Updated: January 2026
Accounting, payments, and financial tools
Payment processing that developers love to implement
Stripe processes payments for internet businesses. The payments infrastructure that developers love—commerce technology company. The developer experience defined the category. The features cover global commerce. The reliability is proven. Internet businesses often start with Stripe for developer-friendly payments.
Global payroll and compliance for remote teams
Deel handles global hiring without the complexity of setting up entities everywhere. Hire and pay contractors and employees in other countries legally, with compliance handled by Deel. The platform manages contracts, payments, and tax compliance globally. EOR services employ people where you don't have entities. Companies hiring internationally without local presence choose Deel to employ global talent compliantly.
Workforce management platform
Rippling manages HR, IT, and finance in one platform. Employee systems unified—everything from payroll to device management. The integration is the strength. The management is unified. The automation connects systems. Companies wanting unified employee systems choose Rippling for connected HR and IT.
Payroll and HR platform for small businesses
Gusto handles payroll and HR for small businesses. Run payroll, manage benefits, onboard employees—the HR complexity small businesses face, simplified. Payroll runs smoothly. Benefits administration is included. The interface is friendly. Small businesses needing payroll and HR without HR departments choose Gusto for accessible people management.
Global HR platform for distributed teams
Remote handles international employment legally. Global HR, payroll, and compliance—hiring worldwide without local entities. The global coverage is extensive. The compliance is handled. The process is managed. Companies hiring internationally choose Remote for legal global employment.
Equity management and cap table software
Carta manages cap tables, equity, and valuations for startups and private companies. Instead of spreadsheets that break and confuse, Carta maintains accurate ownership records and handles the complexity of equity compensation. 409A valuations are built in. Employee equity management handles grants, vesting, and exercises. Fund administration serves investors too. Startups with employees or funding use Carta because cap table errors are expensive and equity administration is more complex than spreadsheets can handle.
International money transfers and accounts
Wise moves money internationally with transparency. Multi-currency accounts and transfers—international finance without hidden fees. The fees are transparent. The rates are real. The experience is modern. Global businesses and individuals use Wise for transparent international payments.
Banking for startups and tech companies
Mercury provides banking for startups. Business accounts, cards, and treasury—financial services designed for how startups actually operate. The product understands startups. The interface is modern. The treasury options help. Startups wanting bank accounts that understand their needs choose Mercury for startup banking.
Global employment platform
Oyster handles global employment legally. Hire internationally without entities—employer of record for distributed teams. The compliance is handled. The countries are many. The process is managed. Companies hiring internationally use Oyster for legal global employment.
Equity management for startups
Pulley manages equity for startups. Cap table management, 409A valuations, and equity planning—equity administration for growing companies. The cap table is accurate. The 409A integration helps. The modeling assists planning. Startups managing equity use Pulley for cap table and equity administration.
Finance software manages business money—accounting, invoicing, payments, payroll, and financial planning. It ranges from simple invoicing tools to complex ERP systems that integrate all financial operations.
QuickBooks and Xero dominate small business accounting, but the landscape is evolving. Modern tools like Mercury and Ramp combine banking with software, blurring category lines. Vertical-specific solutions serve restaurants, construction, and other industries with specialized needs.
The trend is toward automation. AI categorizes transactions, matches invoices to payments, and flags anomalies. Real-time financial visibility—once enterprise-only—is now accessible to small businesses through modern tools and banking integrations.
General ledger, financial statements, and compliance. QuickBooks and Xero for SMB; NetSuite for mid-market.
Create invoices, accept payments, and manage receivables. Often bundled with accounting or standalone.
Corporate cards, expense reports, and spend controls. Ramp, Brex, and Expensify.
Employee compensation, taxes, and compliance. Often integrated with HR or accounting systems.
Bank accounts with software features. Mercury and Brex for startups; traditional banks for established businesses.
Budgeting, forecasting, and scenario planning. Mosaic, Jirav, and Runway for growing companies.
Finance tools serve different roles across organizations:
Your accounting stack should grow with your business:
Fintech is blurring lines between banking and software—Mercury, Ramp, and Brex combine both. AI is automating bookkeeping—categorization, reconciliation, and anomaly detection. Real-time financial data is becoming standard. Spend management tools have grown significantly. The SMB accounting market remains QuickBooks/Xero dominated. Mid-market sees more competition between NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and newer players.
QuickBooks dominates the US market—most accountants know it, and its ecosystem is deepest. Xero has better UX and is preferred in UK/Australia. For US small businesses, QuickBooks is the safe choice. If you're working with a Xero-focused accountant or prefer modern UX, Xero is excellent. Both handle core accounting well; ecosystem and support differ.
Mercury offers better software features, integrations, and startup-friendly service. Traditional banks offer more services (loans, credit lines, complex treasury) and FDIC insurance on larger balances. Most startups do well with Mercury for daily operations, potentially keeping a traditional bank relationship for growth financing. Mercury's recent growth has proven the model.
Ramp focuses purely on expense management and savings—excellent software, aggressive cashback, no credit line complexity. Brex offers credit lines alongside expense management—better if you need financing. Ramp's software is generally considered cleaner. Brex has more international features. For pure expense management, Ramp often wins; for startups wanting credit, Brex is worth considering.
When spreadsheet models become painful—typically around $5-10M revenue or when you have investors wanting regular reporting. FP&A tools (Mosaic, Runway, Jirav) automate financial consolidation, scenario planning, and reporting. Before that point, spreadsheets work fine. The trigger is usually board/investor reporting requirements or finance team efficiency.
NetSuite is a significant step up in complexity and cost—typically right for companies with $20M+ revenue, complex inventory, or multi-entity structures. The migration is substantial. Many companies between QuickBooks and NetSuite find QuickBooks Advanced or Xero sufficient with add-ons. Only move to NetSuite when you're genuinely hitting QuickBooks limitations, not aspirationally.
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Rankings are updated regularly. Last updated: January 2026.
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