5 Best Accounting Software for Handyman Businesses

Zoho Books offers accounting features that I find comparable to QuickBooks Online but at a more affordable price, with generally better customer support. Its free plan seems ideal for handyperson businesses with under $50,000 in revenue, especially those focused on small repairs or maintenance. I appreciate how its powerful mobile app lets me invoice clients, accept payments, track mileage, and record time worked, which is perfect for businesses that bill hourly.

However, I can see how Zoho Books might be too robust for some freelance handyperson businesses. Upgrading to Zoho Books Professional adds features like custom workflows and recurring journals that part-timers might not need. In those cases, I recommend FreshBooks or ZipBooks as scaled-down alternatives. And if working with a local bookkeeper is a priority, QuickBooks Online might be the better option, given the limited availability of Zoho Advisors in the U.S.

Standout Features

• Outstanding mobile app: Zoho Books’ mobile app is excellent since it can perform all the necessary accounting functions we’re looking for in a mobile app.
• Excellent customer support: Zoho Books offers email support in the free plan and phone, email, and live chat support in all its paid plans.
• Integration with other Zoho apps: Zoho is an ecosystem of software-as-a-service (SaaS) products. Zoho Books can connect with other products like Zoho CRM for managing customers and Zoho Expense for tracking expenses.

Use Cases

• Handyperson businesses that deploy employees: Your employees can use the mobile app to track time, capture receipts, and generate reports all while in the field.
• iPhone users: Aside from its general mobile features, iOS users get more functionality through home screen widgets. You can add Zoho Books widgets to your iPhone’s home screen to see KPI figures and reminders easily. Notifications also extend to the Apple Watch where Zoho Books will remind you to settle bills or collect invoices.
• Businesses looking for an affordable QuickBooks alternative: Zoho Books and QuickBooks have a lot of shared features, making Zoho Books a good QuickBooks alternative. Moreover, Zoho Books has a more robust mobile app and better customer service than QuickBooks Online.

Zoho Books excelled in almost all areas, earning aces for mobile app and handyman features and a nearly perfect mark for general accounting. However, I did take off a few points for pricing since you have to go for the higher plans to access project tracking tools, which are essential for handyperson businesses. I also deducted some points for customer support due to its limited network of Zoho Books Advisors, especially when I compare it with the extensive network of QuickBooks Online ProAdvisors.

I find QuickBooks Online to be an excellent choice for handyperson businesses that lack the time or expertise to manage their books. As our best small business accounting software, It offers assisted bookkeeping options and a vast network of QuickBooks ProAdvisors, making support easily accessible.

Whether I’m overwhelmed with fieldwork or dealing with complex expenses, finding a QuickBooks ProAdvisor to handle my accounting tasks is straightforward. I also like the option of QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping for personalized assistance, where a dedicated bookkeeper can help me categorize transactions, reconcile accounts, and generate detailed reports. Read our QuickBooks Live review for more information.

However, QuickBooks Online might be a bit too pricey for freelance handyperson businesses, especially the Plus version if you need project accounting. In those cases, I suggest FreshBooks for its project accounting features or ZipBooks for simpler tasks and minor repairs.

Standout Features

• Huge network of ProAdvisors: Being the most popular accounting software in the US, QuickBooks Online has a vast network of certified public accountants (CPAs) and bookkeepers holding ProAdvisor certifications. You can outsource accounting to them while you attend to the important aspects of your business.
• Bank reconciliation: QuickBooks Online provides an easy-to-use bank reconciliation module for your bank accounts and credit cards. Handyman businesses have the option to connect their bank account for faster transmission of card transactions.
• Project reporting: QuickBooks Online can generate multiple reports that can be useful for handyman businesses. Examples are the income or loss report by project, customer, class, and location. You can use these to assess the profitability of projects and clients.
• Class and location tracking: You can track your financial activity across the different segments or physical locations of your business. For instance, if you offer plumbing and electrical services, you can separately track income and expenses associated with each service line.
• Multiple integrations: QuickBooks Online integrates with more than 750 business apps. You can connect existing software, such as customer relationship management (CRM), project management, and payroll solutions.

Use Cases

• Businesses that want to outsource accounting: Not all handyperson business owners will have the time to sit down and do the bookkeeping. With QuickBooks Online, you can hire a ProAdvisor who can assist in your bookkeeping. You may also enroll in QuickBooks Live for personalized bookkeeping support. Visit our guide to the best online bookkeeping services for additional options.
• Handyman businesses with employees: QuickBooks Online’s direct integration with QuickBooks Payroll helps you with payroll tasks, such as paying employees and managing payroll taxes.
• Businesses looking for a general industry-leading accounting software: QuickBooks Online offers a general solution for your accounting needs. It even has inventory features that might be useful for some handyman businesses, especially for tracking common materials used when performing client projects.
• Startups: I recommend QuickBooks Online as our leading accounting software for startups. If you plan on scaling up your handyperson business, you can upgrade to QuickBooks Plus with five users or Advanced with 25.

My evaluation shows that QuickBooks Online’s biggest strengths lie in general accounting and handyman features. I gave it an average score for pricing since it’s usually more expensive than other similar software. It also did well for ease of use, thanks to its intuitive user interface, but didn’t score as high in mobile accounting. The app has some drawbacks, like the inability to enter and track unpaid bills or record time worked. If mobile accounting is a priority for you, I’d recommend looking into Zoho Books instead.

FreshBooks is one of my top choices for handyman businesses because of its strong project management features. I can quickly create and send proposals without starting from scratch on Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Once the proposal is approved, I can easily convert it into an invoice. FreshBooks also lets me track time spent on projects and convert those time entries into invoices with just a few clicks.

For estimates, FreshBooks allows me to break down project costs in detail. Once the project wraps up, I can compare my estimates to the actual costs and identify which types of jobs are consistently more profitable, helping me refine my pricing or services.

Although its project accounting is excellent, FreshBooks may not be ideal for larger businesses due to its limited banking flexibility. It requires a bank feed connection to specify which bank account to make deposits or pay expenses—a feature that, while unusual, prevents errors in posting payments. For businesses with high transaction volumes, I’d recommend Zoho Books or QuickBooks Online as better alternatives.

Standout Features

• Project accounting: FreshBooks allows you to create estimates, track project status, assign time worked, bill clients for projects, and assess performance through actual vs budget reports.
• Simple interface: One of the best qualities of FreshBooks is the simplicity of its interface—it is easy to learn to use. This makes it perfect for business owners who don’t have accounting knowledge.
• Project collaboration: FreshBooks also has a feature that lets you interact directly with clients. It even has a central file storage to store important documents and messaging features to address client concerns.
• Excellent invoicing features: FreshBooks lets you customize invoices, add different payment methods, and convert estimates into invoices.

Use Cases

• Handyman businesses with one or two users: FreshBooks charges an additional fee for each extra user, so we recommend it for businesses with only one or two accounting users.
• Handyman businesses handling specialized projects: FreshBooks’ project accounting and management features let you organize all project needs and account for project expenses along the way. Its proposal designers are easier to use than editing a proposal written in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
• Businesses looking for simple software: Because of the platform’s simplicity, it’s perfect for do-it-yourself (DIY) business owners without accounting knowledge. The software is easy to learn and non intimidating for first-time users.

FreshBooks didn’t earn a perfect score in any of the criteria, but the results were still impressive. It performed well in handyman features, and I believe it could have scored even higher if it had the ability to track income and expenses by class and location like QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books, and ZipBooks.

In terms of pricing, FreshBooks also did well, though I had to dock a few points for its general features due to some minor limitations. For example, it doesn’t allow me to track and reconcile bank accounts without live bank feeds. While its mobile app is comparable to that of QuickBooks Online, I find it’s not quite as powerful as Zoho Books’ mobile app.

I like that ZipBooks lets me track income and expenses by project using custom tags in the Sophisticated plan, which costs just $35 per month for unlimited users. This feature seems perfect for handyman businesses handling straightforward projects like painting services or home repairs. If all I need is a time tracking tool without the need for advanced project tracking, ZipBooks’ Smarter plan at $15 a month might be enough.

One drawback I’ve noticed with ZipBooks is that it can’t assign estimates to projects, so I’d need to use another tool to compare estimated and actual expenses or consider an alternative like QuickBooks Online. Also, ZipBooks doesn’t have a mobile accounting app, which could be a hassle for handyperson businesses that are often on the move. If mobile accounting is a priority for me, I’d look into Zoho Books instead.

Standout Features

• Custom tags: Create custom tags and attach them to all income and expense transactions. This allows you to track income and expenses by project, location, class, or anything else of interest.
• Free plan and affordable paid options: ZipBooks lets you start with the free plan and upgrade to affordable paid options with prices starting at $15 per month. When your business scales and you need access to multiple users, you can upgrade to Sophisticated for only $35 per month, which supports unlimited users.
• Assisted bookkeeping: ZipBooks offers three assisted bookkeeping plans that are advantageous for your handyman business. These services already come with a ZipBooks plan, so you don’t have to pay for a bookkeeping plan on top of the service. If you’re a handyman business owner with no experience in accounting, the bookkeeping plans are worth every dollar as they save you time in dealing with accounting.
• Invoice quality score: The unique invoice quality score helps you determine if the invoice is complete, accurate, and professional-looking.

Use Cases

• Small-time handyperson businesses with simple project accounting needs: ZipBooks Sophisticated plan allows you to track income and expense by project for only $35 per month for unlimited users.
• Businesses looking for affordable assisted bookkeeping services: ZipBooks offers assisted bookkeeping options with prices starting at only $125 monthly. It’s more affordable than QuickBooks Live, which starts at $200 a month.

I gave ZipBooks top marks for pricing since it has a free plan, which is a huge plus for me. It also performed well in handyman features, though it did lose some points for lacking functions like converting estimates into invoices. I had to mark it down slightly in general features too, due to limitations like the inability to generate reconciliation reports or print checks.

What impressed me about ZipBooks was its ease of use; its simplicity makes it really user-friendly. However, the customer support didn’t quite measure up to Zoho Books or FreshBooks, mainly because ZipBooks doesn’t offer phone support. I’d also love to see them add a mobile accounting app in the future. For now, if managing handyperson accounting tasks on the go is a priority, I’d lean toward using Zoho Books.

I find Wave to be a solid free option for users that don’t need project tracking. It can track income and expenses, send unlimited invoices, and manage basic receivables from customers and payables to suppliers. On top of that, it allowed me to connect bank accounts to the platform for automated transaction imports, which is really convenient.

However, I’ve noticed that Wave lacks some key features that are essential for handyman businesses, like project accounting and time tracking. There’s also no option to upgrade to a more sophisticated plan for more advanced features. So, when users eventually outgrow its capabilities, switching to different accounting software is the only solution.

Standout Features

• Free accounting and invoicing: The free plan offers all of its accounting features and invoicing functions. It even has recurring invoicing, which is usually a feature found in paid software.
• Unlimited users and multiple roles: You can add unlimited users and assign them roles to restrict their actions. Roles like view-only, edit-only, payroll manager, and admin are assignable to multiple users so that you can control their access.

Use Cases

• Preparing for tax returns: Wave is a great free option if all you’re doing is categorizing income and expenses for your tax return. In that case, there’s no need for project accounting or time tracking, which Wave lacks.
• Part-time handyperson businesses: Wave is a cost-effective option for part-timers since there are no monthly subscription costs.

Just like ZipBooks, I think Wave’s biggest strengths lie in its pricing and ease of use. However, it didn’t perform as well in other areas like general accounting and handyman features. I’ve found that it’s missing several key functionalities, such as project tracking, mileage tracking, and class and location tracking. Its mobile app also received a low score from me because it’s limited to creating invoices and accepting online payments. For more robust mobile accounting, I’d lean towards using Zoho Books.