in your own QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo account, under your subscription and admin login, and Excello works in it as a user you can remove at any time.

How often is the general ledger updated?

Every day. Software records and matches transactions daily, accountants review the ledger every week or every business day, and each month is reconciled and closed within five business days as standard.

Does Excello record depreciation?

Yes. Depreciation schedules for equipment and other fixed assets are checked, and depreciation is recorded in the ledger at each month-end close, along with prepaid expenses and accruals.

Book a call

Tell us which accounting software you use, or whether you're still on spreadsheets. We'll come back within one business day with a time for a call and a quote.

Keep your QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo
Ledger reviewed by accountants every week or every business day
Books closed within five business days as standard