What accounting tasks can a small business do for free?
Short answer. Vendor payments through Melio's free ACH tier, cards and spend management on Ramp's free base product, and personal finance tracking on Empower cost nothing. Core bookkeeping software is the piece that usually costs money.
The fuller picture
The free tools cluster around payments and tracking rather than the books themselves. A workable minimal stack: Melio or Ramp for paying vendors, Empower for the owner's personal finances, and a paid entry tier of QuickBooks, Xero, or Zoho Books for the actual accounting.
General information only. This is not tax, legal, or financial advice for your specific situation.