The best accounting software for freelancers and self-employed workers must be easy to use since many don’t have extensive knowledge of accounting and have more valuable things to do than bookkeeping. Moreover, it should have essential general accounting functions, such as expense tracking and reporting, and features useful to freelancers, such as mileage and invoice tracking. Niche features like tax calculation and tax write-offs tracking are bonus features to have in your chosen software.
Here are the six best accounting software for self-employed individuals and freelancers based on each need:
- Zoho Books: Overall best accounting software for freelancers looking for an outstanding mobile app
- QuickBooks Online: Best for access to local bookkeeping assistance
- FreshBooks: Best for ease-of-use by nonaccountants
- Wave: Best free accounting software
- QuickBooks Self-Employed: Best for tracking profits and preparing tax returns
- Found : Best digital banking platform with bookkeeping functionality
The Fit Small Business mission is to provide small business owners with the best answers to their small business questions. Whenever possible, we evaluate all of the software we recommend by conducting an in-depth internal case study where our experts determine the strengths and drawbacks of each software by recreating real-life bookkeeping scenarios.
There are only two scenarios where we may recommend a platform that has not been subjected to our case study: if the solution is not a complete bookkeeping system or if we don’t have access to evaluate the software. We evaluate all software on the same set of criteria, regardless of whether it is a partner company.
Comparison of Best Accounting Software for Freelancers
Provider | Monthly Pricing | Number of Users | Estimate Tax for Schedule C | Create Recurring Invoices | Enter Bills From the Mobile App | Support |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$0 to $275 | 1 to 15 | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | Hotline, callback, chatbot, live chat, email, self-help library | |
$30 to $200 | 1 to 25 | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | Callback, chatbot, live chat, self-help library | |
$19 to $60 or custom priced | 1 | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | Hotline, chatbot, email, self-help library | |
FREE or $16 | 1 or Unlimited | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ | ||
$20 to $40 | 1 | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | Callback, chatbot, live chat, self-help library | |
$0 or $19.99 | 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Hotline, self-help library | |
Zoho Books: Best Overall Accounting Software for Freelancers Looking for an Outstanding Mobile App
Pros
- Offers an outstanding mobile app
- Manages sales tax collections
- Tracks time and expenses and add easily to an invoice
- Tracks project profitability
Cons
- Charges additional for receipt capture
- Cannot transfer income/expense to Schedule C
- Cannot calculate quarterly estimated tax payment
- Has limited features in the Free plan
Zoho Books has six plans:
- Free: For businesses with less than $50,000 in annual revenues (includes one user plus one accountant and up to 1,000 invoices per year)
- Standard: $20 per month; limited to three users and 5,000 invoices
- Professional: $50 per month; limited to five users with unlimited invoices
- Premium: $70 per month; limited to 10 users
- Elite: $150 per month; limited to 10 users (includes advanced inventory)
- Ultimate: $275 per month; limited to 15 users
Add-ons:
- Additional users: $3 per user monthly
- Receipts scanning: $10 for 50 scans per month
- Snail mail credits for sending invoices: $2 per credit
Zoho Books does the best job in helping freelancers handle accounting. It has the highest score in project accounting because it helps freelancers manage project income, expenses, and billings from different clients. It also tops our list of the best mobile accounting apps because of its outstanding mobile app functionality that enables users to perform basic accounting tasks, like sending invoices or receiving payments, and advanced actions, such as recording time worked or assigning expenses.
On the flip side, Zoho Books fell short in ease of use because of its limited support network of bookkeepers who provide bookkeeping assistance. Freelancers might have a hard time looking for Zoho Advisors as they’re not as accessible and popular as the QuickBooks ProAdvisor network. If you want a vast network of bookkeepers to help you, we recommend QuickBooks Online.
QuickBooks Online: Best for Access to Local Bookkeeping Assistance
Pros
- Offers access to a vast network of independent ProAdvisors
- Manages sales tax with automatic sales tax rates based on the customer address
- Includes receipt capture to generate transactions from uploaded receipts
- Monitors time and expenses and adds them to customer invoices (requires Essentials)
- Tracks miles with mobile app automatically
Cons
- Has no customer service telephone number—you must submit a request to be called
- Requires a subscription to the expensive Plus version to track project profitability
- Cannot calculate quarterly tax payments or transfer information to Schedule C
QuickBooks Online has four plans, but our recommended tier for freelancers is Simple Start.
- Simple Start: $30 per month for one user
- Essentials: $60 per month for three users
- Plus: $90 per month for five users
- Advanced: $200 per month for 25 users
If you buy now, you get 50% off for three months, plus a free guided setup from a QuickBooks expert. Otherwise, you can get the 30-day free trial (without free guided setup) and pay the regular price at the end of the trial.
As our best small business accounting software, QuickBooks Online is a safe pick for freelancers. It can send invoices, design invoices, send bills, and reconcile bank accounts. Its vast QuickBooks ProAdvisor network makes it easy for freelancers to look for a ProAdvisor who can help with bookkeeping.
QuickBooks Online scored well in our evaluation of accounting features since it lets users issue sales receipts immediately and enter monthly service fees in bank reconciliation. These are things Zoho Books can’t do. However, Zoho Books has the most powerful mobile app of all providers we’ve reviewed and has a better pricing structure than QuickBooks Online, as it lets you add more seats as needed.
FreshBooks: Best for Ease-of-use by Nonaccountants
Pros
- Has an easy-to-use interface for non-accountants
- Tracks mileage on mobile app
- Has excellent project management tool
- Tracks hours and expenses and add to invoices
Cons
- Requires pricey premium plan subscription for more than 50 billable customers
- Has no expense or income tracking by class
- Cannot track cost of goods sold for freelancers dealing with inventory
- Requires bank account feed to track checking transactions accurately
FreshBooks has four plans:
- Lite: $19 per month for five billable clients
- Plus: $33 per month for 50 billable clients
- Premium: $60 per month unlimited billable clients
- Select: Custom pricing for unlimited billable clients and specialized features
You can get FreshBooks at 60% off for three months. Otherwise, you can try it for 30 days.
Add-ons:
- Additional team members: $11 per seat monthly
- Gusto payroll (billed separately by Gusto; read our review of Gusto)
- Advanced payments: $20 per month (for Plus, Premium, and Select plans only)
FreshBooks is an easy-to-use accounting software for service-based freelancers without or with little accounting knowledge—its interface is non-intimidating and easy to learn. Its high score in project accounting makes it a good pick for freelancers handling client projects and billing by the hour.
On the flip side, it got the lowest marks in general accounting features because of its awkward banking features, general account setup, and the absence of inventory features. FreshBooks cannot be used to track cash from multiple bank or credit card accounts unless live bank feeds are established.
Also, FreshBooks’ pricing can be expensive—as reflected in its pricing score. We recommend choosing QuickBooks Online for a complete set of accounting features and access to ProAdvisors at an affordable price. If you want a free alternative, check out Wave.
Wave: Best Free Accounting Software for Freelancers
Pros
- Offers a free version for a single user; ideal for most freelancers and solopreneurs
- Is easy to set up and use
- Allows you to create and send unlimited invoices to your clients
- Lets you process payments at affordable fees
- Includes receipt capture for an additional fee in the free version or included in the paid plan
Cons
- Doesn’t allow you to connect your bank accounts in the free plan
- Doesn’t separate income and expense by class or location
- Has limited customer support in the free version
- Can only add multiple users if you upgrade to the paid version
Wave used to be a completely free software for accounting and invoicing, but it now offers a paid version. You can now choose from two plans:
- Starter: Free; includes one user and accounting and invoicing features
- Pro: $16 per month or $170 per year; includes unlimited users and additional features like bank feeds and unlimited receipt capture
Add-ons available for both Starter and Pro plans:
- Bookkeeping support: $149 per month
- Accounting and payroll coaching: $379
- Assisted payroll services through Wave Payroll: $40 per month for tax service states and $20 per month for self-service states plus $6 monthly per employee
- Receipt scanning: $11 per month or $96 per year for Starter; included in Pro
Wave, which leads our roundup of the best free accounting software, is a good pick for those who only need simple income and expense tracking features and want free software. It lacks advanced functions like inventory management and project accounting but includes recurring invoices and billing, which are often present only in premium plans of paid software. Additionally, Wave charges minimal transaction fees for bank transactions and card payments.
Wave’s above-average score in general accounting features shows that it can handle only the basic accounting functions, which is all most freelancers would need. However, its low score in project accounting makes it a less desirable pick for freelancers who handle big projects. In that case, we recommend FreshBooks because it has best-in-class invoice customization and outstanding project accounting.
QuickBooks Self-Employed: Best for Tracking Profit & Preparing Tax Returns
Pros
- Is inexpensive and easy to use
- Calculates quarterly estimated tax payments
- Transfers income and loss information to TurboTax (requires the TurboTax bundle)
- Tracks miles and saves receipt images using the mobile app
Cons
- Doesn’t record income automatically when an invoice is paid
- Cannot track unpaid bills
- Has no telephone number for customer service
- Doesn’t track assets and liabilities for a balance sheet
QuickBooks Self-employed offers its plan with and without tax services:
- Self-Employed: $20 per month for one user
- Self-Employed Tax Bundle (recommended for most freelancers): $30 per month for one user; includes Intuit TurboTax Self-Employed, online quarterly tax payments, and transfer of income/loss information
- Self-Employed Live Tax Bundle: $40 per month for one user; includes Intuit TurboTax Live Self-Employed, which provides unlimited year-round advice from a live certified public accountant (CPA), enrolled agent, or lawyer.
Bundling with TurboTax allows for easier tax return preparation, but subscribing to the base self-employed package and choosing different business tax software could save you some money.
You can try it free for 30 days or get 50% off for three months if you sign up now.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is optimal for freelancers who only want to track income and expenses for tax purposes. It helps estimate tax payments and will transfer income and expenses to Schedule C when it’s time to file a tax return. However, if you want to send invoices, enter bills, and track payments, we recommend QuickBooks Online, which is far more powerful and useful for general accounting.
Found: Best Digital Banking Platform With Bookkeeping Functionality
Pros
- Has free bookkeeping features
- Calculates quarterly estimated tax payments
- Tracks expenses automatically
- Offers banking services
Cons
- Is not a full bookkeeping software
- Requires Found Plus for unlimited custom rules, categories, and tags
- Cannot auto-import expenses in the free plan
- Doesn’t give 1.5% annual percentage yield (APY) in the free tier
With a Found business checking account, you can use the Found app for free or get Found Plus for $19.99 a month (or $149.99 per year) for additional features. With the paid plan, you can enjoy the following perks:
- 1.5% APY on accounts with balances up to $20,000
- Unlimited custom rules, tags, and categories
- Automatic expense import from receipts
- Ability to import activity from bank, credit card, Venmo, and PayPal
- In-app quarterly federal tax payments for all Schedule C filers
- Priority custom support
As a fintech platform and digital banking solution, Found offers in-app banking services with bookkeeping, tax preparation, and invoicing features. It enables freelancers to manage their online banking easily and track their expenses via the app. Though it offers a lot of things in one app, the features aren’t comprehensive. We still prefer Zoho Books or QuickBooks for a more complete bookkeeping and accounting service.
How We Evaluated Accounting Software for Self-employed
We evaluated the best accounting software for freelancers based with the following features in mind:
10% of Overall Score
The price of the software is considered in the evaluation but we didn’t place a heavy weight on this criterion. Since freelancers don’t need advanced accounting features, we believe that most freelancers would benefit greatly from the lowest or lower tier plans of most software products.
20% of Overall Score
25% of Overall Score
Project accounting has the highest weight in the evaluation because most freelancers handle project-based transactions with clients. We like to give more credit to software programs that allow freelancers to assign expenses and income by project, assign billable expenses to projects, and manage project costs.
15% of Overall Score
A mobile app is important for freelancers who work across different devices. The mobile app must also have the same features as the desktop or web-based app for accessibility.
10% of Overall Score
Ease of use is a top concern since most freelancers might not have the time to learn complicated software. An easy-to-use software is a big plus in our evaluation. However, we also considered the availability of support channels since some freelancers might need assistance in using the software.
10% of Overall Score
We included user ratings from popular review websites to capture the overall impact of the software to actual users.
10% of Overall Score
As self-employed individuals providing services or selling goods, freelancers have different requirements for accounting software than most businesses. For example, since freelancers don’t generally have employees, they don’t value integrated payroll when evaluating accounting software.
Freelance Accounting Software Features | |
---|---|
Important | Less Important |
Great mobile app with receipt capture and mileage tracking | Payroll integration |
Professional invoices | Inventory tracking |
Manage sales tax if providing a taxable service | Advanced tracking of income and expense by location or class |
Assign hours and expenses to customers | Multiple users |
Track project profitability for fixed-fee contracts | |
Transfer income and expense to Schedule C | |
Calculate quarterly income tax payments |
If you need more features than a typical freelancer, such as payroll or inventory tracking, see our guide to the best small business accounting software.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes—QuickBooks Self-Employed costs $15 per month and is designed exclusively for freelancers. However, you may wish to use QuickBooks Online Simple Start for $30 per month if you send many invoices to customers.
While not as feature-packed as QuickBooks Online, many freelancers love FreshBooks for its simplicity and great customer service.
Bottom Line
While Zoho Books is our highest-rated accounting software for freelancers, QuickBooks Online might be better for freelancers who want to outsource bookkeeping through the QuickBooks ProAdvisor network. FreshBooks is great for non-accountants for its easy-to-use interface while Wave Starter is a free alternative. Finally, for freelancers who only want to compile their income and expenses and file a tax return, QuickBooks Self-Employed may be optimal.