accounting software

When it comes to using your computer to manage your money, Intuit's Quicken lineup was pretty much the only game in town—until the upstart cloud service Mint.com came along in 2006. Mint can do almost anything Quicken can do, but it's free and you don't need to install any software.

Intuit's annual refresh of QuickBooks this time around is less about steak than sizzle. The QuickBooks 2013 family doesn't offer much in the way of new functionality, but it definitely looks a lot different than its predecessors.

At $369 for a single user ($669 for three licenses, and $899 for five), Sage 50 Complete Accounting 2013 isn't the cheapest way to keep your small business's books. But if you are well versed in accounting practices and want to implement your own preferences where choices are available, Sage 50 Complete provides all the controls you could wish for.

Accounting is the language of business, and good accounting software can save you hundreds of hours at the business equivalent of Berlitz.

CODA is launching a full-featured SaaS accounting application that works in tandem with Salesforce.com.