5 Best Accounting Software Programs for Freelancers in 2023
This article is part of a larger series onAccounting Software.
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 tax calculation, mileage tracking, and invoice tracking.
Here are the five best accounting software for freelancers based on each need:
- Zoho Books:Best overall accounting software for freelancers
- FreshBooks:Best for service- or project-based freelancers who track hourly labor
- QuickBooks Online:Best for freelancers who want access to local bookkeeping assistance
- Wave:Best free accounting software for freelancers
- QuickBooks Self-Employed:Best for tracking profits and preparing tax returns
At Fit Small Business ourmissionis 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 anin-depth case studywhere our experts determine the strengths and weaknesses of each software by recreating real-life bookkeeping scenarios. There are only two scenarios where we may recommend software that has not been subjected to our case study – the software 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 they are a partner company.
Comparison of Best Accounting Software for Freelancers
Provider |
Pricing ($/Month) |
Number of Users |
Estimate Tax for Schedule C |
Create Recurring Invoices |
Enter Bills From the Mobile App |
Support |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0 - 275美元 |
1 to 15 ($3 per additional user) |
✕ |
✓ |
✓ |
Phone, chatbot, live chat, email, and self-help library |
|
$17 to $55 or custom priced |
1 ($11 per additional user) |
✕ |
✓ |
✓ |
Phone, chatbot, email, and self-help library |
|
$30 to $200 |
1 to 25 |
✕ |
✓ |
✕ |
Phone, chatbot, live chat, and self-help library |
|
Free |
Unlimited |
✕ |
✓ |
✕ |
Chatbot and live chat |
|
$15 to $35 |
1 |
✓ |
✕ |
✕ |
Phone, chatbot, live chat, and self-help library |
Zoho Books: Best Overall Accounting Software for Freelancers
Pros
- Customer service by telephone
- Manage sales tax collections
- Track time and expenses and add easily to an invoice
- Track project profitability
Cons
- Additional charge for receipt capture
- Cannot transfer income/expense to Schedule C
- Cannot calculate quarterly estimated tax pa
- Limited features in the Free plan
General Features
- Up to 1,000 invoices under the free plan or 5,000 invoices per year in the Standard Plan
- Client portal
- Online and offline payments
- Mileage and expense tracking
- Project tasks for individual tasks in a project
- Manual journals and reports
- Invoice customization
Why We Chose Zoho Books
Zoho Books is a flexible and scalable accounting software for freelancers. It has features that cater to all business sizes—from solopreneurs to established businesses. Moreover, its mobile app is ideal for freelancers wanting to perform accounting tasks using their mobile app or on a tablet.
Zoho Books Professional is our top recommended Zoho Books plan for freelancers because it includes billing, recurring invoices, multicurrency transactions, and inventory features. Whether you’re a service-based or retail freelancer, this plan is the best deal for your needs.
FreshBooks: Best for Service- or Project-based Freelancers Who Track Hourly Labor
Pros
- Excellent project management tool
- Track mileage on mobile app
- Customer service by telephone
- Track hours and expenses and add to invoices
Cons
- Requires pricey premium plan subscription for more than 50 billable customers
- No expense or income tracking by class
- Cannot track cost of goods sold for freelancers dealing with inventory
- Must connect bank account to track checking transactions accurately
General Features
- Unlimited invoices, expenses, and estimates
- Sales tax tracking
- Recurring billing and client retainers
- Double-entry accounting reports
- Project management
Why We Chose FreshBooks
FreshBooks is an easy-to-use accounting software for freelancers with no experience in accounting. Moreover, its built-in time tracker and excellent project accounting features make it a perfect solution for tracking project income and expense.
然而,我们只推荐FreshBooks服务based freelancers because the software can’t track inventory and cost of goods sold (COGS). If your freelance business deals with inventory, we recommend choosing QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books.
QuickBooks Online: Best for Freelancers Who Want Access to Local Bookkeeping Assistance
Pros
- Manage sales tax with automatic sales tax rates based on the customer address
- Includes receipt capture to generate transactions from uploaded receipts
- Track time and expenses and add to customer invoices (requires Essentials)
- Track miles with mobile app automatically
Cons
- No customer service telephone number—you must submit a request to be called
- Must subscribe to expensive Plus version to track project profitability
- Cannot calculate quarterly tax payments or transfer information to Schedule C
General Features
- Class and location tracking
- Access to vast network of certified public accountants (CPAs) and bookkeepers with ProAdvisor certification
- Sales tax calculation per invoice
- Integration with numerous third-party services in ecommerce, restaurant management, and payroll
- Excellent bank reconciliation features
Why We Chose QuickBooks Online
As our overallbest small business accounting software, QuickBooks Online is a safe pick for freelancers. Most will benefit from the features found in Simple Start and Essentials. However, our best pick would still be Plus if you have inventory or need project accounting.
We chose QuickBooks Online because of the vast network of accountants in the QuickBooks ProAdvisor program. It can help freelancers in keeping their QuickBooks records organized and ready for tax time.
Wave: Best Free Accounting Software for Freelancers
Pros
- Forever free for unlimited users
- Easy to use
- 简单的设置
Cons
- Not scalable
- Doesn’t separate income and expense by class or location
- Limited customer support
General Features
- Receipt scanning
- Free accounting and invoicing
- Bill and invoice recording
- Clean interface
Why We Chose Wave
We chose Wave because it’s 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 it has recurring invoices and billing, which are features often present only in premium plans of paid software. On top of that, Wave charges minimal transaction fees for bank transactions and card payments.
QuickBooks Self-Employed: Best for Tracking Profit & Preparing Tax Returns
Pros
- 廉价和容易使用
- Calculate quarterly estimated tax payments
- Transfers income and loss information to TurboTax (requires the TurboTax bundle)
- Mobile app tracks miles and saves receipt images
Cons
- Recording invoice as “paid” doesn’t record any income
- Cannot track unpaid bills
- No telephone number for customer service
- Doesn’t track assets and liabilities for a balance sheet
General Features
- Separating income and expenses as to business and personal
- Reports that make Schedule C filing easier
- Mileage tracking
- Credit card statement imports
Why We Chose QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed highlights tax compliance and estimated payments for self-employed individuals who want to breeze through tax season. QuickBooks Self-Employed can estimate tax dues, which can help individuals prepare for the amounts they have to pay to the IRS.
If your main concern for getting accounting software is for tax compliance, you might want to consider QuickBooks Self-Employed first. But if you want more accounting-focused features like billing and invoicing, look elsewhere in this guide.
Tip:
Check out ourkey bookkeeping tips for self-employed and freelancersso that you can stay on top of every aspect of your business.
How We Evaluated Accounting Software for Freelancers
We evaluated freelancing accounting software based on the needs of most freelancers.
10% of Overall Score
The price of the software is considered in the evaluation but we didn’t place a heavy weight in 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
General accounting features are still important, especially the software’s ability to manage accounts payable (A/P), accounts receivable (A/R), and cash. As much as possible, the software must-have features to track outstanding obligations and receivables. However, simple invoice and bill tracking will suffice for some freelancers. We also considered the tax and reporting features since most freelancers would be more concerned about tax compliance.
30% 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.
20% 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
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.
Features To Look for in Freelance Accounting Software
As self-employed individuals providing services to multiple companies, 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. Other features are especially important for freelancers, such as the ability to track time and expenses to bill clients.
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 thebest 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 project or service-based freelancers, whereas Wave is a totally 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.