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QuickBooks Online is the best accounting software for the self-employed because of its low price, great features, and high customizability. However, if you’re looking for something cost-free, there are also some great free accounting software options that might suit your needs.
Freelancers and those who are self-employed tend to look for a few core qualities when settling on accounting software: basic accounting features, an easy-to-use yet flexible service, and an inexpensive price plan. According to our independent testing team, QuickBooks meets those needs the best.
To test all the top accounting software options, we ranked features, support, and pricing across eight different research categories. Other top accounting solutions worth considering include FreshBooks, which stands out for its flexibility and the tools needed to invoice billable hours or track inventory; and Xero, which offers a wide selection of great features.
Best Software for Self-Employed Accounting:
- QuickBooks – Best Overall
- FreshBooks – Best for Usability
- Xero – Good All-Around
- Zoho Books – Best for Very Small Businesses
- Wave Accounting – Best Value for Money
| Starting price | Free trial | Best for | Payroll processing | Phone support | Try now | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FEATURED  |  |  |  |  | |||
| Wave Financial | |||||||
| 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 14 days | It’s free, no trial needed | |||
| Integrations | Advanced customization | Help & support | Real-time financial management | Best free option | |||
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| Try Xero now | Try QuickBooks | Try FreshBooks | Try Zoho Books | Try Wave today |
QuickBooks – Best Overall
Best accounting software for self-employed overall
Pricing: from $15 per user, per month – Get 90% off for 7 months
Our team of researchers gave QuickBooks our highest overall rating (4.7/5) because it offers extensive features at a competitive rate. However, you’ll have to pay to get the most value out of the service as the top features are only available on its pricier plans: QuickBooks has a stripped-down plan called “Self-Employed,” but it won’t include features like basic bookkeeping and budgeting. That said, users on all plans can create cash-flow projections, automatically track mileage, and calculate quarterly estimated freelance taxes – which makes it the best accounting software for self-employed people overall.
Pros
- Extensive analytics template customization
- Automatic alerts for mismatched balances
- Built in cash flow projection tools
Cons
- Steep learning curve for advanced functionality
- Limited customer support resources for self-help
- No time tracking features
- Solopreneur: $20/month
- Simple Start: $35/month
- Essentials: $65/month
- Plus: $99/month
- Advanced: $235/month
- 50% off for first 3 months
These are all useful perks that not every accounting software supports (Freshbooks and Wave don’t offer any budgeting or forecasting tools), but QuickBooks also offers core functionality, including income and expense tracking, basic reporting, and receipt capture. Another plus is that the software comes with strong support options as well.
What is the difference between QuickBooks and QuickBooks Self-Employed?
The QuickBooks Self-Employed plan won’t be enough for all self-employed creatives out there. It does not offer basic bookkeeping, budgeting, project accounting, fixed assets recording, purchase order generation, overdue client payment tracking, or cash flow projections. If those are essential to your business, you’ll need to chose the QuickBooks Simple Start plan.
The Self-Employed plan offers fewer features than the other QuickBooks Online plans, so it comes at a lower cost as well. Self-Employed costs $15 per month, while the next lowest QuickBooks plan, Simple Start, is $30 per month (with deals, those costs are $7.50 and $15 per month, respectively).
QuickBooks Pricing
In addition to Self-Employed and Simple Start, QuickBooks users can get Essentials for $55 per month (and $27.50 per month for three months). This plan supports time tracking and accounts payable features, including bill and expense tracking, recurring billing, and bill scanning.
The Plus plan is $85 per month ($42.50 per month with the three-month deal) and supports five users, adding project management and automated notifications. Finally, the Advanced plan costs $200 per month, supporting 25 users. If you’re self-employed, you’ll likely want Self-Employed or Simple Start, but you can check out our QuickBooks Online pricing guide for more on which plan is best and for whom.
| Price | Users | Bookkeeping Does it include bookkeeping functions? | Accounts payable Does it include a range of accounts payable functions? | Accounts receivable Does it include a range of accounts receivable functions? | Project accounting Does it offers tools to track different projects? | Financial reporting Does it offer financial reporting tools? | Budget & forecasting Does it offer budgeting and forecasting tools? | ||
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| 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 25 | |||||
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FreshBooks – Best for Usability
Best for usability
Pricing: from $17 per user, per month
FreshBooks stands out for the flexibility it offers to self-employed workers in certain fields, receiving an overall score of 3.8/5 in our in-depth research. It allows users on all plans to track billable hours and quickly add them to invoices, making it a great pick for freelancers who track their hourly rates, from marketing professionals to graphic designers.
Pros
- Intuitive, easy to use interface for beginners
- Time tracking features with invoice compatibility
- 24/7 customer support options for platform help
Cons
- Limited functionality in mobile app
- No forecasting or budgeting features for future analysis
- No multi-currency invoicing available for users
- Lite: $19/month
- Plus: $33/month
- Premium: $60/month
Since all FreshBooks plans offer inventory management and integrate with big ecommerce platforms, it is also a great pick for individuals running their own online retailer or dropshipping operations.
However, there are a few limitations. Unlike top services Xero and Quickbooks, FreshBooks has no budgeting or cash-flow projection tools. In addition, FreshBooks comes with a limit on clients that is only lifted with its pricey Premium plan.
FreshBooks Pricing
FreshBooks starts at $17 per month for its Lite plan, and has three additional plans to choose from: Plus (for $30 per month), Premium (for $55 per month), and Select for a custom price. Lite offers the features that most self-employed users will need because it offers unlimited expensing, time tracking, and estimates, plus custom invoicing. The downside here is that it has a maximum of five clients. The Plus plan does add automations and it boosts the client limit to 50.
Check out our FreshBooks pricing guide for more detail or read our QuickBooks vs FreshBooks comparison guide for more information on how the two services stack up to each other.
Xero – Good All-Around
Good all-around accounting software
Pricing from: $13 per user, per month
Xero has a near-unbeatable feature selection, matching QuickBooks’ perfect 5/5 scores for features across many research categories, including bookkeeping, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and financial reporting.
Pros
- Over 1,000 third party integrations available
- Useful client portal for clients to access financial information
- Robust fixed asset tracking functionality with depreciation values
Cons
- Steep learning curve for advanced features like work flows
- Outdated, poorly designed interface with difficult navigation
- Must give one-month notice before cancellation
- Early: $20/month
- Growing: $47/month
- Established: $80/month
Xero’s overall score is a healthy 4.5/5, and is only brought down by its mediocre support options (neither live chat nor phone is offered, and live support is not 24/7), but it’s a great choice for general use and functionality. It even supports unlimited users across all plans, unlike QuickBooks.
Xero is the rare accounting solution to allow fixed asset recording across all plans and, since it also integrates with top hospitality POS systems (Square, EPOS Now, and Nobly), it’s a great fit for a self-employed hotelier. It’s also a standout pick for budget creation, as it offers simple and painless budgeting on all plans.
Xero Pricing
Xero has three plans: Early, for $13 per month; Growing, for $37 per month, and Established, for $70 per month. Early is the best for freelancers and self-employed users, since it has the right price point while tracking all bank transactions and managing bills and receipts. Early does have restrictions, however, with a limit of five bills, 20 invoices, and 20 quotes. Growing removes these caps, although only Established adds a project accounting functionality. It is worth noting that none of its plans offer cash flow projection.
Read our Xero Invoice pricing guide or check out our QuickBooks vs Xero comparison guide for more.
Zoho Books – Best for Very Small Businesses
Best accounting software for very small businesses
Pricing: Free or from $15 per user, per month
Zoho Books (4/5 overall score) is the best accounting solution for small businesses for a simple reason: it offers a plan that has the most core accounts receivable features at the lowest cost.
Pros
- Extensive data import/export features built in
- Time tracking tools with billable hours conversion for invoicing
- Highly effective transaction documentation
Cons
- Higher than average transaction fees
- No customer support outside business hours (no weekends)
- Limited third party integrations outside of Zoho
- Standard: $15/month
- Professional: $40/month
- Premium: $60/month
- Elite: $120/month
- Advanced: $240/month
- 14-day free trial
Those who may find Xero’s invoice cap of 50 to be a problem will love Zoho Books’ invoice cap of 5,000 per year – with no limit on clients at all. Small businesses can also benefit from Zoho Books’ integrations with many payment processing services.
Zoho Books also offers inexpensive project accounting features and automations, and it has comprehensive accounts receivable tools that include management for any outstanding client payments. Support options include live chat and phone in addition to email, which means that Zoho Books gives customers more support channels than Xero or FreshBooks (although Zoho Books does not offer around-the-clock live support, so QuickBooks still offers the best support on the whole).
Zoho Books Pricing
Zoho Books offers a whopping six pricing plans, although self-employed users will likely want to pick from the lowest two plans. Its entry-level plan (Zoho Books Free) is free, but it comes with a big restriction: it’s only for businesses making $50,000 or less per year. For freelancers, that’s not an unreasonable limit, and Free includes recurring bills, expense tracking, and a client database. However, it doesn’t include inventory management, analytics, or detailed reports.
The pricing of the other five plans (Standard, Professional, Premium, Ultimate, and Elite) ranges from $15 per month to $240 per month. Check out our Zoho Books pricing guide for more information on each plan.
| Price | Users | Automatic bank reconciliation | Inventory management | Set up recurring bills | Track expenses | Record payments in multiple currencies | Client database | Advanced analytics | Custom reports | ||
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| 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 15 | ||||||
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Wave Accounting – Best Value for Money
Best value for money
Pricing: Free
At no cost, Wave Accounting provides unlimited income tracking, unlimited expense tracking, and unlimited collaborators. You’ll be able to add bank and credit card connections, and can access reports that include “Overdue Invoices & Bills” and “Profit & Loss.”
Pros
- Completely free to use
- Offers affordable add-ons
Cons
- Lacks features
- Struggles to scale with growing businesses
- Price from: Free
- Transaction fee: 2.9% + 60¢ for Visa/Mastercard/Discover
- Transaction fee: 1% for bank payments
- Payroll add-on: From $35/mo + $6/user/mo
Our researchers gave it a solid 4/5 overall score, noting that admin work can be reduced further with the Wave Receipts mobile app thanks to its bill-scanning functionality, although this app is only available on iOS, unlike QuickBooks’ bill-scanning app that’s found on both iOS and Android.
Granted, the features available to you are limited, with no budgeting, cash flow projection, project accounting, or inventory management functionality, but that’s the cost of getting a free service. If you want a stripped-down solution on a tiny budget, Wave has the best accounting software.
Wave Pricing
Wave Accounting just offers one take-it-or-leave-it plan at no cost, so there’s not a lot to say about pricing. You may want to consider the other apps Wave offers, though: Wave Invoicing and Wave Banking are also free, while users can integrate Wave Payroll starting at $40 per month, plus $6 per employee or contract worker. The Wave Payments service lets users accept credit card payments, starting at 2.9% plus $0.60 per transaction.
Check out our FreshBooks vs Wave comparison guide to learn more about each service.
Why Is Accounting Software Important & What Should You Look for?
Any self-employed worker or freelancer needs to consider a host of tasks to stay on top of their finances and taxes: you’ll need to send invoices and collect bills, manage projects or clients, and reconcile all your revenue streams to complete your federal, state, and local taxes on time. Since freelancers need to complete taxes on a quarterly basis, you’ll have four times the paperwork that any other employee deals with.
It’s all a challenge to track, but accounting software is designed to streamline the entire process. The best accounting solutions will add financial reporting as well, so you can see trends in the data at a glance, and will integrate with other core work software, such as payroll or POS systems. If you’re just starting out, these are the basic needs that accounting software should help you with, if relevant:
- Projects or clients
- Estimates and invoices
- Reciepts
- Bills
- Budgeting
- Assets or inventory
Methodology: How Test Accounting Software for the Self-Employed
At Tech.co, we take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we're giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations.
After conducting an initial investigation to identify the most relevant, popular, and established accounting tools in the market, we conducted further research, including testing six major accounting software platforms.
Based on years of market and user needs research, we've established an accounting software testing methodology that scores these platforms against six main categories, and 25 subcategories - with a total of 1512 areas of investigation being considered overall.
We also put the platforms through their paces with hands-on testing to gain a deeper grasp of their average user experience. We dedicated 57 hours to carrying out 37 user tests, with a total of 555 tasks being completed in total.
Our main testing categories for accounting software are:
- Core accounting features - We check how adept a platform will be at managing accounting tasks, focusing on key bookkeeping features like invoicing, tax preparation, journal entry, time tracking, financial transactions, and payment support.
- Operational efficiency - We determine how capable a system is at ensuring day-to-day processes run seamlessly, paying close attention to third-party integrations, collaboration tools, AI automation, and customization options.
- Financial planning - We assess how capable a system will be at measuring income, profits, and losses. Specifically, we check for the presence and quality of forecasting and budgeting, inventory management, reporting, and compliance tools.
- Help and support - We asses how useful and reliable a platform's support system is, focusing on support options, whether it's 24/7, knowledge center accuracy, as well as cloud backup, and security safeguards.
- Pricing - We compare the overall cost of each platform, taking factors like monthly costs, set-up fees, hidden fees, and free plans into account. We also measure how strict contracts are, and how much it would cost for a business to terminate them early.
- User experience - An overall judgment of how easily users can interact with the platform. We tested each accounting platform and got our team to report how easy they were to use, how they felt when they were using them, and how likely they were to recommend the platform to another business.
When it comes to calculating a product's final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, with factors like ‘core accounting features’ and ‘operational efficiency’ being prioritized for small businesses, while sector-specific features are valued more highly for businesses across different industries.
We understand that accounting software is always evolving. That’s why at Tech.co, we have full-time product researchers to re-run this testing process regularly. It’s the only way to ensure our results remain reflective of the present day.
Learn more about our research.
Verdict: QuickBooks is the best self-employed accounting solution
QuickBooks offers a wealth of features wrapped in a modern design, and is customizable to your needs. The cloud-based service has a plan just for self-employed users, too, at just $7.50 a month with the right deal. The only big downside to QuickBooks is that some features are available on higher-priced plans: For example, you’ll need the $55-a-month Essentials plan to get time tracking and accounts payable tools.
FreshBooks remains a strong pick, and may be best for two type of self-employed workers: Freelancers who often track and invoice billable hours and online retailers who need strong ecommerce integrations and inventory management tools. It’s downsides are a lack of budgeting or cash-flow projection, as well as a limit on the number of clients it supports.
If you’re ready to start a free trial (or three) to compare feature selections and ease-of-use between the software, there’s just one step left: take a minute to check out our research team’s comparison page to get the best possible deals on the finest accounting software.
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