The best QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE) alternatives should track your bills, compile your income and expenses, and let you choose from different invoice templates. For freelancers transitioning to small business owners, they may consider upgrading to a double-entry accounting software like Wave, QuickBooks Online, or Zoho Books.
Of the software we evaluated, these are our top seven best QuickBooks Self-Employed alternatives:
- Wave: Best overall and free alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed
- QuickBooks Solopreneur: Best for QBSE subscribers looking for enhanced invoices
- QuickBooks Online Simple Start: Best scalable alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed
- Zoho Books Standard: Best for mobile accounting
- Patriot Premium: Best for payroll integration
- ZipBooks Sophisticated: Best for assisted bookkeeping that comes with a free plan
- Quicken Business & Personal: Best for personal finance and rental property management
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QuickBooks Self-Employed vs Alternatives Compared
Software & Plan | Monthly Pricing | Number of Users Included | Double-entry Accounting | Choose From Invoice Templates | Track Mileage | Transfer Income & Expenses to Schedule C |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Self-Employed | $25 (From $30 with TurboTax integration) | 1 | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
1 or Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ||
QuickBooks Solopreneur | $20 | 1 | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Simple Start | $35 | 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
Standard | $20 | 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
Premium | $30 | Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
Sophisticated | $35 | Unlimited | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
Business & Personal | $10.99 | 1 | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Wave: Best Overall and Free Alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed
Pros
- Has a free plan that is sufficient for most freelancers with basic accounting needs
- Can manage multiple companies in a single account
- Has no limits on expense tracking and invoicing
- Lets you upload bank transactions from an Excel or CSV file
- Can set up automatic monthly e-payments
Cons
- Only accommodates a single user in the free plan
- Can’t connect your bank accounts in the free version
- Has a very limited mobile application
- Has limited customer support in the free plan
- Lacks mileage tracking feature
Wave has a free plan (Starter) and a paid version (Pro) that costs $16 per month when billed monthly or $170 per year when billed annually. Both plans include basic accounting tools, like income and expense tracking and invoicing, but you’ll get additional features in the paid plan, including bank feeds, unlimited users, and free unlimited receipt scanning.
Add-ons available:
- Wave Receipts: $8 per month or $72 per year (Starter only; included in Pro)
- Wave Payroll: $40 for tax service states or $20 for self-service states, plus an additional $6 per month per active employee or independent contractor (Starter and Pro)
- Wave Advisor: $149 per month for bookkeeping support (Starter and Pro)
- Accounting and payroll coaching: $379 per coaching session and email support (Starter and Pro)
Wave Starter is the best free option for freelancers who are still new to accounting software. It has more features than QuickBooks Self-Employed, like creating and sending invoices without having to manually input all the information, uploading bank transactions from a CSV file, and processing payments. We recommend Wave for freelancers who don’t need complex features like creating custom tags and generating custom reports.
Unfortunately, the free plan doesn’t allow you to connect your bank and credit card accounts, which can be a problem if you process multiple transactions daily. If this is something you want, we recommend upgrading to the Pro plan for just $16 per month.
QuickBooks Solopreneur: Best for QBSE Subscribers Seeking Enhanced Invoices
Pros
- Provides professional-looking invoices
- Automatically calculates sales tax rates
- Offers goal-setting and -tracking features
- Has embedded tax filing features
- Lets you create project estimates
- Creates automatic payment reminders
Cons
- No payroll integration
- Doesn’t capture expense receipts
- Can’t assign tags to transactions
- No direct migration option from QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Solopreneur costs $20 monthly or $120 for the first year if you sign up for the annual contract. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial or purchase right away and get 50% off for three months.
QuickBooks Self-Employed provides basic invoicing, but Solopreneur takes this further by offering customizable invoice templates. Solopreneur uses the same new invoicing feature as all the other QuickBooks plans, where you can see the actual view of your invoice as you complete the fields. This way, you can easily customize your invoices without repeatedly clicking the preview button. That said, if you want more professional-looking invoices but don’t need to necessarily transition to double-entry accounting, Solopreneur is a great option.
In addition to enhanced invoicing, Solopreneur also allows you to categorize transactions, accept partial payments from customers, and set up recurring invoices. It also lets you set up payment reminders and create project estimates—which are significant upgrades from Self-Employed.
However, just like Self-Employed, Solopreneur isn’t a double-entry accounting and therefore can’t generate balance sheets or financial statements. If your business is growing and needs to track assets and liabilities, then you may consider upgrading to Wave.
QuickBooks Online Simple Start: Best Scalable Alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed
Pros
- Has double-entry accounting software; can track assets and liabilities
- Calculates sales tax rates automatically based on where you sell products
- Can upgrade to more sophisticated versions as your business grows
- Features a huge network of QuickBooks ProAdvisors
Cons
- Can’t compare estimated and actual project costs
- Can’t calculate quarterly tax payments or transfer information to Schedule C
QuickBooks Online Simple Start costs $35 per month for one user. If you buy now, you can get 50% off for three months and a free one-on-one session with a ProAdvisor to set up your account. Otherwise, you can try QuickBooks Online Simple Start for 30 days free.
If you outgrow Simple Start, you can upgrade to any of the higher plans:
- Essentials: $65 per month for up to three users
- Plus: $99 per month for up to five users
- Advanced: $235 per month for up to 25 users
We selected QuickBooks Online Simple Start as the best scalable alternative to QuickBooks Self-Employed because you can upgrade to more powerful versions as your business grows. With the ability to scale all the way to the Advanced plan with 25 users, it’s unlikely your business will ever outgrow QuickBooks.
Simple Start is a major upgrade from Self-Employed and provides balance sheets or financial statements for tracking business assets and liabilities. Additionally, Simple Start is more suitable for tracking sales tax, as it automatically calculates sales tax rates to apply to invoices. It also allows you to set up vendors and record and track expenses, accept partial payments from customers, create and send estimates, and set up recurring payments—all of which aren’t possible in Self-Employed.
However, Simple Start has no free option, which can be an issue for freelancers who are on a tight budget. If you have simple bookkeeping needs, Wave’s free plan might be sufficient.
Zoho Books Standard: Best for Mobile Accounting
Pros
- Offers more features than QuickBooks Self-Employed, such as time and project tracking
- Has a fully functional mobile app for sending invoices, receiving payments, tracking billable hours, and more
- Offers phone support in all paid plans
- Integrates with other Zoho products, including Zoho Inventory
Cons
- Is limited to 5,000 invoices per year
- Has no timesheet approval by customer in Standard plan
- Lacks recurring billing in Standard plan
The plan is only $20 per month for 5,000 invoices, and you can add up to three users plus one accountant. If you need more users, an additional $3 per user monthly will be added to your bill. You can try the platform for free for 14 days.
Zoho Books is scalable and offers a choice of four additional paid options:
- Professional: $50 per month, includes up to five users and unlimited invoices
- Premium: $70 per month, includes up to 10 users and unlimited invoices
- Elite: $150 per month, includes up to 10 users, unlimited invoices, advanced inventory, and cash flow forecasting
- Ultimate: $275 per month, includes up to 15 users, unlimited invoices, advanced inventory, cash flow forecasting, and advanced analytics
Zoho Books Standard is one of the best alternatives to QuickBooks Self-Employed because it offers more features, including a robust mobile app. The app allows you to create and send invoices, accept payments, and view reports on the go. If you wish to access more mobile accounting features, like time tracking and the ability to assign projects to customers, you may consider upgrading to Professional.
Another benefit of Zoho Books Standard is that, unlike QuickBooks Self-Employed, it allows up to three users, with the option to add more for an additional fee. It is limited to 5,000 invoices, but this should be more than sufficient for most freelancers. However, if you work with many clients and consistently exceed that volume, you may consider Wave for unlimited free invoicing and accounting.
Patriot Premium: Best for Payroll Integration
Pros
- Is easy to use, even for nonaccountants
- Lets you file 1099s within the app
- Is affordable for self-employed individuals
- Offers cheaper payroll services than QuickBooks Online
Cons
- Can’t track inventory
- Lacks a mobile app
- Has no project accounting features
Patriot Premium costs $30 monthly for unlimited users, and a 60-day free trial is available. It offers all the basic and intermediate features that self-employed individuals will need.
Patriot offers basic payroll for $17 a month (fixed fee) plus $4 per employee. If you want assistance in filing payroll taxes, you can get the full-service payroll at a fixed fee of $37 a month plus $4 per employee.
To learn more about its payroll offerings, read our in-depth Patriot Payroll review.
We chose Patriot as a QuickBooks Self-Employed alternative because it is affordable and has all the features needed for basic bookkeeping—plus it features a direct integration to Patriot Payroll (charged separately). If you need to process employee wages, Patriot’s solutions create a seamless payroll processing experience, especially for business owners with no payroll experience.
What’s more, its prices are at least half of what QuickBooks Online Payroll charges, making it the better alternative for affordable payroll integration. Patriot is easy to use for freelancers wanting to do-it-yourself (DIY) their bookkeeping and also has features that QuickBooks Self-Employed lacks, including accounts receivable (A/R) and accounts payable (A/P) tracking, bank reconciliation, and recurring invoices.
A huge drawback is the lack of a mobile app, which can be a problem for most modern freelancers and business owners. If you often work on the go, you may consider QuickBooks Online’s or Zoho Books’ mobile accounting app.
ZipBooks Sophisticated: Best for Assisted Bookkeeping That Comes With a Free Plan
Pros
- Is easy to use for nonaccountants
- Offers its highest plan at a very affordable price
- Lets users switch between accrual and cash-basis accounting
- Provides free access to ZipBooks if you sign up for an assisted bookkeeping plan
Cons
- Is not suitable for businesses with inventory
- Has no advanced project tracking features
- Has limited integration options
- Lacks payroll features
ZipBooks Sophisticated is $35 per month for unlimited users, and a 30-day free trial is available. It comes with all of ZipBooks’ features, such as recurring invoices, customizable chart of accounts, and time tracking.
You can get free access to the software if you subscribe to an assisted bookkeeping plan, such as Simple Bookkeeping ($125 per month) or Multi-classifications Bookkeeping ($145 a month) plan. The provider also offers vendor and 1099 preparation services starting at $175 monthly.
We chose ZipBooks Sophisticated as this highest plan is still priced affordably at $35 a month. If you want to outsource bookkeeping, ZipBooks offers monthly bookkeeping assistance that comes with a ZipBooks Plan. This means that you don’t have to pay for the software subscription if you decide to let ZipBooks handle your books.
However, just like Self-Employed, ZipBooks also isn’t that great in terms of invoicing, so we recommend Solopreneur or Simple Start if you want professional-looking invoices.
Quicken Business & Personal: Best for Personal Finance & Rental Property Management
Pros
- Is very affordable compared with double-entry small business accounting software
- Has good features for rental property management
- Groups business income and expenses into categories that align with the Schedule C format
- Lets you track self-employed income, personal finances, and retirement accounts
Cons
- Is desktop-based; requires installation and setup
- Doesn’t allow for additional users
- Won’t let you use the mobile app without the desktop version
- Is not a double-entry accounting software, so it doesn’t track assets and liabilities for a balance sheet
Quicken Business & Personal is $10.99 per month for one user. There is no free trial, but you can try it risk-free with the provider’s 30-day money-back guarantee.
We chose Quicken Business & Personal for individuals managing rental properties because it has rental management features, such as custom tools for tracking rent and occupancy rates, sending reminders, and generating real-time reports for income, expenses, property values, and market projections.
Quicken can also be used to manage retirement 401(k) plans and track home values. We recommend Quicken as the best QuickBooks Self-Employed alternative for landlords because QuickBooks Self-Employed lacks basic rental management features.
How We Evaluated QuickBooks Self-Employed Alternatives
We evaluated the best QuickBooks Self-Employed alternatives based on the following factors:
- Cost: Some self-employed individuals might not have the budget to purchase costly software. The choices we presented in this buyer’s guide are specific plans from top accounting software that we deem suitable for self-employed users.
- Scalability: In case your freelancing business grows, the platform of your choice must be scalable. A scalable software would mean past accounting data would remain intact since there’s no need to transfer to another software.
- Feature-set: We looked into the essential accounting features that most freelancers and small businesses need, like basic invoicing and billing and project accounting. We also looked whether the alternative has features that aren’t available in Self-Employed.
- Ease of use: We considered this factor because some users might not have the time and knowledge to learn complicated accounting software. An easy-to-use software is more appropriate for self-employed individuals.
- Customer support: We don’t expect QuickBooks Self-Employed alternatives to provide phone support, but at least its help team should be accessible through other channels, like live chat, email, and chatbot. It should also provide self-help guides for new users.
- Reviews: We gathered the average user review rating of the software on third-party review sites.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You should look for a QuickBooks Self-Employed alternative if you need more enhanced features, such as customizable invoices and the ability to monitor unpaid bills and track time and project profitability.
Accounting software can help you track finances, outstanding invoices, and bills. Having the right platform can also generate reports that you’ll use for tax filing purposes.
Yes, QuickBooks Self-Employed can be used for sole proprietorships. However, we recommend using a double-entry accounting system like QuickBooks Online or those featured in our guide to the best small business accounting software to track assets and liabilities as well as income and expense.
Yes, you can consider Wave, which is completely free, or Zoho Books Free if you are making less than $50,000 per year.
Bottom Line
QuickBooks Self-Employed might be enough for freelancers needing to stay on top of their income, expenses, and tax obligations, but those who have specialized needs should consider alternatives. For instance, if your priority is mobile accounting, you may prefer Zoho Books. If you collect sales tax from customers, you may wish to upgrade to QuickBooks Online. If you’re starting a freelance business and don’t have that much money to spend on paid software, then you may do well with Wave.