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Farm accounting is undergoing a significant shift as more farmers adopt cloud-based accounting software. With rising input costs, stricter compliance requirements, and more complex sales models, relying on spreadsheets or general-purpose software is no longer sustainable. Today’s successful farms require systems that can manage finances, inventory, payroll, and production data in one place.
Managing a farm goes well beyond tending crops and livestock, it demands precise financial oversight, accurate inventory control, and the ability to track income and expenses across multiple channels. Farm accounting software addresses these challenges with agriculture-specific features like cost tracking by field or enterprise, tax tools aligned with CRA or Schedule F requirements, payroll support, and grant funding assistance. These platforms are designed to reduce manual work, improve visibility, and support strategic decision-making.
In this article, we’ll explore how farm accounting software works, compare leading accounting solutions, and show how other farm software like Local Line can create an even more holistic view of your farm business.
Farm accounting software is purpose-built to meet the financial and operational demands of farming businesses. It helps producers track income and expenses, manage budgets, and generate detailed financial reports. Automating tasks such as bookkeeping, payroll, and tax preparation reduces manual work and supports more accurate and efficient record-keeping.
Read more about the best agriculture apps
Farm-specific accounting platforms offer several key advantages:
Choosing the right agricultural accounting software starts with identifying the capabilities your operation actually needs. The best tools go beyond basic bookkeeping, supporting everything from tax preparation and inventory tracking to cash flow forecasting and integration with farm sales platforms.
Key features to prioritize include:
The right combination of these features gives your farm clear financial visibility, supports accurate tracking of farm income, and enables smarter, faster management decisions across all levels of your operation.
With an understanding of the essential features, the next step is finding the right platform that fits your farm’s size, complexity, and workflow. Below is a breakdown of the best farm accounting software to consider:
QuickBooks is a leading accounting platform that, when paired with farm-specific add-ons, provides tailored solutions for farmers. It simplifies financial management, payroll, and tax preparation for agricultural businesses.
Key Features
Pros:
Robust accounting platform with customizable farm-specific add-ons, strong reporting tools, tax prep support, and mobile access.
Cons:
Requires setup and integration of third-party tools, may be complex for beginners, and ongoing subscription costs can add up.
Overview:
Used by over 20,000 farmers, FarmRaise is a cloud-based accounting platform designed specifically for agriculture. It supports automated income and expense tracking, Schedule F tagging, bank syncing with over 12,000 financial institutions, mileage logging, basic inventory management, invoicing, and grant discovery tools. Its mobile app also works offline, making it useful for farms with limited connectivity.
Key features:
Pros:
Easy to use, built for farmers, excellent support for funding and tax prep, mobile-friendly
Cons:
Limited customization; may not scale well for complex or multi-enterprise farms
Key features:
Pros:
Smart automation, strong reporting, ideal for multi-entity farms
Cons:
Not a full accounting system; works best alongside traditional accounting software
Local Line is an all-in-one farm sales platform that combines e-commerce, order management, and seamless integration with your essential farm software tools. Local Line can help your farm busienss with:
Learn more about order and invoice management
Learn more about agriculture payment solutions
Learn more about farm website builder and farm ecommerce
Learn more about farm data integrations
Local Line is ideal for farms with direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) models, CSA subscription services, or multi‑vendor food hubs—seamlessly tying sales to financial ledgers.
Connecting your farm’s sales activity with your financial records is key to running a streamlined, profitable operation. Local Line makes this easy by integrating your e-commerce, order management, and invoicing directly with accounting platforms like QuickBooks.
Instead of juggling spreadsheets or manually copying invoice data, Local Line automates the transfer of sales, payments, and customer transactions into your accounting system. This reduces errors, saves hours of admin time, and keeps your books up to date, whether you’re selling by weight, managing CSA subscriptions, or fulfilling wholesale orders.
By syncing operational tools with your financial software, Local Line helps you close the loop between the field and the ledger. It’s a powerful way to modernize your farm’s workflow and gain better visibility into profitability without doubling your workload.
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No, Local Line complements systems like QuickBooks by automating the sales-to-ledger flow.
The best accounting software for farming depends on the size and complexity of your operation. For small to mid-sized farms, FarmRaise and AgExpert are excellent choices—FarmRaise for its automation and grant support, and AgExpert for Canadian tax compliance. Larger farms may benefit from Traction Ag for field-level profitability or AgriERP for full ERP integration. Farms focused on direct sales may find Local Line, paired with QuickBooks, ideal for syncing orders with accounting.
QuickBooks itself is not farm-specific, but it can be effectively adapted for agriculture. Many farmers customize QuickBooks Online using farm-specific chart of accounts, tags, and integration tools like Local Line. This makes QuickBooks a strong option when combined with tools that bridge the gap between general accounting and agriculture-specific needs.
Yes, FarmRaise is a worthwhile option for small to mid-sized farms that want automation without a steep learning curve. It offers real-time expense tracking, mobile mileage logging, inventory tools, and unique features like USDA grant application support. Its focus on simplicity, automation, and time-saving makes it particularly valuable for farmers who want to streamline their financial admin and stay tax-ready.
For Canadian farmers, AgExpert Field (Free version) is a good option for basic record keeping. In the U.S., FarmRaise offers free access to its basic tools, including income/expense tracking and grant discovery. Wave Accounting is another free, general-purpose platform that can be adapted for farm use, though it lacks agriculture-specific features.
Yes. Wave Accounting is completely free for core accounting tasks like invoicing, income and expense tracking, and reporting. It’s suitable for small farms with straightforward finances. Some platforms like FarmRaise and AgExpert offer free plans with limited features, ideal for farmers just starting or testing digital systems.
For farming, the best software includes tools that manage both financial and operational records. Traction Ag, AgExpert, and FarmRaise all offer record-keeping that covers income, expenses, inventory, and field-level data. If you're selling direct-to-consumer, Local Line adds value by tracking orders, payments, and invoices in a way that connects seamlessly with accounting software.
In accounting, livestock refers to domesticated animals raised on a farm for commercial purposes. This includes cattle, hogs, horses, poultry (such as chickens and turkeys), sheep, goats, and other animals intended for meat, dairy, breeding, or resale.
Livestock is typically recorded as a biological asset or inventory, depending on the accounting method used. Farmers may categorize them as:
Proper accounting for livestock involves tracking purchases, births, deaths, feed costs, veterinary expenses, and changes in market value, especially for reporting income, tax deductions, and inventory valuation.
